Vancouver is a coastal city located in the Lower Mainland of British
Columbia, Canada. It is named for British Captain George Vancouver, who
explored the area in the 1790s. The name Vancouver itself originates from
the Dutch "van Coevorden", denoting somebody from Coevorden, a city in the
Netherlands.
The largest metropolitan area in Western Canada, Vancouver ranks third
largest in the country and the city proper ranks eighth. According to the
2006 census Vancouver had a population of 578,041 and its Census
Metropolitan Area exceeded 2.1 million people. Its residents are ethnically
and linguistically diverse; 52% do not speak English as their first language
Logging sawmills established in 1867 in the area known as Gastown became the
nucleus around which the townsite grew, and Vancouver was incorporated as a
city in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city
to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital
link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and London. The
Port Metro Vancouver is now the busiest and largest in Canada, as well as
the fourth largest port (by tonnage) in North America. While forestry
remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre
surrounded by nature, making tourism its second largest industry
History
Indigenous peoples and European exploration
Archaeological records indicate the presence of Aboriginal people in the
Vancouver area from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. The city is located in the
traditional territories of Skwxwú7mesh, Xwméthkwyiem, and Tseil-waututh
peoples of the Coast Salish group. They had villages in various parts of
present-day Vancouver, such as Stanley Park, False Creek, Kitsilano, Point
Grey and near the mouth of the Fraser River.
The first European to explore the coastline of present-day Point Grey and
parts of Burrard Inlet was José María Narváez of Spain, in 1791, although
Samuel Bawlf contends that Francis Drake may have visited the area in 1579.
George Vancouver explored the inner harbour of Burrard Inlet in 1792 and
gave various places British names.
The explorer and North West Company trader Simon Fraser and his crew were
the first known Europeans to set foot on the site of the present-day city.
In 1808, they travelled from the east down the Fraser River, perhaps as far
as Point Grey, near the University of British Columbia.
Geography
Located on the Burrard Peninsula, Vancouver lies between Burrard Inlet to
the north and the Fraser River to the south. The Strait of Georgia, to the
west, is shielded from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island. The city has
an area of 114 km2 (44 sq mi), including both flat and hilly ground, and is
in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8) and the Pacific Maritime Ecozone. Until the
city's naming in 1885, "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island, and it
remains a common misconception that the city is located on the island. The
island and the city are both named after Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver
though the city of Vancouver, Washington, on the north bank of the Columbia
River opposite Portland, Oregon, is only indirectly named for Captain
Vancouver; that city's name was adapted from Fort Vancouver, which had been
the headquarters of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company and
the largest settlement in the Pacific Northwest until the Oregon Treaty of
1846.
Vancouver has one of the largest urban parks in North America, Stanley Park,
which covers 404.9 hectares (1001 acres). The North Shore Mountains dominate
the cityscape, and on a clear day scenic vistas include the snow-capped
volcano Mount Baker in the state of Washington to the southeast, Vancouver
Island across the Strait of Georgia to the west and southwest, and the Bowen
Island to the northwest.
Climate
Vancouver's climate is temperate by Canadian standards and is usually
classified as Oceanic or Marine west coast (Köppen climate classification
Cfb). The summer months are typically dry, often resulting in moderate
drought conditions, usually in July and August. In contrast, the rest of the
year is rainy, especially between October and March.
Demographics
Vancouver has been called a "city of neighbourhoods," each with a distinct
character and ethnic mix. People of English, Scottish, and Irish origins
were historically the largest ethnic groups in the city, and elements of
British and Irish society and culture are still visible in some areas,
particularly South Granville and Kerrisdale. Germans are the next-largest
European ethnic group in Vancouver and were a leading force in the city's
society and economy until the rise of anti-German sentiment with the
outbreak of World War I in 1914. The Chinese are by far the largest visible
ethnic group in the city, and Vancouver has a very diverse Chinese-speaking
community, with several dialects represented, including Cantonese and
Mandarin. Neighbourhoods with distinct ethnic commercial areas include the
Punjabi Market, Little Italy, Greektown, and (formerly) Japantown.
In the 1980s, an influx of immigrants from Hong Kong in anticipation of its
transfer from the United Kingdom to China, combined with an increase in
immigrants from mainland China and previous immigrants from Taiwan,
established in Vancouver one of the highest concentrations of ethnic Chinese
residents in North America. This arrival of Asian immigrants continued a
tradition of immigration from around the world that had established
Vancouver as the second most popular destination for immigrants in Canada
(after Toronto). Other significant Asian ethnic groups in Vancouver are
South Asian (mostly Punjabi, usually referred to as Indo-Canadian),
Vietnamese, Filipino, Indonesian, Korean, Cambodians and Japanese. Despite
increases in Latin American immigration to Vancouver in the 1980s and 90s,
immigration from Latin America has been comparatively low, and African
immigration has been similarly stagnant (3.6% and 3.3% of total immigrant
population, respectively.) In 1981, less than 7% of the population belonged
to a visible minority group. By 2008, this proportion had grown to 51%.
Vancouver has a large gay community, and British Columbia was the second Canadian jurisdiction (after Ontario) to make same-sex marriage legal. The downtown area around Davie Street, known as Davie Village, is the centre of the gay community. Vancouver has one of the country's largest annual gay pride parades.
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