Why steam did not free navies from geography

Was the shift from sail to steam the most significant change in naval warfare from 1799 to 1899?

Not by itself; steam removed some sailing constraints but created new dependence on fuel and bases.

The shift from sail to steam was not automatically the single most significant naval change of the nineteenth century. Steam appeared to free fleets from winds and established sailing routes. Propulsion by coal or other fuel, however, required regular replenishment and supporting bases. Those new logistical needs preserved geographic constraints in a different form. The technology exchanged one kind of dependence for another instead of making fleets independent of place.