natural harbors
Geography-made safe waters
Natural harbors are coastal indentations where geography provides shelter for ships without human construction—bays, inlets, or coves protected from open-sea waves and winds.
Cities like San Francisco and Sydney grew around their natural harbors.
The term distinguishes these formations from artificial harbors built with breakwaters and jetties: The island's natural harbor made it an ideal trading post.
- fjordsGlacially carved coastal inlets
- sheltered watersArea guarded from waves
- ancient portsOld coastal trading centers
- bayPartially enclosed water
- inletWater extending into land
estuary · cove · anchorage · port · lagoon · safe haven · harbor · deep water port · sound · dock · delta · dredging · mangrove · peninsula · shipwreck sites · deepwater · coral reef · tidal flats
- Persian GulfPersian Gulf, Bahrain, Kuwait, Dubai, Qatar
- safe harboursports, marinas, anchorages, sheltered waters, protected waters
- coastal featuresshore, coast, beach, bay, cliff
- Colonial AustraliaBotany Bay, penal colonies, convicts, penal colony, colonial settlement
- Primorsky KraiVladivostok, Pacific Fleet