fur trade routes

Fur trade routes connected North America's interior with European markets from the 16th to 19th centuries. Traders traveled along waterways like the Mississippi, Missouri, and Great Lakes, establishing routes that linked remote trapping areas to trading posts and port cities such as Montreal and New Orleans. These routes often followed river systems, making transportation more efficient, and facilitated exchanges between Indigenous peoples and European traders. Over time, established routes expanded westward, shaping exploration and settlement patterns, and played a key role in the economic and cultural development of North America.