Trade & Economic Geography
📋 What it is
Goods flow along routes shaped by geography — rivers, passes, ports and now highways — connecting places that have what others need.
🗣️ Coach says
Trade follows the easy path. A mountain pass, a river mouth, a deep harbour — control one and you control the flow of goods and wealth. Many great cities are just excellent places to trade.
🧠 Memory hook
Trade follows the easy path — passes, rivers, harbours. Control the choke point, control the wealth.
😂 Giggle
What's a map's favorite type of music?
Anything with good latitude!
😲 Whoa!
The Silk Road wasn’t one road — it was a web of routes moving silk, spices and ideas across Asia for over 1,500 years.
✅ Quick check: Why do so many wealthy trading cities sit at rivers, coasts, or mountain passes?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Those are the natural routes goods must pass through, so whoever controls them controls valuable trade.
Linking geography to economics explains why cities become rich.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Find a famous port or trade city on a map and say what geographic feature made it a trade hub.