Harbor

A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences), or haven, is a body of water where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use.

Harbors can be natural or artificial. An artificial harbor 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 artificial harbor is Long Beach Harbor, California, which was an array of salt marshes and tidal flats too shallow for modern merchant ships before it was first dredged in the early 20th century.^[1]

In contrast, a natural harbor is surrounded on several sides by prominences of land. Examples of natural harbors include Sydney Harbour, Australia and San Francisco Bay, California.

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

Artificial harbors[edit]

Artificial harbors are frequently built for use as ports. The oldest artificial harbor known is the Ancient Egyptian site at Wadi al-Jarf, on the Red Sea coast, which is at least 4500 years old (ca. 2600-2550 BC, reign of King Khufu). The largest artificially created harbor is Jebel Ali in Dubai.^[2] Other large and busy artificial harbors are located at: Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Port of Houston, Texas; Port of Long Beach, California; and Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California.

The Ancient Carthaginians constructed fortified, artificial harbors called cothons.

Natural harbors[edit]

A natural harbor in Vizhinjam, India

A natural harbor is a landform where a part of a body of water is protected and deep enough to furnish anchorage. Many such harbors are rias. Natural harbors have long been of great strategic naval and economic importance, and many great cities of the world are located on them. Having a protected harbor reduces or eliminates the need for breakwaters as it will result in calmer waves inside the harbor. Some examples are New York Harbor in the United States; Poole Harbour in England; Kingston Harbour in Jamaica; Grand Harbour in Malta; Subic Bay in Zambales, the Philippines; Sydney Harbour in Australia; Pearl Harbor in Hawaii; Trincomalee Harbour in Sri Lanka; San Francisco Bay in California; Visakhapatnam Harbour in Andhra Pradesh, India; Killybegs in County Donegal Ireland; Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada, Cork Harbour, Ireland and Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand.

Ice-free harbors[edit]

For harbors 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; St. Petersburg, Russia; Hammerfest, Norway; Vardø, Norway; and Prince Rupert Harbour, Canada. The world's southmost harbor, located at Antarctica's Winter Quarters Bay (77° 50′ South), is potentially ice-free, depending on the summertime pack ice conditions.^[3]