Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Protected harbor
Ever try to load or unload a sailing ship that is pitching to and fro in moderate-to-heavy waves?
I didn't think so, and don't bother trying. It's very difficult and downright dangerous. What you
need are calm waters, preferably in a
protected harbor
setting, where intervening land negates the
big waves of the open sea. Because shipping has long been a principal means of moving people
and goods, protected harbor settings have long been prime sites for settlement. Geographically, what
do Boston, New York, Baltimore, Norfolk, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Tokyo,
Sydney, Mumbai (Bombay), Karachi, Hamburg, Havana, and Rio de Janeiro have in common? You
got it.
Head of navigation
A
head of navigation
is the farthest point upriver that a boat or ship can travel from a river's mouth.
Washington,DC,forexample, islocated attheheadofnavigation ofthePotomacRiver.Thatis,ships
of good size can proceed up the Potomac from its mouth as far as the site of that city, where rap-
ids make further navigation impossible. In other instances, waterfalls, shallow water, or narrowness
calls a halt to water-borne traffic. In the settlement of North America, heads of navigation sometimes
proved a logical spot for boats to stop, be unloaded, and later for settlements to develop. In some
cases, these sites afforded other advantages for settlement. Where waterfalls or rapids impeded nav-
igation, these features sometimes provided sources of waterpower for mills and other economic activ-
ities. Narrows or shallow water, in contrast, sometimes offered opportunity for bridge construction.
Other examples of heads of navigation in the United States include Trenton, NJ (Delaware River);
Louisville, KY (Ohio River); and St. Paul, MN (Mississippi River).
Defensive sites
Defensive considerations were paramount in the siting of several cities. The oldest part of Paris, for
example, is the Ile de la Cite, a small island in the middle of the Seine River. The river served as a
protective moat for the island's oldest known inhabitants, a tribe called the Parisii. Similarly, the old-
est part of Montreal is an island in the St. Lawrence River that served a defensive purpose.
Some rivers exhibit dramatic U-shaped bends called
meander loops
. By siting a town on the inside of
a loop, the river served as a protective perimeter. Examples of this include New Orleans, Louisiana,
and Berne, Switzerland.
