Why is North America (US + Canada + Mexico) ,.more economically developed than South American counties.. is it just because the is US culturally that different , I mean South Americans.are we’re originally influenced by Western Europe as well . Or is the some geographic or climatic difference that affected development?
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This is the Mississippi River basin [https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/maps/mrtp/MRivDrainageBasin.gif](https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/maps/mrtp/MRivDrainageBasin.gif)
As you can see, it stretches through a huge portion of the United States, providing a cheap way of transportation across the land. What can be transported? Well, check this map of coal distribution in the USA
[https://www.pmfias.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Distribution-of-Coal-in-USA.jpg](https://www.pmfias.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Distribution-of-Coal-in-USA.jpg)
As for iron, it’s abundant around Lake Superior. Which means steel can be produced with cheap logistics and, with that, industrialization becomes a possibility.
South America, in contrast, is coal poor, and has shallower river systems, which do not provide the logistical advantages the Mississippi provides anyway. This makes moving up the chain of higher value added goods much more expensive. Inland logistics in South America are also generally harder, as there are far fewer open plains than in North America or Northern Europe.
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