Harbor

Harbor
For other uses, see Harbor (disambiguation).
Capri harbour, Italy seen from Anacapri

A harbour or harbor (see spelling differences), or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbours can be natural or artificial. An artificial harbour has deliberately-constructed breakwaters, sea walls, or jettys, or otherwise, they could have been constructed by dredging, and these require maintenance by further periodic dredging. An example of the former kind is at Long Beach Harbor, California, and an example of the latter kind is San Diego Harbor, California, which was, under natural conditions, too shallow for modern merchant ships and warships.

In contrast, a natural harbour is surrounded on several sides by prominences of land. An example of this kind of harbour is San Francisco Bay, California.

Harbours and ports are often confused with each other. A port is a facility for loading and unloading vessels; ports are usually located in harbours.

Contents

Artificial harbours

Artificial harbours are frequently built for use as ports. The largest artificially created harbour is Jebel Ali in Dubai.[1] Other large and busy artificial harbours are located in: Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Houston, Texas; Long Beach, California; and San Pedro, California.

Natural harbours

A natural harbour in Vizhinjam, India

A natural harbour is a landform where a part of a body of water is protected and deep enough to furnish anchorage. Many such harbours are rias. Natural harbours have long been of great strategic naval and economic importance, and many great cities of the world are located on them. Having a protected harbour reduces or eliminates the need for breakwaters as it will result in calmer waves inside the harbour. For example is Subic, Zambales in the Philippines.

Ice-free harbours

For harbours near the North and South Poles, being ice-free is an important advantage, especially when it is year-round. Examples of these include Murmansk, Russia; Pechenga, Russia, formerly Petsamo, Finland); Vladivostok, Russia; St. Petersburg, Russia; Hammerfest, Norway; Vardø, Norway; and Prince Rupert Harbour, Canada. The world's southmost harbour, located at Antarctica's Winter Quarters Bay (77° 50′ South), is potentially ice-free, depending on the summertime pack ice conditions.[2]

Important harbours

The tiny harbour at the village of Clovelly, Devon, England
Old Harbour in Lüneburg, Germany.
The harbour of Piraeus in Greece.
Port Jackson, Sydney.

Although the world's busiest port is a hotly contested title, in 2006 the world's busiest harbour by cargo tonnage was the Port of Shanghai.[3]

The following are large natural harbours:

Other notable harbours include:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hattendorf, John B. (2007), The Oxford encyclopedia of maritime history, Oxford University Press, p. 590, ISBN 9780195130751 
  2. ^ U.S. Polar Programs National Science Foundation FY2000.
  3. ^ AAPA World Port Rankings 2006

External links


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  • harbor — n Harbor, haven, port are comparable because they have at one time or another meant a place where ships may ride secure from storms. Harbor applies to a portion of a large body of water (as the sea) that is partially or almost wholly enclosed so… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • harbor — har·bor 1 n: a place of security and comfort see also safe harbor harbor 2 vt 1: to receive secretly and conceal (a fugitive from justice) 2: to have (an animal) in one s keeping may not harbor a dog without a permit …   Law dictionary

  • Harbor — Har bor (h[aum]r b[ e]r), n. [Written also {harbour}.] [OE. herbor, herberwe, herberge, Icel. herbergi (cf. OHG. heriberga), orig., a shelter for soldiers; herr army + bjarga to save, help, defend; akin to AS. here army, G. heer, OHG. heri, Goth …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Harbor — Har bor (h[aum]r b[ e]r), v. t. [Written also {harbour}.] [imp. & p. p. {Harbored} ( b[ e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Harboring}.] [OE. herberen, herberwen, herbergen; cf. Icel. herbergja. See {Harbor}, n.] To afford lodging to; to entertain as a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • harbor — [n1] place for storing boats in the water anchorage, arm, bay, bight, breakwater, chuck, cove, dock, embankment, firth, gulf, haven, inlet, jetty, landing, mooring, pier, port, road, roadstead, wharf; concepts 439,509,514 harbor [n2] place for… …   New thesaurus

  • Harbor — Har bor, v. i. To lodge, or abide for a time; to take shelter, as in a harbor. [1913 Webster] For this night let s harbor here in York. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Harbor — Harbor, OR U.S. Census Designated Place in Oregon Population (2000): 2622 Housing Units (2000): 1691 Land area (2000): 1.873427 sq. miles (4.852154 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.439748 sq. miles (1.138943 sq. km) Total area (2000): 2.313175 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Harbor, OR — U.S. Census Designated Place in Oregon Population (2000): 2622 Housing Units (2000): 1691 Land area (2000): 1.873427 sq. miles (4.852154 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.439748 sq. miles (1.138943 sq. km) Total area (2000): 2.313175 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • harbor — [här′bər] n. [ME herberwe < OE herebeorg (& ON herbergi), lit., army shelter (< here, army + beorg, a shelter), akin to OHG heriberga: see HARBINGER] 1. a place of refuge, safety, etc.; retreat; shelter 2. a protected inlet, or branch of a… …   English World dictionary

  • harbor — UK US /ˈhɑːbər/ noun [C] US TRANSPORT ► HARBOUR(Cf. ↑harbour) …   Financial and business terms

  • harbor — 01. The [harbor] was filled with the boats of fishermen protesting the government s ban on salmon fishing. 02. We walked down by the [harbor], and looked at the boats for a while. 03. Our hotel room had a balcony with a view over the [harbor], so …   Grammatical examples in English

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