A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences), 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 is 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.
For harbors 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 or Halifax (Canada).
Artificial harbors are frequently built for use as ports. The largest artificially created harbor is located in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Other notable harbors include:
Ports and harbours | Coastal construction | Landforms | Nautical terms
Porzh (evit listri) | Přístav | Havn | Hafen | لنگرگاه | Port (marine) | Náttúruleg höfn | Haven | Haven | Naturleg hamn | Havn | Порт | Harbor | Hamn | துறைமுகம் | Liman