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September 17th, 2026
Daily puzzle · Medium · Topographic map
Theme: Cities Built on the Timber and Logging Trade
Forests turned into fortunes in each of these towns, where sawmills and log drives once powered entire economies. Williamsport billed itself the 'Lumber Capital of the World' during Pennsylvania's white pine boom, while Eureka grew rich shipping California redwood down the coast. Sundsvall rebuilt itself in grand stone after an 1888 fire, funded by Baltic sawmill wealth, and Rotorua's Whakarewarewa forests fed New Zealand's radiata pine industry. Further south, Puerto Montt anchored Patagonia's timber and wood-pulp trade, closing out a chain of sawdust-built cities.
1
Williamsport, PennsylvaniaThis Pennsylvania city was once known as the 'Lumber Capital of the World' during the 19th-century pine boom.
2
Eureka, CaliforniaEureka grew as a major shipping port for California's old-growth redwood timber industry.
3
Sundsvall, SwedenSundsvall became a wealthy sawmill town on Sweden's coast, rebuilt in stone after a devastating 1888 fire.
4
Rotorua, New ZealandRotorua sits amid the Whakarewarewa forest, long central to New Zealand's plantation timber industry.
5
Puerto Montt, ChilePuerto Montt developed as a key port for southern Chile's timber and wood-pulp exports.