Which corridor linked the Great Lakes trade networks to distant regions via water routes?

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Access to distant markets via waterways hinges on a continuous inland-to-ocean route. The St. Lawrence corridor provides that link, with the St. Lawrence River flowing from the Great Lakes out to the Atlantic Ocean. This made it possible for goods from Great Lakes ports to reach Europe and other Atlantic regions, tying inland trade into global networks. Over time, developments like the St. Lawrence Seaway expanded this capacity, allowing larger ships to move between the lakes and the ocean. The other options don’t offer the same direct, continuous water route from the Great Lakes to distant seas: the Mississippi River heads toward the Gulf rather than connecting the lakes to the Atlantic in a single navigable passage; the Pacific Northwest corridor is on an entirely different coast; and the Atlantic Seaboard route describes coastal trade rather than a direct inland-to-ocean waterway.