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Richmond is an incorporated city on the Pacific coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Richmond forms part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD). Its neighbouring municipalities include Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the ... more »
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Airports Richmond is an incorporated city on the Pacific coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Richmond forms part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD). Its neighbouring municipalities include Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south, with Georgia Strait on the west.
The city comprises most of the islands in the Fraser River delta, the largest and most populated island being Lulu Island (the eastern tip of which forms the Queensborough neighbourhood, which is actually part of the neighbouring city of New Westminster). The next largest island, Sea Island, is home to the Vancouver International Airport (YVR). In addition to Lulu and Sea Islands, 13 smaller islands make up the municipality's 129.66 km² land area.
Richmond supports about 100,000 jobs in various areas including services, retailing, tourism, light manufacturing, airport services and aviation, agriculture, fishing, and government. Richmond also is a leading centre in the region for high-technology companies.
Richmond is connected by a system of bridges and tunnels to Vancouver and Delta, and through the New Westminster suburb of Queensborough (on eastern Lulu Island) to the "mainland" portion of New Westminster.
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Three bridges (one of them twinned) connect Lulu Island to Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport; one bridge connects Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport to Vancouver; two bridges connect Lulu Island to Vancouver; one bridge connects Queensborough (on eastern Lulu Island) to New Westminster; one bridge connects Queensborough to Annacis Island in Delta; one twinned bridge connects Richmond to Annacis Island; and one of the few underwater tunnels in British Columbia connects Richmond to Delta.
Richmond is served by two freeways: Highway 99, which connects Vancouver to the United States, and Highway 91, which connects Delta, New Westminster, and Richmond.
Railway bridges connect Lulu Island to Vancouver, New Westminster, and Annacis Island, and serve the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways, as well as the Southern Railway of British Columbia (although the latter railway's Lulu Island trackage is entirely within Queensborough).
The public transit system in Greater Vancouver, planned and funded by TransLink, currently has bus connections from Richmond to Downtown Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster, Burnaby, Delta and the University of British Columbia. A rapid transit line called the Canada Line (formerly the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver (RAV) Line) is scheduled for completion in late 2009 and will connect Richmond Centre and the airport to downtown Vancouver and points between, and is expected to replace the bus rapid transit 98 B-Line.
Vancouver International Airport, located on Sea Island (part of Richmond) to the north of Lulu Island, provides most of the air access to the region. The airport (YVR) is the second busiest in Canada and one of the busiest international airports on the West Coast of North America.
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The city was named after a local Richmond Farm established by Hugh McRoberts. A daughter of his chose this name after one of the Richmonds in Australia (it is unknown exactly which one it is). The wife of the first reeve of Richmond, England later claimed that the city was named in honour of her birthplace. However, modern historians proved this claim to be false, since the Boyds immigrated to Richmond in 1863, but there had already been a pamphlet called "A Visit to Richmond" made in British Columbia in September 1862.
* November 10, 1879 — Richmond was incorporated as a District Municipality. * March 25, 1910 — The first flight in British Columbia was made from Minoru Racetrack. * December 3, 1990 — Richmond was designated as a City.
An early centre of European (and Japanese) settlement in Richmond was the old fishing village of Steveston on the southwestern tip of Lulu Island. Steveston is now home to several museums and heritage sites, as well as a working harbour for fishing boats.
*Richmond enjoys a temperate climate, and actually receives 30% less rain than neighbouring Vancouver because it is not as close to the mountains. It rarely snows in winter and the summer temperatures are mild to warm. Richmond is also very prone to fog in the cooler months.Lonely Planet Maps (external source)
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Distances are calculated as the crow flies, and are provided as an aid in planning only.
* This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Source wikipedia.
