Duluth-An Inland Seaport
106 Rangelands10(3), June 1988 Duluth-an Inland Seaport Donald C. Wright For more than a century the Port of Duluth, Minnesota, the Great Lakes.Although 2,340miles from theAtlantic, the with its sister harbor in Superior, Wisconsin, has been Mid- port is just 14 dayssailing time from Scandinavia,Northern America'sgateway tothe world, first with fir and timber, then Europe,the Mediterranean, West Africa, and South America. with the great bulk cargoes: iron ore, grain, and coal. An It is the largestport onthe GreatLakes and the 11th largestin international port deep in the continent atthe westerntip of the nation. Lake Superior, Duluth-Superior provides world accessto a Long before the Welland Canal or the opening of the St. half-millionsquare miles of unmatched resources and pur- Lawrence Seaway, fur tradevessels, large and small, rowed chasing power through the Great Lakes-St.Lawrence Sea- or set sail from Duluth bound for Canada, inland U.S. ports way system. Each year the port movesmore than 30 million and, eventually, to open seas; but the port's major develop- tons of Iron ore, grain, cement, limestone, metal products, ment began in the 1800's with the advent of prairie wheat machinery, twine, farmproducts, and coal and cokeon some growing and the buildingof the railroads. Congress autho- 300 oceangoing ships plus hundreds of "Lakers" which ply rized the first inner-harbor improvements in 1871, and the port began to develop rapidly. Today, Iron ore and taconite The author a with theSeaway Port Authority ofDuluth, 1200 Port Terminal from Minnesota'shistoric Mesabi Iron are the Dr., Duluth Minn.
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