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Washington,
D.C.,
(commonly referred to as Washington, The District, or
simply D.C.) is the capital of the United States founded
on July 16, 1790. Washington (the city) covers the same
area as (i.e. is coterminous with) the District of Columbia
and are considered to be the same entity. The centers
of all three branches of the Federal government of the
United States are located in the District. Also situated
in the city are the headquarters of the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund the Organization of
American States, the Inter-American Development Bank,
and other national and international institutions, including
trade unions and professional associations.
The District of Columbia is located on
the banks of the Potomac River and bordered by Virginia
to the southwest and Maryland to the northwest, northeast,
and southeast. The city was planned and developed in
the late 18th century to serve as the permanent national
capital; the federal district was formed to keep the
national capital distinct from the states. As such,
pursuant to Article One of the United States Constitution,
the United States Congress has supreme authority over
the District, which results in residents of the city
having less self-governance than residents of the states.
The District has a non-voting at-large Congressional
delegate, but no senators.
If Washington, D.C. were a state, it would rank last
in area (behind Rhode Island), second to last in population
(ahead of Wyoming), first in population density, 35th
in gross state product, and first in percentage of African
Americans, which would make Washington, D.C. a minority-majority
state.
Climate
Washington has a humid subtropical climate. Its climate is typical
of Mid-Atlantic U.S. areas removed from bodies of water,
with four distinct seasons. Spring and fall are mild
with low humidty and high temperatures in April and October
averaging in the high 60s to low 70s (about 20 °C).
Winter brings sustained cool temperatures and occasional
snowfall. Average highs tend to be in the low 40s (6
to 8 °C) and lows in the mid 20s (-5 to -2 °C)
from mid-December to mid-February. Additionally, Arctic
air can lower nighttime lows into the teens, even in
the city.[24] Summer tends to be hot and humid with daily
high temperatures in July and August averaging in the
high 80s to low 90s (in °F; about 30° to 33 °C).
The combination of heat and humidity in the summer brings
very frequent thunderstorms, some of which occasionally
produce tornadoes in the area.
While hurricanes (or their remnants)
occasionally track through the area in late summer and
early fall, they have often weakened by the time they
reach Washington partly due to the city's inland location.
Flooding of the Potomac River, however, caused by a combination
of high tide, storm surge, and storm runoff, has been
known to cause extensive property damage in Georgetown
as well as in nearby Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.
The average annual rainfall is
39.3 inches (998 mm) and average annual snowfall is
16.6 inches (422 mm). Some outlying suburbs to the
north and west receive upwards of six more inches of
snowfall each year.The average annual temperature
is 57.5 °F (14.1 °C). The
highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C)
on July 20, 1930 and August 6, 1918, while the lowest
recorded temperature was -15 °F (-26 °C) on February
11, 1899, during the Great Blizzard of 1899. The
city averages 36.7 days hotter than 90 °F (32 °C),
and only 64.4 nights below freezing.
Demographics
The current 2007 U.S. Census Bureau data
estimates the District's population at 588,292 residents,
continuing a trend of population growth in the city since
the 2000 Census. The trend reverses what had been a 50-year
decline in the District's population. During the workweek,
however, the number of commuters from the suburbs into
the city swells the District's population an estimated
71.8% to a daytime population over one million people.
The Washington Metropolitan Area, which includes the
surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia, is the
eighth-largest in the United States with more than five
million residents. When combined with Baltimore and its
suburbs, the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area has
a population exceeding eight million residents, the fourth-largest
in the country.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there
are 572,059 people, 248,338 households, and 114,235 families
residing in the city. Even though they comprise the city's
largest ethnic group, Washington has a steadily declining
African American population, due to many middle-class
and professional African Americans leaving the city for
suburbs. At the same time, the city's white population
has steadily increased, in part due to effects of gentrification
in many of Washington's traditionally black neighborhoods.
Also using data from the census, it is estimated that
there are 33,000 gay, lesbian, or bisexual adults in
the District of Columbia, about 6 percent of the city's
population;[64] double the national average of 2.9 percent.
"Friendship Arch" in ChinatownThe median income
for a household in the city was $40,127, and the median
income for a family was $46,283. Males had a median income
of $40,513 versus $36,361 for females. The per capita
income for the city was $28,659. About 16.7% of families
and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 31.1% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those
over age 65. According to Forbes magazine it is also
the 9th-wealthiest U.S. city by median household income.
More than half of its residents having an income of $46,500
a year; the average home costs $429,900. Nevertheless,
there is a sharp divide between the affluent and poor
residents of the city.
A 2007 report found that about one-third
of Washington residents are functionally illiterate,
compared to a national rate of about one in five.This
is attributed in part to the 170,000 Hispanic, Ethiopian,
and Eritrean immigrants, many of whom are not proficient
in English. This shows huge disparities in the city
because over 45% of residents have a college degree or
higher and it ranks 4th in the nation with that educational
attainment. A 2000 study shows that 83.42% of Washington,
D.C., residents age 5 and older speak only English at
home and 9.18% speak Spanish. French is the third-most-spoken
language at 1.67%.[69] According to the 2001 American
Religious Identification Survey, nearly three out of
four District residents identified themselves as Christian.[70]
This breaks down to 72% Christian (27% Catholic, 19%
Baptist, and 26% other Protestant churches), 13% stating
no religion, 4% Buddhist, 2% Muslim, and 1% Jewish.
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