Modern business geography

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1830562916

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-217337

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Huntington, Ellsworth http://d-nb.info/gnd/117070092; Cushing, Sumner W.

Title:: Modern business geography

Place of publication:: New York [usw.]

Publisher:: World Book Company

Year of publication:: 1930

Scope:: VIII, 352 S.; Ill., graph. Darst.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Part two. The field of transportation

Collection:: Economics Books

CHAPTER SIXTEEN TRANSPORTATION AND THE LOCATION OF CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES [MpPORTANT commercial cities are usually located where main lines of transportation cross one another or where two different kinds of trans- portation meet. This is particularly the case where land routes meet water routes. At such places all the passengers who come by either land or water usually have to stop at least a few hours, and often stay some days before going on by the other means of transportation. More important still, all the freight that arrives by railroad and is to be shipped by water, for instance, not only must be unloaded but must usually be stored in warehouses until a ship is ready to proceed toward the proper destination. Moreover, the people who live in such a place do a great deal of business for those who live elsewhere. They import goods from across the water and sell them to the people who live along the various inland routes that diverge from the port. Or they purchase goods from customers along the inland routes and sell them abroad. Thus places where ocean routes meet land routes are the most favorable for the growth of great cities. The kind of harbor that attracts ocean traffic. A distance of a few miles more or less makes little difference in the cost of transportation by water. Hence ships do not try to save expense by going to the nearest port of the country where they wish to leave their freight and passengers, but to the port from which they can most cheaply ship their loads to their destination. The character of a harbor has a great influence upon the expense of shipment. The best kind of harbor has five characteristics : 1) It is readily reached from the sea. Some harbors are especially easy to enter; for example, at Hongkong ships can sail almost up to the docks without a pilot and can easily enter the harbor either from the north or the south, for there is a clear, open channel safely protected between the mainland and the island. San Francisco and Brest are equally fortunate in this respect. At New Orleans, Calcutta, and Guayaquil, on the other hand, the windings and sandbars of the rivers make a pilot necessary for nearly a day before the port is reached. A good harbor also affords protection from wind and waves. In order to give great protection, breakwaters are often built to shut out the harbor from the open sea. A harbor ought also to have plenty of room and the right depth for anchorage. Since a good-sized steamship draws 30 feet or 207 (2) 3)

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