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The Lower Mainland

BC’s lower mainland sits in a valley surrounded by mountains and an international border. The nearest major Canadian City on the mainland is Calgary, Alberta. Calgary is east of Vancouver and about a 12 hour trip over the Trans-Canada Highway-1.

Victoria is the other major city in the area and it is separated from Vancouver by a one hour ferry ride. The other major city in the region is Seattle and it is separated from Vancouver by an international border and a minimum of a 2½ hour trip by car depending on border wait.

The valley is the Fraser River Valley and as you can see on the map to the left, the Fraser River cuts the region right in half. The river is big, wide, and slow moving through the Lower Mainland. When this area was settled it was the transportation highway of the area. Today there is still a little commercial traffic but the River is mainly used for recreation.

The Greater Vancouver Metropolitan Area is us unique in its isolation. It must provide all that its residents need to survive and play because it is a major trip to other communities. That isolation has lead the people in the region to develop a wide variety of attractions. These attractions were not developed to attract visitors, they were developed to entertain the local population. The visitor is the benefactor of Vancouver’s relative isolation in the many attractions that are located there.

Two major highways.

Two major highways begin in the lower mainland. For all practical purposes BC Highway-99 begins at Whistler Ski Area and runs south to Vancouver and then continues to the United States / Canada border where it links with Interstate-5. I-5 goes south through the states of Washington, Oregon, and California all the way to Mexico.

The second highway is the Trans-Canada Highway-1. It actually begins in Victoria on Vancouver Island, crosses the ferry to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver, and travels through Vancouver and east across the lower mainland on its way to eastern Canada.

If you don’t arrive in British Columbia by one of those major highways then you will probably arrive by air at the Vancouver International Airport located in Richland, just south of the City of Vancouver.

The Greater Vancouver area as shown on the map above is about 25 miles (40 Km) north to south and about 50 miles (80 Km) east to west. The Greater Vancouver Regional District is made up of 21 separate communities.

Greater Vancouver

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