Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, has a lengthy entry about Vancouver that's worth checking out.
(Image by: Leonard G., licensed under Creative Commons)
Some things that you may not have known about Vancouver:
- The first non-native settlement in the city limits of Vancouver was at McLeery's Farm, in the area of the Oak Street bridge, in about 1862.
- The settlement of Gastown was originally named Granville when it was surveyed by the colonial government.
- William Van Horne of the Canadian Pacific Railway renamed Granville Vancouver, partly because people in Montreal and Toronto would recognise the name better, due to their familiarity with the location of Vancouver Island.
- Some people who are unfamiliar with the region may be surprised to learn that Vancouver does not lie on Vancouver Island.
- The density of the city itself is the third highest of any metropolitan centre in North America, after New York City and San Francisco.
- Included among Vancouver's eight sister cities are Los Angeles, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Guangzhou, Kaohsiung, Busan, Odessa and Yokohama.
