This page is about the waterfront structure. For other uses see wharf (disambiguation).

A wharf is a fixed platform, commonly on pilings, roughly parallel to and alongside navigable water, where ships are loaded and unloaded. The word comes from the Old English hwearf, meaning "heap," and its plural is either wharfs, or, especially in American English, wharves; collectively a group of these is referred to as wharfing or wharfage.

A popular, though false, belief is that "wharf" is an acronym of WareHouse At RiverFront.

In the northeast of England the term staithe (from the Norse for landing stage) is also used.

Well known wharves

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• Canary Wharf, London, England, part of the London Docklands and now redeveloped into commercial space which contains the 3 tallest buildings in Britain.
• Salford Quays, Salford, is an area at the end of the Manchester Ship Canal.
• Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia, apart of the Sydney central business district, Circular Quay is a popular attraction and major transporting hub in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
• Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California, USA, now redeveloped into a tourist area with stores and restaurants instead of serving its maritime purpose.
  • Derby (1762), Hatch's (1819) and Central (1791) Wharves in Salem, Massachusetts are the last of the 50 wharves which lined Salem harbor. They are part of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the only remaining intact waterfront from the US age of sail. In 1790, Salem was the sixth largest city in the country.
  • Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui of Hong Kong, formerly a series of wharf, now developed into a cruise terminal and shopping malls owned by The Wharf.
  • Burnley Wharf, Southampton, England.

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