Vancouver (British Columbia) - Geography. I INTRODUCTION Vancouver (British Columbia), city in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Situated on a peninsula opposite Vancouver Island, Vancouver is bordered by Burrard Inlet on the north, the Strait of Georgia on the west, and the Fraser River on the south. The city is located about 42 km (26 mi) northwest of the United States border. Vancouver is Canada's third largest metropolitan region (after Toronto and Montréal) and is a leading Pacific Coast seaport and the main commercial, manufacturing, financial, tourist, and cultural center of British Columbia. II VANCOUVER AND ITS METROPOLITAN AREA Occupying a picturesque site near the Coast Mountains, Vancouver is a cosmopolitan center with numerous large buildings. Among those considered to have special architectural merit are Robson Square and the Provincial Court House, designed by local architect Arthur Erickson; Cathedral Place; and the Vancouver Public Library, designed by Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. Older buildings of note include the art deco Marine Building (1929-1930) and the "Chateau Style" Hotel Vancouver (19281939). Other points of interest include Granville Island, a former industrial-warehouse district in False Creek, converted into a mix of buildings for commercial, cultural, and artistic uses and anchored by a public market; the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens; Chinatown, the traditional center of one of the largest Chinese communities in North America; and Gastown, a restoration of an old section of the city dating from the late 19th century. Beyond the city boundary to the east lie the communities of Burnaby, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, and New Westminster; beyond them, an outer suburb, Surrey. South of the Fraser River's north arm is Richmond, and Delta lies across the main channel. North Vancouver and West Vancouver lie across Burrard Inlet. Together, these areas (and other smaller municipalities) make up the Vancouver metropolitan area. III ECONOMY Vancouver is predominantly a service center. Since the 1960s the city has experienced high levels of growth in population, labor force, investment, and trade. Recent growth has concentrated heavily in the service sector. Since 1961, employment in finance, insurance, and real-estate-related activities has expanded rapidly, along with that related to accommodation and food services, health and welfare services, and business services. Manufacturing has declined in importance in Vancouver in recent decades. Vancouver is Canada's leading port and one of the busiest in North America. Major exports include forest products, agricultural commodities, coal, potash, sulfur, and other raw materials from western Canada. Major imports include consumer products, textiles and clothing, building materials, and industrial machinery and parts. Vancouver's leading trading partners are China, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, the United States, and Taiwan. Tourism is also very important to the city's economy, and many cruise ships moor at the city's waterfront. The city is a regional, national, and international hub. The Light Rapid Transit SkyTrain, opened in 1986, shuttles commuters and other passengers between the city core and as far away as Surrey. In addition, a ferry (the SeaBus) links the city core with the north shore of Burrard Inlet, and bus services run through all parts of the metropolitan area. Vancouver is the terminus of two trans-Canada railroads and of the British Columbia Railroad that runs north through the Coast Mountains to the Prince George and Peace River districts. The Trans-Canada Highway connects Vancouver to other Canadian cities to the north and east. Ferries carry passengers between Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Vancouver International Airport, serving provincial, national, and foreign destinations, is Canada's second busiest (after Pearson International in Toronto). IV POPULATION The population of the city of Vancouver increased from 384,500 in 1961 to 545,671 at the 2001 census, with growth in every five-year period except from 1971 to 1976. In the same 35-year period, the population of the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area more than doubled, from 827,000 to 2,076,100. Between 1996 and 2001, the city's population grew 8.5 percent, and metropolitan growth rates exceeded 13 percent. Since 1981, the population of Greater Vancouver has grown faster than that of British Columbia as a whole, with immigration from East Asian countries contributing a large segment of this growth. V EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS The Vancouver Art Gallery has a predominantly British Columbian and Canadian collection, including several works by renowned Canadian painter Emily Carr. The main post-secondary educational institutions in the city of Vancouver include the University of British Columbia (founded in 1908; opened in 1915), the site of the Museum of Anthropology; the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (1925); and Vancouver Community College. Simon Fraser University (1963) and the British Columbia Institute of Technology (1964) are in neighboring Burnaby. Capilano, Kwantlen, and Douglas community colleges serve suburban populations from several campuses. The city supports a symphony orchestra, which plays in the restored Orpheum Theatre, an opera company, and a number of theater groups. VI RECREATION The city of Vancouver contains many parks. Stanley Park (400 hectares/1000 acres), located on the tip of the peninsula separating Burrard Inlet from English Bay, contains the Vancouver Aquarium. Vanier Park, located on the southern entrance to False Creek, contains the Vancouver Museum, the H. R. MacMillan Planetarium, the Vancouver City Archives, and the Maritime Museum. Winter sports are popular at Grouse Mountain, which is located 13 km (8 mi) north of downtown, and boating is popular in the waters surrounding the city. The Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League play in General Motors Place. The British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League play in nearby BC Place stadium, one of the largest air-supported domed stadiums in North America (its roof is supported by air blowers). VII GOVERNMENT The city of Vancouver is governed at the municipal level by the Vancouver City Council, which consists of a mayor and ten councilors. Public elections for these offices are held every three years. In addition to the council, there are several important boards and committees in the city and the metropolitan area, including the Greater Vancouver Regional District Board of Directors (representing 18 municipalities) and the Vancouver Regional Transit Commission. VIII HISTORY The Fraser Delta--Burrard Inlet area that is now Vancouver was occupied by Coast Salish people of the Musqueam, Kwantlen, Tsawwassen, and Capilano bands when the Spanish explorer José Maria Narvaez and the British naval officer George Vancouver visited the area in the early 1790s. The first permanent white settlement, established around the Hastings sawmill in the 1860s, was colloquially known as Gastown (after a talkative leading citizen, "Gassy" Jack Deighton). This settlement was renamed Granville in 1870. After the arrival of the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railroad, in 1886, the settlement was incorporated and renamed after George Vancouver. The community grew as a wood-processing center, a railroad terminus, and a port. Vancouver surpassed Victoria (which nevertheless remained the provincial capital) in population and commercial and financial importance at the turn of the 20th century. In 1929 Vancouver merged with the adjoining municipalities of Point Grey and South Vancouver to form what remains the city proper. A plan for the city drawn up in that year by American consultants Harland Bartholomew and Associates shaped the pattern of Vancouver's development into the 1970s. With the expansion of British Columbia's economy from the 1950s, Vancouver assumed increasing importance within the province and on the national and international level. Much new building occurred in the 1960s; high-rise buildings rose in the downtown area and multistory apartments were built in the neighboring West End. Suburban development was facilitated by the automobile and by new bridges across the Fraser River. Growth has continued steadily since. In 1986 the city was the site of Expo '86, an international exposition whose theme was transportation. Canada Place, on Burrard Inlet, now comprising a convention center, cruise-ship terminal, and hotel, was constructed for this event, while the fair's main site on the north shore of False Creek was sold to private interests and is currently under development for high-density housing. In 2003 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Vancouver had been selected to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The city narrowly beat out Pyeongchang, South Korea, in bidding for the event. The Olympics are expected to bring millions of dollars in tourism to Vancouver and the surrounding region and will spur new construction and development. Contributed By: Graeme Wynn Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
