What was the limitation of steamboats?

Answer 1

For one thing, steamboats used up considerable energy, which affected the environment-- they needed lots of wood for the steam engine to function. They also were not very safe: fires were always a concern because the steamboats often carried flammable cargo, and boiler room explosions (caused by a build-up of too much pressure) happened far too often. And while the steamboat was an improvement over previous types of transport, it only went about eight miles an hour downstream, and less than five miles an hour upstream.