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Vancouver is the largest city in the
province of British Columbia. It's surrounded by water on three sides
and is nestled alongside the Coast Mountain Range. Vancouver is home to
spectacular natural scenery and a bustling metropolitan core, and boasts
one of the mildest climates in Canada.
The Greater Vancouver region is home to more than two million people in
21 municipalities, making it the third largest metropolitan area in
Canada.
Vancouver has an area of 114 square kilometres (44 sq mi), including
both flat and hilly ground. Vancouver is adjacent to the Strait of
Georgia, a body of water that is shielded from the Pacific Ocean by
Vancouver Island. It is in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8) and the Pacific
Maritime Ecozone.
The city itself forms part of the Burrard Peninsula, lying between
Burrard Inlet to the north and the Fraser River to the south. Vancouver
is not on nearby Vancouver Island. However, both the island and the city
(as well as Vancouver, Washington) are named after Royal Navy Captain
George Vancouver.
Vancouver is renowned for its scenery and has one of the largest urban
parks in North America, Stanley Park. The North Shore Mountains dominate
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 the Sunshine Coast to the northwest. |
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