The United States is a federal union which is made up of fifty states and one independent district - the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia is the territory of the national capital of the USA, Washington, with its own laws and regulations. Washington, D.C. is situated on both banks of the Potomac river, between the two states, Maryland and Virginia.

This place was chosen by the first American President George Washington . The plot of land of a hundred square miles was bought from private owners by the state. In 1790 Gerge Washington laid the corner stone of the Capitol where the Congress sits. The place was called the District of Columbia in honour of Columbus, the discoverer of America. The capital got the name of Washington after the name of its founder. Washington has been the federal capital since 1800.

Washington is sometimes called the heart of America. It is the place where the federal government works and where each President of the United States lives. Washington is smaller in size than the largest cities of the USA, such as New York, Chicango, Detroit or Los Angeles. The population of Washington is about 11 million people. The buildings in Washington are not very tall because no building must be taller than the Capitol. But in political sense Washington is the centre of the country and the most important city of the United States.