The city of Washington was built on a gently undulating, low, wide peninsula of land bounded by the Potomac River and its tributary, the Anacostia, in the belief that the location would develop into an important commercial port. Encircling the city are a series of terraces that in certain areas rise to about 400 feet (120 meters) above sea level, where Washington’s neighborhoods were gradually built. Part of a shallow, long ravine—what is now Rock Creek Park—separated Washington from the old port city of Georgetown; development to the north and west of this ravine was slow until the end of the 19th century, when the ravine was bridged and public transportation was made available.
Washington is an extraordinary city, one with multiple personalities: a working federal city, an international metropolis, a picturesque tourist destination, an unmatched treasury of the country’s history and artifacts, and a cosmopolitan centre that retains a neighborly, small-town ambience.
Washington, DC is a city of monuments and memorials. They honor the generals, politicians, poets and statesmen who helped shape our great nation. Although the most famous monuments and memorials are on the National Mall, you will find statues and plaques on many street corners around the city.
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