Vancouver & Environs

The name of this section is my way of saying “the Lower Mainland”. The Lower Mainland is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia, in its south-west corner, adjacent to the American state of Washington. It’s called mainland because it’s not on an island, of which BC has a gazillion (40,000 to be exact – I googled), and lower – probably, because it mostly lies in the estuary of the mighty Fraser River, where it flows out into the Pacific. So, this region is located in the lower reaches of the river, and on the lower, flat terrain, as opposed to the rest of this very mountainous province. Open Google Maps, switch to Terrain view, and you will see what I mean. The Lower Mainland is relatively small, occupying just 4% of the province’s territory, but the population density is very high. All of the biggest BC cities are in the Lower Mainland, including Vancouver. Actually, most of the region is occupied by the Vancouver metropolitan area, formally called Metro Vancouver, the third biggest in the country (after Toronto and Montreal). But there are other places too, which are not part of Metro Vancouver, hence the all-encompassing name of this section.