Trifter

Many of the world’s greatest cities have developed around natural harbours.  These provide sheltered anchorage without the need to build a breakwater.  Aesthetically, they are fantastic places to work. That said, not all natural harbours are intensively built up. Some lie in areas of outstanding natural beauty. Most formed when a river valley became flooded.

The five largest natural harbours are generally regarded to be:

Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour, Australia

Image via Wikipedia

This natural harbour was the site of the first Western settlement in Australia. This picture clearly shows the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Sydney Opera House can be seen on the left.

Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Source Wikipedia

This is a view looking across Rio de Janeiro towards the Sugar Loaf Mountain

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Halifax Harbour is a flooded river valley.  Halifax Harbour is strategically important because it lists close to the Great Circle Route between the mouth of the St Lawrence Seaway and Europe.  It is the first and last port in North America which has good rail connections. It is an important refuge for ships that have suffered in Atlantic storms.

Falmouth Harbour, Cornwall, England

Falmouth Harbour is another flooded river valley.  This harbour lies at the western end of the English Channel. It used to have repair facilities for ships that had suffered in Atlantic storms.

Poole Harbour, Dorset, England

Source: Wikipedia

This picture looks through the mouth of Poole Harbour.  Brownsea Island is visible at the centre of the picture.  The town of Poole can be seen in the background.  An area known as Sandbanks can be seen in the mid right. Sandbanks is one of the most expensive areas of real estate in the world.

Cork, Republic of Ireland

When the list of large harbours is extended beyond the first five it becomes contentious. Many districts like to be consider that their harbour is among the largest in the world.  Some world famous natural harbours include New York, Pearl Harbour, Istanbul, Scapa Flow, Milford Haven, Portsmouth Harbour, San Fransisco Bay and Boston Harbour.

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