Washington, D.C. | History, Map, Population, & Facts | Britannica

Washington, D.C., capital of the United States, coextensive with the District of Columbia, located on the northern shore of the Potomac River. Washington,D.C. Sections&Media Article IntroductionCharacterofthecityLandscapeCitysiteClimateCitylayoutCityplanArchitectureMonumentsandmemorialsNeighbourhoodsTheDistrictNorthwestDowntownLafayetteSquareFoggyBottomGeorgetownDupontCircleAdams-MorganandbeyondNortheastSoutheastCapitolHillAnacostiaSouthwestVirginiaMarylandParksandopenspacesPeopleEconomyManufacturingFinanceandotherservicesTransportationAdministrationandsocietyGovernmentMunicipalservicesEducationCulturallifeTheartsLiteratureMusicCulturalinstitutionsMuseumsandgalleriesTheatreSportsandrecreationMediaandpublishingHistoryThecreationofWashingtonGrowthandchangeWashingtonsince1900 FastFacts 2-MinSummary RelatedContent Media Videos Images AdditionalInfo AdditionalReading MoreArticlesOnThisTopic Contributors ArticleHistory Home Geography&Travel Cities&Towns Cities&TownsT-Z Washington,D.C. nationalcapital,UnitedStates Alternatetitles:D.C.,DistrictofColumbia Print print Print Pleaseselectwhichsectionsyouwouldliketoprint: TableOfContents Cite verifiedCite Whileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies. Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions. SelectCitationStyle MLA APA ChicagoManualofStyle CopyCitation Share Share Sharetosocialmedia Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Washington-DC More GiveFeedback ExternalWebsites Feedback Corrections?Updates?Omissions?Letusknowifyouhavesuggestionstoimprovethisarticle(requireslogin). FeedbackType Selectatype(Required) FactualCorrection Spelling/GrammarCorrection LinkCorrection AdditionalInformation Other YourFeedback SubmitFeedback Thankyouforyourfeedback Oureditorswillreviewwhatyou’vesubmittedanddeterminewhethertorevisethearticle. JoinBritannica'sPublishingPartnerProgramandourcommunityofexpertstogainaglobalaudienceforyourwork! ExternalWebsites CRWFlags-FlagofDistrictofColumbia,UnitedStates OfficialTourismSiteofWashington,D.C.,UnitedStates BritannicaWebsites ArticlesfromBritannicaEncyclopediasforelementaryandhighschoolstudents. Washington,D.C.-Children'sEncyclopedia(Ages8-11) Washington,D.C.-StudentEncyclopedia(Ages11andup) By JeanneMasonFogle | ViewEditHistory FastFacts 2-MinSummary Washington,D.C.,D.C.infullDistrictofColumbia,cityandcapitaloftheUnitedStatesofAmerica.ItiscoextensivewiththeDistrictofColumbia(thecityisoftenreferredtoassimplyD.C.)andislocatedonthenorthernshoreofthePotomacRiverattheriver’snavigationhead—thatis,thetransshipmentpointbetweenwaterwayandlandtransport.ThestateofMarylandborderstheDistrictofColumbiatothenorth,east,andwest,andthestateofVirginiaborderstheDistrictonthesouthernshoreofthePotomacRiver.Washington,D.C.:FlagWashington,D.C.EncyclopædiaBritannica,Inc.WhiteHouseTheWhiteHouse,Washington,D.C.©MedioImages/GettyImagesIn1790theU.S.Congressestablisheda100-square-mile(260-square-km)territorytoserveasthepermanentseatofthefederalgovernment.(TheterritorywaslaternamedtheDistrictofColumbia,withinwhichthecityofWashingtonwasbuilt.)ThelocationforthenewterritorywascentralizedamongtheEasternSeaboardstatesandwasabout90miles(145km)inlandfromtheAtlanticOceanonlandcededbyMarylandandVirginia.Inthemid-19thcenturythelandsouthofthePotomacRiverthathadbeencededbyVirginiawasreturnedtothestate,reducingtheDistricttoitspresent-daysize. BritannicaQuiz 50CapitalCitiesatRandomQuiz Howwelldoyouknowtheworld’scapitalcities?Thisquizwillshowyouthenameofacapital.Theanswermightbeacountry,aU.S.state,aCanadianprovince,ormaybeevensomethingelse.Provehowmuchyouknowabouttheworld’sleadingcities! AftertheAmericanCivilWar(1861–65),thecityofWashingtonexpandedbeyonditsoriginallyplannedboundariesandbecamelegallyindistinguishablefromtheDistrictofColumbia.Washington,D.C.,remainsaterritory,notastate,andsince1974ithasbeengovernedbyalocallyelectedmayorandcitycounciloverwhichCongressretainsthepowerofveto.TheWashingtonmetropolitanareacoversnearly4,000squaremiles(10,360squarekm)andencompasses10counties,5inMaryland(Montgomery,PrinceGeorge’s,Frederick,Charles,andCalvert)and5inVirginia(Arlington,Fairfax,Loudoun,Stafford,andPrinceWilliam).AreaDistrict,68squaremiles(176squarekm).Pop.(2000)572,059;Washington-Arlington-AlexandriaMetroDivision,3,727,565;Washington-Arlington-AlexandriaMetroArea,4,796,183;(2010)601,723;Washington-Arlington-AlexandriaMetroDivision,4,377,088;Washington-Arlington-AlexandriaMetroArea,5,582,170.CharacterofthecityWashingtonisanextraordinarycity,onewithmultiplepersonalities:aworkingfederalcity,aninternationalmetropolis,apicturesquetouristdestination,anunmatchedtreasuryofthecountry’shistoryandartifacts,andacosmopolitancentrethatretainsaneighbourlysmall-townambience.TheroleWashingtonplaysasthecapitaloftheUnitedStatesoftenovershadowsitslivelylocalhistoryanditscomplexpolitical,economic,andsocialissues.AbouthalfthelandinWashingtonisownedbytheU.S.government,whichpaysnotaxesonit.SeveralhundredthousandpeopleintheD.C.metropolitanareaworkforthefederalgovernment.Duringthelasthalfofthe20thcentury,“suburbanflight”ofthemiddleclasscontributedtothecity’slossofmorethanone-fourthofitspopulation.Asnewjobs,especiallythoseinthehigh-technologyindustries,werecreatedinMarylandandVirginia,thepopulationofthesuburbsincreasedasmuchas50percentperdecade.Bythefirstdecadeofthe21stcentury,however,Washington’spopulationbegantoincreaseasyoungerworkersmovedintorevitalizedcityneighbourhoods.Despitetheseshiftsinpopulation,theeconomiesoftheDistrictandthoseofnearbyMarylandandVirginiaremaininterdependent.LandscapeCitysiteThecityofWashingtonwasbuiltonagentlyundulating,low,widepeninsulaoflandboundedbythePotomacRiveranditstributary,theAnacostia,inthebeliefthatthelocationwoulddevelopintoanimportantcommercialport.(PotomacisanAlgonquianwordmeaning“tradingplace,”andAnacostiaisderivedfromthenameofalocalpeople,theNacostines,whotradedonthatriver.)Encirclingthecityareaseriesofterracesthatincertainareasrisetoabout400feet(120metres)abovesealevel,whereWashington’sneighbourhoodsweregraduallybuilt.Partofashallow,longravine—whatisnowRockCreekPark—separatedWashingtonfromtheoldportcityofGeorgetown;developmenttothenorthandwestofthisravinewasslowuntiltheendofthe19thcentury,whentheravinewasbridgedandpublictransportationwasmadeavailable.Washington,D.C.:metropolitanareaWashington,D.C.,metropolitanarea.EncyclopædiaBritannica,Inc.ClimateWashingtonhasatemperateclimatewithhighhumiditylevels.Precipitationthroughouttheyearisevenlydistributed,averagingbetween3and4inches(75and100mm)permonth.Wintersaredamp,andextremesintemperatureandheavysnowfallsarenottypical.Theinfrequentwet,lightsnowoftenmeltsquickly,asaveragewinterdaytimetemperaturesareinthemid-30sF(about2°C);however,freezingtemperaturesatnightcanquicklychangethemeltedsnowtoice.Inthesummerbriefperiodsofhightemperaturesarecommon,oftenaccompaniedbydensehumidity.Theaveragesummerdaytimetemperaturesareinthemid-70sF(about24°C),buthighsabove100°F(about39°C)canoccur.Springandautumnarepleasantlymildandtendtobelongerthansummerandwinter. 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