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Washington, D.C. (pronounced /ˈwɒʃɪŋtən diːsiː/) (formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C.) is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790. The City of Washington used to be a separate municipality within the District of Columbia. An Act of Congress in 1871 created a single government for the entire federal territory, effectively merging the City and the District into a single entity. The city is located on the north bank of the Potomac River and is bordered by the states of Virginia to the southwest and Maryland to the other sides. The District has a resident population of 588,292; however, its population rises to over one million people during the workweek, due to commuters from the surrounding suburbs. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of 5.3 million, the eighth-largest metropolitan area in the country.

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