The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05 million people as of the 2021 Canadian census, the Lower Mainland contains sixteen of the province's 30 most populous municipalities and approximately 60% of the province's total population.
The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 regional districts in British Columbia. The organization was known as the Regional District of Fraser–Burrard for nearly one year upon incorporating in 1967, and as the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) from 1968 to 2017.
The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company, the BCER assumed control of existing streetcar and interurban lines in southwestern British Columbia in 1897, and operated the electric railway systems in the region until the last interurban service was discontinued in 1958. During and after the streetcar era, BC Electric also ran bus and trolleybus systems in Greater Vancouver and bus service in Greater Victoria; these systems subsequently became part of BC Transit, and the routes in Greater Vancouver eventually came under the control of TransLink. Trolley buses still run in the City of Vancouver with one line extending into Burnaby.
The Cleveland Dam is a 91-metre high (299 ft) concrete dam at the head of the Capilano River in Upper Capilano, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that holds back Capilano Lake, also known as Capilano reservoir. Part of the Capilano River Regional Park, it stores a portion of the Lower Mainland's drinking water. It captures water from one of the three Metro Vancouver watersheds. Construction was started in 1951 and completed in 1954.
The City of North Vancouver is a city municipality on the North Shore of the Burrard Inlet, in British Columbia, Canada. It consists of the smallest and most urbanized of the communities situated north of the city of Vancouver, and is part of the Metro Vancouver regional district, though it has significant industry of its own – including shipping, chemical production, and film production, centred on the North Shore's largest urban centre, Lonsdale. The city is served by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, British Columbia Ambulance Service, and the North Vancouver City Fire Department.
The District of North Vancouver is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada, situated north of the city of Vancouver across the Burrard Inlet. It surrounds the respective City of North Vancouver on three sides, and the remaining fellow North Shore municipality of West Vancouver on the other, and is part of the Metro Vancouver Regional District.
The Capilano River flows from north to south through the Coast Mountains on the North Shore of the Burrard Inlet between British Columbia's district municipalities of West Vancouver and North Vancouver and empties into Burrard Inlet, opposite Stanley Park. The river is one of three primary sources of drinking water for residents of Greater Vancouver, and flows through the Capilano watershed. The Cleveland Dam, built in 1954, impounds a reservoir for this purpose. The entire area of the reservoir and watershed area upstream of the dam is closed to the public to ensure the quality of the drinking water. Prior to construction of the Cleveland Dam, the Capilano River deposited large amounts of sediment into Burrard Inlet. A dredge was needed to remove this sediment build-up in order to keep Burrard Inlet open for ship traffic.
Capilano may refer to a number of things mostly associated with the area of Capilano in British Columbia, Canada, or, alternately, the one in Edmonton in neighbouring Alberta:
The Capilano Suspension Bridge is a simple suspension bridge crossing the Capilano River in Upper Capilano, British Columbia, Canada, in the District of North Vancouver. The current bridge is 140 metres (460 ft) long and 70 metres (230 ft) above the river. It is part of a private facility with an admission fee and draws over 1.2 million visitors per year.
British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, bordered by the Pacific Ocean. With an area of 944,735 km2 (364,764 sq mi) it is Canada's third-largest province. The province is almost four times the size of the United Kingdom and larger than every United States state except Alaska. It is bounded on the northwest by the U.S. state of Alaska, directly north by Yukon and the Northwest Territories, on the east by Alberta, and on the south by the U.S. states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Formerly part of the British Empire, the southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty. The province is dominated by mountain ranges, among them the Canadian Rockies but dominantly the Coast Mountains, Cassiar Mountains, and the Columbia Mountains. Most of the population is concentrated on the Pacific coast, notably in the area of Vancouver, located on the southwestern tip of the mainland, which is known as the Lower Mainland. It is the most mountainous province of Canada.
The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city.
The Baden-Powell Trail is a rugged but well-maintained 48 km hiking trail, that traverses from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Deep Cove in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was named after Robert Baden-Powell, Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the world Scouting Movement.
Strathcona Provincial Park is the oldest provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, and the largest on Vancouver Island. Founded in 1911, the park was named for Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, a wealthy philanthropist and railway pioneer. It lies within the Strathcona Regional District. The Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve, established in 2000, includes three watersheds in the western area of the park.
Edgemont Village is a neighbourhood within the District of North Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It is situated between several converging suburbs, centering on the intersection of Edgemont Boulevard and Highland Boulevard, where it is a minor residential and commercial center for local communities. According to the District of North Vancouver's Official Community Plan, Edgemont Village encompasses the shops and tenements along and immediately surrounding Edgemont Boulevard between West Queens Road and Ridgewood Drive. However, it is broadly recognized as taking up much of the hillside plateau between the Mackay and Mosquito creeks, bordering Ridgewood Drive to the north and the Upper Levels Highway to the south.
Capilano River Regional Park is located in the District of North Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of twenty-three regional parks operated by the Metro Vancouver. The park encompasses most of the upstream areas of the Capilano River below the Cleveland Dam. The area north of the dam surrounding Capilano Lake is closed to the public as it is a GVRD watershed. The privately operated Capilano Suspension Bridge crosses the river, but it is not within park boundaries and does not access the park.
The Seymour River is a river in North Vancouver, British Columbia which is notable for being several degrees warmer than other streams and lakes in the area. This is due to it being fed from a large reservoir backed up behind a dam from which a constant flow of water is released. The upper portion of the river and the reservoir are part of the Seymour watershed, controlled by Metro Vancouver.
The Metro Vancouver watersheds, also known as the Greater Vancouver watersheds, supply potable water to approximately 2.7 million residents in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. They provide tap water to a land area covering more than 2,600 square kilometres (1,000 sq mi), serving a total of 21 member municipalities, one electoral district, and one treaty First Nation. From west to east, the watersheds are the Capilano, the Seymour, and the Coquitlam. They are located in the North Shore Mountains and Coquitlam Mountain, respectively. Each watershed possesses a reservoir for water storage purposes, under the control of Metro Vancouver. The reservoirs are supplied by about 3.5 metres (11 ft) of rain and 4.5 metres (15 ft) of snowpack annually. Two additional off-catchment areas under control of Metro Vancouver contribute to the water supply. The watersheds have a long history of controversies surrounding logging, highway development, and salmon run conservation.
Ernest Albert Cleveland was a Canadian engineer and first commissioner of the Greater Vancouver Water District from 1926 to 1952.
Capilano is a neighbourhood in British Columbia, Canada. Located on the Burrard Inlet's North Shore, it is within the District of North Vancouver. It is primarily composed of low density single family residential (RS), but contains a small amount of low density multi-family residential (RM) along arterial roads.
