Vancouver information

Vancouver is a coastal city and major seaport, located on the mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is named after Captain George Vancouver, a British explorer.
The population of the city of Vancouver is 587,891, while the population of the metropolitan region, known as the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) or Metro Vancouver, is 2,180,737 (2006 estimate). This makes it the largest metropolitan area in western Canada and the third largest in the country. Vancouver is ethnically diverse, with 52% of city residents and 43% of Metro residents having a first language other than English. The population of the city is growing rapidly, and the Metro population is projected to reach 2.6 million by 2020. Population density is highest for a major city on the continent after New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City, and on track to being second by 2021.
Vancouver is located between the Strait of Georgia and the Coast Mountains. Its economy has traditionally relied on British Columbia's resource sectors: forestry, mining, fishing and agriculture. It was first settled in the 1860s as a result of immigration caused by the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, particularly from the United States, although many immigrants did not remain after the rush. The city developed rapidly from a small lumber mill town into a metropolitan centre following the arrival of the transcontinental railway in 1887. The Port of Vancouver became internationally significant after the completion of the Panama Canal, which reduced freight rates in the 1920s and made it viable to ship export-bound prairie grain west through Vancouver. It has since become the busiest seaport in Canada, and exports more cargo than any other port in North America. (...) more....

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