The National Mall is the name given to the park right in Washington, DC which
contains the four major presidential memorials - the George Washington Monument,
the Abraham Lincoln Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the Franklin
D. Roosevelt Memorial - as well as two war memorials - the Vietnam Veteran's
Memorial and the Korean War Veteran's Memorial. It also houses the Washington
Monument and the Reflecting pool.
As far as natural resources, there are 2,000 American elms on the Mall and
3,000 Japanese cherry trees on the Tidal Basin. There is also a few gardens,
one of then by the Reflecting pool called the "Constitution Gardens"
as well as several other gardens, house over 170 flower beds with thousands
of tulips, pansies, and annuals, along with with 35 ornamental pools and fountains.
These natural resources, as well as the historic monuments and memorials, makes
Washington DC a great tourist area, one of the most heavily visited and photographed
places in the world.
The national mall grounds include the White House grounds area (which is also
known as President's Park) and the grounds of the United States Capitol building,
and is literally like a strip that starts from the Capitol building all the
way to the Lincoln memorial building.
The National Mall serves as "America's Common" where many people
have come to meet to excercise their democratic rights, most notably the First
Amendment rights of "freedom of expression" by holding rallies, demonstrations,
and vigils on the National Mall. Some historic events that took place in the
National Mall are Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech
at the Lincoln Memorial and many Vietnam War protests in the late 1960s and
1970s. The first major Earth Day celebration was held at the Washington Monument
grounds in 1971, the Million Man March was on the National Mall grounds in 1995,
and the Promise Keepers rally was also on the National mall in 1997.