About the Washington, Maryland Area 

Washington, D.C. is a sophisticated, world-class city of 582,049, bursting with culture, museums, and monuments. This vibrant and multi-cultured capital city offers inspirational history, unsurpassed arts, lively attractions and unlimited special events. You can enjoy impressive government buildings and memorials, fascinating museums and lively neighborhoods, not to mention a wealth of beautiful parkland. It would be hard to find a more exciting and entertaining place to visit or to live. 

Location
Washington, D.C. is situated midway along the eastern seaboard of the United States, south of Maryland and north of Virginia. It is bordered by Maryland on its southeast, northeast, and northwest sides and by Virginia on its western side.

Geography/Terrain
With a total area of 68.3 square miles, Washington has 61.4 square miles of land and 6.9 square miles of water. It is situated on the Potomac River between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, at an altitude ranging from sea level to 410 feet above sea level. The highest point in the District is at Tenleytown and the lowest is along the Anacostia and Potomac River shores. As well as the Potomac River, the two additional major waterways in the city are the Anacostia River and Rock Creek, both tributaries of the Potomac. Geographical features of the area include Theodore Roosevelt Island, Columbia Island, the Three Sisters and Hains Point.  

Distance to 3 Closest Major Cities
Washington D. C. is approximately 36 miles southwest of Baltimore, 101 miles northeast of Richmond VA, and 41 miles southeast of Frederick, MD. 

Jobs
Expansion Magazine has ranked DC among the top 10 metropolitan areas in the nation for climates favorable to business expansion. The federal government accounts for 27% of Washington, D.C.'s jobs, making the area’s economy practically recession-proof, as the federal government will continue to operate regardless of the state of the general economy. The District’s next primary industry is tourism. Other important industries include trade associations; law; higher education; medicine/medical research; and government-related research and publishing.  

The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is world headquarters for corporations such as US Airways, Marriott, Amtrak, Gannett News, Mobil Oil, MCI Telecommunications and the International Monetary Fund. Nearly 50 of the major Fortune 500 companies have offices in the district, which is also the location of leading world, national, and regional financial institutions. Washington is also a global media center, and its unique scenery makes it a favorite location for film and television production. There are more than 500 publishing and printing companies in the district.  

Major employers in Washington are George Washington University, Howard University, Washington Hospital Center, Georgetown University, Georgetown University Hospital, Children's National Medical administration and Fannie Mae. Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services provide18.8% of the employment in the area, educational, health and social services provide18.0%, and public administration provides15.0%. The unemployment rate in the District is 6.5% and there has been a 3.46% increase in available jobs within the last year. The average commute time to travel to work is 28 minutes. The average household income is $65,482 and the per capita income is $48,168. 

Housing
There is a wide range of housing in the Washington area, including some of the nation’s oldest and most architecturally diverse communities. Many of the old structures have been beautifully renovated to look like new again. There are row houses, freestanding homes, condos, and new construction complexes, as well as townhouses, garden-style and mid-level apartments. There is housing in the nation’s capital to suit all tastes and price levels.

Parks/Sports/Recreation/Golf
Washington D.C. proudly maintains a total of over 300 parks, encompassing 800 acres of parkland. These parks and natural areas include Anacostia Park, the United States National Arboretum, Rock Creek Park, the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Theodore Roosevelt Island, the C&O Canal, the Potomac River and the Anacostia River. Rock Creek Park is a treasured resource and a true oasis in the city. Operated by the National Park Service, it offers 25 miles of hiking trails on over 1,755 acres of land. With the expanse of natural areas, there are numerous bird watching spots within the city. 

There are more than 75 playgrounds, 71 community recreation centers, 33 public swimming pools, and over 150 basketball and tennis courts in the Washington D.C. area, as well as a wide selection of participant sports. With ready accessibility to rivers, bays, and the Atlantic Ocean, there are a variety of water sports such as boating, sailing, fishing, canoeing, scuba diving, and windsurfing.  

The National Zoological Park is a beautiful 163-acre urban park located in Rock Creek Park in northwest Washington, D.C. It offers family fun, excitement, and stimulating educational programs, as well as a peaceful setting to enjoy nature. It is home to about 2,400 animals of 400 different species, from ants to elephants, representing habitats from tropical rainforest to local woodlands. 

Golf enthusiasts have three local courses where they can indulge in their favorite sport. The East Potomac Public Golf Course has one regulation eighteen-hole course and two nine-hole courses. The eighteen-hole course has wide fairways and large greens. Of the nine-hole courses, the White Course has wide-open fairways and small greens, while the Red Course has tight fairways and small greens. Langston Legacy Golf Course has flat fairways and a tight back nine holes. Rock Creek Golf Course is fairly short and narrow, with tree-lined fairways and challenging elevation changes. 

Special Attractions/Events
Visitors to Washington can enjoy a huge variety of activities, ranging from tours of the magnificent Capitol Building and Washington Monument to performances by the National Symphony Orchestra. The city is a key national center for the arts, with many venues for the performing arts in the city. Arena Stage is rich with history and produces an eight-show season every year. The Shakespeare Theatre Company is considered one of the world's great Shakespeare troupes. There are numerous other theaters, such as the Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, and the National Theatre. Other local theater groups include the Avalon, Theater J, Old Vat Theater, Source Theater, and GALA Hispanic Theater. Young people can enjoy special performances presented at the Kennedy Center Lab. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosts the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, and the Washington Ballet. For musical entertainment, the U Street area has over two-dozen bars, clubs, and restaurants that feature jazz on a regular basis. 

Visitors to Washington can choose from 40 museums and more than 150 historical sites. The world-renowned Smithsonian Institution is a collection of museums that includes the National Air and Space Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of American Art, the National Museum of American History, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Asian Art, the Anacostia Museum, and more. The National Mall is a large, open area in the center of the city featuring many monuments to American leaders, and connecting the White House and the United States Capitol buildings. 

Festivities abound throughout the year in Washington, the most renowned of which is the Cherry Blossom Festival in early April. Other exciting events include the Washington Antiques Show in January; the Chinese New Year's celebration in February; the St. Patrick's Day Parade in March; the White House Easter Egg Roll and the White House Spring Garden Tour in April, as well as the Gross National Product Parade on April Fool's Day; the Goodwill Embassy Tour in May; the Potomac Riverfest and a National Barbecue Battle in June; the Smith-sonian's Festival of American Folklife in late June through early July; the July Fourth celebration; the Kennedy Center Prelude Festival in September; the Marine Corps Marathon in October, the November Washington Craft Show; and the lighting of the national Christmas tree outside the White House in December. 

Enthusiastic shoppers can delight in the abundance of urban malls in the downtown area. One of the best known, Union Station, is an historic urban shopping center with marble floors, over 130 upscale shops, and a full schedule of events and exhibitions. Restaurants also flourish in Washington, reflecting the many foreign cultures present in the capital, in a burst of gastronomic creativity. 

Interesting Facts/Historic Buildings and Places
The capitol city is named after George Washington, military leader of the American Revolution and the first President of the United States. It was selected as the U.S. capital in 1790, and was designed by Major Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer and architect. It was burned by the British in 1814, during the War of 1812. 

Washington is the birthplace of: Al Gore, vice-president, Helen Hayes, an actress; J. Edgar Hoover; Alonzo Church, a mathematician; and Alyson Hannigan, an actress. Other well-known residents have included: Amerie, a singer; Duke Ellington, a musician; Sandra Bullock, an actress; and Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress and art collector. Other notable residents from the entertainment industry include singer songwriter Marvin Gaye, film actress Merle Oberon, comedian David Chappelle, musician Duke Ellington, filmmaker Ted Salins and two members of The Jefferson Airplane -guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and and bass player Jack Cassidy. 

The city ranked No. 1 on America's Most Literate Cities list, compiled by the University of Wisconsin in 2003. It was also ranked No. 6 among the best U.S. walking cities by the American Podiatric Medical Association, in March 2005. Washington was the filming location for the 1996 movie, "Independence Day", and the 1991 movie, "JFK". 

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