Port of Houston

Port of Houston
Logo of the Port of Houston Authority
Location
Country	United States
Location	Houston (Texas, USA)
Details
Operated by	Port of Houston Authority
Owned by	City of Houston
Type of harbor	Artificial / natural
Number of cargo container terminals	2
Number of major general cargo terminals	5
Statistics
Annual cargo tonnage	212 million (2006)
Annual container volume	1.6 million TEUs (2006)
Annual revenue	US$168 million (2006)
Net income	US$42 million (2006)
Economic value	US$118 billion (2006)
Attributable jobs	785,000 (2006)
Draft depth	45 feet
Website http://www.portofhouston.com

The Port of Houston is a port in Houston, Texas, the fourth-largest city in the United States. The port is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. It is the busiest port in the United States in terms of foreign tonnage, second-busiest in the United States in terms of overall tonnage, and thirteenth-busiest in the world. Though originally the port's terminals were primarily within the Houston city limits, the port has expanded to such a degree that today it has facilities in multiple communities in the surrounding area. In particular the port's busiest terminal, the Barbours Cut Terminal, is located in Morgan's Point.

The Port of Houston is a cooperative entity consisting of both the port authority, which operates the major terminals along the Houston Ship Channel, and more than 150 private companies situated along Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay. Many petroleum corporations have built refineries along the channel where they are partially protected from the threat of major storms in the Gulf of Mexico. The petrochemical complex associated with the Port of Houston is one of the largest in the world.

The original Port of Houston was located at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou in downtown Houston by the University of Houston–Downtown. This area is called "Allen's Landing" and is now a park. It is the birthplace of the City of Houston.

Shipping points grew at multiple locations on the Buffalo Bayou including the port of Harrisburg (now part of Houston) and the docks on the Allen Ranch. By the end of the 19th century Buffalo Bayou had become a major shipping channel with traffic beginning to rival Galveston.