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Located midway along the eastern seaboard of the United States, south of Maryland, north of Virginia and 233 miles south of New York City, the Washington, DC metropolitan area refers to the District of Columbia, plus 7 Maryland counties (Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's), 5 Virginia counties (Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon, Prince William and Stafford) and 5 Virginia cities (Alexandria, Fairfax City, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park).
The District of Columbia is 67 square miles and divided into 4 quadrants: Northwest, Southwest, Northeast and Southeast. The U.S. Capitol building marks the center where the quadrants meet. Numbered streets run north-south. Lettered streets run east-west (there are no J, X, Y or Z streets), becoming 2-syllable names, then 3-syllable names as you travel farther out from the center. Avenues named for U.S. states run diagonally, often meeting at traffic circles and squares. Elevation in Washington DC highest is 420 feet; lowest is sea level.
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