Ever wonder just how much more inconvenient transit was back in
the days before airplanes and the interstate highway system? A
set of maps unearthed by Mother Nature Network goes into detail.
The maps, produced by the Atlas of the Historical Geography of
the United States in 1932, use New York City as a starting point
to show the time it took to travel to various locations across
the country in 1800, 1830, 1857, and 1930. In addition to
serving as a reality check for how easy we have it now,
transportation-wise, the charts also illustrate how quickly vast
advances were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Between 1800 and 1830, for example, the time from New York to
Chicago was cut in half, from six weeks to three, all thanks to
advances in steam train technology. By 1930, still well before
the heyday of commercial aviation, that travel time had been
reduced to just one day. (Images: Mother Nature Network)