Washington, D.C. vs Bogota

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Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and also known as D.C. or Washington, is the capital city of the United States of America. Founded after the American Revolution, Washington was named for George Washington, the first president of the United States and a Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. Located on the Potomac River bordering Maryland and Virginia, the city is one of the most visited cities in the United States, with more than 20 million visitors annually.The signing of the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River near the country's East Coast. The U.S. Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress, and the district is therefore not a part of any U.S. state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, which included the pre-existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria. The City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia, including the city of Alexandria; in 1871, it created a single municipal government for the remaining portion of the district. Washington had an estimated population of 705,749 as of July 2019, making it the 20th most populous city in the United States. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's daytime population to more than one million during the workweek.

Washington's metropolitan area, the country's sixth largest (including parts of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia), had a 2017 estimated population of 6.2 million residents.The three branches of the U.S. federal government are centered in the district: Congress (legislative), the president (executive), and the Supreme Court (judicial). Washington is home to many national monuments and museums, primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 177 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of many international organizations, trade unions, non-profits, lobbying groups, and professional associations, including the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization of American States, AARP, the National Geographic Society, the Human Rights Campaign, the International Finance Corporation, and the American Red Cross. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the district since 1973. However, Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D.C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, but the district has no representation in the Senate. District voters choose three presidential electors in accordance with the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961.

Source: Wikipedia

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Bogotá (, also UK:, US:, Spanish: [boɣoˈta] (listen)), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and previously known as Santa Fe de Bogotá during the time of this colony and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital and largest city of Colombia, administered as the Capital District, and the capital of the department of Cundinamarca. Bogotá is a territorial entity of the first order, with the same administrative status as the departments of Colombia. It is the political, economical, industrial and administrative center of the nation. Bogotá was founded as the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada on 6 August 1538, by Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada following a harsh expedition into the Andes conquering the Muisca. The Muisca were the indigenous inhabitants of the region, and they called the place of the foundation"Thybzaca" or"Old Town". The title of Bogotá corresponds to the Spanish pronunciation of the Chibcha Bacatá (or Mueketá) that was the title of a neighboring settlement located between the modern towns of Funza and Cota. There are different opinions about the meaning of the word Bacatá, the most accepted being that it signifies"walling of the farmland" in the Chibcha language. Another popular translation argues that it signifies"The Lady of the Andes". Moreover, the word'Andes' in the Aymara language means"shining mountain", thus rendering the full lexical signification of Bogotá as"The Lady of the shining mountain" (notice, however, that the language of the Muisca people wasn't Aymara however Chibcha). Others indicate that Bacatá was the title of the Muisca cacique who governed the land before the Spaniards arrived. Jiménez de Quesada gave the settlement the name of"Our Lady of Hope" but the Spanish crown gave it the title of Santafé (Holy Faith) in 1540 when it was appointed as a city.Santafé became the seat of the government of the Spanish Royal Audiencia of the New Kingdom of Granada (made in 1550), and then after 1717 it was the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Following the Battle of Boyacá on 7 August 1819, Bogotá became the capital of the independent nation of Gran Colombia. It was Simón Bolívar who rebaptized the city with the title of Bogotá, as a means of honoring the Muisca people and as an emancipation act towards the Spanish crown.

Hence, since the Viceroyalty of New Granada's independence from the Spanish Empire and during the creation of present-day Colombia, Bogotá has remained the capital of this territory. The city is located in the Middle of Colombia, on a high plateau known as the Bogotá savanna, part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes. It is the third-highest capital in South America and in the world after Quito and La Paz, in an average of 2,640 metres (8,660 ft) above sea level. Subdivided into 20 localities, Bogotá has an area of 1,587 square kilometres (613 square miles) and a relatively cool climate that's constant through the year. The city is home to central offices of the executive branch (Office of the President), the legislative branch (Congress of Colombia) and the judicial branch (Supreme Court of Justice, Constitutional Court, Council of State and the Superior Council of Judicature) of the Colombian government. Bogotá stands out because of its economic strength and related financial maturity, its appeal to international companies and the quality of human capital. It is the financial and commercial hub of Colombia, together with the most business activity of any city in the nation. The capital hosts the main financial market in Colombia and the Andean natural region, and is the top destination for new foreign direct investment projects coming into Latin America and Colombia. It has the highest nominal GDP in the country, responsible for almost a quarter of the country's total (24.7percent ). The city's airport, El Dorado International Airport, named after the mythical El Dorado, manages the largest cargo volume in Latin America, and is third in many people. Bogotá is home to the largest number of universities and research facilities in the nation, and is an important cultural center, with many theatres, libraries and museums. Bogotá ranks 52nd on the International Cities Index 2014, and is thought of as a global city type"Beta " by GaWC in 2020.

Source: Wikipedia