History of Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River, in the state of Washington, United States|USA. It is the county seat of Clark County, Washington|Clark County. As of July 1, 2005 it had a population of 157,493 making it the fourth largest city in Washington State. It is part of the Portland, Oregon|Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area.
The larger city of Vancouver, British Columbia is located 305 miles (491 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. 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." Current mayor Royce Pollard is an advocate of the unofficial moniker "America's Vancouver".
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