The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Washington, D.C.:
Washington, D.C., legally named the District of Columbia, is the federal capital of the United States of America, and was founded on July 16, 1790. The area given to Washington, D.C. was originally 100 square miles (259 km2) ceded by the states of Maryland and Virginia in accordance with the Residence Act; however, in 1846, the retrocession of Washington, D.C. meant that the area of 31 square miles (80 km2) which was ceded by Virginia was returned, leaving 69 square miles (179 km2) of territory originally ceded by Maryland as the current area of the District in its entirety.
The City of Washington was originally a separate municipality within the Territory of Columbia until the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 effectively merged the City and the Territory into a single entity. It is for this reason that the city, while legally named the District of Columbia, is known as Washington, D.C.
The District of Columbia is: The federal capital district of the United States of America
Location
Northern hemisphere
Western hemisphere
Americas
North America
Anglo America
Northern America
United States of America
Contiguous United States
Eastern United States
East Coast of the United States – even though the District of Columbia does not include any actual coastline, it is generally considered to be part of the Eastern Seaboard region.
Northeast megalopolis
Mid-Atlantic states
Population of Washington, D.C.: 601,723 (2010 U.S. Census)
Area of Washington, D.C.: 63.8 mi sq
Historic places in Washington, D.C.
National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.
National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington, D.C.
Bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
National Register of Historic Places listings in Northeast Quadrant, Washington, D.C.
National Register of Historic Places listings in Southeast Quadrant, Washington, D.C.
National Register of Historic Places listings in Southwest Quadrant, Washington, D.C.
National Register of Historic Places listings in Northwest Quadrant, Washington, D.C.
National Monuments in Washington, D.C.
President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home
National Natural Landmarks in Washington, D.C.: none
National Parks in Washington, D.C. (official units of the U.S. National Park System)
Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site
Constitution Gardens
Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
National Capital Parks
National Mall
Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
Rock Creek Park
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Washington Monument
White House
World War II Memorial
City parks in Washington, D.C.
Climate of Washington, D.C.
Hurricanes in Washington, D.C.
Tornados in Washington, D.C.
Superfund sites in Washington, D.C.
Rivers of Washington, D.C.
District of Columbia's At-large congressional district
District of Columbia census statistical areas
Northwest, Washington, D.C.
Northeast, Washington, D.C.
Southeast, Washington, D.C.
Southwest, Washington, D.C.
The District of Columbia is divided into eight wards and 37 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) within these wards.
Ward 1
Adams Morgan • Columbia Heights • Kalorama • LeDroit Park • Mount Pleasant • Park View • Pleasant Plains • Shaw
Ward 2
Burleith • Downtown • Dupont Circle • Foggy Bottom • Georgetown • Sheridan Kalorama • Logan Circle • Mount Vernon Square • Shaw • West End
Ward 3
American University Park • Berkley • Cathedral Heights • Chevy Chase • Cleveland Park • Colony Hill • Forest Hills • Foxhall • Friendship Heights • Glover Park • Kent • Massachusetts Heights • McLean Gardens • North Cleveland Park • Observatory Circle • The Palisades • Potomac Heights • Spring Valley • Tenleytown • Wakefield • Wesley Heights • Woodland-Normanstone Terrace • Woodley Park (Part of the neighborhood is also in Ward 1)
Ward 4
Barnaby Woods • Brightwood • Brightwood Park • Chevy Chase (Part of the neighborhood is also in Ward 3) • Colonial Village • Crestwood • Fort Totten • Hawthorne • Manor Park • Petworth • Riggs Park • Lamond-Riggs • Shepherd Park • Sixteenth Street Heights • Takoma
Ward 5
Arboretum • Bloomingdale • Brentwood • Brookland • Carver Langston • Eckington • Edgewood • Fort Lincoln • Fort Totten (Part of the neighborhood is also in Ward 4) • Gateway • Ivy City • Riggs Park (Part of the neighborhood is also in Ward 4) • Langdon • Michigan Park • North Michigan Park • Pleasant Hill • Stronghold/Metropolis View • Trinidad • Truxton Circle • Woodridge
Ward 6
Barney Circle • Capitol Hill • Chinatown • Judiciary Square • Kingman Park • Navy Yard/Near Southeast • Near Northeast • Penn Quarter • NoMa, Washington, D.C. • Southwest Federal Center • Southwest Waterfront • Sursum Corda • Swampoodle • Union Station
Ward 7
Benning Heights • Benning Ridge • Benning • Burrville • Capitol View • Civic Betterment • Deanwood • Dupont Park • Eastland Gardens • Fairfax Village • Fairlawn • Fort Davis • Fort Dupont • Good Hope • Grant Park • Greenway • Hillbrook • Hillcrest • Kenilworth • Kingman Park • Lincoln Heights • Mahaning Heights • Marshall Heights • Mayfair • Naylor Gardens • Penn Branch • Randle Highlands • River Terrace • Skyland • Summit Park • Twining
Ward 8
Anacostia • Barry Farm • Bellevue • Buena Vista • Congress Heights • Douglass • Fairlawn • Garfield Heights • Knox Hill • Shipley Terrace • Washington Highlands • Woodland
Political party strength in Washington, D.C.
Government and politics of Washington, D.C.
Elections in the District of Columbia
List of District of Columbia symbols
District of Columbia home rule
There are two committees in the United States Congress that oversee the District of Columbia:
The United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
which is the successor committee to the United States House Committee on the District of Columbia, and
The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
United States congressional delegations from the District of Columbia (one non-voting delegate)
Executive branch of the government of Washington, D.C.
Mayor of Washington, D.C.
Advisory Neighborhood Commissions
Legislative branch of the government of
Council of the District of Columbia
Judicial branch of the government of Washington, D.C.
District of Columbia Court of Appeals (equivalent to a state supreme court)
Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Law and order in Washington, D.C.
Law of Washington, D.C.
Cannabis in Washington, D.C.
Crime in Washington, D.C.
Gun laws in Washington, D.C.
Law enforcement in Washington, D.C.
Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia
Recognition of same-sex unions in the District of Columbia
Voting rights in the District of Columbia
District of Columbia Air National Guard
District of Columbia Army National Guard
History of Washington, D.C.
Timeline of Washington, D.C.
Indigenous peoples
American Revolutionary War, April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783
United States Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783
State of Maryland, (1776–1791)
Commonwealth of Virginia, (1776–1791)
District of Columbia since March 3, 1791
President George Washington signs An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States on July 16, 1790
President George Washington proclaims location of the district for the permanent seat of the Government of the United States on January 24, 1791
President George Washington signs An Act to amend "An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States" on March 3, 1791
President John Adams moves into new White House on November 1, 1800
Sixth United States Congress meets in new United States Capitol on November 17, 1800
War of 1812, June 18, 1812 – March 23, 1815
Burning of Washington, August 24–25, 1814
Treaty of Ghent, December 24, 1814
Mexican-American War, April 25, 1846 – February 2, 1848
Retrocession of the District of Columbia, 1847
Know-Nothing Riot, 1857
American Civil War, April 12, 1861 – May 13, 1865
District of Columbia in the American Civil War
Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865
President Lincoln dies on April 15, 1865
Streetcars in the District of Columbia, 1862–1962
Assassination of President James A. Garfield on July 2, 1881
President Garfield dies on September 19, 1881
Protest marches on Washington, D.C. since 1894
McMillan Plan, 1901
United States Capitol shooting incident on March 1, 1954
Civil Rights Movement from December 1, 1955, to January 20, 1969
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963
Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his I Have a Dream speech
President Lyndon Johnson signs the National Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965
Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, 1960–1961
District of Columbia riots of 1968
District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973
United States Senate bombing of 1983
United States Capitol shooting incident of 1998
Attacks on the United States, including the Pentagon, on September 11, 2001
Architecture of Washington, D.C.
Tallest buildings in Washington, D.C.
Museums in Washington, D.C.
People from Washington, D.C.
Scouting in Washington, D.C.
Symbols of the District of Columbia
Flag of the District of Columbia
Great Seal of the District of Columbia
Music of Washington, D.C.
Outdoor sculpture in Washington, D.C.
Theater in Washington, D.C.
Professional sports teams in Washington, D.C.
Economy and infrastructure of Washington, D.C.
Economy of Washington, D.C.
Communications in Washington, D.C.
District of Columbia Public Library
Media in Washington, D.C.
Newspapers in Washington, D.C.
Radio stations in Washington, D.C.
Television stations in Washington, D.C.
Telephone service in Washington, D.C.
Area code 202
Healthcare in Washington, D.C.
Hospitals in Washington, D.C.
Transportation in Washington, D.C.
Metrobus
Metrobus routes in Washington, D.C.
Airports in Washington, D.C.: none
Rail transport in Washington, D.C.
Railroads in Washington, D.C.
Washington Metro
Baltimore-Washington D.C. Maglev (proposed project)
Roads in Washington, D.C.
Circles in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. numbered highways
Water in Washington, D.C.
Washington Aqueduct
District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
Education in Washington, D.C.
Schools in Washington, D.C.
District of Columbia Public Schools
High schools in Washington, D.C.
Colleges and universities in Washington, D.C.
