Telephone area code 604 serves southwestern British Columbia: the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast, Howe Sound/Sea to Sky Corridor, Fraser Valley and the lower Fraser Canyon regions. It primarily serves the city of Vancouver and surrounding regions. 604 is one of the original 86 area codes assigned in 1947 in the contiguous United States and the then nine provinces of Canada. It originally served the entire province until a geographic split was implemented in 1997, creating the new area code 250 for the remainder of the province.