LOWER MAINLAND

The 'Lower Mainland' is the name that residents of British Columbia apply to the region surrounding the City of Vancouver. According to the 2001 census, over 2.2 million people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there Statistics Canada and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Subdivisions (Municipalities), 2001 and 1996 Censuses". Accessed 2006-06-08.
While the term ''Lower Mainland'' has been recorded from the earliest period of non-native settlement in British Columbia, it has never been officially defined in legal terms. However, the term has historically been in popular usage for over a century to describe a region that extends from Horseshoe Bay south to the U.S. boundary and east to Hope at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley.^[1] It has been increasingly used to include the commuter suburbs of the Sunshine Coast (Gibsons, Sechelt, Roberts Creek, etc.) extending to Powell River, British Columbia (''see next section'').

Contents

Lower Mainland Ecoregion

Regional Districts and First Nations territories

Population

Natural threats

Flooding

Communities in the Lower Mainland

References

Lower Mainland Ecoregion

Main articles: Lower Mainland Ecoregion

"Lower Mainland" is also the name of an ecoregion — a biogeoclimatic region — that comprises the eastern part of the Georgia Depression and extends from Powell River, British Columbia on the Sunshine Coast to Hope at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley. The Lower Mainland Ecoregion is a part of the Pacific Maritime Ecozone ^[2] The provincial Ministry of Environment bases its Lower Mainland Region on this ecoregion, rather than on the traditional Lower Mainland alone.

Regional Districts and First Nations territories

Today, the ''Lower Mainland'' includes two Regional Districts: The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), and the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD).
The Greater Vancouver Regional District is made up of 21 municipalities (''see below,'' Communities in the Lower Mainland). The Greater Vancouver Regional District is bordered on the west by the Strait of Georgia, to the north by the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, on the east by the Fraser Valley Regional District, and to the south by Whatcom County, Washington in the United States. The traditional territories of the Musqueam and Tsleil'waututh lie completely within the GVRD; the southern portion of Squamish First Nation traditional territory is also in the GVRD — its claims overlap those of the Tsleil-waututh and Musqueam (and also, therefore, the Sto:lo).
The Fraser Valley Regional District lies east of the GVRD, comprises the cities of Abbotsford and Chilliwack, the districts of Mission, Kent, and Hope, and the village of Harrison Hot Springs. It also includes a series of electoral areas throughout the Fraser Valley and along the west side of the Fraser Canyon. The traditional territory of the is partly within this regional district, as is the entirety of the Chehalis First Nation. Sto:lo traditional territory more or less exactly coincides with the traditional conception of the Lower Mainland, except for their inclusion of Port Douglas, at the head of Harrison Lake which is in In-SHUCK-ch territory.

Population

According to the 2001 census there were 2,209,080 people living in the communities of the Lower Mainland, of whom:

★ 222,115 lived in the Fraser Valley Regional District

★ 1,986,965 lived in the Greater Vancouver Regional District
The population in the Greater Vancouver Regional District is up 8.5% from the 1996 Census figures. For the population of the cities within the GVRD, see Municipalities in the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

Natural threats

Flooding

The Lower Mainland is considered to have a high vulnerability to flood risk. There have been two major floods, the largest in 1894 and the second largest in 1948. According to the Fraser Basin Council, scientists predict a one-in-three chance of a similar-sized flood occurring in the next 50 years.^[3]
In the Spring of 2007, the Lower Mainland was on high alert for flooding. Higher then normal snow packs in the BC interior prompted the municipal governments to start emergency measures in the region. Dikes along the Fraser River are regulated to handle about 8.5 metres in height, but warmer then normal weather in the interior caused large amounts of snow to melt prematurely, resulting in higher then normal water levels.^[4]
Flooding can cover much of the Lower Mainland. Cloverdale, Barnston Island, Low-lying areas of Maple Ridge, west of Hope, White Rock, Richmond, parts of Vancouver and parts of Surrey are potentially at risk. In 2007, the Lower Mainland was largely spared, although northern regions of the province, along the Skeena and Nechako Rivers experienced floods. The flood risk was highest during the June 8-11 period. Climate scientists predict that increasing temperatures will mean wetter winters and more snow at the high elevations. This will increase the likelihood of snowmelt floods.^[5]
The provincial government maintains an Integrated Flood Hazard Management program and an extensive flood protection infrastructure in the Lower Mainland. The infrastructure consists of dikes, pump stations, floodboxes, riprap and relief wells^[6]

Communities in the Lower Mainland

'Fraser Valley Regional District'

★ Abbotsford

★ Chilliwack

★ Kent/Agassiz

★ Mission
'Greater Vancouver Regional District'

★ Anmore

★ Belcarra

★ Bowen Island

★ Burnaby

★ Coquitlam

★ Delta

★ Langley City

★ Langley District
'GVRD cont.'

★ Lions Bay

★ Maple Ridge

★ New Westminster

★ North Vancouver City

★ North Vancouver District

★ Pitt Meadows

★ Port Coquitlam

★ Port Moody

★ Richmond

★ Surrey

★ Vancouver

★ West Vancouver

★ White Rock

References

1. Gentilcore, R.L., ed. 1993. ''Historical Atlas of Canada, Vol II, The Land Transformed 1800-1891.'' Plate 36, "Lower Mainland 1881." Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-3447-0.
2. Environment Canada "Narrative Descriptions of Terrestrial Ecozones and Ecoregions of Canada". Accessed 2006-06-08.
3.
Flood Hazard Management on the Fraser River
4.
Fraser Valley prepares for possible flooding
5.
Flooding in future may be more frequent, scientists say Laura Drake
6.
Lower Mainland Dike and Emergency Maps Ministry of Environment