Editing Annandale, Virginia (section)

==Geography==
Annandale is located at {{Coord|38|50|3|N|77|12|41|W|type:city}} (38.834134, &minus;77.211277).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> Annandale is mostly traversed by the [[Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)|Capital Beltway (Interstate 495)]] and [[Virginia State Route 236|Little River Turnpike (Virginia State Route 236)]]. The center of town is considered to be where Little River Turnpike, Columbia Pike, and Backlick Road meet, around {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}} east of Interstate 495 on Little River Turnpike.

Annandale is bordered to the north by [[West Falls Church, Virginia|West Falls Church]], to the east by [[Lake Barcroft, Virginia|Lake Barcroft]] and [[Lincolnia, Virginia|Lincolnia]], to the south by [[North Springfield, Virginia|North Springfield]], and to the west by [[Wakefield, Fairfax County, Virginia|Wakefield]] and [[Woodburn, Fairfax County, Virginia|Woodburn]]. The CDP border follows [[Virginia State Route 620 (Fairfax and Loudoun Counties)|Braddock Road]] to the south, [[Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)|Interstate 495]] to the west, [[Holmes Run]] and [[U.S. Route 50 in Virginia#Fairfax County, City of Fairfax, Arlington County|Arlington Boulevard (U.S. Route 50)]] to the north, and [[Virginia State Route 613 (Fairfax County)|Sleepy Hollow Road]], [[Virginia State Route 244|Columbia Pike]], and [[Virginia State Route 236|Little River Turnpike]] to the east.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/tigerweb/ |website=TIGER Web Viewer |title=TIGERweb |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=December 14, 2019}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the CDP has a total area of {{convert|7.86|sqmi|km2}}, all of it land. The area is part of the coastal plain located just east of the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line|Fall Line]] separating the coastal plain of Virginia from the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]]. It is characterized by rolling hills, stream valleys, and heavy red clay soils.

The Annandale region is bisected by [[Accotink Creek]], which in Colonial times was a primary link for ocean-going ships that would load [[tobacco]] and other goods where Little River Turnpike - Annandale's oldest road and the first toll road in America - crosses it. With the construction of the Springfield Dam in 1918, Lake Accotink was created to serve as a water source for [[World War I]]-era [[United States Army|Army]] Camp A.A. Humphreys (now named [[Fort Belvoir]]). In 1960, when the lake was no longer needed by the Army, the [[Fairfax County Park Authority]] leased the land and finally bought the site in 1965.<ref>Camp A. A. Humphreys. In 1912, the War Department purchased a plot of land that had once been part of the Belvoir estate built by William Fairfax in 1741. The land was meant to serve as a summer camp and rifle range for the engineering corps stationed at nearby Washington Barracks in Washington, DC. With the outbreak of WWI, the camp was turned into a more permanent establishment and named Camp A. A. Humphreys, after a distinguished Civil War engineer. With plans to permanently move the Army Corps of Engineers there in 1919, a water source was needed. Springfield Dam. Originally known as the Springfield Dam, when it was first built in 1918, the dam created Lake Accotink as a safe, stable water source. The dam originally cost $100,000 to build and was contracted to the Amburson Construction Company. The reservoir it created covered 110 acres and was 23 feet deep. Because of siltation from storm water runoff, the lake has now shrunk in size. http://www.historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HM4DB_the-origins-of-lake-accotink_West-Springfield-VA.html accessed August 26, 2015</ref> Today, Lake Accotink is a popular recreation area with walking, hiking and biking trails, fishing and boat rentals.

Also along Accotink Creek runs the [[Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail]] which provides uninterrupted hiking, biking, running and cross-country skiing for {{convert|20|mi|km}} in Annandale. The trail meanders through parks and forests filled with deer, fox, geese and numerous species of native birds. In the spring, Accotink Creek is stocked with trout, and fishermen are often seen wading in its waters.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/trails/cross-county-trail|title= Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail |website= www.fairfaxcounty.gov|publisher= Fairfax County, Virginia|access-date= January 29, 2022}}</ref>