Surrey

About Surrey

Surrey ( SURR-ee) is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surrey is the province's second-largest by population after Vancouver and the third-largest by area after Abbotsford and Prince George. Seven neighbourhoods in Surrey are designated town centres: Cloverdale, Fleetwood, Guildford, Newton, South Surrey, and City Centre encompassed by Whalley.

Surrey was incorporated in 1879 and sits upon the lands of a number of Indigenous nations, namely the Katzie and the Kwantlen (who speak Halkomelem) and the Semiahmoo (who speak the North Straits Salish language, similar to the Saanich people). When Englishman H.J. Brewer looked across the Fraser River from New Westminster and saw it was reminiscent of his native County of Surrey in England, the settlement of Surrey was placed on the map. The area then comprised forests of Douglas fir, fir, red cedar, hemlock, blackberry bushes, and cranberry bogs. A portion of present-day Whalley (named after Harry Whalley, who owned and operated a gas bar...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.