America's String of Cities - How the Fall Line Determines Where People Live
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- Опубліковано 20 чер 2022
- Along the eastern part of the United States, sits a string of cities. Their location is determined by the Fall Line, a little-known piece of geography that has been instrumental in shaping the United States into the country it is today.
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In Georgia, one would expect the largest city to be on the fall line, but as we all know, Atlanta isn't. It didn't form along any major river, either. It's one of the first major cities in the world to be built on a completely arbitrary location, the spot that happened to be chosen as the terminus of the Western and Atlantic Railroad. Local legend has it that the railroad agent, Colonel Stephen Harriman Long, initially selected a spot much nearer present-day Decatur, but resident's didn't want the noise and commotion a railroad would bring. Afterward, John Thrasher built homes and a general store in the area, so it was called Thrasherville. Its names changed to Terminus, Marthasville, and then Atlantica-Pacifica, which was shortened to Atlanta.
Great information. I grew up in Columbus and Athens so learned about the Fall Line as part of our local geography.
Sometimes people are surprised (in the rest of the country) that Atlanta wasn't the capital of GA or even the biggest city before and during the Civil War (the capital was Milledgeville). But in the war, control of railroads and rivers was an important strategy, as well as the capture of all those warehouses in Atlanta.
Well Atlanta was built where rail lines terminated
And then the city itself became too noisy and full of commotion and totally screwed up that plan
Atlanta's location was not arbitrary. What is now the Atlanta area happens to be the northernmost area where the railroads in the southeastern U.S. could cross the Appalachian Mountains. Railroads coming from Alabama and Tennessee along with railways from southern Georgia and the Carolinas would want to build to this area to shorten the distances necessary for travel to the Midwestern states. Atlanta thus became the transportation hub of the South.
Up until the 1830s, water navigation was everything for transportation and commerce. But yeah, the railroad changed everything. It's a watershed (pun intended) period that freed up westward expansion, juiced industrialization, and opened up vast areas of the country that were not on navigable waterways. In 1830, the UK (an island country) was the global titan of industry and trade. By 1890, the U.S. was the largest industrial economy in the world.
Interestingly, Philadelphia is directly on top of the fall line with much of the city's south and eastern portions being on the flat coastal plain while the north and western areas are gradually more hilly. You can actually see the transition very clearly in many northwestern Philadelphia neighborhoods where there are steep rock cliffs, river side bluffs and escarpments, some of which are 100ft+ high. My neighborhood is above the fall line at about 400+ ft. above sea level, but other neighborhoods just 8 miles south of me below the fall line are no more than 20 or 30ft. above sea level and tend to be completely flat.
Go Birds!
I noticed this as a kid riding my bike there. Wasn’t until high school that I learned about fall lines. Truly makes the region scenic as you travel.
@@ThePhl4ever go birds is correct
It's so stark. I moved to South Philly a few months ago, and the last thing I expected to see was hills in Fairmount Park.
Did you hear they might make more king of the hill episodes?
Old retired teacher here. I taught the fall line to upper elementary kids. They loved it. Our largest city, Tuscaloosa, is on the fall line. Kids loved to learn about settlers rafting up the Warrior River with all their worldly possessions (took 17 days on average) only to discover a large waterfall here. Folks would have to take rafts out of the water, move all their possessions above the waterfall to continue. Often people would get to this point and decide settling here was just fine. Old deer trails, then native trails led into northern Alabama. This was all long, long before railroads. Subbed. Like your channel, makes me think. Geography is good for us all... Open-mouthed ten year olds staring in wonder or creaky old nanas fondly remember the past.... Thank you.
I learned about the fall line in fifth grade at an elementary school two miles from Piedmont, SC. This was the first time I was taught to see patterns in the background for the reasons that things developed the way they did. One other pattern that you see in the coastal plain is how people voted. The blue counties in the South follow a line that reflect the location of antebellum plantations.
Have you ever seen Deontay wilder ?
I've never seen Deon'tay Wilder, but then again neither has Stevie Wonder.
Have you ever seen a squonk's tears?
Nice to see Alabamian kids eager to earn about their state’s history and geography. I was raised about an hour north of Tuscaloosa and didn’t learn of any this unfortunately
Sounds like you were an excellent teacher! It's a real talent to be able to bring the past alive so kids can picture it and understand it.
Another importance of the fall line is fresh water. I live in Delaware that is mostly flat in the 2 southern counties. The creeks are tidal, so with each tide the water flow goes forward and backward, up and down the stream. Any waste in the water doesn't immediately go away. The northern county is hilly and the creeks are not tidal. The water was safe to drink. This is where most of the population is.
Really good point. Development east of the Fall Line from New Jersey to Georgia was much slower than west of it. This didn't impact New England because it had freshwater rivers that went right up to the ocean.
@@whyisthereacitythere6768 I agree, a very good point. It proves the power of group think.
Not just that, but it also meant that supplying city water was much easier. A small diversion dam just above the falls could divert water into a canal, and the pressure from the elevation drop across the falls meant that the water could flow through filters and pipes without needing pumps to move it. In the early days, that made it much easier and cheaper to build and run municipal water systems. Washington, DC actually still gets its water supply from a small diversion dam on the Potomac, just above Little Falls. Even if part of the city was above the highest level of the river above the falls, you could run the pumps with water power rather than needing to pay for expensive coal. That’s what Philadelphia did with the water works on the Schuylkill. And that ability to readily supply clean fresh water mattered a lot for a city’s future in the days when cholera epidemics were a thing.
Huh, I'm in Delaware too, and never really thought about it that way. I figured population was just due to proximity to the major cities. Throw freshwater into the mix, and it makes a whole lot of sense. I suppose that's why I can ride the flow of water on the Brandywine, but just wade in the still water down south. Geography is so neat.
Also notable is the geologic origin of the Fall Line. It follows the greatest extent of the ancient Atlantic shoreline. (The coastal plain was under water, but not the piedmont.)
Bam!
I was looking for this comment.
Which is how we got the biggest swamp in the world
The fall line also affects the weather as well. I live in Philadelphia and that fall line determines what areas will freeze first. Just that little elevation can mean freezing rain or regular rain or how much snow you get, fog or no fog etc.. I-95 runs right along the edge of the piedmont in our area. It's pretty common here during a weather event forecasters will mention "If you're east of 95, you'll get this, or if you're west of 95, you'll get this."
It is worth another video to explore. I am sure there are trends and points not necessarily obvious where weather breaks dramatically for seemingly no visually obvious reason.
That's interesting. Where I live in South Florida, I-95 also is a dividing line. East of 95, we are treated to ridiculously high homeowner insurance rates while west of 95, the rates are only terrible.
🤬😄
@@rogermccaslin5963 Maybe related to hurricane risks?
@@BifMcAwesome
That is certainly their excuse but what is the risk difference from the east side of 95 to the west side of 95, a difference of maybe 200 feet? Unlike an actual difference in the landscape that could actually affect the weather on either side of that line that Johnny Bee wrote about, our I-95 dividing line is an arbitrary plot on the map. A hurricane on the east side of I-95 will also be on the west side of I-95 (it's only a distance of about 2 miles to the ocean).
They use the same expression here in the DMV area for our weather as well. I-95 is like a magical wall where everything changes lol
Always a treat. I remember coming across the concept of the Fall Line years ago, and it changed the way I looked at the geography of the US. I now look for the underlying reason an area was settled and grew, whenever I visit somewhere new.
4
It's always a clue how many towns and cities have "Falls" or something similar in their names: Sioux Falls, Cedar Rapids, Wichita Falls, etc.
@@johnalden5821 aha! Another person from WI
Cities and towns being settled at the furthest navigable point on a river is a pretty common occurrence. I live in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia which was the furthest navigable point up the Brisbane river. Coal and timber used to be shipped down to Brisbane from Ipswich and everything going further west than Ipswich had to go by train. In fact the first rail line here in Queensland started here in Ipswich and went out to the west. They didn’t build a rail line from Brisbane to Ipswich until much later as it wasn’t required with the ability to transport goods and people by boat between Brisbane and Ipswich.
To this day, navigable rivers cause a stark contrast between success and failure for cities. Moving things by water is still the cheapest and most efficient method.
Canals and navigational dams can increase the navigability by hundreds or even thousands of miles.
I’m sure the US explained series takes a ton of work and is ridiculously time consuming, but damn, those videos are good
Of the cities mentioned, I've lived (or been temporarily stationed) in Raleigh, Fayetteville, Augusta, Columbus, and Shelby County, AL (between Montgomery and Tuscaloosa), and now I know why - thanks!
Yeah, this is an excellent little video.
Excellent explanation of the "Gnat Line" so called because the population of gnats in GA drops off significantly as you cross it going north.
I was in the army at Ft. Gordon near Augusta. On a field exercise, a cook told me to be sure to put lots of black pepper on my mashed potatoes so I wouldn't notice how many gnats I was eating.
@@larrywelch9738 ... Hadn't heard that one. 😁
It's the gnat line because they are sand gnats and require sandy soil so once you get above the fall line (even if it's just 2-3 miles) they can't live in the clay soil.
@@raydaniel2490which is also explained by the geologic formation of the fal line, which used to be the atlantic coast, and therefore beaches, when sea levels were higher
This is fully interesting, twice as filling as half as interesting.
Darn, beat me to it.
@@jpheitman1 There's always the next video.
😂😂😂
Through North Carolina, the main New York-Florida east coast rail line runs around 15 miles east of the fall line - easier to lay rails on the flat coastal plain. Today, Interstate 95 roughly parallels the railroad. The city of Raleigh was created from scratch in the 1780s as the state capital, and lies 15-20 miles upstream from the fall line. The fall line was unrelated to Raleigh's economy - it helped protect the new city against attacks from the sea, as the British had done against the old coastal capital of New Bern during the Revolution.
Agree - Raleigh isn’t a fall line city and isn’t in fact on any waterway. Even the railroads came long, long after its establishment as a planned capital city.
It’s kinda crazy as an NC resident when you head east into Raleigh on 40/85 it always appears as if your looking down into the city
@@Flameancer That's I-40 dipping into a triassic basin near Durham. I-85 doesn't go to Raleigh.
Raleigh is more like 30 miles upstream of the fall line along the Neuse River, a modest waterway about six miles east of downtown. The capital city's location (on a small hill) was thanks to a popular roadside bar, not the river.
Maine: All the pleasures of New England without any of the people. And we like it that way.
Quit lying y'all paying ppl to move up there
@@JonJon-du9ne I don't know how you got the people who live here confused with the asinine politicians that Portland and Augusta elect. Seems like an easy distinction to make. I'm not paying people to do shit save for perhaps make me a hamburger at a restaurant.
@@samwill7259I'm just saying Maine thirsty for ppl to come up there.
Haha. don't worry I might pull up and be your neighbor. 😊
@@JonJon-du9ne Hunker down and pack a puff jacket. There's plenty of woopie pies and cheap lobster to go around.
@@samwill7259 🤤😆😋
I grew up in Louisville Kentucky, the falls of the Ohio means you had to unload your barges and go around the falls over land and get back on the water up or down stream, depending on travel direction. Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky for this reason.
I live on the fall line in Richmond, VA. Always been fascinated by how the mountainous regions dissolve into the piedmont and eventually the costal plain. It was something we learned in elementary school and was drilled into our heads for a long time, but then going down to the river and seeing the rapids right there in the city really cemented it in. Great video, really enjoyed it!
Also, not to mention the history of Virginia shows how the Fall Line impacts the placement of cities along Virginia's main waterways. For example, Virginia's first capital was Jamestown, the site of the first permanent settlement by the British on the East Coast of North America, which was chosen because it was on a peninsula (now an island) that jabs into the James River, which was thought to be useful as the water from river floods could irrigate the soil for corn and tobacco to grow, as well as provide a source of fresh water for the settlers to wash and drink. However, the water from the James wasn't really sweet, as the settlement was located east of the present-day VA-156 bridge, meaning, technically, by modern-day standards, was located in saltwater territory. In scientific terms, the water near Jamestown was brackish, or saline enough to be noticed but not as much as the ocean waters. Because of that, the capital was moved to Williamsburg, mostly because there were less mosquitoes as it was farther away from the river enough for small irrigation systems to be built. However, still, they couldn't solve the water fresher issue, and, along with the population moving westward, the capital was moved again to Richmond, and it was chosen to be built on the exact spot it currently is located is because of the Fall Line. As you can see, the James River is mostly straight, with the only meandering points near the borders of Henrico, Chesterfield, and Charles City counties, where canals were dug so boats could pass through. Eventually, the shipping boats could no longer travel inland, as they reached the Fall Line, along with several islands like Belle Isle and Mayo Island with the waters being shallow enough one can wade in, so they chose that piece of land to build the current capital of Virginia. Through the 19th century, Richmond became a popular railroad hub, along with Atlanta and Savannah in Georgia, as well as being the home of the first electric streetcar in the Western Hemisphere in 1888 thanks to a hydroelectric dam built right west of the Fall Line on the James River. If the Fall Line didn't exist, probably, Richmond could be built closer to Lynchburg in the modern day. Also, the capitals moving inland was quite popular for several US states and countries of the world, such as how South Carolina moved its capital from Charleston to Columbia, Georgia randomly choosing Atlanta due to it being a railroad stop, Florida moving from St. Augustine to some other capital to Tallahassee, the United States (in general) moving its capital from Philadelphia to Washington DC, Pennsylvania moving from Philadelphia (again) to Harrisburg, New York from NYC to Albany, Canada from Toronto to Ottawa, Texas from San Antonio to Austin, Brazil from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia, Turkey from Istanbul to Ankara, England from Winchester to London, Australia from Melbourne to Canberra, Saudi Arabia from Mecca / Medina to Riyadh, Pakistan from Karachi to Islamabad, Kazakhstan from Alma-Ata / Almaty to Nur-Sultan / Astana, and Ivory Coast / Cote d'Ivoire from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro.
I95 is a good approximation of the Fall Line, one, because highways connect those cities of course, but also because the fall line would have the cheapest construction costs: they would likely rise in both perpendicular directions: more long bridges across estuaries towards the Atlantic, and more ups and downs/hills and mountains west to the Piedmont and eventually the Appalachian Mountains. Where I live in MD I95 and the relatively inconsequential falls we have are within a mile.
Same in Florida. I grew up in St. Augustine, about 3 miles from I-95. We are just about the halfway point between Jacksonville and Daytona. Development here in Florida over the last 30-40 years has closely followed the I-95 corridor.
I'm in Roanoke Rapids, NC. Yes, there are rapids in the Roanoke River here, and yes, it's on I-95.
I95 is only an approximation in Virginia and northwards. In North Carolina I95 heading south soon deviates widely from the fall line which heads in a south-westerly direction.
@@FloridaManMatty Development following interstates is a recent phenomenon and has _nothing_ to do with the fall line developments.
@@pulaski1 They part about halfway down NC, roughly at Smithfield in Johnston County.
I currently live in Fredericksburg, VA for 20 years and we are rapidly getting new residents from all across the state the last 5 years and didn’t know why. Now I know why. Thank you for the explanation😇🙏🏾
I think it would be great if you did more videos on similar topics. Also, can't wait til you cover the next state in the states explained series 👍
Yes! Please do more like this. Geography and other organic influences on settlement, industry, and logistics has always fascinated me.
This video makes me miss living in the Baltimore City/County area in Maryland. I grew up there and some of my fondest memories are hiking the trails and playing in the rivers in the Patapsco State Park area. The area above the Fall Line is starkly visible in places like Ellicott City.
Howard County resident here. Yes, Ellicott City absolutely illustrates what the video is talking about. You also have Jones Falls, Gunpowder Falls, Gwynn's Falls -- all those names represent the siting of Baltimore right where the fall line met the Chesapeake Bay. So, boom, you have power for the mills and a nearby port and harbor to export the finished goods. BTW/Ellicott City still has a remnant of the oldest train station still left in the U.S. The B&O Railroad was built in the 1830s to capture the trade in goods coming eastward to Baltimore from the newly opened territories in western Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio. Chief among those goods was coal. Coal could make it to Baltimore and be placed on ships faster by railroad than going all the way down the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers. The B&O was the first railroad in the U.S.
I grew up in Baltimore City but close to Catonsville and Ellicott City. Moved to Columbia, SC because I could not handle all the snow we were getting. Traveling up amd down 95 is what I still do. I miss the seafood in MD
As a Saint Louis native, I find the settlement and development patters of Mississippi towns to be fascinating. The differences between Western bank and Eastern bank towns, the importance of nearby topography and river confluences, and the socioeconomic patterns of development within river towns as they expand away from the river. I would love to see a deep dive into that world.
Thank you for this excellent video. I live west of the Mississippi and don’t know much about the eastern part of our country, so this was super interesting. I also enjoyed comments by people from “back east” with their local information about the Fall Line. Thanks to all.
Thanks for your comment. I actually don't recall ever learning about this topic. I do live in the desert, but still...
Fascinating video. I love how geography secretly determines everything!
Read Robert B. Kaplan's "Revenge of Geography", to see how it effects global geo-politics as well!
Well, the USSR is a tailor-made refutation to geological determinism. They had every imaginable resource yet a 3rd world economy. Capitalism will always be the main factor. Underdevelopment is a state of mind.
As a Georgia native I'm familiar with our section of the fall line, but I had no idea it went so far north. Thanks for a bit of education!
As a resident of Macon, GA, I thoroughly enjoyed this video! Also, I would love to see some more videos about Southern history! Thanks for the awesome videos and blessings!
Fredericksburg, VA! I've always been interested in History. So I've often come across the fact that Fxbg was originally founded on a "fall line" but had no context to understand that important concept, until now. Seeing the pictures in the video of the various terrains seriously helped, being familiar with much of the area and broader East Coast.
I just went camping there last week with my extended family. And now that I think about it, half the group went on a simi-white water raft ride.
Yes! We meet at last, fellow local!
@@bammmyouuu7752 Where are you from? I'm actually in Virginia Beach
@@noahway13 I’m from Fredericksburg! Why else would I greet Carter like a fellow brethren?
@@bammmyouuu7752 You could have been close to the city, not in it. Just curious.
I found this video to be fascinating. Great video as always!
Another great video - thanks for taking the time
Great video! Not many people realize how important the fall line was for the development of transportation technology. In the early 1800s, the new city of Washington found itself in an economic rivalry with the existing city of Baltimore. The National Road began at Baltimore and went over the Appalachians roughly along the line of the Potomac. Civic leaders realized that if they could build a canal along the Potomac, around Great Falls, they could divert shipping to the Washington ports, which were navigable all the way to and from the Atlantic. So, Washington built the C&O Canal. But by the time they completed it, there was this new thing that had been invented over in the UK: the steam locomotive. Baltimore got right on that, and the B&O Railroad became the first commercial railroad in the U.S. Baltimore basically said, "I'll see your canal and raise you a railroad." As a result, for most of the next two centuries, Baltimore was a major industrial center and port, and Washington was just the national capital. It basically showed that railroads would trump canals in most parts of the country.
Canals are best used over shorter distances and lower elevations. The C&O Canal was doomed to fail because it requires too much elevation change over too long a distance before it finally reaches a navigable port in Pittsburgh and the Ohio River. They kept building and building the canal over decades in the early 19th century, making it almost 200 miles out to western Maryland (Cumberland) and STILL had hundreds of miles and myriad elevation changes to cross over the Appalachian Mountains into western Pennsylvania and finally over to Pittsburgh. It was folly trying to build there from the start. Conversely, the Erie Canal was custom made to make New York explode into what it became.
@@zyxwut321 So many locks to build and maintain!
Megalopolises are interesting, it would be cool if you made a video on the topic
that's what i was just thinking
@Safwaan gulf coast and Texas triangle are where it’s at
@Safwaan I’m subbed to him, must not have seen that video yet
@Safwaan He says Northeast megalopolis actually, there is nothing northwest
I'm currently living in a small county in NC where the piedmont almost meets the coastal plain. Our city is small in comparison but it is within commuting/shopping/entertainment distance of two of the cities mentioned in this video. Coming from a metropolis in the coastal plain state of Florida, my new home in the still beautifully forested, rolling hills 400 feet above sea level still tickles me after 3 years of residency. I am surrounded by small towns and farms, but also within day-trip distance of enjoying any cosmopolitan amenities that I might miss.
Minneapolis here. Our city grew up to be the flour milling capital of the world, at the first falls of the Mississippi River. The falls themselves served to power the mills, further cementing the utility of the location.
I live inland CT in a suburb of the capitol. So many of our small towns are packed with history. There are MANY sites of of mills either noted historically or even still in use. Lots of small falls through here as well. Comprehendible content. Thank you!
Hartford is just below the Connecticut River's fall line, marked by the Enfield Rapids (right near where I live). Before the construction of the Windsor Locks Canal Hartford was about as far north as you could go on the river. Connecticut's hilly geography and abundance of small, fast-moving streams was one of the reasons we were one of the country's foremost industrial centers in the 19th century. Bad place for agriculture, but good for water-powered mills!
@@whateversusan I'd like to hear more from this channel about the settling of the Connecticut river valley.
Awesome content as always
Love the content man - keep it coming
Great video! Thanks for making it
I live in Macon, the geography subtly but distinctly changes on the north end of town compared to the south, and the river actually flows across the middle of the picture you posted of Macon. There used to be a big wharf along the river in the 1800s, but the economy has changed significantly since then. It's no longer there today.
I m originally from Warner Robins and can totally agree. North of Macon looks and even feels different than south if it.
Gnats galore in WR. Not nearly as many in Gray...
@@bobbyearl60 Weird how the gnats seem to have a primordial memory of where the ocean used to be, but not mosquitoes (no "Mosquito Line" anywhere east of about the 100th meridian).
@@andyjay729 yep. I live over 800 miles north of the fall line now and can testify that i am still well south of the Mosquito line if there is one.
My best guess is the Mosquito Line correlates roughly with the Polar Bear Line...
@@bobbyearl60 Someone else further down the comments said the South GA gnats breed only in sandy soil, which was originally underwater. North of the line you have harder continental soil which the gnats can't breed in.
This was a great video, but he should've mentioned how the Fall Line actually corresponds to an ancient shoreline MUCH older than the Ice Age which removed the coastal plain north of NYC and thus encouraged New England's leading cities to be developed on the coast. As this video explains, it left behind some geological traces which are still felt in the region (and nation as a whole) today.
ua-cam.com/video/VTV-uZZuFMA/v-deo.html
I live on one in GA. I like it. I've lived on the great lakes, both coasts and the desert. This place is pretty decent though it's heyday is long past.
Great video. 💯
Thank you for all of your hard work on this channel!
Well done. Most informative. I was aware of the fall line, having lived in Atlanta, but you have deepened my appreciation for the history and influence of the fall line.
I love geography and looking at maps. I didn’t know about the fall line so found it very interesting. I have been to Washington DC and plan to go to Montgomery this summer. Keep making interesting videos.
I live very close to the fall line in York, PA named after York England in fact were called the white rose city named after the battle of the roses I live about 2 hours from Philly and an hour and a half from Baltimore and I always found this topic extremely interesting thank you for relaying this knowledge to others, I think the east coast of America is a very interesting place that follows more patterns than anyone thinks! Keep up the great content. Also my father lived in Paterson NJ when he was younger
York, South Carolina however is something like 50 miles inland from the fall line. The fall line does touch one corner of Lancaster County, South Carolina, though - but not the city of Lancaster itself. The nearest big city, Charlotte, grew due to the railroads rather than the rivers.
Fantastic explanation for settling, thank you once again 👍
This is really interesting. I've never heard this discussed before and it makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the video
For interstates, I-20 in Augusta on the Columbia County/Richmond County Line brings you down almost 200 feet, right on the fall line
More like 130ft or less, downtown sits at 130 ish, the lowest point in Augusta is 104ft
@@Yicahti You're at 400 feet in Columbia county and once you get to I-520 junction going eastbound you're at 250 and you go below 200 at Exit 199
This is super interesting to me because here in New Zealand we really only have a few short navigable rivers and river trade was never much of a thing. Interesting how different it is
As stated in the video it had a lot to do with how many of the northeast cities became early centers then huge manufacturing and trade centers. I live in Philly and it’s apparent. Even falls literally just a mile west of city hall. Trenton just up the Delaware is right at a small waterfall and became the start of one of the earliest canals. Geography can be fascinating. New Zealand looks absolutely amazing. I need to make a trip there
Their closeness to the ocean generally less than 20-50 miles also helped
@@pcariola1 Yeah certainly. It's very different and neat to me. Big navigable rivers in general are quite interesting to me really but you are correct that they were huge trade hubs and the colonies themselves were obviously massively trade oriented right from the start. The main rivers near to me and where I grew up are all braided which are their own really neat thing for bird breeding colonies etc and probably would be seen as quite an oddity to a lot of Americans. Very different and I'm certainly looking at taking a trip there someday (especially to Massachusetts)
@@boodashaka2841 yep still today the cargo ships line up in these ports. This particular area was also instrumental for WWII with the Philadelphia ship yard building cargo ships to supply the European front. They at their peak where launching one cargo ship a day then with 80k people working there
@@boodashaka2841 the area at that time also had the largest steel works (fairlesss Hills US steel works) literally right at the fall line just south of Trenton and just north of Philly
Richmond, Va here. Great video!!
You do a really great job on these videos! Thanks for sharing!
Great video.
In Trenton , New Jersey the fall line is visible where the Delaware River cuts through it over a series of small waterfalls. When a Beluga whale wonder up the river from Delaware Bay it got as far as the down stream extent of the fall line and then had to turn back.
now "That is Interesting"!
Having grown up in bucks county I always biked on the tow paths (pa and nj sides). It’s interesting how geography created the placement of Trenton right at the falls and then later the canal and river (furthest Delaware river ocean access) helped make Trenton to manufacturing powerhouse. It’s so interesting to put the pieces together. Also the fall line and foothills are such a stark line. Like compare Hamilton (flat) to Washington crossing (rather hilly) just miles apart
The fall line for Niagra Falls is interesting.
Thanks for sharing. Fall Line is a new concept to me.
One of the most interesting videos I’ve seen in a while. Informative and concise. Well done!
I grew up in New Jersey in the 1960’s and can assure you that every kid in 5th grade could explain this fall line to you!
Very interesting video. As someone from New Hampshire, I can vouch for the biggest city in the state, Manchester, being worthy of mention in this video. The city started as a small textile mill town on a river with a waterfall. But as the Industrial Revolution expanded, the city grew, and is now home to more than 100,000 people.
People generally don't think about how or why cities develop, but geography does play a vital role. The surrounding geography can make or break a town's chance to flourish into a city.
I would also think that Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire qualify as part of this string as well. Boston is a low-lying city surrounded by rivers, not unlike NYC, and has vast hills in the western half of the state. New Hampshire has several large towns and cities in the southeast, but the rest of the state is hilly terrain before transitioning into the tip of the Appalachians.
Springfield Armory in Massachusetts, which supplied arms for the military from 1777, is located just above the fall line of the Connecticut River. The falls supplied power and provided a natural defense in that the British could not navigate the river up to the armory.
Good stuff. Excellent video.
Thank you for spending the time and energy to create a d share this content 🙏🏾
Having lived in Washington, great falls, a large waterfall, is just west of the city. The river is tidal down stream of the falls. Tidal rivers are great for transport as they change direction with the tide. In effect being able to ship downstream at different times of the tide. I knew tidal part but never considered the economic effect until watching your shows. Is there a tidal line for coastal rivers?
Fantastic video! I live in the Western United States and, sometimes, I've wondered why the population hasn't exploded more than it has out here. I think, even in the 21st century, population centers still need easy access to major water sources. So, even though the populations are growing out here, I wonder if they will stagnate at some point.
Definitely - when the water runs out!
A few years ago, I noticed on an electricity-use map of the U.S., you could basically draw a straight line from the lowest tip of Texas all the way up, and everything West of the line goes dark. Even states we think of as being mostly rural, like Arkansas, are more populated than what lies west. I later learned from a UA-cam video- perhaps it was from this channel- that this is due to a rise in elevation in the Western U.S.
A case can be made to say that the stagnation has already begun.
yeah the west doesnt have water. except for the pacific northwest, and california could avoid some of its water problems if it invested in desalination
Wow! I truly geek out on stuff like this. Incredible content!
excellent video , learnt loads.. thanks for putting it together
There was a steamship line called "The Fall River" line out of New York City. It went north along Long Island Sound. The was a fall line along the shore.
Minneapolis, MN is the head of navigation on the Mississippi River. It was also the site of waterwheels to power grain mills.
Red Bluff, CA was as far as riverboats could go up the Sacramento River.
Fall River line is likely named after the city in Massachusetts, "Fall River". Maybe the fall line runs through that city? Not sure but very interesting.
I thought Long Island Sound runs east and west, not north and south....?
@@dabprod It is in between North-South and East-West. The old sailors had a way of describing that. It was something like North by Northwest. We are both kind of right, but not entirely.
Other oddities include schooners built in Grand Rapids and Montrose in Michigan, two places which are definitely not modern day ports and well inland. However, at the time of the 1800s there was a need for small river schooners to serve smaller towns and river ports which led to ships in some cases traveling 50 miles inland and slowly climbing up 50-100 feet before running into a point the small ship couldn't be pushed by wind any further.
The advent of cheap rail eventually made the use of the river schooner, which had a smaller capacity than the train car obsolete to the point a railroad bridge in Saginaw, 30 miles down river of Montrose is a rigid fixed structure while all bridges downstream of Saginaw are either very tall or have moving parts which explains why Flint is the industrial center between Saginaw and Detroit and not Montrose as the cost for shipping to Montrose was more expensive with three railyard stops instead of just two.
Portland, OR is a strange one. It grew up as a deepwater port, with fall lines maybe 20 miles away along both rivers. Oregon city definitely grew up this way on the Willamette River, but the Columbia River breaks the trend. Probably because by the time people were thinking about trying to ship goods past the Cascades, either locks or the railroad had set up to get things to Portland.
Indeed. Another "natural" place for a city is a Deepwater port. New York City is first and foremost a Deepwater Port. Albany is on the fall line.
That WAS interesting. Thank you. 🦋
I’m not surprised that this video is doing well. I think a lot of people are interested in urban development (including me) and this is something I didn’t know. Nice work!
I live in Rochester and can confirm - we have a water fall along the Genesee River that is right in the heart of downtown. There used to be an old flour mill there; now there’s a brewery.
There are lots of other water falls in western ny too (Niagara being the biggest).
I just ate at the Brewhouse last week Lindsay....
I think your falls are part of the Niagara Escarpment. Fascinating in it's own right, but not related to the Fall Line.
@@robrussell5329 strong possibility. I am no expert here.
Could this also be known as an escarpment? Brazil has a very noticeable one that really inhibits their infrastructure.
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I believe escarpments are steeper slopes whereas piedmonts are gentle slopes.
Escarpments are far steeper, perhaps more akin to a cliff than a piedmont. In the case of Brazil and much of the southern half of Africa, this escarpment located a short distance away from the coast is very characteristic.
Excellent! Answered so many questions. Keep them coming.
Excellent video, thank you!
Very cool. Having grown up in Edison, NJ, I do have a small correction about the three New York City suburbs mentioned in the video: Paterson is the northernmost of the three localities, by a good 30 miles. Edison and East Brunswick, both located in Middlesex County, are only about 10 miles apart. I now live in Howard County, Maryland, so I guess I’m still on the fall line. 🤷🏽♂️
Paterson is still on the fall line. Haven’t you seen the Great Falls at Paterson? The fall line does some weird snaking around northern NJ before reaching the Hudson but that’s why you see palisades on the NJ side.
@@dr.woozie7500 I know; I didn’t say Paterson wasn’t on the fall line. Around the 8:05 mark, he listed the five NJ cities on the fall line “from north to south,” but he ordered them incorrectly, mistakenly placing Paterson between East Brunswick and Princeton. Of course, Paterson-not Edison-is the northernmost of the five localities.
This is why I think it’s funny when ppl say the US Is getting overpopulated. Not even close 😂 we just need more cities and less suburbs
it is in some areas... and for the housing it is getting overpopulated
We need more affordable housing in cities. Had to move out of Brooklyn because all new construction is “luxury” housing and nothing for people who are just trying to make an honest living
Your videos are always quite interesting. Subbed. Thanks!
Wow, that's interesting! As a geography nut who lives along this line near Columbia, SC, I found your video informative and well done. Looking forward to more!
Really cool but I heard about this already. Would be cool to explore other fall lines around the world.
Not all of us have heard about it, so it's cool he made a video explaining it. And yes, it would be interesting to see other fall lines in other parts of the world.
i used to live in Denver and i found it interesting that most of the people who live in Colorado live in a line of cities that parallel the front rage
Great video! Thanks, I learned something!
Another interesting video ☺ Keep up the good work!
Doesn’t the string split at Richmond tho with a second one going through Greensboro, Charlotte, Greenville, Atlanta and Birmingham?
The cities you list line up for a different reason... they sit near the western edge of the Piedmont, in front of the mile-high mountain wall of the southern Appalachians. Back in the day, the railroads had to swing south to find a practical route around the end of the mountain range and to the west, which they found at Atlanta.
@@loopshackr Ah that makes sense. Thanks
2:20 the Catskills are nowhere near 30 miles from Long Island sound. The Catskills at closest are just under 70 miles from the closest point on the Long Island sound. The Bronx can barely lay claim to foothills IMO. The foothills in Westchester really start north of white plains. I also want you to know that I enjoy your videos a lot and they are every interesting.
True, but you probably know that NYC is very hilly (maybe not with true foothills, but still very noticeable), especially in northern Manhattan (which of course is Lenape Indian for "hilly island") and the Bronx, and the very hard bedrock in Manhattan provided the anchors for the city skyline. As a Circle Line tour guide put it, relatively flat Brooklyn and Queens are "gneiss" to build in; Manhattan and the Bronx are "schist" to build in. Meanwhile New Jersey's coastline turns from vertical to (briefly) horizontal at Sandy Hook.
Your content is excellent. Well done and thank you.
very great video. Well done!
3:45 your green line needs to include Connecticut and Rhode Island. RI is very flat, the highest point is only 800 ft and it's pretty far inland. Connecticut too. Eastern Mass has some hills but you could still include more of the Cape up to Boston
800 ft sounds like a mountain range for someone used to Florida. We're a glorified sand bar.
lol only 800 ft bro I'm from the mountains and that's very, very high.
For comparison, Rhode Island is the smallest state in America and the highest point in Florida, a state that is 52 times the size of RI, is only 345 feet.
@@cvrator And that high point is way up in the panhandle. The peninsula is much flatter.
@@Primalxbeast Guys, the same applies to Rhode Island. It's in the far northwest of the state and it's only 1 point. You can draw a line including coastal Connecticut, Rhode Island at least halfway up (Providence is at sea level!), and eastern Mass including all the land between Boston and Providence out to the Cape. The fall line does not meet sea level at NYC lol.
I love stuff like this, like how the geography effects human settlement. You might check out the Ulster migration. Partially driven by geography... Partially by tribalism & a desire to be beyond the reach of the law.
Great work.. Looking forward to future content.
Excellent video. Just subbed.
I thoroughly enjoyed your video. I’m was born and raised here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I’ve always know that my town was on the fall line of the Black Warrior River. However, I never thought about how much my town had in common with other cities and towns up the East Coast. I’m fifty-six years old and I still love to learn something new every day. Thank you.
I really enjoyed this. I remember learning something of the east coast fall line when I was in school (I had a good history/geography teacher in middle school). But this video really increased my understanding of it. I'd be particularly interested in information about Canada, and the area around the Gulf Of Mexico. I currently live near the Balcones Fault line, which also has a series of cities along it. The fault forms the border between a more hilly land formation, and the lower, flatter coastal planes. Well done; I'm subscribing!
Not only a great video, you perhaps have the world’s only comment section that is a vibrant wealth of great on topic insight.
I’ve been searching for a video like this for so long.
Excellent video and topic!✅👍
Live @ the chesapeake bay and work from Washington DC to Baltimore MD. As a lineman , keeping the lights on. canals are intriguing to me! Keep up the great videshows I love the perspective!
I love your channel. I learn so much.
Very interesting, thank you!
Here in Macon, GA, the Fall Line roughly divides Macon/Bibb County in two. In fact, you can stand with one foot "above" the Fall Line and the other foot "below" it. 😉
Very Interesting. An excellent refresher.
You're right. That WAS interesting!!
I used to live in Milledgeville, GA on the Oconee River, where the Fall Line Freeway passes through and I always was curious about the name. To my knowledge, the first rapids going upstream on the Oconee are located within the city limits and it just clicked. Love learning something new. Thanks!
Great job!
Great video essay!
Great video!
Interesting and very well done!