Quote:
Originally Posted by Prahaboheme
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This is a list of major ports.
Of course sea ports have the most traffic! They have access to less restricted waterways. Rivers (and by extensions most lakes) go in two directions: upstream and downstream (plus whatever navigable tributaries and distributaries there are), whereas sea lanes are plentiful.
https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/dig...1coll2/id/7447
If you broaden your group only a bit, and consider only rankings and tonnage rather than city names and their cultural cache:
Of the fiftiest busiest ports in the United States, numbers 17, 19, 21, 22, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42 are all on rivers and NOT accessible by oceangoing vessels.
26, 28, 43, and 49 are on the Great Lakes and are accessible by smaller oceangoing vessels.
33, 47, and 48 are on the Columbia River and are accessible by many oceangoing vessels, but they are significantly upriver.
And as a matter of completeness, the following ranked ports are located on rivers (rather than on bays, harbors, or other non-riverine water bodies) even though in practice they are operate as seaports: 2, 5, 7, 13, 16, 18, 23, 38.
To recap, 9 out of the 50 see only river barge traffic and 24 out of the 50 are actually located on rivers or must pass thru rivers to get there.