The Ultimate Washington, DC Quiz

D.C. is surrounded by Maryland and Virginia, both of which donated land for the city.

At just 68 square miles (176 square kilometers), D.C. is not a very large city. It was originally designed to be 100 square miles, but the 32 miles donated by Virginia were returned in 1847.

You will notice that the streets that go north to south are numbered, extending outward from the Capitol.

The diagonal streets in Washington are all named after states, with Pennsylvania and Maryland meeting at the Capitol.

More than half a million people live in the city, which is considerable given its size.

Washington's weather is entirely unpredictable. Some winters you get a few feet of snow, while other years you get only a few inches. The temperatures vary greatly from day to day regardless of the season, so be forewarned.

Baltimore Washington International airport is really in Baltimore, M.D., an hour away from D.C. If you land there, expect to pay around $65 dollars for a taxi to the District.

Washington D.C. is third, behind Los Angeles and San Francisco, among the worst traffic-ridden cities in the U.S. Add to that the difficulties navigating the city and you'll understand why most residents prefer the light-rail system.

D.C.'s Metrorail system is a brilliantly designed light-rail system that gets you to just about any part of the city -- not Georgetown, though -- in a few minutes. Residents call it "the Metro."

The vast majority of tourist attractions, including the White House, Capitol Building, and Smithsonian Museums, are located in the Northwest quadrant.

The beauty and serenity of D.C.'s cherry blossoms, combined with the one million people who annually attend the National Cherry Blossom Festival, make for one of the exciting times on the D.C. calendar.

At the time of Lincoln's assassination the United States was made up of 36 states, and each is represented with a column at his memorial, on the west end of the Capitol Mall.

On the wall of the southern chamber of the Lincoln Memorial is an inscription of the Gettysburg Address. The northern chamber has an inscription of his Second Inaugural Address.

The National Air and Space Museum is one of the most popular museums on the Mall. Get there early, because the lines are quite long.

There is only one painting by da Vinci anywhere outside of Europe, and it is housed at the National Art Gallery, at 600 Constitution Ave. NW.

The tallest building in D.C., by law, is the Washington Monument, which stands at exactly 555 feet (169 meters) tall. You can climb the 898 steps to the top, if you really want to.

The 19 museums of the Smithsonian make up the world's largest collection of museums.

The Washington Redskins are the much-beloved football team of Washington D.C., though their name has been a source for controversy for many years.

Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French-born American patriot, was the primary architect of the city of Washington, D.C.