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For other uses, see Vancouver (disambiguation). Vancouver, Washington is a city on the north shore of the Columbia River, in the state of Washington, USA. It is the county seat of Clark County. As of July 1, 2005 it had a population of 157,493, many of whom commute to neighbor Portland, Oregon. It is part of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area.
History In 1806 the Lewis and Clark expedition camped in the area. Lewis wrote that it was "the only desired situation for settlement west of the Rocky Mountains." The first permanent white settlement did not occur until 1825, when Fort Vancouver was established as a fur trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company. From that time on, the area was settled by both the US and Britain under a "joint occupation" agreement. Joint occupation ended on June 15 1846, with the signing of the Oregon Treaty, which gave the United States full control of the area. The City of Vancouver was incorporated on January 23 1857. (List of Mayors from 1858 on) U.S. Army Captain (and future President) Ulysses S. Grant served at what was then known as Columbia Barracks for 15 months beginning in September 1852. Soon after leaving Vancouver he resigned from the army and did not serve again until the outbreak of the American Civil War. The larger city of Vancouver, British Columbia is located 250 miles (400 km) north of Vancouver, Washington. Both cities were named for sea captain George Vancouver, but the Canadian city was not incorporated until 1886, nearly thirty years after Vancouver, Washington, and more than sixty years after the name Fort Vancouver was first used. Younger residents of Vancouver jokingly refer to the city as 'The Couve' (pronounced in the same way that the second syllable in Vancouver is pronounced). City officials have periodically suggested changing the city's name to Fort Vancouver, Vancouver USA or even Old Vancouver to reduce confusion with Vancouver, British Columbia. Washington residents distinguish between the two cities by referring to the Canadian Vancouver as "Vancouver, B.C." Vancouver became the end point for two ultralong flights from Moscow, USSR over the North Pole. The first of these flights was performed by Valery Chkalov in 1937. Chkalov was originally scheduled to land at an airstrip in nearby Portland, OR, but redirected at the last minute to Vancouver's Pearson Airfield. Today there is a street named for him in Vancouver. Vancouver has recently experienced conflicts with other Clark County communities because of rapid growth in the area. Due to urban growth and annexation Vancouver is often thought of as split between two areas, East and West Vancouver, divided by NE Andresen Road. West Vancouver is home to downtown Vancouver and some of the more historical parts of the town, while East Vancouver is in transition between rural farm-land and residential and commercial development. If the proposed Burnt Bridge Creek annexation is approved by residents, Vancouver will surpass both Tacoma and Spokane to become the state's second-largest city *. Geography Vancouver is located at 45°38'1" North, 122°36'11" West (45.633743, -122.603011). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 119.5 km² (46.1 mi²). 110.8 km² (42.8 mi²) of it is land and 8.7 km² (3.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 7.14% water. Vancouver lies just north across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. Because of its proximity to Portland, many people who live in Vancouver work there. Consequently, much of Vancouver's growth is due to Portlanders moving across the river but keeping their old jobs in Portland. In 2003, 70% of workers in Vancouver worked in Clark County. Also, many people who live in Vancouver shop in Portland to take advantage of a wider variety of shopping choices and the fact that Oregon has no sales tax. Because many Vancouver residents work in Portland, Oregon there is typically significant rush hour traffic congestion on the I-5 interstate freeway and the I-205 interstate freeway using only 2 bridges, the Interstate Bridge and the Glenn Jackson bridge, crossing the Columbia River connecting Vancouver to Portland. Demographics At census of 2000, there were 143,560 people, 56,628 households, and 36,298 families living in the city. The population density is 1,295.4/km² (3,354.7/mi²). There were 60,039 housing units at an average density of 541.7/km² (1,403.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.81% White, 2.50% African American, 0.97% Native American, 4.51% Asian, 0.54% Pacific Islander, 2.86% from other races, and 3.80% from two or more races. 6.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 56,628 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.06. In the city the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $41,618, and the median income for a family was $47,696. Males had a median income of $37,306 versus $26,940 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,192. 12.2% of the population and 9.4% of families were below the poverty line. Of the total population, 16.1% of those under the age of 18 and 8.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. Public schools Vancouver has two school districts: The Vancouver School District covers most of west Vancouver and has six high schools: Hudson's Bay High School, Columbia River High School, Fort Vancouver High School, Lewis and Clark High School, Skyview High School, and the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics (grades 6-12). It also has six middle schools: Alki Middle School, Discovery Middle School, Gaiser Middle School, Jason Lee Middle School, Jefferson Middle School and McLoughlin Middle School. The Evergreen School District covers most of east Vancouver and has three high schools: Evergreen High School, Mountain View High School, and Heritage High School.A fourth high school, is set to open in fall of 2007. Vancouver is also home to the Washington School for the Deaf and Washington School for the Blind. Colleges and universities Annual events Each Fourth of July, Vancouver hosts a fireworks display near Fort Vancouver that draws many people to the city. The display, which typically runs for 45 minutes, is the largest display west of the Mississippi River. In addition, the St. Joseph Vancouver Sausage Fest is held annually in Vancouver, drawing attendance upwards of 100,000 over three days. Arts groups Major newspapers Nearby cities Transportation Vancouver has two interstate freeways, I-5 and I-205, both of which run North–South, into Portland, Oregon. It also has two heavily travelled state highways within the city limits. SR-14 begins at I-5 in downtown Vancouver and makes its way east. It is a freeway all the way until Camas. SR-500 begins from I-5 at 39th Street in north Vancouver, travels east connecting with I-205, and continues east into the suburb of Orchards where the freeway terminates at Fourth Plain Road, and meets with the south end of north-southbound 117th Ave.,SR-503. Note that there are three traffic signals on SR-500 in Vancouver. A third state highway, SR-501, starts at I-5 and heads west through downtown and continues along a path that runs between the Columbia River and Vancouver Lake. The city also operates its own port on the Columbia River, which separates Oregon to the south and Washington to the north. It handles over 400 ocean-going vessels annually, as well as a number of barges which ply the river and its tributaries as far as Lewiston, Idaho. The area's mass transit system is C-Tran, the Clark County Public Transportation Benefit Area Authority, which operates 135 buses, vanpools, and paratransit vehicles. There are also a number of express routes into Portland's downtown. In 1994, Clark County voters defeated a ballot measure to extend Portland's Metropolitain Area Express (MAX) light rail system north into downtown Vancouver *. Portland extended the MAX line in 2004 as far north as the Multnomah County Expo Center in north Portland, approximately 1 mile south of downtown Vancouver. Vancouver has always been well served by rail; current freight railroads operating in Vancouver include the BNSF, Union Pacific, and the local shortline Lewis and Clark Railway. Passenger train services are provided by Amtrak from the Amtrak station in west Vancouver. Amtrak Cascades provides 3 short-haul trains between Seattle and Portland, all of which stop in Vancouver. Travel time to Seattle is 3 hours 30 minutes. Pearson Field Airport, located in downtown Vancouver, is the main airport serving the city. The airport is intended primarily for general aviation without any commercial air service. The nearest commercial airport is Portland International Airport (PDX). Sister cities Vancouver has two sister cities: Source: * See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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