District of Columbia (geography)

The District of Columbia, apart from its obvious coexistence with the U.S. capital city of Washington, can also be described by historical, municipal, and physical geographic characteristics, many of which aren't well documented. This notion of the District being a distinct entity is notable within the city of Washington, as most residents refer to the area simply as "D.C."

Table of contents 1 History 2 Physical Geography 3 Municipal Geography 4 External Links

History

The district has several distinct historic neighborhoods, which include Georgetown, Tenleytown, Capitol Hill, Anacostia, and Congress Heights. Out of these neighborhoods, Georgetown was originally an incorporated city of the State of Maryland.

The District of Columbia originally also included land from the State of Virginia, but this land was returned in 1846. This land in Virginia makes up the modern cities of Arlington and the old part of Alexandria, Virginia, both which are suburbs of Washington. In fact, the Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon complex are both located in Arlington but are largely tied to the federal government in Washington. Between 1790 and 1846, Alexandria was referred to as "Alexandria, D.C."

The Georgetown neighborhood was originally part of Maryland and was the only significant population in the area that would become the District of Columbia. Georgetown became part of D.C. in 1790 when the Federal City was first created, but Georgetown remained an independent city, referred to as "Georgetown, D.C.", until 1871.

Tenleytown is a historic name for a general area of northwest D.C. In 1790, the area was called Tennally's Town, named after resident John Tennally and his tavern. The area became known as Tenleytown in the 19th century. Tenleytown is the second oldest neighborhood in D.C., being surpassed in age only by Georgetown.

Anacostia makes up much of the southeast corner of the District south of the Anacostia River[?], which the area is named after. "Anacostia" comes from the Nanchotank[?] Indian word anaquash, which means "village trading post". Frederick Douglass built his homestead in Anacostia and lived there until he died.

Physical Geography

The physical geography of the District of Columbia is very similar to the physical geography of much of Maryland. The District has three natural flowing bodies of water: the Potomac River, the Anacostia River[?], and Rock Creek. Both Anacostia River and Rock Creek are tributaries of the Potomac. There also also two man-made reservoirs: Dalecarlia Reservoir[?], which crosses over the northwest border of the District from Maryland, and McMillan Reservoir[?] near Howard University[?].

The highest point in the District of Columbia is 410 feet (664 km) above sea level at Tenleytown. The lowest point is just south of the terminus of the Anacostia River where it flows into the Potomac River.

Municipal Geography

The District of Columbia is divided into eight wards and 37 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) within these wards. The total number of named neighborhoods is 127.

Ward 1
Adams Morgan	Mount Pleasant
Columbia Heights	Pleasant Plains
Howard University	U Street/Cardozo
Kalorama Heights
Lanier Heights
Le Droit Park

Ward 2
Burleith/Hillandale	Mount Vernon Square
Dupont Circle	Shaw/Logan Circle
Foggy Bottom	China Town
Fort McNair	Southwest-Waterfront
Georgetown	West End
GW-University

Ward 3
American University Park	Massachusetts Heights
Cathedral Heights	McLean Gardens
Chevy Chase (not city in MD)	North Cleveland Park
Cleveland Park	Palisades
Forest Hills	Pinehurst Circle
Foxhall	Spring Valley
Friendship Heights	Tenleytown
Glover Park	Wesley Heights
Hawthorne	Woodley Park

Ward 4
Barnaby Woods	Manor Park
Brightwood	Petworth
Brightwood Park	Queens Chapel [1]
Colonial Village	Rock Creek Gardens
Crestwood	Shepherd Park
Fort Totten [1]	Takoma
Lamond Riggs [1]

Ward 5
Arboretum	Ivy City
Bloomingdale	Lamond Riggs [2]
Brookland	Michigan Par
Carver Langston	North Michigan Park
Eckington	Pleasant Hills
Edgewood	Queens Chapel [2]
Fort Lincoln	South Central
Fort Totten [2]	Trinidad
Gateway	Woodridge

Ward 6
Capitol Hill	Sursum Corda
Kingman Park	Stanton Park
Lincoln Park	Union Station
Navy Yard
Southeast
Southwest

Ward 7
Benning Heights	Hillbrook
Burrville	Hillcrest
Capital View	Kenilworth
Deanwood	Lincoln Heights
Eastland Gardens	Mahaning Heights
Fairfax Village	Marshall Heights
Fairlawn	Mayfair
Fairmont Heights	Naylor Gardens
Fort Davis Park	Penn Branch
Fort Dupont Park	Randle Highlands
Good Hope	River Terrace
Grant Park	Summit Park
Greenway	Twining

Ward 8
Anacostia	Garfield Heights
Barry Farm	Knox Hill
Bellview	Sheridan
Buena Vista	Shipley Terrace
Congress Heights	Washington Highlands
Douglass	Woodland
Fair Lawn

External Links

• http://www.citymuseumdc.org/
• http://www.rootsweb.com/~dcgenweb/dcmdva
• http://www.dc.gov/neigh_ciz/neigh_alpha.shtm