Burlington, Vermont, USA

You might not be drawn in by the watercraft on display at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, but you might be curious enough to learn more about Champ, the 'Lock Ness Monster' of the lake. He has been sighted for centuries and is now a protected species. [2011]

Blackfoot, Idaho, USA

Does your city or town have a museum that honors local culture? Blackfoot's contribution to the nation has been putting potatoes on the tables of Americans nationwide. In fact, that has been the contribution of Idaho, as well. Ergo, the Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot. [2020]

Beaumont, Texas, USA

The Lucas Spindletop gusher brought the U.S. into the oil age. Today, as a visual reminder of the past, it continues to gush, but with water pumped through for visitors. Before Spindletop, in the early years of the 20th century, oil was used for lighting and lubrication. After Spindletop, there was enough to power an ever expanding fleet of horseless carriages. [2022]

Orange, Texas, USA

Concrete oranges, all painted by local artists, dot the landscape of Orange, Texas. They recall the city and county of Orange and the acres of orange groves that contributed to the area's economic base before the citrus industry shifted further south. This one greets visitors to the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, which is now a museum. [2022]

Ocean City, Maryland, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! A town's economic base can inspire artistic creativity. Let other community's take note: Water towers don't have to be blank slates. Give them a job to do building the spirit of place. Be sure to see yesterday's post. [2021]
 

Tipton, Missouri, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! A billiard ball towering above a Dutch bakery: That makes sense since billiards was brought to America by the Dutch. But the water tower was inspired by the town's economic base: The Fischer Manufacturing Co. built billiard tables. Be sure to see tomorrow's post. [2015]

Port Neches, Texas, USA

No crude oil tanker should look this good. She must have just emerged from an overhaul. No mooring station should look this good either. The Eagle Kuantan seems to be ready for a movie shoot in this ersatz park along the Neches River. Given the name Kuantan, in what country do you think this vessel is registered? Sounds Malay, doesn't it? (Answer: Singapore) [2022]

Edgeley, North Dakota, USA

It's only a row of storefronts along the town's main street. What sets it apart? A mural paying homage to the town's economic geography. Maybe Edgeley could add some real economic landscapes as a backdrop. Oh, wait, they already did!  See those grain silos rising above the storefronts? [2021]

York, Maine, USA

York is located on the Gulf of Maine, which has a shoreline renowned for three elements of basic physical geography: (1) its hard-rock geology, (2) its land-water interdigitation, and (3) its famously large tidal ranges. Can you see evidence of all three along the waterfront here? [2008]

New York, New York, USA

Manhattan's Garment District should really be called the Fashion District. Garment manufacturing has been experiencing a steady decline, but the concentration of the world's most favored labels continues to light up the neighborhood with sparks of new ideas for looking good. By whatever name, though, push carts and porters continue their traditional roles. [2018]

Mystic, Connecticut, USA

Wooden lobster pots used to adorn the wharfs of every coastal village in New England. Now, Mystic Seaport honors those lobstermen of old. These traps were dropped overboard, with their locations marked by colorful buoys. Lobsters, attraced by salted herring, crawled in through the hole but could not escape. Modern traps are made from coated wire. [2018]

Blufton, South Carolina, USA

These heaps of oyster shells along the banks of the May River go back to at least 1899 when the Blufton Oyster Company was founded. Five oyster landings once dotted this small river. Now there is only one, and it is the last oyster shucking business in all of South Carolina's Low Country. [2008] 

Solar Salt Works, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

The House of Orange staged the Dutch revolt against Spanish occupation, so you might have guessed that the fourth obelisk would be orange. These were the huts in which African slaves would live. They were needed to load the ships anchored offshore, as seen below. Note all four obelisks. [2017]

Solar Salt Works, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

Red, white, and blue: They are the colors of the Dutch flag and of three of the four salt-pan obelisks on the island of Bonaire. The coastline itself constitutes shallow water and sharp corals. That is why ships had to anchor offshore. From Africa came the human labor needed to load the salt, making Bonaire part of the Triangular Trade. [2017]

Solar Salt Works, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

In addition to blue, there were also white and red obelisks: the colors of the Dutch flag. Once the Netherlands rebelled against the Spanish crown, it was cut off from salt, of which the Mediterranean coast of Spain was the largest supplier. It turned to the tropical island of Bonaire to fill the void. The Dutch required salt for preserving herring. [2017]

Solar Salt Works, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

There is no ship in the dock now, but, when there is, hopper cars will carry salt from the piles to the holds using the track seen here. The blue obelisk is a visual reminder of the past. It marked the site of one of the salt pans so ships would know where to anchor offshore. There were four color-coded obelisks, each associated with a different grade of salt. [2017]

Solar Salt Works, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

On Bonaire, salt in 50-foot-high piles waits patiently until it is loaded on bulk cargo carriers anchored just offshore. Small hopper cars like these do the work of getting the salt to the ships. Today, transportation is mechanized, but human beings, mostly slaves, did the work in the past. The industry began in the 1600s. [2017]

Solar Salt Works, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

Bonaire's economy depends on more than just coral-reef tourism. The island also produces salt on a massive scale. Salt pyramids ring the holding ponds where the tropical sun and easterly winds effectuate the evaporation that leaves behind almost pure sea salt. Today, the operation is under the umbrella of the Cargill conglomerate. [2017]

Baker, Montana, USA

Although nature has provided an exclamation point or two, few punctuation marks interrupt the cultural flatscapes that are the Great Plains. Here is one that does, however. Think of it as a comma used to break-up the run-on sentences which make up the Plains. Pumpjacks as commas? They invite only a short pause, not a full stop, or an appreciative exclamation. [2019]

Cheticamp, Nova Scotia, Canada

Remnants of "roadside America" are still found across the post-World War II landscapes of the continent. This one proclaimed itself to be the world's largest lobster trap. It was a little too big to take home, but you might have been able to buy some smaller ones inside. Alas, the tourist trap (literally!) disappeared from Cape Breton Island in the 1990s. [1993]