Why Vancouver
Vancouver is a city located in Clark County, Washington, along the north bank of the Columbia River, positioned directly across the state line from Portland, Oregon. Serving as the seat of Clark County, it stands as the fourth-most populous city in Washington, recording a population of 190,915 in 2020. Set within the Western Lowlands region, the city covers roughly 50 square miles, composed mainly of land alongside a small water area. It rests just west of where the Columbia River Gorge cuts through the volcanic Cascade Range and east of the Willamette River's confluence with the Columbia. On clear days, several prominent regional peaks are visible from the city, including Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier, Mount Jefferson, and Mount Adams.
Prior to European exploration, the region was inhabited by Indigenous peoples, including the Chinook and Klickitat nations, who established settlements of timber longhouses. European contact began in 1792 with William Robert Broughton, followed by the arrival of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1806. The first permanent European establishment arose in 1824 with the founding of Fort Vancouver as a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post. Following a period of joint US and British occupation, full American control was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty. Named after British sea captain George Vancouver, the municipality was incorporated in 1857 and briefly served as the capital of the Washington Territory.
The city's history is closely tied to military activity and manufacturing. Ulysses S. Grant was stationed at Columbia Barracks during the 1850s, and the site expanded into Vancouver Barracks. Aviation history was established at Pearson Field, which accommodated a historic 1937 transpolar flight from Moscow piloted by Valery Chkalov. During World War II, major shipyards and an aluminum plant powered by the hydroelectric dam at Bonneville brought tens of thousands of workers, prompting rapid residential expansion. Today, the city is divided by Northeast Andresen Road into West Vancouver—which contains the historic downtown area and high-density developments—and East Vancouver. Historic residential areas include McLoughlin Heights, Fruit Valley, and Fourth Plain Village.
Travelers reach Vancouver across the Columbia River from Oregon via two major bridges: the Interstate Bridge and the Glenn Jackson Bridge. The city experiences a warm-summer Mediterranean climate with widespread rainfall from autumn through spring, averaging 42 inches of annual precipitation. Summer weather is generally dry and warm from mid-June through September. Cold easterly winds channeled through the Columbia River Gorge occasionally bring freezing rain storms known as silver thaws, though heavy snowfalls are uncommon.
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