page_title: Geography of Washington, D.C.
section_title: Topography and geology
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of Washington, D.C. / Topography and geology
caption_attribution_description: English: Washington, DC, computer image generated using TruFlite Deutsch: Washington D.C. (TruFlite-Computergrafik)
context_page_description: Washington, D.C., in the United States, is located at 38°53′42″N 77°02′11″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a geographical area of 68.3 square miles, 61.4 square miles of which is land, and the remaining 6.9 square miles of which is water.
  Washington is surrounded by the states of Virginia and Maryland; it interrupts those states' common border, which is the south shore of the Potomac River both upstream and downstream from the District. The portion of the Potomac River that passes Washington is virtually entirely within the District's border, as the District extends to the south bank. The city contains the historic "federal city", the territory of which was formerly part of those two adjacent states before they respectively ceded it for the national capital. The land ceded from Virginia was returned by Congress in 1847, so what remains of the modern District was all once part of Maryland.
context_section_description: The topography of the District of Columbia is highly similar to the physical geography of much of Central and DC Metro Maryland. The District has three major natural flowing bodies of water: the Potomac River and two tributaries, the Anacostia River and Rock Creek. The confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia forms the historic peninsula known as Arsenal Point. The District also includes the Washington Channel, which flows into the junction of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers. There are also three man-made reservoirs: Dalecarlia Reservoir, which crosses over the northwest border of the District from Maryland, McMillan Reservoir near Howard University, and Georgetown Reservoir upstream of Georgetown. A fourth, minor reservoir is at Fort Reno in Tenleytown.
  Washington, D.C. is situated in a topographic bowl. The bottom of the bowl, where the White House and Capitol are located, is in the floodplain of the junction of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. Extending out from the floodplain is a series of rising river terraces. These high ridges nearly surround the city. The highest of these terraces is at 200 feet above sea level and is fronted by an escarpment which is very prominent along the east side of the Anacostia River.  Steep sided ravines and small streams cut through the upper terrace east of the Anacostia River at frequent intervals. Examples of these stream valleys can be found at Forts Dupont and Stanton.
  The City of Washington is located on the fall line—the border of two considerably different geological terrains or provinces; the hard rock of the Piedmont Plateau to the north and west, and the soft sediments of the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the east.  The Piedmont Plateau is located north and west of the city. This area is characterized by deeply cut valleys and prominent ridges.
  The highest point in the District of Columbia is 410 feet (125 m) above sea level at Reno Reservoir in Tenleytown. The lowest point is sea level, which occurs along all of the Anacostia shore and all of the Potomac shore except the uppermost mile (the Little Falls-Chain Bridge area). The sea level Tidal Basin rose eleven feet during Hurricane Isabel on September 18, 2003. The geographic center of the District of Columbia is near 4th Street NW, L Street NW, and New York Avenue NW, not, as is sometimes stated, under the Capitol dome. (The Capitol, however, marks the intersection of the District's four administrative quadrants.)
  Other prominent geographical features of Washington, D.C., include Theodore Roosevelt Island, Columbia Island, the Three Sisters, and Hains Point.
  Some areas, especially around the National Mall and parts of Foggy Bottom, were marshes or parts of the river that have been filled in.
caption: Aerial view, 3D computer generated image
exif: {}