The picturesque city of Vancouver, with a population of more than 1.6 million, is situated on the Fraser River delta. The silt-laden Fraser River can be traced as it passes through canyons of the Coast Mountains to the large sediment plume in the Strait of Georgia, which separates the mainland from Vancouver Island. Several elongated, generally north-south-oriented lakes (Harrison Lake is the longest lake to the east) appear northeast of the city, and east and north of Vancouver are snow-covered mountain peaks, whose elevations generally exceed 7000 feet (2135 meters) above sea level. The American city of Bellingham, Washington, is visible along the coast approximately 40 miles (65 kilometers) southeast of downtown Vancouver. Careful study of the small peninsula that forms the western extent of Boundary Bay reveals the 49th parallel, the United States-Canada border, which then zigzags between the numerous islands south of Boundary Bay. On the Canadian side of the border these islands are called the Gulf Islands; on the U.S. side they are known as the San Juan Islands.