paleglanceaustereface said: There was an article in the WSJ a while back about how Portland was close to dying entirely as bulk...
paleglanceaustereface said: There was an article in the WSJ a while back about how Portland was close to dying entirely as bulk port.
Other way around, it’s dead as a container port and only functions as a bulk and automobile port. The Pacific mouth of the Columbia is actually an incredibly tough passage, and the river isn’t really suited to modern oceangoing ships, while in comparison Puget Sound is ideal for shipping. It’s the rivers - originally the Willamette serving the fertile Willamette Valley and then the Columbia-Snake system all the way to Idaho - that make inland transit to the port efficient enough to stay competitive.
That’s something that matters a lot in explaining how the West Coast developed - thanks to the way that the Pacific Coast Ranges dominate the shoreline, it contains three of the best natural harbors in the world - San Diego Bay, San Francisco Bay, and Puget Sound - and nearly jack shit else.