Name: 為什麼美國東南部海岸人煙稀少得離譜？！ (Why The US Southeast Coast is Absurdly Empty)
Uploaded: 2026-01-13T17:26:16.000Z
Duration: 34 min 14 s

This is a population density map of the United States showing where most Americans currently live today.

這是一張美國的人口密度圖，顯示了現在大部分美國人居住在哪裡。

And if you pay attention to the southeastern corner of the country, an interesting pattern appears that's unlike anywhere else in the country here.

而且如果你注意看這個國家的東南角，會出現一個有趣的模式，跟這個國家其他地方都不一樣。

Across the states of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, the coastal areas are very sparsely populated, to the point of almost appearing empty.

在喬治亞州、南卡羅來納州和北卡羅來納州，沿海地區人煙稀少，幾乎看起來是空的。

Instead, most of the major populated urban areas in these states are located hundreds of kilometers away from the coast, deep within their interiors, across cities like Atlanta, Augusta, Columbia, Greenville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh and Durham.

取而代之的是，這些州大部分主要的都會區都位於離海岸數百公里遠的內陸，像是亞特蘭大、奧古斯塔、哥倫比亞、格林維爾、夏洛特、格林斯伯勒、羅利和德罕等城市。

By contrast, the only large settlements located on the coasts of these states are Savannah, Charleston and Wilmington.

相比之下，這些州海岸邊僅有的幾個大型聚落是薩凡納、查爾斯頓和威明頓。

And yet Charleston doesn't even crack past a Metro population of 900,000, while Wilmington and Savannah both have fewer than 500,000 people.

然而查爾斯頓的都會區人口甚至不到90萬，而威明頓和薩凡納的人口都不到50萬。

Despite their seemingly strategic locations on the coasts, none of these coastal urban areas are the largest in their respective states.

儘管這些沿海都會區在海岸邊的位置看似策略性十足，但它們都不是各自州裡最大的都會區。

Savannah is only the third largest metro in Georgia, behind the interior cities of Atlanta and Augusta.

薩凡納僅是喬治亞州第三大都會區，排在內陸城市亞特蘭大和奧古斯塔之後。

Charleston is the second largest metro in South Carolina, behind the interior city of Columbia, while Wilmington is only the sixth largest metro in North Carolina, behind the interior cities of Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston, Salem and Durham.

查爾斯頓是南卡羅來納州第二大都會區，排在內陸城市哥倫比亞之後，而威明頓僅是北卡羅來納州第六大都會區，排在內陸城市夏洛特、羅利、格林斯伯勒、溫斯頓、薩勒姆和德罕之後。

This population pattern is unusual, especially when you look further in either direction to the north or the south of these states, where the pattern is completely reversed.

這種人口分佈模式很不尋常，特別是當你看看這些州往北或往南任一方向更遠的地方時，那裡的人口分佈模式完全相反。

From Virginia all the way up through Maine, the most major population centers all hud nearby to the coastline, including the Northeast corridor running between Washington D.C.

從維吉尼亞州一路往北到緬因州，主要的人口中心都緊鄰海岸線，包括貫穿華盛頓特區的東北走廊

and Boston, the most densely populated part of the whole country with more than 50 million people, and

和波士頓，這是全國人口最密集的區域，有超過5000萬人，而且

almost immediately south of Georgia, start the major coastal population centers of Florida, running from Jacksonville to Miami on the east coast to Tampa and St.

在喬治亞州以南幾乎馬上，佛羅裡達州的主要沿海人口中心就開始了，從東海岸的傑克孫維到邁阿密，到西海岸的坦帕和聖

Petersburg on the Gulf coast, all of which have significantly more people than any of the coastal cities in Georgia or the Carolinas do.

彼得斯堡，這些地方的人口都遠比喬治亞州或卡羅萊納州的任何沿海城市來得多。

So this then begs the why is there a void in population density along the east coast of the United States, across the Carolinas and Georgia, in between the super dense coastal areas in the Northeast and Florida?

那麼這就引出了為什麼美國東海岸，橫跨卡羅萊納州和喬治亞州，在東北部和佛羅裡達州超級密集人口區之間，會出現人口密度上的空隙呢？

And why do all three of these southeastern states, biggest clusters of people, avoid the coast and keep hundreds of kilometers away from it, deep within their interiors?

為什麼這三個東南州最大的聚落，都會避開海岸，遠離海岸數百公里，深入內陸呢？

The answers I found out are very interesting and probably a lot more complicated than you might have thought at first.

我找到的答案非常有趣，而且可能比你一開始想的要複雜得多。

The North American continent, like every other one of Earth's continents, can be divided up into different physiographic provinces, which are areas with specific geology, soils and morphology that are distinct enough to separate them from neighboring areas.

北美大陸，就像地球上其他所有大陸一樣，可以抽成不同的地理省份，這些是具有特定地質、土壤和形態的區域，其差異足以將它們與鄰近區域區分開來。

In the eastern United States, the most dominant geographic feature that can be found are the Appalachian Mountains, which stretch across the interior of the eastern seaboard from Central Alabama through northern Georgia, the Tennessee, North Carolina border, the Virginia West Virginia border, then up through western Maryland, central Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey, and

在美國東部，最顯著的地理特徵是阿帕拉契山脈，它橫跨東海岸內陸，從阿拉巴馬州中部經喬治亞州北部、田納西州、北卡羅來納州邊界、維吉尼亞州、西維吉尼亞州邊界，然後向上延伸到馬裡蘭州西部、賓夕法尼亞州中部和新澤西州西北部，

then further up through New York and across into western Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine up into Canada.

然後再向上延伸到紐約州，並橫跨到麻薩諸塞州西部、佛蒙特州、新罕布夏州和緬因州，一直到加拿大。

One of the most ancient mountain ranges on the planet, the Appalachians were once around 300 million years ago, probably about the same height as the towering Himalayas are today.

阿帕拉契山脈是地球上最古老的山脈之一，大約在三億年前，高度可能跟現在雄偉的喜馬拉雅山脈差不多。

But hundreds of millions of years of erosion and tectonic forces have dramatically diminished their size down to their current smaller form.

但經過數億年的侵蝕和板塊運動，它們的體積已經大幅縮小到現在這個樣子。

A process that also led to the creation of two present day physiographic provinces between them and the ocean.

這個過程也造就了現今介於山脈和海洋之間的兩個地理省份。

The Piedmont region, which are basically the foothills of the Appalachians, where the landscape is largely made up of gentle but easy to traverse rolling hills atop of hard bedroc and the Atlantic Coastal Plain, a largely flat, sandy and often swampy landscape that has been slowly built up over the eons by the vast amounts of sediment deposited from the rivers flowing down from the eroded Appalachians.

皮埃蒙特地區，基本上就是阿帕拉契山脈的山麓丘陵，地貌主要是平緩但易於穿越的起伏丘陵，上方是堅硬的基岩，而大西洋沿海平原，則是一片廣闊平坦、沙質且常有沼澤的地貌，這是由侵蝕中的阿帕拉契山脈沖刷下來的大量沉積物，經過漫長歲月緩慢堆積而成。

When you look carefully at the map of these regions, you should notice that the Atlantic Coastal Plain is very wide in the south through the states of Georgia and the Carolinas, separating the higher Piedmont and Appalachian regions from the coast by hundreds of kilometers.

當你仔細看這些地區的地圖時，你會發現大西洋沿海平原在南方，橫跨喬治亞州和卡羅萊納州，非常寬闊，將較高的皮埃蒙特和阿帕拉契地區與海岸隔開數百公里。

But then beginning in Virginia, the further north you travel, the more the plain starts to dramatically narrow all the way up to modern day New York City and Long island, where it effectively ceases to exist.

但從維吉尼亞州開始，你往北走得越遠，這片平原就越顯著地變窄，一直到現代的紐約市和長島，它幾乎就消失了。

In New York City, the coastal plain is so narrow that the foothills of the Catskill Mountain range penetrate into the city itself in the Bronx, while way further south in Georgia, the coastal plain is hundreds of kilometers wide.

在紐約市，沿海平原非常狹窄，以至於卡茨基爾山脈的山麓丘陵深入到布朗克斯區的城市本身，而南方遠在喬治亞州，沿海平原則有數百公里寬。

You can notice this geographic divergence in New York City almost immediately when you travel either north or south from it to the north of the city, beginning immediately in Connecticut and extending all the way up through Maine.

當你從紐約市往北或往南旅行時，幾乎可以立刻注意到這種地理上的差異，往北從康乃狄克州開始，一直延伸到緬因州。

With the exception of some of southern Massachusetts, the Ben Rock extends directly to the coastline itself, so it's rocky, hilly, jagged and absent of sandy barrier islands.

除了麻薩諸塞州南部的一些地區，本洛克山脈直接延伸到海岸線本身，所以那裡岩石嶙峋、崎嶇不平，沒有沙洲。

While to the south of New York City, including Long island all the way down to Florida, along the whole Atlantic coastal plain, the coastlines are smooth, sandy, often covered by marshes and swamps, and

而在紐約市以南，包括長島一直到佛羅裡達州，沿著整片大西洋沿海平原，海岸線平滑、沙質，經常被沼澤和濕地覆蓋，

are protected by long thin barrier islands, meaning that building coastal cities is easier from New York City to the north than it is to the south.

受到狹長沙洲的保護，這意味著從紐約市往北蓋沿海城市，比往南蓋來得容易。

Now, across almost the entire eastern seaboard, from New York City south through Alabama, a line divides the lower elevated Atlantic Coastal Plain in the east from the higher elevated Piedmont region in the west.

現在，從紐約市一路往南到阿拉巴馬州，幾乎整個東岸都有一條線，將東邊較低的海岸平原，與西邊較高的皮埃蒙特高原分隔開來。

Across this line, the landscape and more importantly, the elevation changes gradually rather than suddenly.

越過這條線，地貌，更重要的是，海拔會逐漸而非突然地改變。

But as the rivers flowing down to the Atlantic coast From the Appalachian Mountains Cross over this line.

但當從阿帕拉契山脈流向大西洋海岸的河流越過這條線時。

The they cross over from the highly elevated hard rock of the Piedmont, and, relatively speaking, they plunge in elevation, Forming rapids and waterfalls in the process.

它們從皮埃蒙特高原堅硬高聳的岩石上流過，相對來說，海拔驟降，過程中形成了急流和瀑布。

Before entering into the lower, flatter and sandy sediments of the coastal plain, where they progress more easily the rest of the way out to the sea.

在進入海岸平原較低、較平坦且沙質的沉積物之前，它們更容易地繼續流向大海。

The many rapids and waterfalls Found across this diverging geographic boundary Is what gave this line its pretty straightforward the fall line, Arguably the most important geographic feature to know about in the entire United States.

在這條地理分界線上發現的許多急流和瀑布，就是這條線之所以被稱為「瀑布線」的原因，這可以說是美國最重要的地理特徵。

That few people outside of this region have ever heard about.

這個地區以外很少有人聽說過。

When European settlers and colonists Began coming to North America in large numbers during the 17th century, the continent's rivers were the primary means available to them to travel from the ocean into the interior.

當歐洲的拓荒者和殖民者在十七世紀開始大量來到北美洲時，大陸上的河流是他們從海洋進入內陸的主要交通方式。

And all across the eastern seaboard, From New York City south to Georgia.

在整個東岸，從紐約市往南到喬治亞州。

The rapids and waterfalls marked by the fall line Marked the first furthest into the interior that their ships were physically capable of reaching.

瀑布線標記的急流和瀑布，標誌著船隻能深入內陸最遠的距離。

Once they hit the fall line coming from the ocean, they'd have to unload their ships.

一旦他們從海洋抵達瀑布線，就必須卸下船隻。

And relocate all of their cargo and people Onto smaller ships or wagons to access any deeper into the interior, While smaller ships carrying goods from any deeper in the interior downstream Couldn't pass through the falls or rapids on their way out to the ocean either.

並將所有貨物和人員轉移到較小的船隻或馬車上，以便深入內陸，同時從內陸運來的載貨小船在駛向海洋時也無法通過瀑布或急流。

transfer all of their goods coming in this direction as well.

同樣地轉運所有朝這個方向來的貨物。

All of this meant that setting up settlements along the fall line to take advantage of warehousing and storage needs, banking and trade, made perfect economic sense.

這一切都意味著，沿著瀑布線設立聚落，利用倉儲需求、銀行和貿易，在經濟上是完全合理的。

Settlements established at the point of rapids and falls along the fall line Were destined to become major inland trading hubs because they were the most capable of processing and facilitating trade.

沿著瀑布線，在急流和瀑布點設立的聚落，註定要成為主要的內陸貿易中心，因為它們最能處理和促進貿易。

Between the mineral and agricultural riches of the Piedmont region and the maritime ports established further downstream at harbors on the coastline.

在皮埃蒙特地區的礦產和農業資源，以及海岸港口設立的更下游的港口之間。

Even further, the inland cities on the fall line Were also able to exploit and harness all of the energy that the rivers generated by thundering down through the falls and rapids, which enabled them to become early manufacturing centers with mills, easy access to the raw materials of the Piedmont further upstream, and

更進一步，瀑布線上的內陸城市也能利用和駕馭河流通過瀑布和急流奔騰而產生的所有能量，這使它們能夠成為擁有工廠的早期製造中心，便於獲取皮埃蒙特上游的原材料，並且

easy access to the harbors further downstream for their finished goods to be exported out to global markets.

便於將成品運往下游港口，出口到全球市場。

The Savannah river was naturally navigable for about 320 km into the interior before it hit the fall line, which is precisely where the city of Augusta was founded.

薩凡納河在進入瀑布線之前，向內陸約 320 公里處是天然可通航的，而奧古斯塔市就建在這裡。

The Congaree river was naturally navigable for about 170km deep into the interior before it hit the fall line, which is where the city of Columbia was founded.

康加里河在進入瀑布線之前，向內陸約 170 公里處是天然可通航的，而哥倫比亞市就建在這裡。

The Potomac river was naturally navigable for about 195km inland from the Chesapeake until it hit the Fall Line.

波託馬克河從切薩皮克灣向內陸約 195 公里處是天然可通航的，直到遇到瀑布線。

And just before it did is where Washington D.C. was founded.

就在它遇到瀑布線之前，華盛頓特區就建在這裡。

For these reasons, between central Alabama and New York City.

基於這些原因，在阿拉巴馬州中部和紐約市之間。

All along the Fall Line today you will find the modern cities of Montgomery, Alabama Columbus, Macon and Augusta in Georgia Columbia, South Carolina, Fayetteville Valley and Durham in North Carolina Richmond and Fredericksburg in Virginia Washington, D.C.

今天，沿著瀑布線，你會發現現代城市，包括阿拉巴馬州的蒙哥馬利、喬治亞州的哥倫布、梅肯和奧古斯塔，南卡羅來納州的哥倫比亞，北卡羅來納州的費耶特維爾、谷地和達勒姆，維吉尼亞州的裡士滿和弗雷德裡克斯堡，以及華盛頓特區。

baltimore, Wilmington, Delaware Philadelphia, New Brunswick and Trenton in New Jersey and of course, New York City at the tail end of it.

巴爾的摩、德拉瓦州的威爾明頓、費城、紐澤西州的紐布朗茲維克和特倫頓，當然還有紐約市，位於其末端。

The presence of the Fall Line and its effect on human geography in the United States is so profound that it can even be viewed from space like in this image.

瀑布線的存在及其對美國人文地理的影響非常深遠，甚至可以從太空中看到，就像這張圖片一樣。

Note how the farms located to the west of the line in the Piedmont region are significantly greener than the farms located to the east of the line on the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

請注意，位於皮埃蒙特地區線西的農場，比位於大西洋沿海平原線東的農場明顯更綠。

This is because many millions of years ago, before the Appalachians dramatically eroded away, the Fall Line basically marked the extent of the ancient coastline, and

這是因為，在數百萬年前，在阿巴拉契亞山脈劇烈侵蝕消失之前，瀑布線基本上標誌著古代海岸線的範圍，而

what is now the Atlantic Coastal Plain were mostly stretches of low coastal waters that had been slowly filled in with deposited sediment and sandy soils.

現今的海岸平原，大部分是低窪的沿海水域，經過沉積物和沙質土壤的緩慢填積而成。

As a result, the soils found across the Atlantic Coastal Plain are often sandy, acidic, low in nutrients, and

是以，海岸平原的土壤通常是沙質、酸性、養分較少，而且

while still useful, they're generally not as fertile or useful as the soils found further up in the Piedmont region are.

雖然仍有用途，但整體來說，不如上游皮埃蒙特地區的土壤肥沃或實用。

The Atlantic Coastal Plain is also dotted with the highest concentration of swamps and wetlands that can be found anywhere in the North American continent, which not only results in poorer drainage for agriculture compared to the Piedmont region further upstream, but

海岸平原也遍佈著北美大陸上最多的沼澤和濕地，這不僅導致農業排水不如上游的皮埃蒙特地區，而且

it also makes developing settlements and infrastructure significantly more challenging than in the Piedmont region as well.

在開發聚落和基礎設施方面，也比皮埃蒙特地區更具挑戰性。

And as you can see from this map, the extent of swamps and wetland type environments stretch significantly further inland in Georgia and the Carolinas than they do further north beginning in Virginia, lining up almost exactly with the width of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the extent of the Fall Line.

從這張圖可以看出，喬治亞州和卡羅萊納州的沼澤和濕地環境向內陸延伸的範圍，比維吉尼亞州以北的範圍大得多，幾乎與海岸平原的寬度和瀑布線的範圍完全一致。

In effect, this meant that founding cities on or near the coast was much easier and made much more sense the further north you went from Virginia, as the difficult to build in swamps and wetlands decreased in width and as the Fall Line approached the coast in New York City.

事實上，這意味著從維吉尼亞州往北走，在海岸或海岸附近建立城市會更容易、更有意義，因為難以開發的沼澤和濕地變窄，而瀑布線也靠近紐約市的海岸。

But the Northeast and even further south in Florida also just have much better natural harbors to work with than the coastal areas of the Carolinas and Georgia do.

不過，東北部，甚至更南邊的佛羅裡達州，也比卡羅萊納州和喬治亞州的沿海地區擁有更優良的天然良港。

The jagged and rocky coastlines of New England beyond the end of the Fall Line produced excellent natural harbors in Portland, Maine, Boston, Massachusetts, and

瀑布線末端以外的新英格蘭崎嶇多巖的海岸線，造就了緬因州波特蘭、麻薩諸塞州波士頓等地優良的天然良港，

the Narragansett Bay in Rhode island, while further south geography blessed the east coast with one of the greatest natural harbors anywhere on the planet at the mouths of the Hudson and East Rivers in New York harbor, directly connecting deep into the interior through the Hudson river that was historically navigable all the way up to Albany and since the completion of the erie Canal in 1825, all the way into the Great Lakes in the Midwest.

羅德島州的納拉甘西特灣，而更南邊的地理環境則在哈德遜河和東河的河口，也就是紐約港，為東海岸帶來了地球上最偉大的天然良港之一，透過哈德遜河直接連接到內陸深處，這條河在歷史上可通航至奧爾巴尼，自1825年伊利運河完工後，更可通往中西部的五大湖區。

Further south, Delaware Bay and the Delaware river offer another fantastic harbor that was largely exploited by Philadelphia.

再往南，德拉瓦灣和德拉瓦河提供了一個很棒的港口，費城曾大力開發利用。

And then even further south is the massive Chesapeake, one of the largest protected bodies of water that can be found anywhere on the planet that is also home to the Hampton Roads Virginia beach harbor on its southern end, which like New York, is also one of the greatest natural harbors that can be found anywhere in the world.

然後再往南就是廣闊的切薩皮克灣，這是地球上最大的保護水域之一，它的南端還有漢普頓路弗吉尼亞海灘港，就像紐約港一樣，也是世界上最偉大的天然良港之一。

It is the deepest natural harbor that can be found all along the whole east coast and its strategic location roughly in the dead center of the east coast.

這是整個東海岸最深的天然良港，它位於東海岸的中心地帶，地理位置非常重要。

And that the entrance to the Chesapeake meant that it always had enormous potential for naval power projection.

而切薩皮克灣的入口意味著它一直有巨大的海軍力量投射潛力。

And it's why it ultimately became the largest base for the US Navy worldwide and the largest shipbuilding and repair industrial base in the world as well, where all of America's nuclear powered aircraft carriers are currently constructed at but the Hampton Road's Virginia beach harbor is also strategically well located because the coasts of the Carolinas and Georgia further to the south of it are much, much less suitable to building a giant portat Beginning almost immediately to the south of Hampden roads are the Outer Banks of North Carolina, a long string of shifting, sandy barrier islands that create what is arguably the most dangerous coastline for ships on the planet.

這也是為什麼它最終成為美國海軍在全球最大的基地，以及全球最大的造船和維修工業基地，所有美國核動力航空母艦都在這裡建造，而漢普頓路弗吉尼亞海灘港的地理位置也極佳，因為它南邊的卡羅萊納州和喬治亞州的海岸線非常不適合建造大型港口。

Since record keeping began here about 500 years ago, back in 1526, more than 5,000 ships have sunk in these treacherous waters around the Outer Banks, a number so large that it's earned the region an infamous the graveyard of the Atlantic.

從漢普頓路往南幾乎立刻開始就是北卡羅來納州的奧特班克斯，一連串不斷變化的沙洲島嶼，形成了地球上對船隻來說最危險的海岸線。

At the location of Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks, the coastline of the east takes a sudden and sharp turn north, breaking the generally northeastern direction that the coast previously takes all the way from Georgia, just off of the coast of Cape Hatteras.

自從大約 500 年前，也就是 1526 年開始有記錄以來，在外灘群島周圍的這些險惡水域中，已經有超過 5,000 艘船沉沒，這個數字如此之大，以至於該地區贏得了「大西洋墓場」的惡名。

Where this geographic turn happens at is where the warm waters from the Gulf Stream flowing up from Florida collide with the cold waters from the Labrador Current coming down from Canada, which generates high levels of turbulence that kick up a lot of sediment.

在外灘群島的哈特拉斯角，東海岸線突然急劇轉向北，打破了海岸線從喬治亞州開始一直大致向東北方向延伸的趨勢，就在哈特拉斯角海岸附近。

Meanwhile, the continental shelf of the Outer Banks is sloped very gently, which causes sand from the deep waters to become almost constantly pushed up onto the shallower shelf and for sand from the shallower shelf to become almost constantly pulled back into the deep waters, creating an unpredictable and dangerous environment of almost Constantly shifting sandbars and shoals to make navigation through here an extreme challenge.

這個地理轉折點是從佛羅裡達州上湧的墨西哥灣暖流與從加拿大南下的拉布拉多寒流在此交匯的地方，這會產生高度的湍流，捲起大量沉積物。

Even in modern times, ships still sink all the time out here, like a 100 foot commercial fishing trawler that sank in 2024 while attempting to pass through the Oregon Inlet itself, A narrow passage that was violently torn through the barrier island here during a powerful hurricane in 1846.

同時，外灘群島的大陸架非常平緩，這導致深水區的沙子幾乎不斷地被推到較淺的海架上，而較淺海架的沙子又幾乎不斷地被拉回深水區，形成了一個不斷變化的沙洲和淺灘的危險環境，使得在這裡航行極具挑戰性。

Whole brand new islands can appear out of nowhere in the Outer Banks and then be destroyed just as quickly as they came.

在外灘群島，全新的島嶼可以憑空出現，然後又迅速消失。

Like Shelly island recently was in 2017 when it appeared in April near Cape Hatteras and reached around 1mil long and 500ft wide before collapsing back beneath the waves again less than a year later.

就像 2017 年的 Shelly Island 最近一樣，它在四月出現在哈特拉斯角附近，長約一百萬英尺，寬 500 英尺，不到一年後就又沉入海中。

By early 2018, these conditions require ports to conduct almost constant dredging operations just to maintain stability and have plagued the coast of North Carolina for centuries now, while they also prevent deep water inlets in North Carolina from forming naturally.

到了 2018 年初，這些情況需要港口幾乎不斷地進行浚渫作業才能維持穩定，而且這種情況已經困擾了北卡羅來納州的海岸幾個世紀，同時也阻止了北卡羅來納州深水港口的自然形成。

Which is why all throughout the Outer Banks, there have never been any significant ports established and no significantly sized coastal cities ever settled.

這就是為什麼在外灘群島，從來沒有建立過任何重要的港口，也沒有定居過任何規模較大的沿海城市。

Pretty much the only decent natural harbor on the whole North Carolina coast beyond the treacherous Outer Banks is at Wilmington in the far south of the state along the mouth of the Cape Fear river.

在北卡羅來納州整個海岸線上，除了險惡的外灘群島之外，唯一一個像樣的天然港口位於州最南端的威爾明頓，就在開普菲爾河的河口。

Which is of course why Wilmington is the first major coastal settlement going any further south from Virginia Beach.

這當然也是為什麼威爾明頓是從維吉尼亞海灘往南走的第一個主要沿海聚落。

But even the inlet at Wilmington isn't particularly deep, while the Cape Fear river itself is shallow and also doesn't really go anywhere.

但即使是威爾明頓的港口也不算特別深，而開普菲爾河本身也很淺，而且也真的沒什麼地方可去。

Even today, after modern locks and dams, the Cape Fear river is only navigable up to Fayetteville, and

即使在今天，經過現代的船閘和水壩，開普菲爾河也只能航行到費耶特維爾，而且

mostly just by small motorboats and canoes rather than cargo laden, ocean worthy vessels.

主要僅限於小型機動船和獨木舟，而不是載滿貨物的遠洋船隻。

Which is why Wilmington never really became a huge coastal city on the same kind of scale of the Northeast.

這就是為什麼威爾明頓從未真正成為像東北部那樣規模巨大的沿海城市。

Beyond Wilmington, there are two other useful natural harbors along this whole stretch of the empty east coast before hitting Charleston in South Carolina and Savannah in Georgia, both of which are actually world class natural harbors that are vastly superior to Wilmington.

威爾明頓再往南，在這段空曠的東岸，還有兩個有用的天然良港，直到南卡羅來納州的查爾斯頓和喬治亞州的薩凡納，這兩者實際上都是世界級的天然良港，遠勝於威爾明頓。

Both are very highly sheltered and have very deep waters that have made them extremely important and valuable trading ports for centuries.

兩者都非常避風，水深也極深，數百年來一直是極其重要且有價值的貿易港口。

Even today, Savannah is the second busiest container port on the whole east coast behind only New York, while Charleston is the fourth busiest behind just Virginia Beach.

即使在今天，薩凡納仍是東岸第二繁忙的貨櫃港，僅次於紐約，而查爾斯頓則是第四繁忙，僅次於維吉尼亞海灘。

And Charleston is also the second deepest harbor on the east coast behind Virginia beach as well.

查爾斯頓也是東岸第二深的港口，同樣僅次於維吉尼亞海灘。

For most of their early histories, Savannah, Charleston and Wilmington actually were the biggest cities in each of their respective states because of their relative advantages of being strategically useful ports at the mouths of rivers that extended up to the fall line deeper within the interior, farmers, miners and manufacturers could send their Goods from the Piedmont to the cities along the fall line and then safely down the rivers the rest of the way to these ports for export to the global market.

在其早期歷史的大部分時間裡，薩凡納、查爾斯頓和威爾明頓實際上是各自州裡最大的城市，因為它們擁有戰略上極具優勢的地理位置，位於深入內陸的瀑布線河流的入海口，農民、礦工和製造商可以將他們的貨物從皮埃蒙特地區運送到瀑布線的城市，然後安全地沿著河流一路運送到這些港口，出口到全球市場。

But despite them being good natural harbors and busy ports, none of them were really ideal locations for huge cities like on the coast in the Northeast in Florida.

但儘管它們是良好的天然良港和繁忙的港口，但沒有一個地方真正適合像東北部海岸或佛羅裡達那樣發展成巨大的城市。

This is a map of hurricane risk exposure across the continental United States.

這是一張涵蓋美國大陸的颶風風險暴露地圖。

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為什麼美國東南部海岸人煙稀少得離譜？！ (Why The US Southeast Coast is Absurdly Empty)

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