Harbor

Updated on Sep 20, 2024

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A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences), or haven, is a body of water where ships, boats and barges seek shelter from stormy weather, or are stored for future use. The term "harbor", referring primarily to a sheltered body of water, is often used interchangeably with "port", which is a man-made facility built for loading and unloading vessels and dropping off and picking up passengers. Ports are often located in harbors.

Harbors can be natural or artificial. An artificial harbor can have deliberately constructed breakwaters, sea walls, or jettys, or they can be constructed by dredging, which requires maintenance by further periodic dredging. An example of an artificial harbor is Long Beach Harbor, California, United States 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. In contrast, a natural harbor is surrounded on several sides by prominences of land. Examples of natural harbors include Sydney Harbour, Australia and Trincomalee Harbour in Sri Lanka.

Artificial harbors

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. Other large and busy artificial harbors include:

Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands;

Port of Houston, Texas, United States;

Port of Savannah, Georgia, United States;

Port of Long Beach, California, United States;

Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California, United States.

The Ancient Carthaginians constructed fortified, artificial harbors called cothons.

Natural harbors

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;

Boston Harbor in Massachusetts, United States

Poole Harbour in England, United Kingdom;

Kingston Harbour in Jamaica;

Grand Harbour in Malta;

Marsamxett Harbour in Malta;

Subic Bay in Zambales, the Philippines;

Scapa Flow in Scotland, United Kingdom;

Sydney Harbour in Australia; technically a ria

Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, United States;

Trincomalee Harbour in Sri Lanka;

San Francisco Bay in California, United States;

Visakhapatnam Harbour in India;

Killybegs in County Donegal, Ireland;

Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada;

Hamilton Harbour in Ontario, Canada;

Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada;

Cork Harbour, Ireland;

Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand;

Port of Tobruk in Tobruk, Libya;

Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong.

Ice-free harbors

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;

Liinakhamari, Russia;

Hammerfest, Norway;

Vardø, Norway;

Vostochny Port;

Nakhodka in Nakhodka Bay, Russia;

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.