A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences), or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter through stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial. An artificial harbor has deliberately-constructed breakwaters, sea walls, or jettys, or otherwise, they could have been constructed by dredging, and these require maintenance by further periodic dredging. An example of the former kind is at Long Beach Harbor, California, and an example of the latter kind is San Diego Harbor, California, which was, under natural conditions, too shallow for modern merchant ships and warships.
In contrast, a natural harbor is surrounded on several sides by prominences of land. An example of this kind of harbor is San Francisco Bay, California.
Harbors and ports are often confused with each other. A port is a facility for loading and unloading vessels; ports are usually located in harbors.
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