Harbor
From Freepedia
- See also the Harbour compiler, a compiler for the Clipper programming language.
A harbor (AmE), harbour (CwE) or haven is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. Harbors can be man-made or natural. A man-made harbor will have sea walls or breakwaters and may require dredging. A natural harbor will be surrounded on most sides by land.
Harbors 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.
During the D-Day operations of 1944, two artificial harbors (codenamed Mulberry) were built just off the invasion beaches.
Natural harbors have long been of great strategic and economic importance. Many of the great cities of the world are located on a natural harbor.
Ice-free harbors
For harbors near the poles, being ice-free is an important advantage, ideally all-year round. Examples are Murmansk (Russia), Petsamo (Russia, formerly Finland), Vardø, and Prince Rupert or Halifax (Canada).
Largest harbors
Sydney Harbour in Australia is the world's largest natural harbour.
The following places claim to possess the second largest harbour in the world:
- Rio de Janeiro in Brazil
- Halifax in Canada
- Poole in the United Kingdom
- Cork in the Republic of Ireland
- Falmouth in the United Kingdom
- Freetown Harbour in Sierra Leone
Artificial harbors are frequently built for use as ports. The largest artificially created harbor is located in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Other famous harbors include:
- Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong
- Upper New York Bay in the United States
- Hampton Roads in the United States
