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- For information about compiler for the Clipper programming language see Harbour compiler
Low tide in Cwm Harbour, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales
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The tiny harbour at the village of Clovelly, Devon, England
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St. John's harbour, Newfoundland
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A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences), or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. Harbours can be man-made or natural. A man-made harbour will have sea walls or breakwaters and may require dredging. A natural harbour is surrounded on most sides by land.
Harbours and ports are often confused. A port is a man-made coastal or riverine facility where boats and ships can load and unload. It may consist of quays, wharfs, jetties, piers and slipways with cranes or ramps. A port may have magazine buildings or warehouses for storage of goods and a transport system, such as railway, road transport or pipeline transport facilities for relaying goods inland.
[edit] Natural harbours
A natural harbor is a landform where a part of a body of water is protected and deep enough to furnish anchorage. Natural harbors have long been of great Military strategy and economic importance. Many of the great cities of the world are located on a natural harbor.
[edit] Ice-free harbours
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Main article: Ice-free port
For harbours near the poles, being ice-free is an important advantage, ideally all-year round. Examples are Murmansk (Russia), Petsamo (Russia, formerly Finland), Hammerfest, Vardø, and Prince Rupert (Canada).
[edit] Temporary harbours
Sometimes a harbour is needed where one isn't available due to damage, such as in times of war. In this case a temporary harbour may be built and transported in pieces to the required location. The most notable of these were the two Mulberry harbours used during the D-Day invasion of Normandy in World War II.
[edit] Notable harbors
The following places are large natural harbours:
- San Francisco Bay in the United States
- Mumbai or Bombay in India
- Charleston in the United States
- Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States
- Kingston, in Jamaica
- Sydney Harbour in Australia
- Manila Bay in the Philippines
- Rio de Janeiro, Guanabara Bay, in Brazil
- Bahia, Salvador, in Brazil
- Halifax in Canada
- Cork in the Republic of Ireland (Cork Harbour)
- Falmouth in Cornwall, the United Kingdom
- Poole Harbour in Dorset, the United Kingdom
- Freetown Harbour in Sierra Leone
- Pearl Harbor, west of Honolulu, Hawaii
- Oslofjord, Norway
Artificial harbours are frequently built for use as ports. The largest artificially created harbour is located in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Other notable harbours include:
- Antwerp in Belgium
- Hampton Roads in Virginia, United States
- Keppel Harbour in Singapore
- Upper New York Bay in New York Harbor, United States
- Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, People's Republic of China (see also List of harbours in Hong Kong)
- Manukau Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand
- Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand
- Trondheim, Norway
- Portland Harbour in Dorset, England
- Belem harbour at Guajara Bay,eastern Amazonia,[Brazil]
[edit] See also
