Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., is the capital city of the United States.

The President lives and works there, in the White House. Lawmakers meet in a building with a big white dome. A river called the Potomac flows past the city.

Washington, D.C., is the capital of the United States. D.C. stands for District of Columbia, the area set aside for the national government. It sits on the Potomac River, between the states of Maryland and Virginia, and it is not part of any state.

About 690,000 people lived in the city in 2020. Many more live in the towns around it, and lots of them come into the city to work. The national government employs a great many of them: in 2025 more than one in every five jobs in the city was a federal government job. The city is also full of museums, monuments and parks that anyone can visit.

Washington, D.C., is the seat of the U.S. federal government, on the Potomac River about 145 km inland from the Atlantic. Congress created a 100-square-mile (260 km²) federal territory in 1790 on land ceded by Maryland and Virginia; the part south of the Potomac was returned to Virginia in 1846, leaving the present 176 km² District of Columbia. After the Civil War the city of Washington grew until it became legally indistinguishable from the District.

The 2020 census counted 689,545 residents; the metropolitan area covers nearly 10,360 km² across 10 counties in Maryland and Virginia. Britannica calls Washington the ultimate example of a company town, the company being the federal government: more than 168,000 federal jobs were based in D.C. in 2025, more than one in five jobs in the city, and about half the land is federally owned. After decades of decline as families moved to the suburbs, the population began to rise again early in the 21st century.

The U.S. Capitol has a big white dome. Lawmakers meet inside.

The White House is where the President lives. A tall stone tower, the Washington Monument, points at the sky. Between them stretches a long, grassy park called the National Mall.

The U.S. Capitol, where Congress meets, was begun in 1793, and its cast-iron dome was added from 1856 to 1866. The White House, the President's home, was built from 1792 to 1800. The Washington Monument, a tall stone obelisk, was finished in 1884, and at 555 feet (about 169 meters) it was then the tallest building in the world.

These buildings sit around the National Mall, a park about 4 kilometers long. Along it are memorials to presidents and to people who served in wars, and 10 Smithsonian museums, from natural history to air and space.

L'Enfant chose the Capitol's site first, placing it at the center of his street plan. Its design was chosen in 1793 and building began that year; Thomas U. Walter's cast-iron dome rose from 1856 to 1866, and the building stands 288 ft (88 m) to the top of the Statue of Freedom. James Hoban's White House, inspired by Leinster House in Dublin, was built from 1792 to 1800; Britannica's People page notes that the capital was built largely by free Black workers, enslaved people and immigrants, and the White House Historical Association documents enslaved laborers at every stage of its construction.

The Washington Monument, designed by Robert Mills as an Egyptian-style obelisk, was built in a private phase (1848–1854) and a public one (1876–1884); at 555 ft 5⅛ in it was the tallest building in the world when finished. The Lincoln Memorial, modeled on the Parthenon in Athens, stands at the west end of the Reflecting Pool, where Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. Ten Smithsonian museums border the Mall, from the National Museum of Natural History (1910) to the National Air and Space Museum (1976).

Washington has four seasons.

Summer is warm and sticky. Winter is chilly, with a little snow. Spring and fall are mild and long. In spring, pink cherry trees bloom by the water.

Washington has a temperate climate with humid air. In January, days reach about 6 °C and nights fall to about −5 °C, so the light, wet snow often melts by day and freezes into ice at night. In July, days reach about 31 °C, and some hot, sticky spells go above 38 °C.

Spring and fall are mild and last longer than summer and winter. Rain falls evenly through the year, about 75 to 100 millimeters each month. In spring, thousands of cherry trees in Potomac Park, beside the river, burst into blossom; many came as a gift from the people of Japan in 1912.

Britannica describes a temperate climate with high humidity and precipitation evenly spread through the year, between about 75 and 100 mm a month. Winters are damp, without great extremes or heavy snowfalls as a rule; the season averages about 2 °C, and with January highs near 6 °C and lows near −5 °C (World Meteorological Organization normals, 1981–2010), light, wet snow often melts by day and refreezes to ice at night. Summer averages about 24 °C, with July highs near 31 °C and brief spells of high heat and dense humidity; highs above 39 °C can occur.

Spring and autumn are pleasantly mild and longer than the other seasons. The city sits on a low, wide peninsula between the Potomac and its tributary the Anacostia, ringed by terraces that rise to about 120 m above sea level. Potomac Park, created from reclaimed river flats and tidal reservoirs in 1897, holds several thousand cherry trees given by the people of Japan in 1912.

Many people in Washington work for the government.

Others work in museums, schools, shops and hospitals. Families visit free museums and big parks. There is even a zoo inside a big park.

Washington has always been a mix of people. Early in this century, more than half of its residents were African American, about two-fifths had European roots, and many others had Hispanic or Asian backgrounds. The city is young: early in this century the average age was in the mid-30s.

Most jobs are in services, many linked to the government. People enjoy the city's parks: Rock Creek Park, the largest, covers about 730 hectares, and the National Zoo sits inside it. Seven colleges and universities are in the city, including Georgetown University, founded in 1789, and Howard University, chartered in 1867.

Britannica notes that Washington has always been ethnically diverse: the capital was physically built mostly by free Black workers, enslaved people and immigrants, and after the Civil War tens of thousands of freed people moved to the city. Early in the 21st century more than half of residents were African American, about two-fifths of European descent and the rest mainly of Hispanic or Asian origin; Britannica also describes the city as still somewhat divided by race and income between Northwest and Southeast.

The economy is dominated by services, government work, research and tourism. Washington is richly endowed with parks: Rock Creek Park, bought by Congress in 1890, covers nearly 730 hectares, and the National Zoological Park occupies about 65 of them; the National Arboretum (1927) covers 180 hectares. Higher education ranges from Georgetown University (1789), the oldest, to Howard University, chartered in 1867 for the education of African Americans, and research bodies such as the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy of Sciences.