Initially founded around Fort Vancouver in 1825, a fur-trading outpost, the city sits on the Washington / Oregon border along the Columbia River, just north of Portland. Vancouver's area is 52 miles wide. Vancouver shares its name with the larger south British Columbia city of Vancouver, Canada. Both towns were named after Vancouver captain George. Ventura stretches in the U.S. from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara Route 101, one of the original former U.S. Roads. The highway is now known as the Ventura Freeway, but El Camino Real, the historic road linking the California missions, has been named the original route through the town along Main Street. The population is more than 100,000.