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Washington, D.C. , USA, is located at (the coordinates of the Zero Milestone , on the Ellipse), or for simplicity, at or . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 177.0 Km² (68.3 Mi² ). 159.0 km² (61.4 mi²) of it is land and 18.0 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.16% water. Washington is surrounded by the State s of Virginia (on its southwest side) and Maryland (on its southeast, northeast, and northwest sides); it interrupts those states' common border, which is the south shore of the Potomac River both upstream and downstream from the District. The portion of the Potomac River that passes Washington is virtually entirely within the District's border, as the District extends to the south bank. The city contains the historic federal city, the territory of which was formerly part of those two adjacent states before they respectively ceded it for the national capital. The land ceded from Virginia was Returned By Congress in 1847 , so what remains of the modern District was all once part of Maryland. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY The physical , which crosses over the northwest border of the District from Maryland, McMillan Reservoir near Howard University , and Georgetown Reservoir upstream of Georgetown. A fourth, minor reservoir is at Fort Reno in Tenleytown . The highest point in the District of Columbia is 410 feet (125 m) above Sea Level at Fort Reno in Tenleytown. The lowest point is sea level, which occurs along all of the Anacostia shore and all of the Potomac shore except the uppermost mile (the Little Falls-Chain Bridge area). The sea level Tidal Basin rose eleven feet during Hurricane Isabel on September 18 , 2003 . The geographic center of the District of Columbia is located near 4th Street NW, L Street NW, and New York Avenue NW, not the under the Capitol dome as is sometimes stated. Geographical features of Washington, D.C., include Theodore Roosevelt Island , Columbia Island , the Three Sisters , and Hains Point . Some areas, especially around the National Mall and parts of Foggy Bottom , were marshes or parts of the river that have been filled in. Natural history During the 18th Century , significant portions of the region were Forest ed, with species including Hare s, Turkey , Pheasant s, Woodcock s, Turtle s, and Partridges , as well as numerous Bird species including Mockingbird s, Nightingale s, Bluebird s, Hummingbird s, and Orioles .1 Snipe s, Ortolan , and various types of Duck s inhabited Swamp y areas, as well as Sorus es.2 Other indigineous species include Black Snake , Garter Snake , Rattle Snake , Viper , Bullfrog and other types of Frog s, Ground Squirrel s, Flying Squirrel s, Skunk s, Opossum s, Raccoon s, Fox es, Beaver s, Deer , Wolves , and Bear s. Native tree species include Willow , Birch , Cedar , and Oak . Other plant species found along the Potomac during the early 19th Century include yellow Jessamine , Prickly Pear Cactus , White Horehound , sweet Fennel , wild Cherries , and Wild Strawberries .3 CITY PLAN Washington, D.C., was created to serve as the national capital from its inception. The choice of the exact site on the area. A new city, eventually named Washington City, was laid out in undeveloped area within the district. The remainder of the territory was designated Washington County (on the Maryland side of the Potomac) and Alexandria County (on the Virginia side). The original street layout was designed by Pierre Charles L'Enfant at the time of the city's founding. Alexandria The land from the State of Virginia was eventually Returned To The State in 1846 . This land in Virginia makes up the modern area of Arlington County and the old part of Alexandria, Virginia , both which are considered 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." Georgetown 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 the District in 1790 when the Federal City was first created, but Georgetown remained an independent city, referred to as "Georgetown, D.C.", until 1871 , when it was merged with Washington City and Washington County, completing the process of Washington and the District of Columbia occupying the same geographic borders. McMillan plan The monumental core of the city consists of the National Mall and many key federal buildings, monuments, and museums, including the Washington Monument , Lincoln Memorial , and the National Air And Space Museum . Its layout is based on that proposed by the McMillan Commission report in 1901. BUILDING HEIGHTS To preserve the grandeur of the National Mall , the White House , the Capitol, and various other key locations, the entire city is subject to strict building height limits. This limitation was placed in effect just prior to the 20th century when government officials realized that Structural Steel "skyscrapers" could overwhelm the city. In 1899, Congress enacted a height limit for the District prohibiting private buildings from topping out higher than the Capitol, which reaches 288 feet above Capitol Hill at the crest of the Statue of Freedom. NEIGHBORHOODS See Also: List of neighborhoods of the District of Columbia by ward The District of Columbia is divided into eight wards and 37 Advisory Neighborhood Commission s (ANCs) within these wards. The total number of named neighborhoods is 127. The ANCs serve to advise the D.C. Council on neighborhood matters. The Council is required by law to give their opinions "great weight," though what that means is up to the Council to decide. According to the 2000 Census, blacks make up the majority of the population in Northeast, Southeast (except for Capitol Hill), Southwest, and those parts of Northwest that are east of 14th Street . Hispanics are concentrated in the Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods of Northwest's Ward 1. Asians, mostly Chinese, predominate in the small downtown Chinatown neighborhood. Since 2000, however, the demographics of many neighborhoods have changed markedly. SEE ALSO REFERENCES |
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