STUDY GUIDE USII.2b Geography Themes
Transportation Links Resources, Products, and Markets
The student will use maps, globes, photographs, pictures, and tables for
b) explaining relationships among natural resources, transportation, and industrial development after 1877.

How did advances in transportation link resources, products, and markets?
Advances in transportation linked resources, products, and markets:

• Transportation of resources 		Railroads were key- Railroads could reach interior areas, including places where an inadequate water supply or rough terrain made canals impossible. By 1860, a network of thirty thousand miles linked most of the nation's major cities and towns.
• Moving natural resources (e.g., copper and lead) to eastern factories Natural resources were moved by rail to manufacturing centers in the east. Copper and lead, mined in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah was shipped by rail to eastern factories.
• Moving iron ore deposits to sites of steel mills (e.g., Pittsburgh) In the mid-1800s, huge, easily mined deposits of high-grade iron ore were discovered in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The iron ore was shipped by rail to Pittsburgh, which by 1860  became the center for the emerging new steel industry. The need for armaments in the Civil War gave a great boost to the city’s iron and steel  industry. The new Bessemer process allowed iron and coal to be converted cheaply into steel, which was manufactured into a variety of products - from nails to rails.
• Transporting finished products to national markets Manufactured goods moved by railroad from eastern factories to markets around the U.S.

What are some examples of manufacturing areas that were located near centers of population?
Factories needed workers, so they were built where people lived. The factories attracted more workers and cities grew around them.

Examples of manufacturing areas clustered near centers of population.

• Textile industry—New England

• Automobile industry—Detroit

• Steel industry—Pittsburgh