美国铁路分布分析【英文】

…the Finger Lakes!
The Great Lakes
The Great Lakes form a natural boundary between the United States and British Canada.
Spillover Channels: Draining lakes formed by the melting glaciers
The Quakers
• The Society of Friends was the first organized religious group to ban slave-holding. • They soon aided Freedom Seekers in their escape from slavery. • The Quakers were especially active on Long Island and in eastern New York State.
Pennsylvania
New York’s Glacial Landscape
• Like everywhere on Earth, New York’s landscape was carved by plate tectonics and millions of years of erosion. • In the last million years, New York was invaded several times by massive ice sheets. • This created a landscape “fit” for an Empire State.
• This map by A.C. Flick shows more escape routes to Canada; • Hudson-MohawkNiagara • Susquehanna RiverFinger Lakes • Lake Erie-Niagara • Hudson-Champlain • What other possibilities are there?
The New Landscape!
There are probably thirty N-S troughs in New York State.
If you travel eastward along US Route 20 (or 20A) between Albany and Buffalo, you cross many of them, as you go up and down steep hills. Some are filled with water…
Natural Corridors
• The flood waters from the melting glaciers carved an escape route to the sea. • At one point most of the drainage went to New York City. • This helped create three natural corridors: Hudson Fjord, Champlain Valley, and the Mohawk River.
Comparing the Physical Landscapes
New York
• Ohio (and other Mid-Western States) have a low-relief topography. • New York State has several mountain ranges, with narrow valleys in between. • This forces escape routes along a few distinct pathways, with a limited number of deviations possible. • Another challenge was crossing through Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Mts.
Two More Routes…
Adirondacks Tug Hill
Underground Railroad Map 1
How is the fit?
The Human Factor
• Where is New York in relationship to other “free” states and to the “slave” states? • Does this separation have an impact on the UGRR in New York State?
A Geographer’s Perspective
Timothy McDonnell
New York Geographic Alliance
Route Map of the UGRR
What about New York State? It couldn’t be that simple!
ANOTHER VIEW…
• What groups of people were involved in this very illegal activity? • What means of transportation were used? • Did all routes lead to Canada? Was it a two-way door?
Leabharlann Baidu
Routes that make sense…
From a Physical Geographic point of view!
The Susquehanna Corridor
• The Susquehanna River (and its tributaries) have carved another break through the Appalachian barrier. • This was a third escape route that led into NY’s Southern Tier and beyond. • Glacial troughs in the Finger Lakes Region extend this pathway north and west toward Canada.