116 
Modern Business Geography 
ee ee 
UNITED STATES 
DEPOSITS OT 
IRON ORE 
Fie. 87. Iron ore is widely distributed in the United States. But ore alone is not enough to 
make mining a profitable business. There are several other requirements: (1) the ore must 
be easy to get out; (2) it must have a good percentage of metallic iron; (3) it must be so situated 
that it can be smelted at low cost, that is, either near supplies of fuel and limestone (used in smelt- 
ing) or near cheap transportation to such supplies. 
UNITED STATE. 
PRODUCTION 
IRON ORT 
Fig. 88. This map shows in a general way the regions of commercial production of iron ore in 
the United States: the lightest shades represent regions of small and scattered production ; the 
heaviest shades represent the regions of great and concentrated production. For example, Min- 
nesota produces more ore than any other state; Michigan comes second ; Alabama is third. The 
Great Lakes offer cheap water transportation for the Minnesota-Michigan ore to the large indus- 
trial cities near the Pennsylvania-Ohio and Indiana-Tllinois coal fields. Alabama has coal fields 
near the iron mines.