8. Thriving Economy

Appalachia consist of region with a relatively poor economy in the past due to the geographically limited access caused by the Appalachian mountains. These mountain ranges limited the affect of the growth spurt the United States was having as it continued to expand west.

The Portland area is similar to the Appalachians because it too is surrounded by mountains. The Cascades surrounded it on the east and the Coastal ranges to the west. Unlike the Appalachians relatively low, smooth ranges, the Cascade and Coastal ranges in Oregon are tall and steep, laced with volcanoes, as discussed in the previous post. However, despite this geographical limitation, Portland grew much faster than the areas within Appalachia (see post 3).

Appalachia's mountain ranges trap the this region from access to the west or east and only allow easy access at the northern and southern regions. Because of this, trade in and out of this region was difficult.

(Modern Freight Train Routes)

Portland on the other hand, has access to the Ocean via the Willamette River and land via freight and other land based transportation networks. Although Appalachia now has decent access by train, it did not have the luxury in its early days before freight service was made available. Porland on the other hand is a much younger region (as far as human immigration) than the Appalachians. This combined with its unique and protected access to the ocean made Portland a recipe for economic growth.