Q 01/05

What is the official name of Washington D.C.?

A) District of Columbia

B) Federal District of Washington

C) Columbia City

D) Washington Territory

Answer · why

A) District of Columbia

'Columbia' was a poetic name for the United States in the Revolutionary era, a nod to Christopher Columbus.

Q 02/05

Which major river flows along the southwestern border of Washington D.C.?

A) Mississippi

B) Ohio

C) Hudson

D) Potomac

Answer · why

D) Potomac

The Potomac River forms Washington D.C.'s southwestern and southern border with the U.S. state of Virginia.

Q 03/05

Which iconic obelisk monument stands prominently on the National Mall in Washington D.C.?

A) Washington Monument

B) Lincoln Memorial

C) Jefferson Memorial

D) World War II Memorial

Answer · why

A) Washington Monument

The Washington Monument is a prominent obelisk on the National Mall, built to commemorate George Washington, the first U.S. President.

Q 04/05

Whom did George Washington commission in 1791 to lay out the new federal city?

A) Pierre Charles L'Enfant

B) James Hoban

C) Andrew Ellicott

D) Benjamin Banneker

Answer · why

A) Pierre Charles L'Enfant

Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French-born military engineer, drew the 1791 plan of grand avenues and ceremonial spaces; Andrew Ellicott finished the surv...

Q 05/05

The Residence Act, which fixed the capital on the Potomac and counts as Washington's founding date, was adopted in which year?

A) 1790

B) 1783

C) 1776

D) 1800

Answer · why

A) 1790

July 16, 1790: the Residence Act approved a capital district along the Potomac, and that date is counted as the city's founding.