The One Minute Geographer: The Amazing Importance of the Erie Canal, Part 2

Map of New York state’s major rivers and lakes from gisgeography.com

We’re continuing our list of important aspects of the Erie Canal.

3. The Erie Canal vastly reduced the costs of transporting people and goods across the Appalachians. A mule or a horse can only carry a few hundred pounds on their backs. Or they can pull a wagon of up to 3,000 pounds (but not uphill!). But they can draw a barge carrying…