www.thecityofvancouver.org
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www.thecityofvancouver.org |
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Vancouver, British Columbia |
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Vancouver, British Columbia
city (1991 pop. 471,844), SW British Columbia, Canada, on Burrard Inlet of the Strait of Georgia, opposite Vancouver Island and just N of the Wash. border. It is the third largest city in Canada, the largest city in W Canada, and the nation's chief Pacific port, with an excellent year-round harbor. It is also the major western terminus of trans-Canadian railroads, highways, and airways. Its location on hills with views of the harbor and the mountains of the Coast Range as well as its mild winter climate make it a year-round tourist center. As Canada's main connection to other Pacific Rim countries, Vancouver has become increasingly ethnically diverse as large numbers of Chinese, Japanese, and East Indian migrants have settled in the city. Vancouver's Chinatown is second only to San Francisco's. The city's industries include lumbering, shipbuilding, fish processing, and sugar and oil refining. It has textile and knitting mills and plants making metal, wood, paper, and mineral products. Vancouver is the western terminus of a pipeline bringing oil to the west coast from Edmonton. At Point Grey in metropolitan Vancouver is the Univ. of British Columbia. Simon Fraser Univ. and the British Columbia Institute of Technology are in the city. Stanley Park (900 acres/364 hectares), one of the city's many parks, has a zoo and famous gardens and specimens of native trees. Vancouver is home to the Grizzlies (National Basketball Association) and Canucks (National Hockey League). An international exposition devoted to transportation, Expo '86, brought international recognition and 20 million visitors to the city. The city was settled before 1875 and called Granville; it was incorporated in 1886, after a rail link was built, and named in honor of Capt. George Vancouver.
Vancouver Island
(1991 pop. 579,921), 12,408 sq mi (32,137 sq km), SW British Columbia, Canada, in the Pacific Ocean; largest island off W North America. It is c.285 mi (460 km) long and c.30 to 80 mi (50-130 km) wide and is separated from the mainland by Queen Charlotte, Georgia, and Juan de Fuca straits. The rugged island, a partially submerged portion of the Coast Mts., rises to 7,219 ft (2,200 m) at Golden Hinde Mt. Level plains extend inland from the eastern coastline. The Pacific coastline is deeply indented by numerous fjords and inlets. The island has a mild humid climate; W Vancouver Island receives the greatest amount of precipitation in North America. There are many lakes and streams but no navigable rivers. The island is heavily forested, and lumbering and wood processing are major industries. Vancouver Island is underlaid by a mineral-rich batholith, from which iron, copper, and gold are mined. Coal is extracted from a depression at the edge of the batholith; the mines at Nanaimo provide most of the coal for British Columbia. Fishing, agriculture, and tourism are other important economic activities. Pacific Rim National Park, Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Park, and Strathcona Provincial Park are there. Population is concentrated along the east coast; Victoria (the provincial capital), Nanaimo, Port Alberni, and Esquimalt (site of a large naval base) are the largest cities. There are many small ports and fishing settlements. Both Spain and Britain claimed the island; it was sighted (1774) by Juan Pérez, the Spanish explorer, and Capt. James Cook was the first (1778) to land there. In 1788, John Meares, an English trader, built a fort on Nootka Sound, which was later occupied by Spanish forces. In 1792 the island was circumnavigated and chartered by Capt. George Vancouver. British sovereignty over Vancouver was confirmed (1846) when the U.S.-Canada line was drawn through Juan de Fuca Strait by the Oregon Treaty. Vancouver Island was made a crown colony in 1849 and in 1866 became part of British Columbia.
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