Question 14 Marks
Pittsburgh is an important steel city of the United States of America. The steel industry at Pittsburgh enjoys locational advantages. Some of the raw material such as coal is available locally, while the iron ore comes from the iron mines at Minnesota, about 1500 km from Pittsburgh. Between these mines and Pittsburgh is one of the world's best routes for shipping ore cheaply - the famous Great Lakes waterway. Trains carry the ore from the Great Lakes to the Pittsburgh area.
The Ohio, the Monogahela and Allegheny rivers provide adequate water supply. Today, very few of the large steelmills are in Pittsburgh itself. They are located in the valleys of the Monogahela and Allegheny rivers above Pittsburgh and along the Ohio river below it.
Finished steel is transported to the market by both land and water routes. The Pittsburgh area has many factories other than steel mills. These use steel as their raw material to make many different products such as railroad equipment, heavy machinery and rails.
(i) How is iron ore transported from the iron mines in Minnesota to Pittsburgh?
(ii) What are the locational advantages of Pittsburgh for the steel industry?
(iii) Where are most of the large steel mills located in relation to Pittsburgh today?
The Ohio, the Monogahela and Allegheny rivers provide adequate water supply. Today, very few of the large steelmills are in Pittsburgh itself. They are located in the valleys of the Monogahela and Allegheny rivers above Pittsburgh and along the Ohio river below it.
Finished steel is transported to the market by both land and water routes. The Pittsburgh area has many factories other than steel mills. These use steel as their raw material to make many different products such as railroad equipment, heavy machinery and rails.
(i) How is iron ore transported from the iron mines in Minnesota to Pittsburgh?
(ii) What are the locational advantages of Pittsburgh for the steel industry?
(iii) Where are most of the large steel mills located in relation to Pittsburgh today?
Answer
View full question & answer→(i) Iron ore is transported from the iron mines in Minnesota to Pittsburgh by trains, using the Great Lakes waterway as one of the best routes for cost-effective shipping.
(ii) Locational advantages in Pittsburgh include the availability of local coal, proximity to iron ore mines in Minnesota connected via the Great Lakes waterway, and access to the Ohio, Monogahela, and Allegheny rivers for water supply.
(iii) Today, most of the large steel mills are located in the valleys of the Monogahela and Allegheny Rivers above Pittsburgh and along the Ohio river below it.
(ii) Locational advantages in Pittsburgh include the availability of local coal, proximity to iron ore mines in Minnesota connected via the Great Lakes waterway, and access to the Ohio, Monogahela, and Allegheny rivers for water supply.
(iii) Today, most of the large steel mills are located in the valleys of the Monogahela and Allegheny Rivers above Pittsburgh and along the Ohio river below it.