Geology of the National Parks Through Pictures - The National Mall

My next post about the Geology of the National Parks Through Pictures is about some parks visited a long time ago within Washington D.C.

You can find more Geology of the National Parks Through Pictures as well as my Geological State Symbols Across America series at my website Dinojim.com.

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The National Mall

Looking down the National Mall at the Capitol Building (circa 1995).

Originally Washington D.C. started out as a tidal flat wetland with three different sides surrounded by water: the Potomac River on the south, Rock Creek to the west, and the Anacostia River to the east. During the 1800's and 1900's the land was drastically altered by the construction of new buildings and roads, dump sites (such as the present location of the Lincoln Memorial), and eventually dredging and draining of the rivers to expand the city itself. Seawall construction along the Anacostia river in the early 1900's eliminated ~90% of the remaining tidal marshes at that time.

Although most of the wetlands have been removed from the city by today, there are still a small percentage of wetlands scattered throughout the area.

References

https://doee.dc.gov/service/history-wetlands-district