Class12 Geography1 HumanGeography Unit08 NCERT TextBook EnglishEdition

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  • Unit-IIIUnit-IIIUnit-IIIUnit-IIIUnit-IIIChapter-8

    Transport andCommunication

    Natural resources, economic activities andmarkets are rarely found in one place.Transport, communication and trade establishlinks between producing centres andconsuming centres. The system of massproduction and exchange is complex. Eachregion produces the items for which it is bestsuited. Trade or the exchange of suchcommodities relies on transportation andcommunication. Likewise, the high livingstandards and quality of life depend on efficienttransportation, communications and trade. Inearlier days, the means of transport andcommunication were the same. But today bothhave acquired distinct and specialised forms.Transport provides the network of links andcarriers through which trade takes place.

    TRANSPORTRANSPORTRANSPORTRANSPORTRANSPORTTTTT

    Transport is a service or facility for the carriageof persons and goods from one place to the otherusing humans, animals and different kinds ofvehicles. Such movements take place over land,water and air. Roads and railways form part ofland transport; while shipping and waterwaysand airways are the other two modes. Pipelinescarry materials like petroleum, natural gas, andores in liquidified form.

    Moreover, transportation is an organisedservice industry created to satisfy the basicneeds of society. It includes transport arteries,vehicles to carry people and goods, and theorganisation to maintain arteries, and to handleloading, unloading and delivery. Every nationhas developed various kinds of transportationfor defence purposes. Assured and speedytransportation, along with efficientcommunication, promote cooperation andunity among scattered peoples.

    What is a Transport Network What is a Transport Network What is a Transport Network What is a Transport Network What is a Transport Network ?????

    Several places (nodes) joined together by aseries of routes (links) to form a pattern.

    MODES OF TRANSPORMODES OF TRANSPORMODES OF TRANSPORMODES OF TRANSPORMODES OF TRANSPORTTTTTAAAAATIONTIONTIONTIONTION

    The principal modes of world transportation,as already mentioned are land, water, air and

  • Fundamentals of Human Geography66

    pipelines. These are used for inter-regional andintra-regional transport, and each one (exceptpipelines) carries both passengers and freight.The significance of a mode depends on the typeof goods and services to be transported, costsof transport and the mode available.International movement of goods is handled byocean freighters. Road transport is cheaper andfaster over short distances and for door-to-door services. Railways are most suited for largevolumes of bulky materials over long distanceswithin a country. High-value, light andperishable goods are best moved by airways.In a well-managed transport system, thesevarious modes complement each other.

    Land Transport

    Most of the movement of goods and servicestakes place over land. In early days, humansthemselves were carriers. Have you ever seen abride being carried on a palanquin (palki/doli)by four persons (Kahars in north India). Lateranimals were used as beasts of burden. Haveyou seen mules, horses and camels, carryingloads of cargo in rural areas? With the inventionof the wheel, the use of carts and wagonsbecame important. The revolution in transportcame about only after the invention of the steamengine in the eighteenth century. Perhaps thefirst public railway line was opened in 1825between Stockton and Darlington in northernEngland and then onwards, railways becamethe most popular and fastest form of transportin the nineteenth century. It opened upcontinental interiors for commercial grainfarming, mining and manufacturing in U.S.A.The invention of the internal combustion enginerevolutionised road transport in terms of roadquality and vehicles (motor cars and trucks)plying over them. Among the newerdevelopments in land transportation arepipelines, ropeways and cableways. Liquids likemineral oil, water, sludge and sewers aretransported by pipelines. The great freightcarriers are the railways, ocean vessels, barges,boats and motor trucks and pipelines.

    In general, the old and elementary formslike the human porter, pack animal, cart orwagon are the most expensive means of

    transportation and large freighters are thecheapest. They are important in supplementingmodern channels and carriers which penetratethe interiors in large countries. In the denselypopulated districts of India and China, overlandtransport still takes place by human porters orcarts drawn or pushed by humans.

    Pack Animals Pack Animals Pack Animals Pack Animals Pack Animals

    Horses Horses Horses Horses Horses are used as a draught animal evenin the Western countries. DogsDogsDogsDogsDogs andreindeerreindeerreindeerreindeerreindeer are used in North America, NorthEurope and Siberia to draw sledges oversnow-covered ground. MulesMulesMulesMulesMules are preferredin the mountainous regions; while camelscamelscamelscamelscamelsare used for caravan movement in deserts.In India, bullocksbullocksbullocksbullocksbullocks are used for pulling carts.

    Fig. 8.2: A horse cart in a village Tefki,in Ethiopia

    Fig. 8.1: Ropeway and Cable cars in Austria

    This means of transport is usually found on steepmountain slopes and mines which are not suitable forbuilding roads.

  • Transport and Communication 67

    Roads

    Road transport is the most economical for shortdistances compared to railways. Freighttransport by road is gaining importancebecause it offers door-to-door service. Butunmetalled roads, though simple inconstruction, are not effective and serviceablefor all seasons. During the rainy season thesebecome unmotorable and even the metalledones are seriously handicapped during heavyrains and floods. In such conditions, the highembankment of rail-tracks and the efficientmaintenance of railway transport service, is aneffective solution. But the rail kilometrage beingsmall cannot serve the needs of vast anddeveloping countries at a low cost. Roads,therefore, play a vital role in a nations tradeand commerce and for promoting tourism.

    The quality of the roads varies greatlybetween developed and developing countriesbecause road construction and maintenancerequire heavy expenditure. In developedcountries good quality roads are universal andprovide long-distance links in the form ofmotorways, autobahns (Germany), and interstate highways for speedy movement. Lorries,of increasing size and power to carry heavyloads, are common. But unfortunately, theworlds road system is not well developed.

    The worlds total motorable road lengthis only about 15 million km, of which NorthAmerica accounts for 33 per cent. The highestroad density and the highest number ofvehicles are registered in this continentcompared to Western Europe.

    Table 8.1: Length of the Roads

    Sl. Countries For everyNo. 100 km2

    area

    1. India 1052. Japan 3273. France 1644. U.K. 1625. U.S.A. 676. Spain 687. Sri Lanka 151

    Source : Encyclopedia Britannica Year Book, 2005.

    Traffic Flows: Traffic on roads hasincreased dramatically in recent years. When

    the road network cannot cope with the demandsof traffic, congestion occurs. City roads sufferfrom chronic traffic congestion. Peaks (highpoints) and troughs (low points) of traffic flowcan be seen on roads at particular times of theday, for example, peaks occurring during therush hour before and after work. Most of thecities in the world have been facing the problemof congestion.

    Think on these lines for aThink on these lines for aThink on these lines for aThink on these lines for aThink on these lines for abetter tomorrow . . .better tomorrow . . .better tomorrow . . .better tomorrow . . .better tomorrow . . .

    URBAN TRANSPORT SOLUTIONSURBAN TRANSPORT SOLUTIONSURBAN TRANSPORT SOLUTIONSURBAN TRANSPORT SOLUTIONSURBAN TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS

    Higher Parking Fee

    Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)

    Improved Public Bus Service

    Expressways

    Highways

    Highways are metalled roads connecting distantplaces. They are constructed in a manner forunobstructed vehicular movement. As suchthese are 80 m wide, with separate traffic lanes,bridges, flyovers and dual carriageways tofacilitate uninterrupted traffic flow. In developedcountries, every city and port town is linkedthrough highways.

    Fig. 8.3 : Dharmavaram Tuni National Highway,India

  • Fundamentals of Human Geography68

    In North America, highway density is high,about 0.65 km per sq km. Every place is within20 km distance from a highway. Cities locatedon the Pacific coast (west) are well-connectedwith those of the Atlantic Coast (east). Likewise,the cities of Canada in the north are linked withthose of Mexico in the south. The Trans-Canadian Highway links Vancouver in BritishColumbia(west coast) to St. Johns City inNewfoundland (east coast) and the AlaskanHighway links Edmonton (Canada) toAnchorage (Alaska).

    The Pan-American Highway, a largeportion of which has been constructed, willconnect the countries of South America, CentralAmerica and U.S.A.-Canada. The Trans-Continental Stuart Highway connects Darwin(north coast) and Melbourne via Tennant Creekand Alice Springs in Australia.

    Europe has a large number of vehicles anda well-developed highway network. Buthighways face a lot of competition from railwaysand waterways.

    In Russia, a dense highway network isdeveloped in the industrialised region west ofthe Urals with Moscow as the hub. Theimportant Moscow-Vladivostok Highway servesthe region to the east. Due to the vastgeographical area, highways in Russia are notas important as railways.

    In China, highways criss-cross the countryconnecting all major cities such as Tsungtso(near Vietnam boundary), Shanghai (centralChina), Guangzhou (south) and Beijing (north).A new highway links Chengdu with Lhasa inTibet.

    In India, there are many highwayslinking the major towns and cities. Forexample, National Highway No. 7 (NH 7),connecting Varanasi with Kanya Kumari, isthe longest in the country. The GoldenQuadrilateral (GQ) or Super Expressway isunderway to connect the four metropolitancities New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore,Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

    In Africa, a highway joins Algiers in thenorth to Conakry in Guinea. Similarly, Cairois also connected to Cape Town.

    Border Roads

    Roads laid along international boundaries arecalled border roads. They play an importantrole in integrating people in remote areas withmajor cities and providing defence. Almost allcountries have such roads to transport goodsto border villages and military camps.

    Railways

    Railways are a mode of land transport forbulky goods and passengers over longdistances. The railway gauges vary in differentcountries and are roughly classified as broad(more than 1.5 m), standard (1.44 m), metregauge (1 m) and smaller gauges. The standardgauge is used in the U.K.

    Commuter trains are very popular in U.K.,U.S.A, Japan and India. These carry millionsof passengers daily to and fro in the city. Thereare about 13 lakh km of railways open for trafficin the world.

    Fig. 8.4: Tube Train in Vienna

    Table 8.2: Total Length of Railways in SelectedCountries (in 100 sq km)

    Sl. Countries For everyNo. 100/km2 area

    1. U.S.A. 278.32. Russia 160.83. India 144.74. Canada 93.55. Germany 90.86. China 70.17. Australia 40.08. U.K. 37.99. France 34.5

    10. Brazil 30.1

    Source : Encyclopaedia Britanica Year Book, 2005.

  • Transport and Communication 69

    Europe has one of the most dense railnetworks in the world. There are about4,40,000 km of railways, most of which isdouble or multiple-tracked. Belgium has thehighest density of 1 km of railway for every 6.5sq kms area. The industrial regions exhibitsome of the highest densities in the world. Theimportant rail heads are London, Paris,Brussels, Milan, Berlin and Warsaw. Passengertransport is more important than freight inmany of these countries. Underground railwaysare important in London and Paris. ChannelTunnel, operated by Euro Tunnel Groupthrough England, connects London with Paris.Trans-continental railway lines have now losttheir importance to quicker and more flexibletransport systems of airways and roadways.

    In Russia, railways account for about 90per cent of the countrys total transport with avery dense network west of the Urals. Moscowis the most important rail head with major linesradiating to different parts of the countrys vastgeographical area. Underground railways andcommuter trains are also important in Moscow.

    North America has one of the mostextensive rail networks accounting for nearly40 per cent of the worlds total? In contrast tomany European countries, the railways areused more for long-distance bulky freight likeores, grains, timber and machinery than forpassengers. The most dense rail network isfound in the highly industrialised andurbanised region of East Central U.S.A. andadjoining Canada.

    In Canada, railways are in the publicsector and distributed all over the sparselypopulated areas. The transcontinental railwayscarry the bulk of wheat and coal tonnage.

    Australia has about 40,000 km ofrailways, of which 25 per cent are found in NewSouth Wales alone. The west-east AustralianNational Railway line runs across the countryfrom Perth to Sydney. New Zealands railwaysare mainly in the North Island to serve thefarming areas.

    In South America, the rail network is themost dense in two regions, namely, the Pampasof Argentina and the coffee growing region ofBrazil which together account for 40 per cent

    of South Americas total route length. Only Chile,among the remaining countries has aconsiderable route length linking coastal centreswith the mining sites in the interior. Peru, Bolivia,Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela have shortsingle-track rail-lines from ports to the interiorwith no inter-connecting links.

    There is only one trans-continental railroute linking Buenos Aires (Argentina) withValparaiso (Chile) across the Andes Mountainsthrough the Uspallatta Pass located at a heightof 3,900 m.

    In Asia, rail network is the most dense inthe thickly populated areas of Japan, China andIndia. Other countries have relatively few railroutes. West Asia is the least developed in railfacilities because of vast deserts and sparselypopulated regions.

    Africa continent, despite being thesecond largest, has only 40,000 km ofrailways with South Africa alone accountingfor 18,000 km due to the concentration ofgold, diamond and copper mining activities.The important routes of the continent are: (i)the Benguela Railway through Angola toKatanga-Zambia Copper Belt; (ii) the TanzaniaRailway from the Zambian Copper Belt toDar-es-Salaam on the coast; (iii) the Railwaythrough Botswana and Zimbabwe linking thelandlocked states to the South Africannetwork; and (iv) the Blue Train from CapeTown to Pretoria in the Republic of SouthAfrica. Elsewhere, as in Algeria, Senegal,Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia, railway linesconnect port cities to interior centres but donot form a good network with other countries.

  • Fundamentals of Human Geography70

    TransContinental Railways

    Transcontinental railways run across thecontinent and link its two ends. They wereconstructed for economic and political reasonsto facilitate long runs in different directions.The following are the most important of these:

    TransSiberian Railway

    This is a transsiberian Railways major railroute of Russia runs from St. Petersburg in thewest to Vladivostok on the Pacific Coast in theeast passing through Moscow, Ufa, Novosibirsk,Irkutsk, Chita and Khabarovsk. It is the mostimportant route in Asia and the longest (9,332km) double-tracked and electrified transcontinental railway in the world. It has helpedin opening up its Asian region to West Europeanmarkets. It runs across the Ural Mountains Oband Yenisei rivers Chita is an important agro-

    Fig. 8.5: TransSiberian Railway

    centre and Irkutsk, a fur centre. There areconnecting links to the south, namely, to Odessa(Ukraine), Baku on the Caspian Coast,Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Ulan Bator (Mongolia),and Shenyang (Mukden) and Beijing in China.

    TransCanadian Railways

    This 7,050 km long rail-line in Canada runs fromHalifax in the east to Vancouver on the PacificCoast passing through Montreal, Ottawa,Winnipeg and Calgary (Fig. 8.6). It wasconstructed in 1886, initially as part of anagreement to make British Columbia on the westcoast join the Federation of States. Later on, itgained economic significance because itconnected the Quebec-Montreal IndustrialRegion with the wheat belt of the Prairie Regionand the Coniferous Forest region in the north.Thus each of these regions becamecomplementary to the other. A loop line from

  • Transport and Communication 71

    Winnipeg to Thunder Bay (Lake Superior)connects this rail-line with one of the importantwaterways of the world. This line is the economicartery of Canada. Wheat and meat are theimportant exports on this route.

    The Union and Pacific Railway

    This rail-line connects New York on the AtlanticCoast to San Francisco on the Pacific Coastpassing through Cleveland, Chicago, Omaha,Evans, Ogden and Sacramento. The mostvaluable exports on this route are ores, grain,paper, chemicals and machinery.

    The Australian TransContinentalRailwayThis rail-line runs west-east across the southernpart of the continent from Perth on the westcoast, to Sydney on the east coast. passingthrough Kalgoorlie, Broken Hill and PortAugusta (Fig. 8.7).

    Another major north-south line connectsAdelaide and Alice Spring and to be joinedfurther to the DarwinBirdum line.

    The Orient Express

    This line runs from Paris to Istanbul passingthrough Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna,Budapest and Belgrade. The journey time fromLondon to Istanbul by this Express is nowreduced to 96 hours as against 10 days by thesea-route. The chief exports on this rail-routeare cheese, bacon, oats, wine, fruits, andmachinery.

    There is a proposal to build a TransAsiaticRailway linking Istanbul with Bangkok viaIran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh andMyanmar.

    WAWAWAWAWATER TRANSPORTER TRANSPORTER TRANSPORTER TRANSPORTER TRANSPORTTTTT

    One of the great advantages of watertransportation is that it does not require routeconstruction. The oceans are linked with each

    Fig. 8.6: TransCanadian Railway

  • Fundamentals of Human Geography72

    other and are negotiable with ships of varioussizes. All that is needed is to provide portfacilities at the two ends. It is much cheaperbecause the friction of water is far less than thatof land. The energy cost of water transportationis lower. Water transport is divided into oceanroutes and inland waterways.

    Fig. 8.8: The view of Seine River from the EiffelTower (One can see how the river has become an

    important Inland waterway)

    Ocean Routes

    The oceans offer a smooth highway traversablein all directions with no maintenance costs. Itstransformation into a routeway by sea-goingvessels is an important development in humanadaptation to the physical environment.Compared to land and air, ocean transport is acheaper means of haulage (carrying of load) ofbulky material over long distances from onecontinent to another.

    Modern passenger liners (ships) and cargoships are equipped with radar, wireless and othernavigation aids. The development of refrigeratedchambers for perishable goods, tankers andspecialised ships has also improved cargotransport. The use of containers has made cargohandling at the worlds major ports easier.

    Important Ocean Routes

    Major ocean trade routes are shown in the Fig.8.9. Some important ocean routes have beendiscussed in the following pages.

    Fig. 8.7: Australian TransContinental Railway

  • Transport and Communication 73

    The Northern Atlantic Sea Route

    This links North-eastern U.S.A. and North-western Europe, the two industrially developedregions of the world. The foreign trade over thisroute is greater than that of the rest of the worldcombined. One fourth of the worlds foreigntrade moves on this route. It is, therefore, thebusiest in the world and otherwise, called theBig Trunk Route. Both the coasts have highlyadvanced ports and harbour facilities.

    Find out some of the important ports on the coast ofU.S.A. and Western Europe in your atlas.

    This sea route passes through the heartof the Old World and serves more countries andpeople than any other route. Port Said, Aden,Mumbai, Colombo and Singapore are some ofthe important ports on this route. Theconstruction of Suez canal has greatly reducedthe distance and time as compared to the earlierroute through the Cape of Good Hope.

    The MediterraneanIndian Ocean Route

    The trade route connects the highlyindustrialised Western European region withWest Africa, South Africa, South-east Asia andthe commercial agriculture and livestockeconomies of Australia and New Zealand.Before the construction of the Suez Canal thiswas the route connecting Liverpool andColombo which was 6,400 km longer than theSuez Canal route. The volume of trade andtraffic between both East and West Africa is onthe increase due to the development of the richnatural resources such as gold, diamond,copper, tin, groundnut, oil palm, coffee andfruits.

    The Cape of Good Hope Sea Route

    This sea route is another important one acrossthe Atlantic Ocean which connects WestEuropean and West African countries withBrazil, Argentina and Uruguay in SouthAmerica. The traffic is far less on this routecompared to that of the North Atlantic Route

    Fig. 8.9: Major Ocean Trade Routes and Sea Ports

  • Fundamentals of Human Geography74

    because of the limited development andpopulation in South America and Africa. Onlysoutheastern Brazil and Plata estuary andparts of South Africa have large-scale industries.There is also little traffic on the route betweenRio de Janeiro and Cape Town because bothSouth America and Africa have similarproducts and resources.

    Trade across the vast North Pacific Oceanmoves by several routes which converge atHonolulu. The direct route on the Great Circlelinks Vancouver and Yokohama and reducesthe travelling distance (2,480 km) by half.

    The North Atlantic Sea Route

    This sea route links the ports on the west-coastof North America with those of Asia. These areVancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco andLos Angeles on the American side andYokohama, Kobe, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manilaand Singapore on the Asian side.

    The South Pacific Sea Route

    This sea route connects Western Europe andNorth America with Australia, New Zealand andthe scattered Pacific islands via the PanamaCanal. This route is also used for reaching HongKong, Philippines and Indonesia. The distancecovered between Panama and Sydney is12,000 km. Honolulu is an important port onthis route.

    Coastal Shipping

    It is obvious that water transport is a cheapermode. While oceanic routes connect differentcountries, coastal shipping is a convenientmode of transportation with long coastlines,e.g. U.S.A, China and India. Shenzhen Statesin Europe are most suitably placed for coastalshipping connecting one members coast withthe other. If properly developed, coastal shippingcan reduce the congestion on the land routes.

    Shipping Canals

    The Suez and the Panama Canals are two vitalman-made navigation canals or waterwayswhich serve as gateways of commerce for boththe eastern and western worlds.

    The Suez Canal

    This canal had been constructed in 1869 inEgypt between Port Said in the north and PortSuez in the south linking the MediterraneanSea and the Red Sea. It gives Europe a newgateway to the Indian Ocean and reduces directsea-route distance between Liverpool andColombo compared to the Cape of Good Hoperoute. It is a sea-level canal without lockswhich is about 160 km and 11 to 15 m deep.About 100 ships travel daily and each shiptakes 10-12 hours to cross this canal. The tollsare so heavy that some find it cheaper to go bythe longer Cape Route whenever theconsequent delay is not important. A railwayfollows the canal to Suez, and from Ismailiathere is a branch line to Cairo. A navigablefresh-water canal from the Nile also joins theSuez Canal in Ismailia to supply fresh-water toPort Said and Suez.

    The Panama Canal

    This canal connects the Atlantic Ocean in theeast to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It has been

    Fig. 8.10 : Suez Canal

  • Transport and Communication 75

    constructed across the Panama Isthmusbetween Panama City and Colon by the U.S.government which purchased 8 km of area oneither side and named it the Canal Zone. TheCanal is about 72 km. long and involves a verydeep cutting for a length of 12 km. It has a six-lock system and ships cross the different levels(26 m up and down) through these locks beforeentering the Gulf of Panama.

    It shortens the distance between New Yorkand San Francisco by 13,000 km by sea.Likewise the distance between Western Europeand the West-coast of U.S.A.; and North-easternand Central U.S.A. and East and South-eastAsia is shortened. The economic significance ofthis Canal is relatively less than that of theSuez. However, it is vital to the economies ofLatin America.

    Inland Waterways

    Rivers, canals, lakes and coastal areas havebeen important waterways since timeimmemorial. Boats and steamers are used asmeans of transport for cargo and passengers.The development of inland waterways isdependent on the navigability width and depthof the channel, continuity in the water flow,and transport technology in use. Rivers arethe only means of transport in dense forests.Very heavy cargo like coal, cement, timber andmetallic ores can be transported through inlandwaterways. In ancient times, riverways were themain highways of transportation as in the caseof India. But they lost importance because ofcompetition from railways, lack of water due todiversion for irrigation, and their poormaintenance.

    Fig. 8.12: Inland waterways are a major sourceof transport wherever the river is wide, deep

    and free of silt

    Fig. 8.11 : The Panama Canal

    Can you think of the impact on traffic in Panamacanal after the Nicaraguan canal opens up?

  • Fundamentals of Human Geography76

    The significance of rivers as inlandwaterways for domestic and internationaltransport and trade has been recognisedthroughout the developed world. Despiteinherent limitations, many rivers have beenmodified to enhance their navigability bydredging, stabilising river banks, and buildingdams and barrages for regulating the flow ofwater. The following river waterways are someof the worlds important highways of commerce.

    The Rhine Waterways

    The Rhine flows through Germany and theNetherlands. It is navigable for 700 km fromRotterdam, at its mouth in the Netherlands toBasel in Switzerland. Ocean-going vessels canreach up to Cologne. The Ruhr river joins theRhine from the east. It flows through a richcoalfield and the whole basin has become aprosperous manufacturing area. Dusseldorf isthe Rhine port for this region. Huge tonnagemoves along the stretch south of the Ruhr. Thiswaterway is the worlds most heavily used. Eachyear more than 20,000 ocean-going ships and2,00,000 inland vessels exchange their cargoes.It connects the industrial areas of Switzerland,Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlandswith the North Atlantic Sea Route.

    The Danube Waterway

    This important inland waterway serves EasternEurope. The Danube river rises in the BlackForest and flows eastwards through manycountries. It is navigable up to Taurna Severin.The chief export items are wheat, maize, timber,and machinery.

    The Volga Waterway

    Russia has a large number of developedwaterways, of which the Volga is one of the mostimportant. It provides a navigable waterway of11,200 km and drains into the Caspian Sea.The Volga-Moscow Canal connects it with theMoscow region and the Volga-Don Canal withthe Black Sea.

    The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway

    The Great Lakes of North America Superior,Huron Erie and Ontario are connected by SooCanal and Welland Canal to form an inlandwaterway. The estuary of St. Lawrence River,along with the Great Lakes, forms a uniquecommercial waterway in the northern part ofNorth America. The ports on this route likeDuluth and Buffalo are equipped with allfacilities of ocean ports. As such large ocean-going vessels are able to navigate up the riverdeep inside the continent to Montreal. But heregoods have to be trans-shipped to smallervessels due to the presence of rapids. Canalshave been constructed up to 3.5 m deep toavoid these.

    Fig. 8.13: The Rhine Watereay

    Fig. 8.14 : Rhine Waterway

  • Transport and Communication 77

    At present no place in the world is morethan 35 hours away. This startling fact has beenmade possible due to people who build and flyairplanes. Travel by air can now be measuredby hours and minutes instead of years andmonths. Frequent air services are available tomany parts of the world. Although, U.K.pioneered the use of commercial jet transport,U.S.A. developed largely post-War internationalcivil aviation. Today, more than 250commercial airlines offer regular services todifferent parts of the world. Recentdevelopments can change the future course ofair transport. Supersonic aircraft, cover thedistance between London and New York withinthree and a half hours.

    Inter-Continental Air Routes

    In the Northern Hemisphere, there is a distincteast-west belt of inter-continental air routes.Dense network exists in Eastern U.S.A., WesternEurope and Southeast Asia. U.S.A. aloneaccounts for 60 per cent of the airways of theworld. New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam,Frankfurt Rome, Moscow, Karachi, New Delhi,Mumbai, Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo, SanFrancisco, Los Angeles and Chicago are thenodal points where air routes converge orradiate to all continents.

    Africa, Asiatic part of Russia and SouthAmerica lack air services. There are limited airservices between 10-35 latitudes in theSouthern hemisphere due to sparserpopulation, limited landmass and economicdevelopment.

    PIPELINESPIPELINESPIPELINESPIPELINESPIPELINES

    Pipelines are used extensively to transportliquids and gases such as water, petroleumand natural gas for an uninterrupted flow.Water supplied through pipelines is familiarto all. Cooking gas or LPG is supplied throughpipelines in many parts of the world. Pipelinescan also be used to transport liquidified coal.In New Zealand, milk is being supplied throughpipelines from farms to factories.

    In U.S.A. there is a dense network of oilpipelines from the producing areas to the

    The Mississippi Waterways

    The Mississippi-Ohio waterway connects theinterior part of U.S.A. with the Gulf of Mexicoin the south. Large steamers can go throughthis route up to Minneapolis.

    AIR TRANSPORAIR TRANSPORAIR TRANSPORAIR TRANSPORAIR TRANSPORTTTTT

    Air transport is the fastest means oftransportation, but it is very costly. Being fast,it is preferred by passengers for long-distancetravel. Valuable cargo can be moved rapidly ona world-wide scale. It is often the only meansto reach inaccessible areas. Air transport hasbrought about a connectivity revolution in theworld. The frictions created by mountainoussnow fields or inhospitable desert terrains havebeen overcome. The accessibility has increased.The airplane brings varied articles to theEskimos in Northern Canada unhindered bythe frozen ground. In the Himalayan region, theroutes are often obstructed due to landslides,avalanches or heavy snow fall. At such times,air travel is the only alternative to reach a place.Airways also have great strategic importance.The air strikes by U.S. and British forces in Iraqbears testimony to this fact. The airwaysnetwork is expanding very fast.

    Fig. 8.15: An Aeroplane at Salsburg Airport

    The manufacturing of aircrafts and theiroperations require elaborate infrastructure likehangars, landing, fuelling, and maintenancefacilities for the aircrafts. The construction ofairports is also very expensive and has developedmore in highly industrialised countries wherethere is a large volume of traffic.

  • Fundamentals of Human Geography78

    consuming areas. Big Inch is one such famouspipeline, which carries petroleum from the oilwells of the Gulf of Mexico to the North-easternStates. About 17 per cent of all freight pertonne-km. is carried through pipelines in U.S.A.

    Fig. 8.17: Pipelines transporting natural gasin Ukraine

    In Europe, Russia, West Asia and Indiapipelines are used to connect oil wells torefineries, and to ports or domestic markets.Turkmenistan is central Asia has extendedpipelines to Iran and also to parts of China.

    The proposed Iran-India via Pakistaninternational oil and natural gas pipeline willbe the longest in the world.

    COMMUNICACOMMUNICACOMMUNICACOMMUNICACOMMUNICATIONSTIONSTIONSTIONSTIONS

    Human beings have used different methodslong-distance communications of which thetelegraph and the telephone were important.The telegraph was instrumental in thecolonisation of the American West. During theearly and mid-twentieth century, the AmericanTelegraph and Telephone Company (AT&T)enjoyed a monopoly over U.S.A.s telephoneindustry. In fact, the telephone became a criticalfactor in the urbanisation of America. Firmscentralised their functioning at city-headquarters and located their branch officesin smaller towns. Even today, the telephone isthe most commonly used mode. In developingcountries, the use of cell phones, made possibleby satellites, is important for rural connectivity.

    Today there is a phenomenal pace ofdevelopment. The first major breakthrough isthe use of optic fiber cables (OFC). Faced withmounting competition, telephone companies all

    Fig. 8.16: Major Airports

  • Transport and Communication 79

    over the world soon upgraded their copper cablesystems to include optic fiber cables. Theseallow large quantities of data to be transmittedrapidly, securely, and are virtually error-free.With the digitisation of information in the 1990s,telecommunication slowly merged withcomputers to form integrated networks termedas Internet.

    Satellite Communication

    Today Internet is the largest electronic networkon the planet connecting about 1,000 millionpeople in more than 100 countries.

    Satellites touch human lives in manySatellites touch human lives in manySatellites touch human lives in manySatellites touch human lives in manySatellites touch human lives in manywayswayswayswaysways. Every time you use a cell phone tocall a friend, send an SMS or watch apopular programme on cable television. Youare using satellite communication.satellite communication.satellite communication.satellite communication.satellite communication.

    Communication through satellitesemerged as a new area in communicationtechnology since the 1970s after U.S.A. andformer U.S.S.R. pioneered space research.Artificial satellites, now, are successfullydeployed in the earths orbit to connect eventhe remote corners of the globe with limited on-site verification. These have rendered the unitcost and time of communication invariant interms of distance. This means it costs the sameto communicate over 500 km as it does over5,000 km via satellite

    India has also made great strides insatellite development. Aryabhatt was launchedon 19 April 1979, Bhaskar-I in 1979 andRohini in 1980. On 18 June 1981, APPLE(Arian Passenger Payload Experiment) waslaunched through Arian rocket. Bhaskar,

    Challenger and INSAT I-B have made long-distance communication, television and radiovery effective. Today weather forecastingthrough television is a boon.

    Cyber Space Internet

    Cyberspace is the world of electroniccomputerised space. It is encompassed by theInternet such as the World Wide Web (www).In simple words, it is the electronic digitalworld for communicating or accessinginformation over computer networks withoutphysical movement of the sender and thereceiver... It is also referred to as the Internet.Cyberspace exists everywhere. It may be inan office, sailing boat, flying plane and virtuallyanywhere.

    The speed at which this electronic networkhas spread is unprecedented in human history.There were less than 50 million Internet usersin 1995, about 400 million in 2000 A.D. andover one billion in 2005. The next billion usersare to be added by 2010. In the last five yearsthere has been a shift among global users fromU.S.A. to the developing countries. Thepercentage share of U.S.A. has dropped from66 in 1995 to only 25 in 2005. Now the majorityof the worlds users are in U.S.A., U.K.,Germany, Japan, China and India.

    As billions use the Internet each year,cyberspace will expand the contemporaryeconomic and social space of humans throughe-mail, e-commerce, e-learning ande-governance. Internet together with fax,television and radio will be accessible to moreand more people cutting across place and time.It is these modern communication systems,more than transportation, that has made theconcept of global village a reality.

  • Fundamentals of Human Geography80

    EXERCISESEXERCISESEXERCISESEXERCISESEXERCISES

    1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.(i) The TransContinental Stuart Highway runs between

    (a) Darwin and Melbourne

    (b) Edmonton and Anchorage

    (c) Vancouver and St. Johns City

    (d) Chengdu and Lhasa

    (ii) Which country has the highest density of railway network?

    (a) Brazil (c) Canada

    (b) U.S.A (d) Russia

    (iii) The Big Trunk Route runs through

    (a) The Mediterranean Indian ocean

    (b) The North Atlantic Ocean

    (c) The South Atlantic Ocean

    (d) The North Pacific Ocean

    (iv) The Big Inch pipeline transports

    (a) Milk (c) Water

    (b) Liquid petroleum gas (LGP) (d) Petroleum

    (v) Which one pair of the following places is linked by Channel Tunnel?

    (a) London Berlin (c) Berlin Paris

    (b) Paris London (d) Barcelona Berlin

    2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.(i) What are the problems of road transport in mountainous, desert and

    flood prone regions?

    (ii) What is a transcontinental railway?

    (iii) What are the advantages of water transport?

    3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words.(i) Elucidate the statement In a well managed transport system, various

    modes complement each other.

    (ii) Which are the major regions of the world having a dense network ofairways.

    (iii) What are the modes by which cyber space will expand the contemporaryeconomic and social space of humans.