A harbor ( American English ), or harbour ( Australian English , British English , Canadian English , Irish English , New Zealand English ; see spelling differences ), is a sheltered body of water where ships , boats , and barges can be moored . The term harbor is often used interchangeably with port , which is a man-made facility built for loading and unloading vessels and dropping off and picking up passengers. Harbors usually include one or more ports. Alexandria Port in Egypt, meanwhile, is an example of a port with two harbors.
23-743: Chichester Harbour is a large natural harbour in West Sussex and Hampshire . It is situated to the south-west of the city of Chichester and to the north of the Solent . The harbour and surrounding land has been designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The area is also part of the Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation , Chichester and Langstone Harbours Ramsar site , Special Protection Area and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. Part of it
46-399: A body of water is protected and deep enough to allow anchorage. Many such harbors are rias . Natural harbors have long been of great strategic naval and economic importance, and many great cities of the world are located on them. Having a protected harbor reduces or eliminates the need for breakwaters as it will result in calmer waves inside the harbor. Some examples are: For harbors near
69-643: Is Long Beach Harbor , California , United States, which was an array of salt marshes and tidal flats too shallow for modern merchant ships before it was first dredged in the early 20th century. In contrast, a natural harbor is surrounded on several sides by land. Examples of natural harbors include Sydney Harbour , New South Wales, Australia, Halifax Harbour in Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada and Trincomalee Harbour in Sri Lanka. Artificial harbors are frequently built for use as ports. The oldest artificial harbor known
92-804: Is a Geological Conservation Review site and two areas are Local Nature Reserves . Five institutional landowners that own land or foreshore within Chichester Harbour SSSI include the Crown Estate , the Church Commissioners , the Ministry of Defence (around Thorney island), the National Trust (East Head) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ( Pilsey Island ). Chichester Harbour
115-548: Is a 3,733.5-hectare (9,226-acre) area that is managed by Chichester Harbour Conservancy, an independent public body that was established by an Act of Parliament in 1971. Chichester Harbour is one of four natural harbours in that area of the coastline, the others being Portsmouth Harbour , Langstone Harbour and Pagham Harbour . It is one of the few remaining undeveloped coastal areas in Southern England and remains relatively wild. Its wide expanses and intricate creeks are at
138-577: Is also used for fishing . Harbour tours depart year round from Itchenor in either a traditional boat or in Solar Heritage , a solar powered boat. During the summer regular trips depart from Emsworth on Solar Heritage and on the Victorian oyster boat Terror . There is a small dory that operates as a ferry service between Itchenor and Bosham. The harbour is a very popular area for birdwatching ; guided bird walks and boat trips are offered during
161-745: Is governed at the county level by West Sussex County Council . For representation in Parliament , Birdham is a part of the Chichester constituency . Since 8 June 2017, the Member of Parliament for the Chichester constituency is Gillian Keegan . The 2011 census recorded a population of 1,483 for the parish of Birdham, forming 645 households. Birdham is a majority Christian parish with 981 (66.1%) residents identifying as such. 1,463 residents (98.7%) listed their ethnic group as White. The median age of Birdham parish
184-492: Is much debate about whether and how it should continue to be repaired. The western boundary with Langstone Harbour is defined by a historic causeway known as the wade way, once the principal access from Hayling Island to the mainland, but since bisected by a deep channel for the Portsmouth and Chichester Canal in the 1820s, and no longer safely traversable. Chichester Harbour has three main channels. The Emsworth Channel,
207-561: Is the Ancient Egyptian site at Wadi al-Jarf , on the Red Sea coast, which is at least 4500 years old (ca. 2600–2550 BCE, reign of King Khufu ). The largest artificially created harbor is Jebel Ali in Dubai . Other large and busy artificial harbors include: The Ancient Carthaginians constructed fortified, artificial harbors called cothons . A natural harbor is a landform where a section of
230-460: The North and South poles , being ice-free is an important advantage, especially when it is year-round. Examples of these are: The world's southernmost harbor, located at Antarctica 's Winter Quarters Bay (77° 50′ South), is sometimes ice-free, depending on the summertime pack ice conditions. Although the world's busiest port is a contested title, in 2017 the world's busiest harbor by cargo tonnage
253-456: The tide . The entrance to the harbour is deep with a fast tidal stream and to the east of the main harbour entrance channel is a gravel bank known as The Winner. The east side of the harbour entrance is an area of geographical, recreational and conservation interest known as East Head. It is a large sand dune linked to land by a narrow area known as The Hinge. In recent years, The Hinge has been breached by several storms and then repaired. There
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#1732851065689276-653: The Harbour throughout the year. The harbour is one of the south coast's most popular sailing waters with as many as 12,500 craft regularly using the harbour, with competitive racing taking place among the 14 sailing clubs of the Chichester Harbour Federation. The villages, sea walls and footpaths are a popular leisure area for residents and tourists alike. Set up by the Chichester Harbour Conservancy Act 1971 , Chichester Harbour Conservancy has
299-680: The Thorney Channel and the Chichester Channel, which also branches off into the Bosham Lake and Itchenor Reach. The harbourside settlements are: Birdham , Bosham , Chidham , Dell Quay , Emsworth , Fishbourne , Langstone , Northney , South Hayling , Southbourne , West Itchenor , West Thorney and West Wittering . The nearest towns are Chichester and Havant . The harbour lowlands contain high quality arable farmland. Boatyards, marinas and commercial fishing are important elements of
322-526: The ancient hundred of Wittering in Sussex according to the Domesday Book of 1086. The settlement comprised 16 households valued at three pounds five shillings. Birdham is an area of dispersed settlements with no defined centre with a single store and no pubs. The enclosure of Manhood Common led to the development of small farms but the rapid rise in population only began in the 1930s. During World War II ,
345-513: The duty to conserve, maintain and improve the harbour and amenity area for recreation, natural conservation and natural beauty. As well as being the statutory harbour authority, the Conservancy manages the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). To the south west of the entrance to Chichester Harbour is Chichester Bar, a shallow spit which can present a significant navigation hazard at all states of
368-468: The harbour was called into question when samples taken in 2022 were found to contain traces of numerous chemical compounds including prescribed medicines. The harbour has outflow from a water treatment plant. Chichester Harbour is used for a wide variety of sailing , including dinghy racing; it is the venue for the 'Itchenor Gallon' race for the International 14 . There are several yacht marinas . It
391-472: The local economy. The harbour has diverse habitats, including intertidal mudflats , shingle , saltmarsh , sand dunes, marshes and woodland. The mudflats provide feeding grounds for internationally important numbers of ringed plovers , grey plovers , redshanks , black-tailed godwits , dunlins , sanderlings , curlews and greenshanks . There are geologically important sand dunes and shingles at East Head and east of Langstone . The quality of water in
414-474: The same time a major wildlife haven and among some of Britain's most popular boating waters. The massive stretch of tidal flats and saltings are of outstanding ecological significance. Very large populations of wildfowl and waders use the mudflats feeding on the rich plant life and the huge populations of intertidal invertebrates. More than 7,500 Brent geese overwinter on the intertidal mud-land and adjacent farmland and around 55,000 birds reside in or visit
437-442: The shores of Chichester Harbour and is home to a locked marina on the site of a former tide millpond. The tide mill building itself still exists. In between it and Chichester marina are the lock gates to the disused Chichester Canal opened in 1822. The local school is Birdham C of E Primary School. According to the 2011 census Birdham parish had a population of 1,483. HMS Birdham , a minesweeper, launched on 19 September 1955,
460-495: The tide mill and associated boat yards became HMS Sea Serpent in 1942. The various holiday camps in the area were used as billets for troops training for amphibious landings, especially D Day . In May 2019, a new community centre opened. Birdham is governed at the parish level by Birdham Parish Council. Birdham is a part of the Chichester District , and as such is governed by Chichester District Council . Birdham
483-685: The winter months by Chichester Harbour Conservancy. There is a network of footpaths for walkers and a cycle route from Chichester to West Wittering which passes through harbour countryside. West Wittering Beach and East Head is the only sandy beach on the West Sussex coast and is a popular family and tourist destination on warm weekends. Harbor Harbors may be natural or artificial. An artificial harbor can have deliberately constructed breakwaters , sea walls , or jetties or they can be constructed by dredging , which requires maintenance by further periodic dredging. An example of an artificial harbor
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#1732851065689506-502: Was named after the village. Birdham's name derives from the Old English bridd and hām , and means a settlement frequented by young birds. The only evidence of prehistoric settlement is a Bronze Age settlement. Birdham is first mentioned in a series of Anglo-Saxon charters relating to land grants to the See of Selsey . Unfortunately, most of these are forgeries, Birdham was located in
529-552: Was the Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan . The following are large natural harbors: Birdham Birdham is a village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex , England. It is located on the Manhood Peninsula , c. 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of the city of Chichester . The parish church is dedicated to St James, although the dedication was to St. Leonard until c. 1900 . The village sits on
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