| Feature Type: | Region - A relatively large area having specific characteristics which give it a certain unity. |
| Status: | Not official |
| Relative Location: | SW corner of the British Columbia mainland |
| Latitude-Longitude: | 49°14'59"N, 123°00'04"W at the approximate centre of this feature. |
| Datum: | WGS84 |
| NTS Map: | 92G |
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Origin Notes and History:
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"The Lower Mainland" (geographical region) is a well-established locational and cultural reference, routinely used & heard in conversation but seldom labelled on maps. Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |
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"The Lower Mainland" is perceived and used differently according to relative proximity to the area: residents of Greater Vancouver tend to narrowly refer to the area from Langley-Maple Ridge westward (further east is "the Valley"), and include the populated core of North and West Vancouver ("the North Shore"), Port Coquitlam and Pitt Meadows - essentially the Greater Vancouver Regional District footprint. British Columbians elsewhere in the province generally refer to the entire area west of Hope and south of Whistler as "The Lower Mainland". Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office |