Patricia Nevins Kime - Moon Washington DC

Washington is bordered on three sideswest, north, and eastby the state of Maryland and to the south by Virginia. The Potomac River, where it runs along the city, lies entirely within the District of Columbia, which means the DC border runs directly to the Virginia shoreline, and some city landmarks, reachable only from Virginia, including Roosevelt Island and the land that contains Lady Byrd Johnson Memorial Grove, are actually considered to be in DC and not in Virginia, as they appear. Washington covers an area of 68.3 square miles, 61 of which are land, with nearly seven square miles of water. The geography of the northern and northwestern portions, visible in and around Rock Creek Park, is rough and rugged, a reflection of its placement in the Piedmont Plateau, an area created by the erosion and upheaval of ancient mountains. Rocks and boulders in this area are largely metamorphic and igneous, with the predominant minerals being boulder gneiss, granite gneiss, mica schist, and quartzite. The citys eastern and southern portions belong in the Coastal Plain, referred to as the Tidewater region in Virginia, a flat area of light soils and sediments that encompasses marshes and broad waterways. The highest point in Washington is 410 feet above sea level in the Tenleytown neighborhood at Fort Reno, a neighborhood park and former Civil War fort. The lowest geographic point is sea level, at the shorelines of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers from just south of Little Falls, near Chain Bridge to the citys southernmost point. The city is divided into quadrants that meet at the U.S. Capitol, although the citys actual geographic center is near the intersection of 4th Street, L Street, and New York Avenue NW. Nearly 20 percent of the Districts land is parkland, second only to New York City in terms of preserved acres as a percent of land area in the United States.

Washington has four distinct seasons, but with a relatively mild climate that offers a taste of the bestand worstof each. Spring and autumns are the citys most glorious, often with crystal-clear deep-blue skies and warming, moderate, or slightly cool temperatures (although early spring can sometimes be unseasonably cool and wet, and winter occasionally comes early in the fall). Summers are decidedly Southern in nature; the region is classified as subtropical humid, and days are hot and exceedingly sticky, with average high temperatures of 88F in July and 85F in August. Humidity is often upward of 55 percent late in the day. As a result, late-afternoon thunderstorms are commonplace from late June through Labor Day, although their occurrence isnt quite as dependable as they are in tropical regions like Florida. Winters are mild, although an errant arctic air mass can force the mercury down to the single digits. Snowfall is hit or missin some years the area receives none; at other times, major snowstorms have paralyzed the city for up to a week. The average is roughly 14 inches of snow per year. Because of this ambiguity, the city departments that handle snow removal and oversight do not have the large budgets or capabilities for performing their tasks that Chicago, Boston, and any place north of New York have, a situation that often leads to mass closings of the federal government and schools and opens Washington to great ridicule. Still, the surprise closings lead to a few of those fun, unexpected joys of childhoodthe snow day.

Average rainfall in DC is nearly 40 inches per year, with much of it coming in rain that lasts for days but also comes in thunderstorms. If you find yourself on the National Mall or in an open space when a thunderstorm is approaching, head indoors and remain there until the storm passes. They usually move on quickly.