District of Columbia – United States

The District of Columbia is not a state, it is a federal district. When the Constitution of the United States was adopted in 1787, what is now the District of Columbia was a part of the state of Maryland. In 1791, the District was ceded to the federal government for the purpose of becoming the nation’s capital, a district that was to be governed by Congress.

DC stands for District of Columbia. It is called District of Columbia, because it was built on land of the Territory of Columbia , a 10 square mile piece of land, that used to be part of Virginia and Maryland. The territory of Columbia was named such after Christopher Columbus.

The District of Columbia is called so just because it is not a state, and is basically a federal district which takes up equal area as Washington is in. Thus, it can either be referred to as DC or can be called as Washington as per the convenience. In both the cases, it refers to the same place.

The federal District of Columbia covers around 68 square miles with only the states of Maryland and Virginia bordering it. All three branches of the U.S. government hold their main offices in this federal district. Since the year 1973, the District of Columbia is governed by a mayor and 13 council members.

• DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (noun) Sense 1. Meaning: The district occupied entirely by the city of Washington; chosen by George Washington as the site of the capital of the United States and created out of land ceded by Maryland and Virginia.

Washington D.C. was created for the sole purpose of having a capital city of the United States of America. As written in the U.S. Constitution, Washington D.C. is a special district that intended to serve as the permanent national capital. It was created to be the seat and hub of the federal government and is referred to as a federal district.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and also known as D.C. or Washington, is the capital city of the United States of America. Founded after the American Revolution, Washington was named after George Washington, the first president of the United States and a Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. Located on the Potomac River bordering Maryland and Virginia, the city is one of the most visited cities in the United States, with more than 20 million visitors annually.

Area: 68.30 sq miles
Population: 705,749 (2019) · See how it ranks with other cities
Travel Tip: Washington DC is a hub for American politics and history. Attracting as many school field trips as it does travelers the district offers a peek into the country’s democratic origin. There are plenty of free museums to take advantage of but the real draw here is the memorials and monuments dedicated to great American leaders.
Mayor: Muriel Bowser
Did You Know: District of Columbia has the highest income in the United States.