Greater Vancouver. Facts in brief
Vancouver, is the largest city in British Columbia and the busiest port in Canada. It also ranks as one of the largest cities in Canada. The people who live in the Vancouver metropolitan area make up about half the entire population of British Columbia. The city is the province's major center of commerce, culture, industry, and transportation.
Vancouver lies in southwestern British Columbia, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of the Canadian- United States border. The city's chief asset is its natural harbor in Burrard Inlet The harbor is connected with the Pacific Ocean by English Bay, the Strait of Georgia, and Juan de Fuca Strait Ships can use the port the year around because the harbor's waters never freeze. The port handles nearly all of Canada's trade with Japan and other Asian nations. Vancouver is often called Canada's Gateway to the Pacific.
The first permanent European settlement on the site of what is now Vancouver grew up near a sawmill built in 1865. Rich timber resources helped the settlement become a bustling lumber town. In 1884, the Canadian Pacific Railway chose the site as the western terminal of Canada's first transcontinental railroad. William Van Horne, the railroad's general manager, named the town for Captain George Vancouver, a British explorer who had sailed into Burrard Inlet in 1792.
Vancouver is Canada's busiest port It is also the largest city and the major cultural and industrial center of British Columbia. Skyscrapers rise near Vancouver's harbor. The Coast Mountains tower in the background
Greater Vancouver. Vancouver covers 44 square miles (115 square kilometers) on the southern shore of Burrard Inlet The city lies in a beautiful setting, near the Coast Mountains and the ocean. The protective mountains, and warm winds blowing in from the Pacific, help provide a mild climate for a city so far north. Vancouver's temperatures average 36 °F (2 °С) in January and 63 °F (17 °С) in July.
The Vancouver metropolitan area, called Greater Vancouver, occupies 1,112 square miles (2,879 square kilometers). Greater Vancouver is Canada's third-largest metropolitan area. Only the Montreal and Toronto metropolitan areas have larger populations.
The city lies on two ridges separated partly by a shallow inlet called False Creek. Stanley Park, the main recreational area, is on the shorter, northern ridge. Farther south and east on this ridge are downtown Vancouver and rows of high-rise apartment buildings in an area called the West End. The southern ridge includes the East End, a large section of single-family homes.
The intersection of Granville and Georgia streets is the heart of downtown Vancouver. The 30-story Toronto Dominion Bank Tower rises over the intersection. It stands in Pacific Centre, a complex that also has a department store and an underground shopping center. The tallest building in Vancouver, the 33-story Royal Bank Tower, stands nearby at Georgia and Burrard streets. The tower rises 466 feet (142 meters) in Royal Centre, a development that includes a hotel and a shopping mall.
Several other downtown streets have special characteristics. Robson Street, also known to Vancouver residents as Robson- strasse, its name in German, is a fascinating center of European import stores. Restaurants that specialize in French, German, Greek, Italian, and other types of cooking help give the street an international charm. Most of Vancouver's Chinatown, one of the largest Chinese communities in North America, is on Pender Street More than 17,000 people of Chinese descent live on or near Pender Street, which is lined by restaurants, gift shops, and nightclubs.
Gastown, the original center of Vancouver, consists of a few redeveloped blocks just north of Chinatown. Gas- town's old brick buildings and cobblestone streets recall the city's early days. This area has several antique shops and art galleries.
The False Creek waterfront, once Vancouver's center of industry, has been redeveloped into a pleasant residential area. A community of town houses and apartments lines the south shore of False Creek. Nearby is Granville Island, a popular tourist shopping destination that features markets, boutiques, and restaurants.
Facts in brief:
Population: 545,671. Metropolitan area population—1,986,965.
Area: 44 mi2 (115 km2). Metropolitan area—1,112 mi2 (2,879 km2).
Altitude: 38 feet (11.6 m) above sea level.
Climate: Average temperature — January, 36 °F (2 °С); July, 63 °F (17 °Q. Average annual precipitation (rainfall, melted snow, and other forms of moisture)—47 inches (119 cm). For the monthly weather in Vancouver, see British Columbia (Climate).
Government Mayor-council. Terms—1 years for the mayor and the 10 council members.
Founded: 1865. Incorporated as a city in 1886.
The metropolitan area. The Coast Mountains, including two snow-capped peaks called the Lions, rise majestically north of Vancouver. Point Grey, a peninsula, juts into the Strait of Georgia at the west end of the city. The flat, green delta lands of the Fraser River basin spread south of Vancouver.
The suburb of Surrey ranks as British Columbia's second largest city, after Vancouver. Other suburbs include Burnaby, Coquitlam, Richmond, Delta, North Vancouver, and West Vancouver.
Date added: 2023-09-10; views: 182;