Interstate 495 (I-495) is a 64-mile (103 km) Interstate Highway that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States of America, and the city's inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway, the DC Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear. It is the basis of the phrase "Inside the Beltway," used when referring to issues dealing with American government and politics.