The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland

coast of British Columbia , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Coast" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = British ...

that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sl ...

, the Lower Mainland contains sixteen of the province's 30 most populous municipalities and approximately 60% of the province's total population. The region is the traditional territory of the Sto:lo, a Halkomelem-speaking people of the Coast Salish linguistic and cultural grouping.

Boundaries

Although the term ''Lower Mainland'' has been recorded from the earliest period of colonization in British Columbia, it has never been officially defined in legal terms. The term has historically been in popular usage for over a century to describe a region that extends from Horseshoe Bay south to the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: ...

and east to Hope at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley. This definition makes the term ''Lower Mainland'' almost synonymous with the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley. However, the British Columbia Geographical Names Information System (BCGNIS) comments that most residents of Vancouver might consider it to be only areas west of Mission and Abbotsford, while residents in the rest of the province consider it to be the

Sea-to-Sky Corridor The Sea-to-Sky Corridor, often referred to as the Corridor or the Sea to Sky Country, is a region in British Columbia spreading from Horseshoe Bay through Whistler to the Pemberton Valley and sometimes beyond to include Birken and D'Arcy. Fro ...

south of Whistler and west of Hope.

Geography

The region is bounded to the north by the

Pacific Ranges , photo = Mount Garibaldi (50997016501).jpg , photo_size = 280px , photo_caption = Mount Garibaldi massif as seen from Squamish , map = , map_image = South BC-NW USA-relief PacificRanges.png , ...

and to the southeast by the Cascade Mountains, and is traversed from east to west by the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual ...

. Due to its consistency of

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

and

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long ...

, "Lower Mainland" is also the name of an

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

—a biogeoclimatic region—that comprises the eastern part of the

Georgia Depression The Georgia Depression is a depression in the Pacific Northwest region of western North America. The depression includes the lowland regions of southwestern British Columbia and northwestern Washington along the shores of the Salish Sea. Format ...

and extends from Powell River on the

Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...

to Hope at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley.Environment Canada
Ecoregions of Canada – Lower Mainland
. Ecological Framework of Canada. Retrieved on: 9 July 2011

Climate

One of the mildest climates in Canada, the region has a mean annual temperature of with a summer mean of and a winter mean of . Annual precipitation ranges from an annual mean of in the west end to in the eastern end of the Fraser Valley and at higher elevations. Maximum precipitation occurs as rain in winter. Less than ten percent falls as snow at sea level but the amount of snowfall increases significantly with elevation.

Demographics

Population

As of the 2021 census, the population of the Lower Mainland core area totals 2,966,830: * 2,642,825 in

Metro Vancouver Regional District 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 ...

* 324,005 in the Fraser Valley Regional District These figures are slightly inflated due to the inclusion of areas within the Regional Districts which are not normally considered to be part of the Lower Mainland, notably the lower Fraser Canyon and the heads of Harrison and Pitt Lakes, which are within the FVRD, and Lions Bay and Bowen Island, which are within the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

Ethnicity

The Lower Mainland is among the most diverse regions in Canada. Europeans form a slight majority at 51.5 percent, followed by East Asians at 20.8 percent and South Asians at 12.2 percent.

Language

Religion

The Lower Mainland includes large Christian, irreligious, and Sikh communities. The Sikh population, numbering over 265,000 persons or 9.1 percent of the total population is statistically significant across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley; proportionally, it is more than four times the national average of 2.1 percent.

Regional districts

Regional districts were first created across British Columbia in 1966–1967 to form bodies for inter-municipal coordination and to extend municipal-level powers to areas outside existing municipalities. Today, the Lower Mainland includes two regional districts: the

(MVRD) and the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD). Both regional districts, however, include areas outside the traditional limits of the Lower Mainland. Metro Vancouver includes areas like Surrey and Langley that are geographically in the Fraser Valley. The Metro Vancouver Regional District is made up of 21 municipalities. The MVRD is bordered on the west by the Strait of Georgia, to the north by the

Squamish-Lillooet Regional District The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District is a quasi-municipal administrative area in British Columbia, Canada. It stretches from Britannia Beach in the south to Pavilion in the north. Lillooet, Pemberton, Whistler and Squamish are the fou ...

, on the east by the Fraser Valley Regional District, and to the south by

Whatcom County, Washington Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Canadian Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts of British Columbia) to the north, Okanogan ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The Fraser Valley Regional District lies east of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, and comprises the cities of Abbotsford and Chilliwack, the district municipalities of Mission,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and Hope, and the village of Harrison Hot Springs. It also includes many unincorporated areas in the Fraser Valley and along the west side of the Fraser Canyon (the Fraser Canyon is not in the Lower Mainland). Regional district powers are very limited and other localized provincial government services are delivered through other regionalization systems.

Indigenous territories

The traditional territories of the Musqueam and Tsleil'waututh lie completely within the region; the southern portion of Squamish traditional territory is also in the region. Its claims overlap those of the Tsleil-waututh, Musqueam, and Kwikwetlem. Other peoples whose territories lie within the region are the Sto:lo, Chehalis, Katzie, Kwantlen,

Tsawwassen Tsawwassen ( ) is a suburban, mostly residential community on a peninsula in the southwestern corner of the City of Delta in British Columbia, Canada. It provides the only road access to the American territory on the southern tip of the peninsul ...

, and Semiahmoo; many of their territories overlap with those of the Musqueam, and with each other. Many other peoples of the

Georgia Strait The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coas ...

region also frequented the lower Fraser, including those from Vancouver Island and what is now

. Sto:lo traditional territory, known as ''Solh Temexw'' in Halkomelem, more or less coincides with the traditional conception of the Lower Mainland, except for the inclusion of Port Douglas at the head of Harrison Lake, which is in

In-SHUCK-ch The In-SHUCK-ch Nation, also known as Lower Lillooet people, are a small First Nations Tribal Council on the lower Lillooet River south of Pemberton- Mount Currie in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The communities of the In-SHUCK-ch a ...

territory, and the lands around Burrard Inlet.

Health regions

Health system services and governance in the Lower Mainland are provided by

Vancouver Coastal Health Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is a regional health authority that provides health services including primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary care, home and community care, mental health services, population and preventive health and addictio ...

, serving Vancouver, Richmond and the North Shore, and the mainland coast as far north as the Central Coast region, and Fraser Health, which serves the area of the Lower Mainland east of Vancouver and Richmond.

Natural threats

Flooding

The Lower Mainland is considered to have a high vulnerability to flood risk. There have been two major region-wide floods in 1894 and 1948, both associated with an extreme spring freshet of the

. Other major floods in the Lower Mainlandincluding June 1972, November 1990, and November 2021have been more localized, primarily impacting areas in the Fraser Valley like the

Sumas Prairie Sumas Prairie is a landform in British Columbia, Canada and the State of Washington, United States. Part of the Fraser Lowland, it was created by the draining of Sumas Lake early in the 20th Century, and extends from the Vedder Canal southwest ...

, with comparatively minor impacts to Metro Vancouver. Prior to the 2021 flood, according to the Fraser Basin Council, scientists predicted a one-in-three chance of a similar-sized flood occurring in the next 50 years. In the second quarter of 2007, the Lower Mainland was on high alert for flooding. Higher than normal snow packs in the

British Columbia Interior , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Interior" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivi ...

prompted municipal governments to start taking emergency measures in the region.

Dikes Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

along the

are regulated to handle approximately at the Mission Gauge (the height above sea level of the dykes at Mission). Warmer than normal weather in the province's Interior region caused large amounts of snow to melt prematurely, resulting in higher-than-normal water levels, which, nevertheless, remained well below flood levels. Flooding can cover much of the Lower Mainland. Cloverdale,

Barnston Island Barnston Island is an unincorporated island located in the Greater Vancouver metropolitan area of British Columbia, Canada. Most of the island is part of Metro Vancouver Electoral Area A; the remainder is Barnston Island Indian Reserve No. 3, ...

, low-lying areas of Maple Ridge, areas west of Hope, White Rock,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

, parts of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

, and parts of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

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. 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. The provincial government maintains an integrated flood hazard management program and extensive flood protection infrastructure in the Lower Mainland. The infrastructure consists of dikes, pump stations, floodboxes, riprap, and relief wells.

Earthquakes

While

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

s are common in British Columbia and adjacent coastal waters, most are minor in energy release or are sufficiently remote to have little effect on populated areas. Nevertheless, earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 7.3 have occurred within of the Lower Mainland. Based on geological evidence, however, stronger earthquakes appear to have occurred at approximately 600-year intervals. Therefore, there is a probability that there will be a major earthquake in the region within the next 200 years.British Columbia. Provincial Emergency Program. (1999)
British Columbia Earthquake Response Plan, Appendix 2-The Earthquake Threat
. . Retrieved on: 7 April 2008. In April 2008, the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

released information concerning a newly found fault south of downtown Abbotsford, called the Boulder Creek Fault. Scientists now believe this fault is active and capable of producing earthquakes in the 6.8 magnitude range.

Volcanoes

Much of the Lower Mainland is vulnerable to

explosive eruption In volcanology, an explosive eruption is a volcanic eruption of the most violent type. A notable example is the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Such eruptions result when sufficient gas has dissolved under pressure within a viscous magma su ...

s from the

Garibaldi Volcanic Belt The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt is a northwest–southeast trending volcanic chain in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains that extends from Watts Point in the south to the Ha-Iltzuk Icefield in the north. This chain of volcanoes is located in ...

. Volcanoes in this zone are capable of producing large quantities of

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...

that may cause short and long term water supply problems for Lower Mainland communities. All airports covered by the accompanying

eruption column An eruption column or eruption plume is a cloud of super-heated ash and tephra suspended in gases emitted during an explosive volcanic eruption. The volcanic materials form a vertical column or plume that may rise many kilometers into the ai ...

would be closed, heavy

ash falls Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash i ...

would damage electrical equipment and weak structures could collapse under the weight of the ash.

Communities

The Lower Mainland's communities includes large cities in Metro Vancouver, and smaller cities, towns and villages along both banks of the Fraser River. Neighbourhoods within cities are not listed unless historically or otherwise notable and/or separate. Only some of the many Indian Reserves are listed.

Upper Fraser Valley

Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he rec ...

* Bridal Falls * Chehalis * Chilliwack * Cultus Lake * Greendale * Lake Errock *

* Harrison Hot Springs * Harrison Mills * Hope *

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

* Laidlaw * Popkum * Rosedale * Ruby Creek * Sardis * Yarrow

Central Fraser Valley

* Abbotsford * Aldergrove *

Bradner Bradner is a village in Wood County, Ohio, United States. The population was 985 at the 2010 census. History Bradner was platted in 1875, and named for John Bradner, proprietor. A post office called Bradner has been in operation since 1876. The ...

Clayburn Clayburn is British Columbia’s first company town. It is situated at the foot of Sumas Mountain within the boundaries of the City of Abbotsford. Today the village and the brick plant site are classified as the municipally designated Clayburn Vil ...

* Clearbrook * Deroche * Dewdney * Durieu * Hatzic *

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cr ...

* Matsqui * Mission *

Mount Lehman Mount Lehman or Mt. Lehman (49°07'00"N, 122°23'00"W) is a small rural community located in the Fraser Valley of south western British Columbia, Canada.http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/27429.html BC Geographical Names The community was e ...

* Nicomen Island * Ruskin * Silverdale * Silverhill * Squamish * Stave Falls * Steelhead * Sumas (Sumas Prairie) *

Whonnock Whonnock is a rural, naturally treed, and hilly community on the north side of the Fraser River in the eastern part of the City of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately 56 kilometres east of Downtown Vancouver on the Loughee ...

Lower Fraser Valley / Metro Vancouver

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

* Anmore * Annieville *

* Belcarra *

Boundary Bay , image = Boundary Bay Regional Park in Tsawwassen.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = Looking east across Boundary Bay from Tsawwassen , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = ...

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonn ...

Brighouse Brighouse is a town within the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the River Calder, east of Halifax. It is served by Junction 25 of the M62 ...

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrar ...

* Burquitlam * Cloverdale * Coquitlam * Crescent Beach *

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

("Old Derby") *

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

* Delta * Fort Langley * Haney *

Kanaka Creek Kanaka Creek is a tributary of the Fraser River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It flows through Maple Ridge, a district municipality at the eastern edge of Metro Vancouver. The creek's name is reflected in the name of the local c ...

Langley City The City of Langley, commonly referred to as Langley City, or just Langley, is a municipality in the Metro Vancouver Regional District in British Columbia, Canada. It lies directly east of Surrey, adjacent to the Cloverdale area, and is surrou ...

* Langley District * Lions Bay * Maillardville * Maple Ridge * New Westminster * Newton * North Vancouver City * North Vancouver District * Pitt Meadows * Port Coquitlam *

Port Hammond Port Hammond, commonly known as Hammond, is a community on the Fraser River within the city of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, near its border with the City of Pitt Meadows and just east of the Golden Ears Bridge. History The town's name ...

(Hammond) *

Port Kells Port Kells is a neighborhood of Guildford, a town center in Surrey, British Columbia. The neighborhood is located in the northeastern sector of Guildford, and is adjacent to the Fraser River and west of Walnut Grove, Langley. It has two major compo ...

* Port Moody * Queensborough *

* Sapperton * Scottsdale * Steveston *

West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...

* Whalley * White Rock * Yennadon

References

External links

* {{Authority control South Coast of British Columbia Geography of Vancouver