Editing Wharf (section)

==Overview==
[[File:Rinlo (RPS 24-07-2020) Muelle, señal de tráfico de peligro.png|thumb|Traffic sign: Quayside or river bank ahead. Unprotected quayside or riverbank.]]
A wharf commonly comprises a fixed platform, often on [[deep foundation|pilings]]. Commercial ports may have warehouses that serve as interim storage: where it is sufficient a single wharf with a single berth constructed along the land adjacent to the water is normally used; where there is a need for more capacity multiple wharves, or perhaps a single large wharf with multiple berths, will instead be constructed, sometimes projecting over the water. A pier, raised over the water rather than within it, is commonly used for cases where the weight or volume of cargos will be low.

Smaller and more modern wharves are sometimes built on flotation devices ([[pontoon (boat)|pontoons]]) to keep them at the same level as the ship, even during changing tides.

In everyday parlance the term ''quay'' (pronounced 'key') is common in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and many other Commonwealth countries, and the Republic of Ireland, and may also refer to neighbourhoods and roadways running along the wayside (for example, Queen's Quay in [[Queens Quay (Toronto)|Toronto]] and [[Queen's Quay, Belfast|Belfast]]). The term ''wharf'' is more common in the United States.  In some contexts ''wharf'' and ''quay'' may be used to mean{{clarify|reason=the lede says that they may include these|date=July 2019}} [[pier]], [[berth (moorings)|berth]], or [[jetty]].<ref>{{cite book | entry = wharf | title = Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus |edition=3 | year = 2013 | publisher = Philip Lief Group | url = https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/wharf}}</ref>

In old ports such as [[Port of London|London]] (which once had around 1700 wharves<ref name="craig">{{cite book |title=London's Changing Riverscape |last1=Craig |first1=Charles |last2=Diprose |first2=Graham | author2-link=Graham Diprose |last3=Seaborne |first3=Mike |year=2009|publisher=Frances Lincoln Ltd|location=London|isbn=978-0-7112-2941-9}}</ref>) many old wharves have been converted to residential or office use.

Certain early railways in England referred to goods loading points as "wharves". The term was carried over from marine usage. The person who was resident in charge of the wharf was referred to as a "wharfinger".<ref name = middleton>{{cite book | first1 = Vic | last1 = Mitchell | first2 = Keith | last2 = Smith | title = Branch Lines Around Bodmin | publisher = Middleton Press | location = [[Midhurst]], West Sussex | year = 1996 | isbn = 978-1873793831}}</ref>