Vancouver is the largest city in British Columbia, Canada, with around 662,000 people in the city proper and more than 2.6 million in the metropolitan area. Located between the Pacific Ocean and the Coast Mountains, it occupies a spectacular setting around Burrard Inlet, English Bay and False Creek. The modern city was incorporated in 1886 around the settlement of Gastown and expanded rapidly after becoming the western terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Much of the early city was destroyed in the Great Vancouver Fire only two months after incorporation. Today its best-known sights include the 400-hectare Stanley Park and its seawall, Granville Island, Gastown, Chinatown and the waterfront around Canada Place, while mountains and extensive hiking and skiing areas lie immediately north of the city. Vancouver also has a significant history in heavy music and punk. D.O.A., formed in the city in 1978, became one of the pioneering bands of Canadian hardcore punk, while Devin Townsend formed the influential extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad in Vancouver in 1994. The city has since maintained a substantial metal and underground music scene alongside its larger concert venues.

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