Rotterdam
Topic: International Trade: Patterns, Ports and the WTO · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 7 "Transport and Communication"; Class 12, Ch 8 "International Trade"
Meaning
Rotterdam is a port in the Netherlands, at the mouth of the river Rhine. It is Europe's largest port. It is also Europe's main entrepot, which means a port that collects goods from many countries and re-exports them. It is a comprehensive port, which means it handles large amounts of both bulk cargo and general cargo.
Example
From Rotterdam, ships and barges can sail 700 km up the Rhine to Basel in Switzerland. This makes the Rhine valley, with industrial centres such as Duisburg, part of Rotterdam's hinterland, the land area a port serves.
Don't confuse with
- Duisburg: an inland port on the Rhine that is reached by river. Rotterdam is the seaport at the river's mouth.
Related concepts
- Industrial port
- Commercial port
- Comprehensive port
- Inland port
- Out port
- Oil port
- Port of call
- Packet station
- Entrepot port
- Naval port