Outline of Washington, D.C.

The Flag of the District of Columbia

The Great Seal of the District of Columbia

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to District of Columbia:

Washington, D.C., legally named the District of Columbia, in the United States of America, was founded on July 16, 1790, after the inauguration of City of Washington, the new capital of the country. The area given to District of Columbia, was originally 100 square miles (259 km²) ceded by the states of Maryland and Virginia in accordance with the Residence Act; however, in 1846, the retrocession of the District of Columbia, meant that the area of 31 square miles (80 km²) which was ceded by Virginia was returned,^[1] leaving 69 square miles (179 km²) of territory originally ceded by Maryland as the current area of the District in its entirety.^[2]

The City of Washington was originally a separate municipality within the Territory of Columbia until the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 effectively merged the City and the Territory into a single entity. It is for this reason that everything within its boundaries is legally the District of Columbia.