124-660: Vancouver City Council is the governing body of Vancouver , British Columbia. The council consists of a mayor and ten councillors elected to serve a four-year term. Monthly, a deputy mayor is appointed from among the councillors. The current mayor is Ken Sim , who leads the party ABC Vancouver . City council meetings are held in Vancouver City Hall . The most recent election was on October 15, 2022 . Unlike many other cities of its size, all Vancouver city councillors are elected at-large , rather than being elected to represent municipal wards . A proposal to move to
248-510: A change of 4.9% from its 2016 population of 631,486, making it the eighth-largest among Canadian cities . More specifically, Vancouver is the fourth-largest in Western Canada after Calgary , Edmonton and Winnipeg . With a land area of 115.18 km (44.47 sq mi), it had a population density of 5,749.7/km (14,891.6/sq mi) in 2021, the most densely populated Canadian municipality with more than 5,000 residents. At
372-564: A conventional ward system was rejected by voters in a 2004 referendum. The mayor chairs council meetings and appoints members to regional boards, such as the Metro Vancouver board of directors. The Vancouver Charter outlines the structure, powers and responsibility of the city council. Under the charter, the mayor and city council have the power to: Council also maintains a number of standing committees which meet to deliberate on specific topics and hear from speakers. Examples include
496-598: 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. Today the Chinese are the largest visible ethnic group in Vancouver; the city has a diverse Chinese-speaking community with speakers of several dialects, notably Cantonese and Mandarin . Neighbourhoods with distinct ethnic commercial areas include Chinatown , Punjabi Market , Little Italy , Greektown , and (formerly) Japantown . Since
620-613: A population density of 918.0/km (2,377.6/sq mi) in 2021. Approximately 75 percent of the people living in Metro Vancouver live outside Vancouver itself. The larger Lower Mainland-Southwest economic region (which includes also the Squamish-Lillooet , Fraser Valley , and Sunshine Coast Regional District ) has a population of over 3.04 million. The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 274,365 persons or 42.2% of
744-610: A typical coastal British Columbia mix of Douglas fir , western red cedar and western hemlock . The area is thought to have had the largest trees of these species on the British Columbia Coast . Only in Elliott Bay , Seattle , did the size of trees rival those of Burrard Inlet and English Bay . The largest trees in Vancouver's old-growth forest were in the Gastown area, where the first logging occurred and on
868-695: A warm-summer Mediterranean ( Köppen: Csb ). While the city has the coolest summer average high of all major Canadian metropolitan areas, winters in Greater Vancouver are the fourth-mildest of Canadian cities, after nearby Victoria , Nanaimo and Duncan , all on Vancouver Island. Vancouver is one of the wettest Canadian cities. However, precipitation varies throughout the metropolitan area. Annual precipitation as measured at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond averages 1,189 mm (46.8 in), compared with 1,588 mm (62.5 in) in
992-568: Is 38.1 cm (15.0 in) but typically does not remain on the ground for long. Vancouver's growing season averages 237 days, from March 18 until November 10. Vancouver's 1981–2010 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone ranges from 8a to 9a depending on elevation and proximity to water. As of 2021, Vancouver is the most densely populated city in Canada. Urban planning in Vancouver is characterized by high-rise residential and mixed-use development in urban centres, as an alternative to sprawl . As part of
1116-542: Is 4,280 m (14,040 ft; 2,340 fathoms), putting the total water volume at roughly 710,000,000 km (170,000,000 cu mi). Due to the effects of plate tectonics , the Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking by roughly 2.5 cm (1 in) per year on three sides, roughly averaging 0.52 km (0.20 sq mi) a year. By contrast, the Atlantic Ocean is increasing in size. Along
1240-592: Is a modernist high-rise, now converted into the Electra condominium. Also notable is the "concrete waffle" of the MacMillan Bloedel building on the north-east corner of the Georgia and Thurlow intersection. A prominent addition to the city's landscape is the giant tent-frame Canada Place (designed by Zeidler Roberts Partnership Partnership, MCMP & DA Architects ), the former Canada Pavilion from
1364-590: Is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east. At 165,250,000 square kilometers (63,800,000 square miles) in area (as defined with a southern Antarctic border), this largest division of the World Ocean and the hydrosphere covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of the planet's total surface area, larger than its entire land area (148,000,000 km (57,000,000 sq mi)). The centers of both
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#17327803002731488-731: Is currently located was referred to by the Stó꞉lō in the Upriver Halkomelem dialect as Lhq’á:lets , meaning "wide at the bottom/end". Speakers of the Island dialect of Halkomelem referred to the region of Vancouver as sqwx̌wam̓ush or skwóm̓esh , referring to the Squamish, or as Pankúpe7 , a transliteration of the English word "Vancouver". Archaeological records indicate that Aboriginal people were already living in
1612-491: Is not known with any certainty what level of maritime technology was used by these groups – the presumption is that they used large bamboo rafts which may have been equipped with some sort of sail. The reduction in favourable winds for a crossing to Sahul after 58,000 B.P. fits with the dating of the settlement of Australia, with no later migrations in the prehistoric period. The seafaring abilities of pre-Austronesian residents of Island South-east Asia are confirmed by
1736-665: Is the Paradox Hotel Vancouver at 188 m (617 ft), followed by the Private Residences at Hotel Georgia , at 156 m (512 ft). The fourth-tallest is One Wall Centre at 150 m (490 ft) and 48 storeys, followed closely by the Shaw Tower at 149 m (489 ft). In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada , Vancouver had a population of 662,248 living in 305,336 of its 328,347 total private dwellings,
1860-413: Is the origin of the name that eventually became "Vancouver". The indigenous Squamish people who reside in a region that encompasses southwestern British Columbia including this city gave the name K'emk'emeláy̓ which means "place of many maple trees"; this was originally the name of a village inhabited by said people where a sawmill was established by Edward Stamp as part of the foundations to
1984-611: The 1986 World Exposition , which includes part of the Convention Centre , the Pan-Pacific Hotel , and a cruise ship terminal. Two modern buildings that define the southern skyline away from the downtown area are City Hall and the Centennial Pavilion of Vancouver General Hospital , both designed by Townley and Matheson in 1936 and 1958, respectively. A collection of Edwardian buildings in
2108-454: The 2021 census Vancouver has been called a "city of neighbourhoods." Each neighbourhood in Vancouver has 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 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
2232-642: The Americas , although evidence for this remains inconclusive. The first contact of European navigators with the western edge of the Pacific Ocean was made by the Portuguese expeditions of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão , via the Lesser Sunda Islands , to the Maluku Islands , in 1512, and with Jorge Álvares 's expedition to southern China in 1513, both ordered by Afonso de Albuquerque from Malacca . The eastern side of
2356-575: The Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S (older definitions extend it to Antarctica 's Ross Sea ), the Pacific reaches its greatest east–west width at about 5°N latitude , where it stretches approximately 19,800 km (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia – halfway around the world, and more than five times
2480-632: The British Columbia Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel in Victoria, and the lavishly decorated second Hotel Vancouver. The 556-room Hotel Vancouver , opened in 1939 and the third by that name, is across the street with its copper roof. The Gothic-style Christ Church Cathedral , across from the hotel, opened in 1894 and was declared a heritage building in 1976. There are several modern buildings in
2604-563: The Canadian Pacific Railway . The Canadian Pacific transcontinental railway was extended to the city by 1887. The city's large natural seaport on the Pacific Ocean became a vital link in the trade between Asia-Pacific , East Asia , Europe , and Eastern Canada . Vancouver has hosted many international conferences and events, including the 1954 Commonwealth Games , UN Habitat I , Expo 86 , APEC Canada 1997 ,
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#17327803002732728-475: The Cumberland coal mines on Vancouver Island . Following a lull in the 1920s, the strike wave peaked in 1935 when unemployed men flooded the city to protest conditions in the relief camps run by the military in remote areas throughout the province. After two tense months of daily and disruptive protesting, the relief camp strikers decided to take their grievances to the federal government and embarked on
2852-829: The International Date Line into the East Pacific and the West Pacific , which allows it to be further divided into four quadrants, namely the Northeast Pacific off the coasts of North America , the Southeast Pacific off South America , Northwest Pacific off Far Eastern / Pacific Asia , and the Southwest Pacific around Oceania . The Pacific Ocean's mean depth is 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). Challenger Deep in
2976-580: The Kitsilano area. Vancouver also has a significant aboriginal community of about 15,000 people. Pacific Ocean Main five oceans division: Further subdivision: The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions . It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica ) in the south, and
3100-830: The Mariana Trench , located in the northwestern Pacific, is the deepest known point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,928 meters (35,853 feet). The Pacific also contains the deepest point in the Southern Hemisphere , the Horizon Deep in the Tonga Trench , at 10,823 meters (35,509 feet). The third deepest point on Earth, the Sirena Deep , is also located in the Mariana Trench. The western Pacific has many major marginal seas , including
3224-525: The On-to-Ottawa Trek , but their protest was put down by force. The workers were arrested near Mission and interned in work camps for the duration of the Depression. Other social movements, such as the first-wave feminist , moral reform, and temperance movements , were also instrumental in Vancouver's development. Mary Ellen Smith , a Vancouver suffragist and prohibitionist , became
3348-768: 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 (as is the city of Vancouver, Washington , in the United States). Vancouver has one of the largest urban parks in North America, Stanley Park , which covers 404.9 ha (1,001 acres). The North Shore Mountains dominate
3472-601: The Pacific War ; however, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. The Japanese-ruled Northern Mariana Islands came under the control of the United States. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states . The Pacific separates Asia and Australia from the Americas. It may be further subdivided by
3596-631: The Philippine Sea , South China Sea , East China Sea , Sea of Japan , Sea of Okhotsk , Bering Sea , Gulf of Alaska , Gulf of California , Mar de Grau , Tasman Sea , and the Coral Sea . In the early 16th century , Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and sighted the great "Southern Sea" which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). Afterwards,
3720-494: The Port of Vancouver is the fourth-largest port by tonnage in the Americas, the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port 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. Major film production studios in Vancouver and nearby Burnaby have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of
3844-715: The Southern Hemisphere . The North Equatorial Current , driven westward along latitude 15°N by the trade winds , turns north near the Philippines to become the warm Japan or Kuroshio Current . Turning eastward at about 45°N , the Kuroshio forks and some water moves northward as the Aleutian Current , while the rest turns southward to rejoin the North Equatorial Current. The Aleutian Current branches as it approaches North America and forms
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3968-685: The Strait of Magellan to the Philippines , the explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful; however, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many tropical storms batter the islands of the Pacific. The lands around the Pacific Rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes . Tsunamis , caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and in some cases destroyed entire towns. The Martin Waldseemüller map of 1507
4092-800: The Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere , as well as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility , are in the Pacific Ocean. Ocean circulation (caused by the Coriolis effect ) subdivides it into two largely independent volumes of water that meet at the equator , the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean (or more loosely the South Seas ). The Pacific Ocean can also be informally divided by
4216-750: The Western Hemisphere . The Southern Pacific Ocean harbors the Southeast Indian Ridge crossing from south of Australia turning into the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (north of the South Pole ) and merges with another ridge (south of South America) to form the East Pacific Rise which also connects with another ridge (south of North America) which overlooks the Juan de Fuca Ridge . For most of Magellan's voyage from
4340-575: The World Police and Fire Games in 1989 and 2009; several matches of 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup including the finals at BC Place in Downtown Vancouver , and the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics which were held in Vancouver and Whistler , a resort community 125 km (78 mi) north of the city. In 1969, Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver. The city became the permanent home to TED conferences in 2014. As of 2016 ,
4464-445: The census metropolitan area (CMA) level in the 2021 census, the metropolitan area referred to as Greater Vancouver had a population of 2,642,825 living in 1,043,319 of its 1,104,532 total private dwellings, a change of 7.3% from its 2016 population of 2,463,431, the third-most populous metropolitan area in the country and the most populous in Western Canada . With a land area of 2,878.93 km (1,111.56 sq mi), it had
4588-550: The colonial government surveyed the settlement and laid out a townsite , renamed " Granville " in honour of the then–British Secretary of State for the Colonies , Lord Granville . This site, with its natural harbour, was selected in 1884 as the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the disappointment of Port Moody , New Westminster and Victoria , all of which had vied to be the railhead. A railway
4712-583: The crab claw sail ) – it is likely that the progressive development of these technologies were related to the later steps of settlement into Near and Remote Oceania. Starting at around 2200 BCE, Austronesians sailed southwards to settle the Philippines . From, probably, the Bismarck Archipelago they crossed the western Pacific to reach the Marianas Islands by 1500 BCE, as well as Palau and Yap by 1000 BCE. They were
4836-466: The most livable cities in Canada and in the world. In terms of housing affordability , Vancouver is also one of the most expensive cities in Canada and in the world . Vancouverism is the city's urban planning design philosophy. Indigenous settlement of Vancouver began more than 10,000 years ago and included the Squamish , Musqueam , and Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) peoples. The beginnings of
4960-497: The 1930s onward by the government of Japan. These flower for several weeks in early spring each year, an occasion celebrated by the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival . Other streets are lined with flowering chestnut, horse chestnut and other decorative shade trees. Vancouver's climate, one of the mildest and most temperate climates in Canada, is classified as oceanic ( Köppen: Cfb ) bordering on
5084-516: The 1980s and 1990s, recent immigration has been comparatively low. However, growth in the Latino population – which largely consists of Mexicans and Salvadorans – rose in the late 2010s and early 2020s. African immigration has been similarly stagnant (3.6% and 3.3% of total immigrant population, respectively). The black population of Vancouver is small in comparison to other Canadian major cities, making up 1.3 percent of
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5208-535: The 1980s, immigration increased substantially, making the city more ethnically and linguistically diverse; 49 percent of Vancouver's residents do not speak English as their first language. Over 25 percent of the city's inhabitants are of Chinese heritage. In the 1980s, an influx of immigrants from Hong Kong in anticipation of the transfer of sovereignty 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
5332-414: The Atlantic, the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent the entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western side of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines . The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands , such as the First Kamchatka expedition and the Great Northern Expedition , led by
5456-405: The Atlantic. The andesite line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific. A petrologic boundary, it separates the deeper, mafic igneous rock of the Central Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of felsic igneous rock on its margins. The andesite line follows the western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc , along
5580-400: The British settlement later becoming part of Vancouver. In hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (the Downriver dialect of Halkomelem) spoken by the Musqueam , there is no specific term for Vancouver. Rather there existed names for specific villages and landscape features that the people knew intimately in the area Vancouver exists in currently, as opposed to larger geographic features. The region where Vancouver
5704-433: The Chilean coast, the South Equatorial Current divides; one branch flows around Cape Horn and the other turns north to form the Peru or Humboldt Current . The climate patterns of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres generally mirror each other. The trade winds in the southern and eastern Pacific are remarkably steady while conditions in the North Pacific are far more varied with, for example, cold winter temperatures on
5828-435: The City Finance and Services Committee and the Policy and Strategic Priorities Committee. Each committee consists of the entire city council. City council also holds public hearings for spot rezonings. Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada , located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia . As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in
5952-499: The Danish-born Russian navy officer Vitus Bering . Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest , reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and colonized Polynesia , and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii , and the North American Pacific Northwest . In 1768, Pierre-Antoine Véron , a young astronomer accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of exploration, established
6076-455: The Empire's tallest commercial building by the elaborate Art Deco Marine Building in the 1920s. The Marine Building is known for its elaborate ceramic tile facings and brass-gilt doors and elevators, which make it a favourite location for movie shoots. Topping the list of tallest buildings in Vancouver is Living Shangri-La , the tallest building in BC at 201 m (659 ft) and 62 storeys. The second-tallest building in Vancouver
6200-434: The Fraser River, on their way to the Fraser Canyon , bypassing what would become Vancouver. Vancouver is among British Columbia's youngest cities; the first European settlement in what is now Vancouver was not until 1862 at McCleery's Farm on the Fraser River, just east of the ancient village of Musqueam in what is now Marpole . A sawmill was established at Moodyville (now the City of North Vancouver ) in 1863, beginning
6324-498: The Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions encountered the Caroline Islands , the Aru Islands , and Papua New Guinea . In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan. In 1564, five Spanish ships carrying 379 soldiers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi , and colonized the Philippines and Mariana Islands . For the remainder of the 16th century, Spain maintained military and mercantile control, with ships sailing from Mexico and Peru across
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#17327803002736448-429: The Pacific Ocean to the Philippines via Guam , and establishing the Spanish East Indies . The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries, linking Manila and Acapulco , in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also arrived at Tuvalu , the Marquesas , the Cook Islands , the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu , the Marshalls and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. Later, in
6572-399: The Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea , Coral Sea , East China Sea (East Sea), Philippine Sea , Sea of Japan , South China Sea (South Sea), Sulu Sea , Tasman Sea , and Yellow Sea (West Sea of Korea). The Indonesian Seaway (including the Strait of Malacca and Torres Strait ) joins the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to
6696-413: The Pacific in prehistoric times. Modern humans first reached the western Pacific in the Paleolithic , at around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago. Originating from a southern coastal human migration out of Africa, they reached East Asia , Mainland Southeast Asia , the Philippines, New Guinea , and then Australia by making the sea crossing of at least 80 kilometres (50 mi) between Sundaland and Sahul . It
6820-402: The Pacific in recorded history. They were part of a Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands that would eventually result in the first world circumnavigation . Magellan called the ocean Pacífico (or "Pacific" meaning, "peaceful") because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn , the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until
6944-424: The Pacific. Examples include the monkey puzzle tree , the Japanese maple and various flowering exotics, such as magnolias , azaleas and rhododendrons . Some species imported from harsher climates in Eastern Canada or Europe have grown to immense sizes. The native Douglas maple can also attain a tremendous size. Many of the city's streets are lined with flowering varieties of Japanese cherry trees donated from
7068-540: The Philippines already in 7000 BCE. Additional earlier migrations into Insular Southeast Asia, associated with Austroasiatic-speakers from Mainland Southeast Asia, are estimated to have taken place already in 15000 BCE. At around 1300 to 1200 BCE, a branch of the Austronesian migrations known as the Lapita culture reached the Bismarck Archipelago , the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu , Fiji , and New Caledonia . From there, they settled Tonga and Samoa by 900 to 800 BCE. Some also back-migrated northwards in 200 BCE to settle
7192-528: The United States. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard; HMS Challenger during the 1870s; the USS Tuscarora (1873–76); and the German Gazelle (1874–76). In Oceania, France obtained a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853, respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro negotiated
7316-430: The Vancouver area from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. The Squamish , Musqueam , and Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) peoples of the Coast Salish group 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 . Europeans became acquainted with the area of the future Vancouver when José María Narváez of Spain explored
7440-521: The airport was 34.4 °C (93.9 °F) set on July 30, 2009, and the highest temperature ever recorded within the city of Vancouver was 35.0 °C (95.0 °F) occurring first on July 31, 1965, again on August 8, 1981, and also on May 29, 1983. The coldest temperature ever recorded in the city was −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) on January 14, 1950 and again on December 29, 1968. On average, snow falls nine days per year, with three days receiving 5 cm (2.0 in) or more. Average yearly snowfall
7564-416: The andesite line and include New Guinea, the islands of New Zealand, and the Philippines. Some of these islands are structurally associated with nearby continents. High islands are of volcanic origin, and many contain active volcanoes. Among these are Bougainville , Hawaii, and the Solomon Islands. The coral reefs of the South Pacific are low-lying structures that have built up on basaltic lava flows under
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#17327803002737688-408: The andesite line. Within the closed loop of the andesite line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic islands that characterize the Pacific basin. Here basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the andesite line, volcanism is of the explosive type, and
7812-409: The arctic, icing from October to May can present a hazard for shipping while persistent fog occurs from June to December. A climatological low in the Gulf of Alaska keeps the southern coast wet and mild during the winter months. The Westerlies and associated jet stream within the Mid-Latitudes can be particularly strong, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, due to the temperature difference between
7936-421: The base of a counter-clockwise circulation in the Bering Sea . Its southern arm becomes the chilled slow, south-flowing California Current . The South Equatorial Current , flowing west along the equator, swings southward east of New Guinea , turns east at about 50°S , and joins the main westerly circulation of the South Pacific, which includes the Earth-circling Antarctic Circumpolar Current . As it approaches
8060-495: The building of high-rise residential towers in Vancouver's West End , subject to strict requirements for setbacks and open space to protect sight lines and preserve green space. The success of these dense but livable neighbourhoods led to the redevelopment of urban industrial sites, such as North False Creek and Coal Harbour, beginning in the mid-1980s. The result is a compact urban core that has gained international recognition for its "high amenity and 'livable' development". In 2006,
8184-484: The city its name in honour of George Vancouver . The Great Vancouver Fire on June 13, 1886, razed the entire city. The Vancouver Fire Department was established that year and the city quickly rebuilt. Vancouver's population grew from a settlement of 1,000 people in 1881 to over 20,000 by the turn of the century and 100,000 by 1911. Vancouver merchants outfitted prospectors bound for the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898. One of those merchants, Charles Woodward, had opened
8308-409: The city launched a planning initiative entitled EcoDensity , with the stated goal of exploring ways in which "density, design, and land use can contribute to environmental sustainability, affordability, and livability". The Vancouver Art Gallery is housed downtown in the neoclassical former courthouse built in 1906. The courthouse building was designed by Francis Rattenbury , who also designed
8432-424: The city population belonged to a visible minority group; at the same time, this proportion was roughly 14 percent for the entire metropolitan area . By 2016, the proportion in the city had grown to 52 percent. Prior to the Hong Kong diaspora of the 1990s, the largest non-British ethnic groups in the city were Irish and German , followed by Scandinavian , Italian , Ukrainian , Chinese, and Punjabi . From
8556-418: The city's long relationship with logging. It was quickly followed by mills owned by Captain Edward Stamp on the south shore of the inlet. Stamp, who had begun logging in the Port Alberni area, first attempted to run a mill at Brockton Point , but difficult currents and reefs forced the relocation of the operation in 1867 to a point near the foot of Dunlevy Street. This mill, known as the Hastings Mill , became
8680-409: The city's old downtown core were, in their day, the tallest commercial buildings in the British Empire . These were, in succession, the Carter-Cotton Building (former home of The Province newspaper), the Dominion Building (1907) and the Sun Tower (1911), the former two at Cambie and Hastings Streets and the latter at Beatty and Pender Streets. The Sun Tower's cupola was finally exceeded as
8804-432: The city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Metro Vancouver area had a population of 2.6 million in 2021, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada . Greater Vancouver, along with the Fraser Valley , comprises the Lower Mainland with a regional population of over 3 million. Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, with over 5,700 inhabitants per square kilometre (15,000/sq mi), and
8928-452: The city. Hogan's Alley , a small area adjacent to Chinatown, just off Main Street at Prior, was once home to a significant black community. The Black population consists of Somalis , Jamaicans/Caribbeans, and other groups, including those who descended from African Americans. The neighbourhood of Strathcona was the core of the city's Jewish community. In 1981, approximately 24 percent of
9052-576: The city. While some manufacturing did develop, including the establishment of the British Columbia Sugar Refinery by Benjamin Tingley Rogers in 1890, natural resources became the basis for Vancouver's economy. The resource sector was initially based on logging and later on exports moving through the seaport, where commercial traffic constituted the largest economic sector in Vancouver by the 1930s. The dominance of
9176-542: 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 Bowen Island to the northwest. The vegetation in the Vancouver area was originally temperate rainforest , consisting of conifers with scattered pockets of maple and alder and large areas of swampland (even in upland areas, due to poor drainage). The conifers were
9300-615: The coast of present-day Point Grey and parts of Burrard Inlet in 1791—although one author contends that Francis Drake may have visited the area in 1579 . The explorer and North West Company trader Simon Fraser and his crew became 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. The Fraser Gold Rush of 1858 brought over 25,000 men, mainly from California , to nearby New Westminster (founded February 14, 1859) on
9424-459: The diameter of the Moon. Its geographic center is in eastern Kiribati south of Kiritimati , just west from Starbuck Island at 4°58′S 158°45′W / 4.97°S 158.75°W / -4.97; -158.75 . The lowest known point on Earth – the Mariana Trench – lies 10,911 m (35,797 ft ; 5,966 fathoms ) below sea level. Its average depth
9548-402: The difference between temperatures aloft and sea surface temperatures is the greatest; however, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns. On a worldwide scale, May is the least active month, while September is the most active month. November is the only month in which all the tropical cyclone basins are active. The Pacific hosts the two most active tropical cyclone basins , which are
9672-546: The downtown area and 2,044 mm (80.5 in) in North Vancouver. The daily maximum averages 22 °C (72 °F) in July and August, with highs rarely reaching 30 °C (86 °F). The summer months are typically dry, with only one in five days receiving precipitation during July and August. In contrast, most days from November through March record some precipitation. The highest temperature ever recorded at
9796-825: The downtown area, including the Harbour Centre , the Vancouver Law Courts and surrounding plaza known as Robson Square (designed by Arthur Erickson ) and the Vancouver Library Square (designed by Moshe Safdie and DA Architects ), reminiscent of the Colosseum in Rome, and the recently completed Woodward's building Redevelopment (designed by Henriquez Partners Architects ). The original BC Hydro headquarters building (designed by Ron Thom and Ned Pratt) at Nelson and Burrard Streets
9920-557: The east and the islands of Kiribati in the southeast. Melanesia, to the southwest, includes New Guinea , the world's second largest island after Greenland and by far the largest of the Pacific islands. The other main Melanesian groups from north to south are the Bismarck Archipelago , the Solomon Islands , Santa Cruz , Vanuatu , Fiji and New Caledonia . The largest area, Polynesia , stretching from Hawaii in
10044-505: The east coast of Russia contrasting with the milder weather off British Columbia during the winter months due to the preferred flow of ocean currents . In the tropical and subtropical Pacific, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects weather conditions. To determine the phase of ENSO, the most recent three-month sea surface temperature average for the area approximately 3,000 km (1,900 mi) to
10168-665: The eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula , the Kuril Islands , Japan, the Mariana Islands , the Solomon Islands , and New Zealand's North Island . The dissimilarity continues northeastward along the western edge of the Andes Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California. Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand lie outside
10292-560: The economy by big business was accompanied by an often militant labour movement . The first major sympathy strike was in 1903 when railway employees struck against the CPR for union recognition. Labour leader Frank Rogers was killed by CPR police while picketing at the docks, becoming the movement's first martyr in British Columbia. The rise of industrial tensions throughout the province led to Canada's first general strike in 1918, at
10416-572: The eighteenth century. Magellan stopped at one uninhabited Pacific island before stopping at Guam in March 1521. Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines in 1521, Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano led the remains of the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope , completing the first world circumnavigation in 1522. Sailing around and east of
10540-647: The equator into northern (North Pacific) and southern (South Pacific) portions. It extends from the Antarctic region in the South to the Arctic in the north. The Pacific Ocean encompasses approximately one-third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 165,200,000 km (63,800,000 sq mi) – larger than Earth's entire landmass combined, 150,000,000 km (58,000,000 sq mi). Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 mi) from
10664-601: The equator, which can have a salinity as low as 34 parts per thousand, is less salty than that found in the mid-latitudes because of abundant equatorial precipitation throughout the year. The lowest counts of less than 32 parts per thousand are found in the far north as less evaporation of seawater takes place in these frigid areas. The motion of Pacific waters is generally clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (the North Pacific gyre ) and counter-clockwise in
10788-485: The first Woodward's store at Abbott and Cordova Streets in 1892 and, along with Spencer's and the Hudson's Bay department stores, formed the core of the city's retail sector for decades. The economy of early Vancouver was dominated by large companies such as the CPR, which fuelled economic activity and led to the rapid development of the new city; in fact, the CPR was the main real estate owner and housing developer in
10912-606: The first completely documented European landing in Australia (1606), in Cape York Peninsula , and Abel Janszoon Tasman circumnavigated and landed on parts of the Australian continental coast and arrived at Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a mare clausum – a sea closed to other naval powers. As the only known entrance from
11036-474: The first humans to reach Remote Oceania , and the first to cross vast distances of open water. They also continued spreading southwards and settling the rest of Maritime Southeast Asia , reaching Indonesia and Malaysia by 1500 BCE, and further west to Madagascar and the Comoros in the Indian Ocean by around 500 CE. More recently, it is suggested that Austronesians expanded already earlier, arriving in
11160-483: The first woman elected to a provincial legislature in Canada in 1918. Alcohol prohibition began in the First World War and lasted until 1921 when the provincial government established control over alcohol sales, a practice still in place today. Canada's first drug law came about following an inquiry conducted by the federal minister of Labour and future prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King . King
11284-475: The fourth highest in North America (after New York City , San Francisco , and Mexico City ). Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada: 49.3 percent of its residents are not native English speakers, 47.8 percent are native speakers of neither English nor French, and 54.5 percent of residents belong to visible minority groups. It has been consistently ranked one of
11408-499: The fourth-most expensive real estate market in the world in 2019. Vancouver has also been ranked among Canada's most expensive cities to live in. Sales in February 2016 were 56.3 percent higher than the 10-year average for the month. Forbes also ranked Vancouver as the tenth-cleanest city in the world in 2007. Vancouver's characteristic approach to urban planning originated in the late 1950s, when city planners began to encourage
11532-450: The highest concentrations of ethnic Chinese residents in North America. Another significant Asian ethnic group in Vancouver includes South Asians , forming approximately 7 percent of the city's inhabitants; while a small community had existed in the city since 1897, larger waves of migration began in the 1950s and 1960s, prompting new Punjabi immigrants to establish a Little India (known as Punjabi Market ) and preside over much of
11656-439: The incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888. By occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations. By 1900 nearly all Pacific islands were in control of Britain, France, United States, Germany, Japan, and Chile. Although the United States gained control of Guam and the Philippines from Spain in 1898, Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during
11780-549: The islands in the world. There are about 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands entirely within the Pacific Ocean can be divided into three main groups known as Micronesia , Melanesia and Polynesia . Micronesia, which lies north of the equator and west of the International Date Line , includes the Mariana Islands in the northwest, the Caroline Islands in the center, the Marshall Islands to
11904-752: The islands of eastern Micronesia (including the Carolines , the Marshall Islands , and Kiribati ), mixing with earlier Austronesian migrations in the region. This remained the furthest extent of the Austronesian expansion into Polynesia until around 700 CE when there was another surge of island exploration. They reached the Cook Islands , Tahiti , and the Marquesas by 700 CE; Hawaiʻi by 900 CE; Rapa Nui by 1000 CE; and finally New Zealand by 1200 CE. Austronesians may have also reached as far as
12028-562: The larger Metro Vancouver region, it is influenced by the policy direction of livability as illustrated in Metro Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy. Vancouver ranked high on the Global Liveability Ranking and stood at number 1 on the list for several years until 2011. In recent years, it has dropped, ranking as low as 16 in 2021. As of 2022 , Vancouver was ranked as having the fifth-highest quality of living of any city on Earth. According to Forbes , Vancouver had
12152-510: The largest film production centres in North America, earning it the nickname " Hollywood North ". The city takes its name from George Vancouver , who explored the inner harbour of Burrard Inlet in 1792 and gave various places British names. The family name "Vancouver" itself originates from the Dutch "van Coevorden", denoting somebody from the city of Coevorden , Netherlands. The explorer's ancestors came to England "from Coevorden", which
12276-701: The mass construction of the Vancouver Special across the southeastern quadrant of the city, notably within the Sunset neighbourhood prior to the suburbanization of the community to outer suburbs such as Surrey or Delta. Other Asian-origin groups that reside in Vancouver include Filipinos (5.9%), Japanese (1.7%), Korean (1.7%), West Asians (1.9%), as well as sizable communities of Vietnamese , Indonesians , and Cambodians . Despite increases in Latin American immigration to Vancouver in
12400-468: The mid-1950s until the 1980s, many Portuguese immigrants came to Vancouver, and the city had the third-largest Portuguese population in Canada in 2001. Eastern Europeans, including Russians , Czechs , Poles , Romanians and Hungarians began immigrating after the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe after World War II . Greek immigration increased in the late 1960s and early '70s, with most settling in
12524-403: The modern city, which was originally named Gastown , grew around the site of a makeshift tavern on the western edges of Hastings Mill that was built on July 1, 1867, and owned by proprietor Gassy Jack . The Gastown steam clock marks the original site. Gastown then formally registered as a townsite dubbed Granville , Burrard Inlet . The city was renamed "Vancouver" in 1886 through a deal with
12648-601: The north to New Zealand in the south, also encompasses Tuvalu , Tokelau , Samoa , Tonga and the Kermadec Islands to the west, the Cook Islands , Society Islands and Austral Islands in the center, and the Marquesas Islands , Tuamotu , Mangareva Islands , and Easter Island to the east. Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of four basic types: continental islands, high islands, coral reefs and uplifted coral platforms. Continental islands lie outside
12772-619: The northern Philippines , but also earlier groups associated with Austroasiatic-speakers , resulting in the modern peoples of Island Southeast Asia and Oceania. A later seaborne migration is the Neolithic Austronesian expansion of the Austronesian peoples . Austronesians originated from the island of Taiwan c. 3000 –1500 BCE. They are associated with distinctive maritime sailing technologies (notably outrigger boats , catamarans , lashed-lug boats, and
12896-575: The northwestern Pacific and the eastern Pacific. Pacific hurricanes form south of Mexico, sometimes striking the western Mexican coast and occasionally the Southwestern United States between June and October, while typhoons forming in the northwestern Pacific moving into southeast and east Asia from May to December. Tropical cyclones also form in the South Pacific basin , where they occasionally impact island nations. In
13020-499: The nucleus around which Vancouver formed. The mill's central role in the city waned after the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the 1880s. It nevertheless remained important to the local economy until it closed in the 1920s. The settlement, which came to be called Gastown , proliferated around the original makeshift tavern established by Gassy Jack in 1867 on the edge of the Hastings Mill property. In 1870,
13144-399: The ocean was encountered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached a new ocean. He named it Mar del Sur ("Sea of the South" or "South Sea" ) because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. In 1520, navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his crew were the first to cross
13268-465: The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico , which in Portuguese means 'peaceful sea'. Top large seas: Across the continents of Asia, Australia and the Americas , more than 25,000 islands, large and small, rise above
13392-562: The ocean's surface. One of the most dramatic is the Great Barrier Reef off northeastern Australia with chains of reef patches. A second island type formed of coral is the uplifted coral platform, which is usually slightly larger than the low coral islands. Examples include Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and Makatea in the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia . The volume of the Pacific Ocean, representing about 50.1 percent of
13516-619: The population of the enlarged Vancouver was 228,193. 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 115.18 km (44.47 sq mi), including both flat and hilly ground and is in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8) and
13640-581: The quest for Terra Australis ("the [great] Southern Land"), Spanish explorations in the 17th century, such as the expedition led by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós , arrived at the Pitcairn and Vanuatu archipelagos, and sailed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after navigator Luís Vaz de Torres . Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in exploration and trade; Willem Janszoon , made
13764-505: The settlement of Buka by 32,000 B.P. and Manus by 25,000 B.P. Journeys of 180 kilometres (110 mi) and 230 kilometres (140 mi) are involved, respectively. The descendants of these migrations today are the Negritos , Melanesians , and Indigenous Australians . Their populations in maritime Southeast Asia , coastal New Guinea , and Island Melanesia later intermarried with the incoming Austronesian settlers from Taiwan and
13888-504: The southeast of Hawaii is computed, and if the region is more than 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) above or below normal for that period, then an El Niño or La Niña is considered in progress. In the tropical western Pacific, the monsoon and the related wet season during the summer months contrast with dry winds in the winter which blow over the ocean from the Asian landmass. Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer, when
14012-528: The southern slopes of False Creek and English Bay, especially around Jericho Beach . The forest in Stanley Park was logged between the 1860s and 1880s, and evidence of old-fashioned logging techniques such as springboard notches can still be seen there. Many plants and trees growing throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland were imported from other parts of the continent and points across
14136-415: The surface of the Pacific Ocean. Multiple islands were the shells of former active volcanoes that have lain dormant for thousands of years. Close to the equator, without vast areas of blue ocean, are a dot of atolls that have over intervals of time been formed by seamounts as a result of tiny coral islands strung in a ring within surroundings of a central lagoon . Important human migrations occurred in
14260-523: The total population of Vancouver. Of the total immigrant population, the top countries of origin were mainland China (63,275 persons or 23.1%), Philippines (29,930 persons or 10.9%), Hong Kong (25,480 persons or 9.3%), India (14,640 persons or 5.3%), United Kingdom (12,895 persons or 4.7%), Vietnam (12,120 persons or 4.4%), Taiwan (9,870 persons or 3.6%), United States of America (9,790 persons or 3.6%), Iran (8,775 persons or 3.2%), and South Korea (6,495 persons or 2.4%). Pan-ethnic breakdown of Vancouver from
14384-804: The tropics and Antarctica, which records the coldest temperature readings on the planet. In the Southern hemisphere, because of the stormy and cloudy conditions associated with extratropical cyclones riding the jet stream, it is usual to refer to the Westerlies as the Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties and Shrieking Sixties according to the varying degrees of latitude. The ocean was first mapped by Abraham Ortelius ; he called it Maris Pacifici following Ferdinand Magellan 's description of it as "a pacific sea" during his circumnavigation from 1519 to 1522. To Magellan, it seemed much more calm (pacific) than
14508-408: The war, these Japanese-Canadian men and women were not allowed to return to cities like Vancouver causing areas, like the aforementioned Japantown , to cease to be ethnically Japanese areas as the communities never revived. Amalgamation with Point Grey and South Vancouver gave the city its final boundaries not long before it became the third-largest metropolis in the country. As of January 1, 1929,
14632-586: The west, and Drake Passage and the Strait of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean . As the Pacific straddles the 180th meridian , the West Pacific (or western Pacific , near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere , while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific , near the Americas) is in
14756-597: The width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history. One of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by European powers, and later Japan and
14880-434: The world's oceanic water, has been estimated at some 714 million cubic kilometers (171 million cubic miles). Surface water temperatures in the Pacific can vary from −1.4 °C (29.5 °F), the freezing point of seawater, in the poleward areas to about 30 °C (86 °F) near the equator. Salinity also varies latitudinally, reaching a maximum of 37 parts per thousand in the southeastern area. The water near
15004-628: Was among the inducements for British Columbia to join the Confederation in 1871, but the Pacific Scandal and arguments over the use of Chinese labour delayed construction until the 1880s. The City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 1886, the same year that the first transcontinental train arrived. CPR president William Van Horne arrived in Port Moody to establish the CPR terminus recommended by Henry John Cambie and gave
15128-497: Was sent to investigate damages claims resulting from a riot when the Asiatic Exclusion League led a rampage through Chinatown and Japantown . Two of the claimants were opium manufacturers, and after further investigation, King found that white women were reportedly frequenting opium dens as well as Chinese men. A federal law banning the manufacture, sale, and importation of opium for non-medicinal purposes
15252-533: Was soon passed based on these revelations. These riots, and the formation of the Asiatic Exclusion League, also act as signs of a growing fear and mistrust towards the Japanese living in Vancouver and throughout BC. These fears were exacerbated by the attack on Pearl Harbor leading to the eventual internment or deportation of all Japanese-Canadians living in the city and the province. After
15376-583: Was the first to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. Later, the Diogo Ribeiro map of 1529 was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size. (Inhabited dependent territories are denoted by the asterisk (*), with names of the corresponding sovereign states in round brackets. Associated states in the Realm of New Zealand are denoted by the hash sign (#).) Territories with no permanent civilian population. The Pacific Ocean has most of
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