The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to District of Columbia:
Washington, D.C., legally named the District of Columbia, in the United States of America , was founded on July 16, 1790, after the inauguration of City of Washington, the new capital of the country. The area given to District of Columbia, 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 the District of Columbia, meant that the area of 31 square miles (80 km2) which was ceded by Virginia was returned,[1] leaving 69 square miles (179 km2) of territory originally ceded by Maryland as the current area of the District in its entirety.[2]
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 everything within its boundaries is legally the District of Columbia.
East Coast of the United States – even though the District of Columbia does not include any coastline, it is generally considered to be part of the Eastern Seaboard region.
Northeast megalopolis
Mid-Atlantic states
Population of Washington, D.C.: 689,545 (2020 U.S. Census[3])
Area of Washington, D.C.: 63.8 mi sq
Geographic features of Washington, D.C.
Atlantic coastal plain
Atlantic Seaboard fall line
Boundary Channel
Buzzard Point
Capitol Hill
Columbia Island
Georgetown Reservoir
Hains Point
Dalecarlia Reservoir
McMillan Reservoir
Meridian Hill
Piedmont (United States)
Southwest Waterfront
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Rivers of Washington, D.C.
Three Sisters
Tidal Basin
Washington Channel
Places in Washington, D.C.
Historic places in Washington, D.C.
Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Jefferson Pier
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
Bridges in Washington, D.C.
11th Street Bridges
14th Street Bridges
Arlington Memorial Bridge
Boulder Bridge
Boundary Channel Bridge
Chain Bridge
Connecticut Avenue Bridge (Klingle Valley Bridge)
Dunbarton Bridge
Francis Scott Key Bridge
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge
Kutz Memorial Bridge
New York Avenue Bridge
Theodore Roosevelt Bridge
Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge
Ross Drive Bridge
William Howard Taft Bridge
Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge
Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.
National Parks in Washington, D.C. (official units of the U.S. National Park System)
Benjamin Banneker Park
Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site
Battleground National Cemetery
Clara Barton Parkway
Constitution Gardens
East Potomac Park
Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
Fort Circle Parks
Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Freedom Plaza
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
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
George Washington Memorial Parkway
National Capital Parks-East
National Mall and Memorial Parks
National Mall
President's Park
Lafayette Square
The Ellipse
White House
Rock Creek Park
Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Washington Monument
West Potomac Park
World War II Memorial
United States Capitol Complex
Union Square
Capitol Reflecting Pool
Ulysses S. Grant Memorial
United States Botanic Garden
United States Capitol
Apotheosis of Democracy
Hall of Columns
National Statuary Hall
National Statuary Hall Collection
Old Senate Chamber
Old Supreme Court Chamber
Statue of Freedom
United States Capitol crypt
United States Capitol dome
United States Capitol rotunda
United States Senate chamber
Washington's Tomb (United States Capitol)
United States Capitol Visitor Center
United States National Arboretum
Washington Aqueduct
Environment of Washington, D.C.
Climate of Washington, D.C.
Hurricanes in Washington, D.C.
Tornados in Washington, D.C.
Superfund sites in Washington, D.C.
Subdivisions of Washington, D.C.
District of Columbia's At-large congressional district
District of Columbia census statistical areas
Quadrants of Washington, D.C.
Northwest, Washington, D.C.
Northeast, Washington, D.C.
Southeast, Washington, D.C.
Southwest, Washington, D.C.
Neighborhoods of 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
DC neighborhoods map
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
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)
Branches of the government of Washington, D.C.
Executive branch of the government of Washington, D.C.
Mayor of Washington, D.C.
Advisory Neighborhood Commissions
Legislative branch of the government of Washington, D.C.
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.
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
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[4]
President George Washington proclaims location of the district for the permanent seat of the Government of the United States on January 24, 1791[5]
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[6]
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