Washington, D.C. (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 was originally a separate municipality within the Territory of Columbia until an act of Congress in 1871 effectively merged the City and the Territory into a single entity called the District of Columbia. It is for this reason that the city, while legally named the District of Columbia, is known as Washington, D.C.  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.  Nicknames include: A Capital City, The Federal City, and The District.  Washington, D.C. does not have counties, but rather is divided into eight Wards and 37 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) within these Wards.  The total number of named neighborhoods is 127...  [See the makeup of the DC Wards here]