A port is an artificial construction developed by man on the banks of a watercourse with the main objective of organizing the transport and trade of products with other land regions. The port can be found both on the shores of the sea and the ocean, a river, a lake or a lagoon. It is also the space that connects two land points since it is the last place of human habitat in the presence of aquatic environments.
Most of the ports fulfill economic functions, mainly commerce and fishing. In them, the human being establishes constructions of greater or lesser dimension in order to adapt to the aquatic conditions and allow the development of all kinds of tasks related to these activities. Some ports in the world are true enclaves of power since they receive and send an infinite quantity of manufactured products, as well as material and community goods.
However, there are also ports that can be built almost exclusively for tourist and recreational purposes. This happens especially in regions where tourism plays an important role, perhaps becoming the main economic activity of the community in question. Clear examples of this are the ports built on the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean in which almost no commercial or fishing activities are carried out, but rather they serve as temporary parking for boats, yachts and cruise ships.
For a port to exist and to carry out its main activities properly, it must have certain essential elements for them. In the first place, buildings and constructions must gain some space from the sea in order to allow control of the waters (channeling dikes, canals, piers, docks and locks). On the other hand, the land part where the reception, supervision and reorganization of incoming or outgoing production will take place must also be adequately organized. Finally, it is central for a port to have a correct transportation system through which the goods to be imported or exported can be mobilized quickly and efficiently.
