Vancouver
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.
