Coasts - Docks, Harbours and Ports

1. Docks are man-made areas built on coastlines and in river estuaries.

2. They provide places for ships and boats to load and unload.

3. Docks may be used for unloading passengers from ferries and liners, or goods from cargo ships.

4. Docks include wharves and dockside areas.

5. They are often equipped with large cranes and storage sheds or warehouses to store goods.

6. Railway lines often run along dock fronts in order to transfer goods and passengers easily from ships to trains.

7. Harbours provide shelter for shipping from the wind, waves and currents, and moorings for boats.

8. Harbours can be natural or man-made.

9. Most are built in locations such as bays or river mouths, which provide natural shelter.

10. A man-made harbour has sea walls and breakwaters to protect it.

11. A natural harbour is surrounded on most sides by land.

12. Harbours can range from small areas crowded with pleasure craft to large commercial ports.

13. A quay is a platform to which ships are docked for loading and unloading.

14. In the past, quays would have been very busy places with warehouses and shipping offices.

15. Today most of the area next to quays is filled with warehouse space.

16. Jetties are man-made structures, made from wood, stone or concrete, that can protect harbour entrances.

17. They usually extend out into the water and are used to direct a current or to provide berthing for ships.

18. There are hundreds of fishing ports dotted around the coastlines of the world.

19. Fishing has always provided people with a good source of food.

20. Fishing boats have sailed out to sea to catch fish since ancient times.

21. Ports are often located on the mouths of rivers, at the point where they join the sea.

22. This is because river mouths form natural harbours, protecting boats from the rough seas.

23. Sometimes, ports and harbours have to be dredged.

24. This makes sure that the water is deep enough to provide safe passage for the vessels using them.

25. They may also be dredged to make them deeper to allow larger ships to use them.

26. A dredge is the device used for scraping or sucking the seabed - they are fitted to boats called dredgers.

27. Dredging involves gathering up sediment from the sea or river bed.

28. The sand is sometimes used to replace sand on beaches where too much has been lost because of erosion.

29. Boatyards and shipyards are often located on the coast, or on the mouths of rivers near to the sea.

30. They are used both to build and to repair boats and ships.

31. Boats deteriorate easily because much of the hull of a boat is under water most of the time.

32. Boats need regular maintenance to keep them in good condition.

33. Large cranes are often provided to lift boats in and out of the water for repairs and repainting.