Vancouver General Information
Vancouver is located in the southwest corner of Canada
in the province of British Columbia, at about 49° Latitude and 123°
Longitude, next to the Pacific Ocean.
Archaeological evidence shows that coastal Indians had settled the
Vancouver area by 500 B.C. British naval captain George Vancouver explored
the area in 1792. Vancouver was founded as a sawmill settlement called
Granville in the 1870s. The city was incorporated in 1886 and renamed
after Captain Vancouver.
With a present population of about 560,000 (estimated), Vancouver lies
in a region of more than 2 million people. Vancouver is the largest
city in the province and the third largest in Canada. It covers an area
of 113 sq km.
Vancouver is surrounded by water on three sides and overlooked by the
Coast Range - mountains that rise abruptly to more than 1,500 m. Its
climate is one of the mildest in Canada. Temperatures average 3°C
in January and 18°C in July. Vancouver's average annual precipitation
is 1,219 mm. Most rainfall occurs in winter.
Vancouver is a major port and probably leads the world in grain exports.
As the main western terminus of Canada's transcontinental highway and
rail routes, it is the primary city of western Canada, as well as one
of the nation's largest industrial centers. Major industries include
lumber and paper products, shipbuilding, food processing, petroleum
refining, fish processing, and metal product manufacturing. A superport
at Roberts Bank, 40 km to the south, is used for exporting coal and
ore to Japan.
Vancouver is a major tourist destination. In addition to the city's
scenic location, visitors enjoy beautiful gardens and world-famous Stanley
Park, one of more than 180 city parks, and a combination of natural
forest and parklands near the city center.
Click below for more Vancouver History:
Vancouver's Early History
Vancouver's First Settlers
Vancouver History 18th to 19th Century
Vancouver History Turn of the 20th Century
Vancouver History WWI to 1920's
Vancouver History in the 1920's
Vancouver History WWII
Vancouver After WWII to 1990's
Vancouver at the End of 20th Century
Vancouver's Current Real Estate Boom