A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land. Port locations are selected to optimize access to land and navigable water, for commercial demand, and for shelter from wind and waves. Ports with deeper water are rarer, but can handle larger, more economical ships. Since ports throughout history handled every kind of traffic, support and storage facilities vary widely, may extend for miles, and dominate the local economy. Some ports have an important military role.

Distribution[link]

Ports often have cargo-handling equipment, such as cranes (operated by longshoremen) and forklifts for use in loading ships, which may be provided by private interests or public bodies. Often, canneries or other processing facilities will be located nearby. Some ports feature canals, which allow ships further movement inland. Access to intermodal transportation, such as trains and trucks, are critical to a port, so that passengers and cargo can also move further inland beyond the port area. Ports with international traffic have customs facilities. Harbour pilots and tugboats may maneuver large ships in tight quarters when near docks.

Types[link]

The terms "port" and "seaport" are used for different types of port facilities that handle ocean-going vessels, and river port is used for river traffic, such as barges and other shallow-draft vessels. Some ports on a lake, river, or canal have access to a sea or ocean, and are sometimes called "inland ports".

A fishing port is a port or harbour for landing and distributing fish. It may be a recreational facility, but it is usually commercial. A fishing port is the only port that depends on an ocean product, and depletion of fish may cause a fishing port to be uneconomical. In recent decades, regulations to save fishing stock may limit the use of a fishing port, perhaps effectively closing it.

A "dry port" is a term sometimes used to describe a yard used to place containers or conventional bulk cargo, usually connected to a seaport by rail or road.

A warm water port is one where the water does not freeze in winter time. Because they are available year-round, warm water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest. Such settlements as Murmansk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia, Odessa in Ukraine, Kushiro in Japan and Valdez at the terminus of the Alaska Pipeline owe their very existence to being ice-free ports.

A seaport is further categorized as a "cruise port" or a "cargo port". Additionally, "cruise ports" are also known as a "home port" or a "port of call". The "cargo port" is also further categorized into a "bulk" or "break bulk port" or as a "container port".

A cruise home port is the port where cruise-ship passengers board (or embark) to start their cruise and disembark the cruise ship at the end of their cruise. It is also where the cruise ship's supplies are loaded for the cruise, which includes everything from fresh water and fuel to fruits, vegetable, champagne, and any other supplies needed for the cruise. "Cruise home ports" are a very busy place during the day the cruise ship is in port, because off-going passengers debark their baggage and on-coming passengers board the ship in addition to all the supplies being loaded. Currently, the ''Cruise Capital of the World'' is the Port of Miami, Florida, closely followed behind by Port Everglades, Florida and the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A port of call is an intermediate stop for a ship on its sailing itinerary, which may include up to half a dozen ports. At these ports, a cargo ship may take on supplies or fuel, as well as unloading and loading cargo. But for a cruise ship, it is their premier stop where the cruise lines take on passengers to enjoy their vacation.

Cargo ports, on the other hand, are quite different from cruise ports, because each handles very different cargo, which has to be loaded and unloaded by very different mechanical means. The port may handle one particular type of cargo or it may handle numerous cargoes, such as grains, liquid fuels, liquid chemicals, wood, automobiles, etc. Such ports are known as the "bulk" or "break bulk ports". Those ports that handle containerized cargo are known as container ports. Most cargo ports handle all sorts of cargo, but some ports are very specific as to what cargo they handle. Additionally, the individual cargo ports are divided into different operating terminals which handle the different cargoes, and are operated by different companies, also known as terminal operators or stevedores.

Access[link]

Ports sometimes fall out of use. Rye, East Sussex, was an important English port in the Middle Ages, but the coastline changed and it is now from the sea, while the ports of Ravenspurn and Dunwich have been lost to coastal erosion. Also in the United Kingdom, London, on the River Thames, was once an important international port, but changes in shipping methods, such as the use of containers and larger ships, put it at a disadvantage.

Ports of the World[link]

Africa[link]

Ports and harbours in South Africa

Asia[link]

For details on East Asian ports, see the List of East Asian ports.

North America[link]

The largest ports are Los Angeles in the U.S., Manzanillo in Mexico and Vancouver in Canada. Panama also has the Canal that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, and is a key conduit for international trade.

For details on all North American ports, see the List of North American ports.

The ports of the United States handle more than 2 billion metric tons of domestic and import/export cargo annually. American ports are responsible for moving over 99 percent of the country's overseas cargo.

For details on U.S. Ports, see the List of ports in the United States.

See also[link]

Megaproject

Water port topics[link]

Bandar (Persian word for "port" or "haven")

Marina - port for recreational boating

Port operator

Ship transport

Other types of ports[link]

Airport

Spaceport

Port of entry

Port (disambiguation)

Lists[link]

List of seaports

World's busiest port

List of world's busiest transshipment ports

List of world's busiest port regions

List of busiest container ports

List of North American ports

List of ports in the United States

List of East Asian ports

Sea rescue organisations

External links[link]

Port Industry Statistics, American Association of Port Authorities

Information on yachting facilities at 1,613 ports in 191 countries from Noonsite.com

Social & Economic Benefits of PORTS from "NOAA Socioeconomics" website initiative

Antunes, Cátia: ''Early Modern Ports, 1500-1750'', European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2011, retrieved: November 2, 2011.

Category:Nautical terms

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name	Black Moth Super Rainbow
background	group_or_band
alias	Satanstompingcaterpillars, BMSR
origin	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
genre	Experimental, psychedelic pop, electronica, neo-psychedelia
years active	2003-present
label	Graveface Records, The 70's Gymnastics Recording Company
website	www.blackmothsuperrainbow.com
current members	Tobacco (songwriting, vocoder) The Seven Fields of Aphelion (keyboard, monosynth)d.kyler (drums)Ryan Graveface (bass, guitar)
past members	Power Pill Fist (bass, atari)Father Hummingbird (keyboard, polysynth)
notable instruments	VocoderRhodes pianoNovatron }}

Black Moth Super Rainbow is an American experimental band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Little is known about the band or its members, as they have kept themselves something of an enigma.

Style[link]

Black Moth Super Rainbow's music contains elements of psychedelia, folk, electronica and pop. Their distinctive sound is characterized by analog electronic instruments including the vocoder, Rhodes piano and Novatron.

A Graveface insert included inside the album ''Dandelion Gum'' describes them as such: "Deep in the woods of western Pennsylvania vocoders hum amongst the flowers and synths bubble under the leaf-strewn ground while flutes whistle in the wind and beats bounce to the soft drizzle of a warm acid rain. As the sun peeks out from between the clouds, the organic aural concoction of Black Moth Super Rainbow starts to glisten above the trees."

History[link]

I had started off really noisy and abstract with Allegheny White Fish. We were all so happy with ourselves for coming up with that name in 10th grade, but it wasn’t too funny 4 years later. Then ssc [satanstompingcaterpillars] was like my way to be more melodic all the time, and a little more serious. Then when it started to shift again into something I might be a little more comfortable performing live, I brought in the rest of the band and we changed over again. I’ve always felt like these ideas shouldn’t outstay their welcome. 3 or 4 records is enough, because I get really bored, and I like to keep these bands and ideas as pure as I can, in their places in time, until it seems like I’ve finally gotten it right. -Tobacco

From 1996 to 2000, Tobacco existed as Allegheny White Fish (Pittsburghese for a condom floating down the river). After Power Pill Fist (who is no longer with the band) joined, they were known as satanstompingcaterpillars from 2000 to 2002. Under satanstompingcaterpillars, the band self-released their music on different labels, including Fuckeroo and Side 8. After their third album ''The Most Wonderfulest Thing'' in 2002, the band added three members, Father Hummingbird, The Seven Fields of Aphelion and Iffernaut. They changed their name to form Black Moth Super Rainbow in 2003.

Black Moth Super Rainbow began releasing their music on The 70's Gymnastics Recording Company, which is the band's own imprint. It is characterized by a tree-person jumping rope in a dress. Black Moth Super Rainbow's first album ''Falling Through a Field'' serves as a best-of collection for satanstompingcaterpillars.

After 2005, Graveface picked them up with ''Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods'' and bonus reissued versions of their first two albums.

Black Moth Super Rainbow's third album ''Dandelion Gum'' was released in 2007. It is possibly their most successful album with many good reviews. With it came their first music video for the track "Sun Lips."

On November 4, 2008, Black Moth Super Rainbow released ''Drippers''. The EP not only includes new tracks like "Happy Melted City" and "Milk Skates" but also features some lost tracks from the ''Dandelion Gum'' era such as "We Are the Pagans" and "One Day I Had an Extra Toe." It also features Mike Watt and BMSR's first official remix of Laura Burhenn's song "Just for the Night." Along with ''Drippers'', the band released ''Bonus Drippers'' for MP3 download on their Myspace, which includes older tracks, unreleased tracks and bonus tracks like "The Dark Forest Joggers," a ''Dandelion Gum'' vinyl exclusive, "Side 9," a ''Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods'' vinyl bonus track, or "Melting in the Meadow," a ''Start a People'' outtake track.

Their fourth album Eating Us was released on May 26, 2009. Around the end of the year, Rad Cult re-published ''The Autumn Kaleidoscope Got Changed'' by satanstompingcaterpillars.

On January 12, 2012, Tobacco posted via his Facebook account that a BMSR album entitled ''Psychic Love Damage'' had been recorded, but scrapped soon after completion. According to Tobacco, "it was supposed to come out this year, but it wasn't very exciting. and not good enough in my opinion for you to spend your $ on. so i junked it for its best moments and made an album that i'm really in love with." He went on to state that although scrapped, a new BMSR album is to be released in the near future, possibly in the summer. He also stated he would be releasing many of his favorite scrapped pieces through his soundcloud account.

On April 5, 2012, Tabacco posted news on the Black Moth Super Rainbow website confirming the next album will be out soon. Its slated release is spring of 2012. Along with this announcement, he also posted the first new song of this untitled new album, called "Spraypaint".

Live performance[link]

Black Moth Super Rainbow has appeared at the WIDR Barking Tuna, Sasquatch! Music Festival, South by Southwest and several other festivals. On March 17, 2007, they played alongside The Octopus Project as one band at the South by Southwest music festival, playing music from their collaborative project, ''The House of Apples and Eyeballs''. Black Moth Super Rainbow opened for The Flaming Lips on their Fall 2007 tour. The band performed at the 2008 SXSW music festival in a badges and wristbands only, packed-to-capacity show at The Thirsty Nickel. The band's 2009 tour featured a video introduction created by Eric Wareheim. Mike Watt also occasionally joined the band on stage to play bass during this tour.

Solo projects[link]

Tobacco has released several albums, including ''Fucked Up Friends''. In 2009, Tobacco released ''The Allegheny White Fish Tapes'', a collection of mixtapes and limited CDs from pre-BMSR. On May 25, 2010, Tobacco released the second solo album ''Maniac Meat''. It features vocals from Beck on two tracks, "Fresh Hex" and "Grape Aerosmith." The Seven Fields of Aphelion was the third member from Black Moth Super Rainbow to release a solo project. Her debut solo album ''Periphery'' was released on Graveface in February 2010.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

''Falling Through a Field'' (2003)

''Start a People'' (2004)

''Dandelion Gum'' (2007)

''Eating Us'' (2009)

TBA (2012)

EPs[link]

''Chinese Witch Guy With an Ax'' (2004) 3" CD-R

''Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods'' (2005) CD/LP

''Drippers'' (2008) CD/LP

''Bonus Drippers'' (2008) Free Download

''The Autumn Kaleidoscope Got Changed + Sing to Us'' (2009) Reissue Double LP

''Extra Flavor'' (2011)

Singles[link]

''Zodiac Girls'' (2008)

''Don't You Want To Be In A Cult?'' (2009)

''Born On A Day The Sun Didn't Rise'' (2009)

''Spraypaint'' (2012)

Collaborations[link]

''The House of Apples and Eyeballs'' (2006) with The Octopus Project

References[link]

External links[link]

Official website

Black Moth Super Rainbow on Graveface Records

Kotori Magazine Interview with Tobacco

FMLY Interview with Tobacco/Black Moth Super Rainbow

Interview with Tobacco

Biography and Discography

Eating Us Review

Category:Psychedelic musical groups Category:Electronic music groups from Pennsylvania Category:Musical groups from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:Musical groups established in 2002