Port facts for kids

The Port of Wellington

A port is a place at the edge of an ocean, river, or lake for ships to load and unload their cargo. Persons on ships can get on or off ships at a port. It is also called a harbour or harbor. This kind of port is the same as sea port.

A good port is easy to get to over water or land. It is also in a place that is not easily hurt by bad weather, like strong wind or big waves.

Some ports are important for trade; other ports are important to a country's navy.

Types of ports

If a port is visited by ships that can go on the ocean, it is called a "sea port" or just a "port". If a port is visited only by river boats like barges, it is called a "river port".

If a port is on a lake, river, or canal that goes to a sea or ocean, that port can be called an "inland port".

A fishing port is a port or harbour used by people who are fishing.

A warm water port is a port where the water does not freeze in winter time.

A cruise home port is a port where people get on and off cruise-ships. It is also where the cruise ship gets its supplies, like fresh water, fuel, and food. The Port of Miami, Florida is called the "Cruise Capital of the World". Port Everglades, Florida and the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico also have big cruise ports.

A port of call is a place where a ship stops before it has finished its trip.

A cargo port is a port that is used to move things people want to buy or sell.

Images for kids

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  The Port of New York and New Jersey grew from the original harbor at the convergence of the Hudson River and the East River at the Upper New York Bay.

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  The Porticciolo del Cedas port in Barcola near Trieste, a small local port

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  Port of Durban in Durban, South Africa is Africa's busiest port

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  Seaport, a 17th-century depiction by Claude Lorrain, 1638

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  Shanghai Port is the world's busiest container port

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  Port of Kaohsiung is the largest port in Taiwan.

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  Port of Hamburg

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  The port of Piraeus

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  Port of Seattle

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  Port of Haifa, Israel

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  Port of Barcelona, one of Spain's largest ports

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  Port of Montreal, Quebec.

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  The Port of Duluth-Superior, the largest freshwater port in the world

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  Cargo port in Hilo, Hawaii

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  A ship pumping bilge water into a harbor

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  The port of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, India

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  Port of Hamina-Kotka, a port of the two neighboring cities: Hamina and Kotka.

See also

In Spanish: Puerto para niños