Downtown Vancouver in the context of "University of British Columbia"

Burrard Inlet (Halkomelem: səl̓ilw̓ət) is a shallow-sided fjord in the northwestern Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the lowland Burrard Peninsula to the south from the coastal slopes of the North Shore Mountains, which span West Vancouver and the City and District of North Vancouver to the north.

Burrard Inlet opens west into the Strait of Georgia between Point Atkinson and Point Grey. Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula protrudes northwesterly into the inlet, separating it into the wide outer Burrard Inlet to the west and the elongated inner Burrard Inlet to the east. The southeastern portion of the outer inlet is an open bay known as English Bay, which has a narrow eastern inlet called False Creek. The 400-metre-wide (1,300 ft) strait between Prospect Point and the sandbanks just east of the Capilano River mouth, which connects the inlet's outer and inner sections, is known as the First Narrows, traversed by the Lions Gate Bridge. The inner inlet then widens into Vancouver Harbour, which hosts the Port of Vancouver, Canada's largest port.

The North Shore of Burrard Inlet is a term commonly used to refer to several areas adjacent to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:

• the District of West Vancouver
• the City of North Vancouver
• the District of North Vancouver
• the North Shore Mountains

It is renowned for its proximity to nature, varied outdoor recreation opportunities (especially mountain biking) as well as historically significant west coast modernist architecture.

Stanley Park is a 405-hectare (1,001-acre) public park in British Columbia, Canada, that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal Harbour to its southeast, and is connected to the North Shore via the Lions Gate Bridge. The historic lighthouse on Brockton Point marks the park's easternmost point. While it is not the largest urban park, Stanley Park is about one-fifth larger than New York City's 340-hectare (840-acre) Central Park and almost half the size of London's 960-hectare (2,360-acre) Richmond Park.

Stanley Park has a long history. The land was originally used by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years before British Columbia was colonized by the British during the 1858 Fraser Canyon Gold Rush and was one of the first areas to be explored in the city. For many years after colonization, the future park, with its abundant resources, would also be home to non-Indigenous settlers. The land was later turned into Vancouver's first park when the city incorporated in 1886. It was named after Lord Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, a British politician who had recently been appointed Governor General of Canada. It was originally known as Coal Peninsula and was set aside for military fortifications to guard the entrance to Vancouver harbour. In 1886, Vancouver City Council successfully sought a lease of the park which was granted for $1 per year. In September 1888, Lord Stanley opened the park in his name.