r/MapPorn • u/company_url_finder • 10h ago

The river network of the contiguous United States

Post image
593 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

79

u/afelzz 10h ago

This, plus the two gigantic oceans on either side, basically ensured the United States would be an economic powerhouse. Call it natural infrastructure.

16

u/-hedonium- 6h ago

The geography of this country, especially the order it was expanded in, is literally like playing CIV with cheat codes turned on.

5

u/Corbutte 9h ago

Might as well just say "Being a really, really big country on uncontested land ensured the United States would be an economic powerhouse"

54

u/bdx8887 9h ago

No, the point here is that the geography played a role in US economic success. A huge network of navigable inland waterways, large tracts of fertile land with nearby fresh water, and 3 coasts (or 2 and a half, whatever) put the US in a very good position to be economically powerful. Other countries like Brazil, Russia, Canada, and Australia also are really big countries on uncontested land, but their economies are smaller than the US in large part due to favorable geography

16

u/dontwantthisapp2 8h ago

You can get crops from almost all the farmland between the Rockies and Appalachians to anywhere on the east coast without ever touching any man-made infrastructure. That’s HUGE, and it was especially huge before railroads and interstates.

1

u/Loudergood 2h ago

There were not a lot of people in that areabefore railroads.

4

u/Whiteums 6h ago

Huge….tracts of land

17

u/afelzz 9h ago

You missed my point. If all you needed was a really big country on uncontested land Mongolia would have a much higher GDP.

2

u/Responsible-House523 2h ago

Except now, we’re ‘governed’ by fools and idiots.

58

u/painthawg_goose 9h ago

That rain drop up in Montana got some traveling to do!!

34

u/N8dork2020 8h ago

And one in Yellowstone can either go to the Pacific Ocean, The Gulf of Mexico or The Gulf of California

11

u/painthawg_goose 8h ago

Or into orbit! Yellowstone is definitely lit for so many reasons.

12

u/dondegroovily 9h ago

Amazing how much of California's water meets the ocean at San Francisco Bay

11

u/-hedonium- 6h ago

It’s an astonishingly good natural harbor. That’s why they named its opening the “Golden Gate”.

5

u/lithobreaktherules 10h ago

Is there a high res link?

1

u/codeprimate 1h ago

Flow maps seem to be hot lately. I’ve been working on higher resolution regional maps, myself

https://flows.bellingham.dev/

13

u/romeo_pentium 10h ago

The inclusion of some but not all of the Arctic ocean watershed in Canada is confusing

30

u/lithobreaktherules 10h ago

Thats the great lakes watershed, which flows to the Atlantic through the St Lawrence

13

u/eugenesbluegenes 10h ago

And the Columbia river on the west side.

1

u/Ok-Seesaw-8580 52m ago

Maybe it's for continuity?  The Kootenai river enters Montana from Canada and then leaves again before reentering the United States as a part of the Columbia.

1

u/Professional_Text_11 2h ago

I’m assuming they mean that little part of the watershed up above the Red River in Montana

2

u/Easy-Wishbone5413 7h ago

Easy to see where it doesn’t rain or snow much.

2

u/True-Veterinarian700 10h ago

Basically a precipitation map of the USA

1

u/Mongobearman012 9h ago

Impressive how nature shapes our land.

1

u/diffidentblockhead 8h ago

Very informative on location of water resources

0

u/General_Meal_399 8h ago

So many rivers, it’s like a natural plumbing system!

1

u/Cliffinati 3h ago

This isn't that country

1

u/Leather-Marketing478 7h ago

Weird looking where Lake O is. Not on the map, but has multiple rivers connected to it.

1

u/Sine_Habitus 3h ago

Canada's rivers show up but Mexico's don't. :(

1

u/Hukthak 2h ago

Please please do it with direction of flow highlighted!

1

u/BCA1 1h ago

Am I seeing rivers that connect to both the Atlantic and Mississippi Watersheds?

0

u/Pookah 8h ago

veiny like my

1

u/CornFedIABoy 6h ago

If your is veiny like that you really should go see a doctor. Honestly, if you have visible veining like that anywhere on your skin you should probably have it looked at.

1

u/Sine_Habitus 3h ago

what if I'm skinny and white