Washington, D.C.

Location o Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. (pronounced /ˈwɒʃɪŋtən ˌdiːˈsiː/), formally the District o Columbie an commonly referred tae as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the caipital of the Unitit States, foondit on Julie 16, 1790. Article Ane o the Unitit States Constitution provides for a federal district, distinct frae the states, tae serve as the permanent naitional caipital. The Ceety o Washington wis oreeginally a separate municipality athin the federal territory till an act o Congress in 1871 establisht a single, unified municipal government for the whole District. It is for this reason that the ceety, while legally named the District o Columbie, is kent as Washington, D.C. Named in honor o George Washington, the ceety shares its name wi the U.S. state o Washington locatit on the kintra's Pacific coast.

The District is locatit on the north bank o the Potomac River an is bordered bi the states o Virginie tae the soothwast an Maryland tae the ither sides. The ceety haes a resident population o 599,657; acause o commuters frae the surroondin suburbs, its population rises tae ower one million durin the wirkweek. The Washington Metropolitan Aurie, o which the District is a pairt, haes a population o 5.4 million, the aicht-lairgest metropolitan aurie in the kintra.

The centers o aw three branches o the federal government o the Unitit States are locatit in the District, as are mony o the naition's monuments an museums. Washington, D.C. hosts 174 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters o the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank, an the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The headquarters o ither institutions such as trade unions, lobbyin groups, an professional associations are an' a' locatit in the District.

Washington, D.C., is governed bi a mayor an a 13-member ceety council. Housomeivver, the Unitit States Congress haes supreme authority ower the ceety an mey owerturn local laws. Residents o the District therefore hae less self-governance than residents o the states. The District haes a non-votin, at-lairge Congressional delegate, but nae senators. D.C. residents coud no vote in presidential elections till the ratification o the Twintie-third Amendment tae the Unitit States Constitution in 1961.

Sister ceeties

Washington, D.C. haes ten offeecial sister ceety agreements. Paris is a "Pairtner Ceety" due tae the ane Sister Ceety policy o that commune.

Ceety	Kintra	Year
Bangkok	Thailand	1962, renewed 2002
Dakar	Senegal	1980, renewed 2006
Beijing	Cheenae	1984, renewed 2004
Brussels	Belgium	1985, renewed 2002
Athens	Greece	2000
Paris	Fraunce	2000, renewed 2005
Pretoria	Sooth Africae	2002, renewed 2008
Seoul	Sooth Korea	2006
Accra	Ghana	2006
Sunderland	Unitit Kinrick	2006

External links

• Template:Official
• Guide tae Washington, D.C., materials frae the Library of Congress
• Washington, D.C. travel guide frae Wikitravel
• Template:Osmrelation-inline

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Washington, D.C.