|
|
Commercial Activities Are Shipping: PUNTA GORDA, pun'ta gor'da, city, Florida, capital of Charlotte County on the west coast, near the mouth of the Peace River on the south shore of Charlotte Harbor, 23 miles northwest of Fort Myers, on the Atlantic Coast Line railway and federal highways. It has an airport. Its commercial activities are shipping fish and vegetables, and manufacturing shell novelties. Known as a center for yachting and tarpon fishing, it is a popular resort. Early settlers had their supplies brought by Boat from Cedar Keys in Levy County far up the Gulf of Mexico.
Shipping.—Deepwater shipping facilities in the Hampton Roads area are almost unrivaled along the Atlantic Coast. In 1965, some 34,-000,000 tons were shipped from the Roads, one third of it coal from Newport News, the world's largest coal-shipping ocean port. Norfolk is the base of the United States Navy Atlantic Fleet and of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization fleet. Considerable tonnage is shipped up the James and Potomac to terminals at Richmond and Alexandria.
The interacting effect of industrial and commercial progress and the advance of transportation is most conspicuous in the United States, which has developed rapidly since the coming of mechanical transportation and production activities.
Political Factors.—A stable government to assure industrial and commercial growth is also an important factor in the progress of transportation. Such a government encourages those who venture in the development of transportation facilities to have confidence that they will reap the benefits of their enterprise. |
|
|
|
|
