Loading...

Which is faster, traveling by railroad or by canal?

Study the maps and answer the following questions.

Two maps comparing roads and canals, 1820 - 1850

One settler uses a road and one uses a water route to travel between the same two cities. Name two cities, a road, and a water route where this is possible.

A group of settlers plan to travel by water from Columbia, Pennsylvania, west to Cincinnati, Ohio. What route will the settlers take?

Settlers are following the National Road from Wheeling, West Virginia, to Vandalia, Illinois. How many and which canals will they cross on their way?

Which canal is located near Chicago, Illinois?

Your Responses Sample Answers


Possible answers: Troy to Buffalo, Genesee Roan, Erie Canal; Buffalo to Cleveland, Seneca Road, Lake Erie.


The settlers will take the Pennsylvania Canal to the Ohio River.


three canals, the Ohio and Erie, Miami and Erie, and Wabash and Erie Canals


the Illinois and Michigan Canal