USA: Grand Canyon, Arizona

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, USA.

For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it.

Postcrossing Forum - 2018 March 50 RR [uconn]
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/06/12 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Italy: Maiori

Maiori is a town and comune on the Amalfi coast in Italy. It has been a popular tourist resort since Roman times, with the longest unbroken stretch of beach on the Amalfi coastline.

Postcrossing ID: IT-443122
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/06/09 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hong Kong: Weather Phenomena [天氣現象] (FDC)

Weather Phenomena - Official First Day Cover 2014-03-27 [Hongkong Post]

Situated in the subtropical zone, Hong Kong has a humid climate with fog and drizzle in spring. Summer, also a typhoon season, is hot with occasional showers and thunderstorms. Autumn normally brings pleasant breezes, plenty of sunshine and comfortable temperatures. Winter becomes cloudier, with occasional cold fronts crossing the territory, bringing frost at times. In collaboration with the Hong Kong Observatory, Hongkong Post introduces seven common weather phenomena in Hong Kong under the theme of "Weather phenomena" to help the public understand the changes in our weather.

$ 1.7 Rainbow
It is an optical phenomenon.The stamp illustrates a double rainbow in the sky over the urban area of Hong Kong. When sunlight passes trough water droplets and gets reflected twice, two rainbows are developed.

$2.2 Frost
It forms when water vapor freezes into ice crystals. The stamp portrays frost formed on the surface of a plant in cold weather in Hong Kong

$2.9 Cloud
It is formed when water vapor rises through the atmosphere and cools. The stamp shows lenticular clouds in the sky over an urban area of Hong Kong. As air rises on the lee side of a mountain, water vapor condenses into water droplets, which accumulate and develop into lenticular clouds, taking the shape of a lens

$3.1 Lightning
It is an atmospheric electric discharge phenomenon. In an unstable and moist atmosphere, water droplets and ice pellets in clouds will become electrically charged in a convective motion. When the building up of charges reaches a certain threshold, discharges take place between clouds or between clouds and the earth's surface.

$3.7 Fog
It refers to tiny suspended water droplets near the ground. Under light wind, stable and humid conditions, when the air near the ground cools down sufficiently, the water vapor in the air condenses into tiny water droplets and fog is formed.

$5 Rain
It is a natural phenomenon of precipitation. Water droplets in the clouds will come down as rain when they accumulate to a certain weight. The stamp features Chek Lap Kok Airport in the rain.


Source: Back of envelop
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/06/03 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Switzerland: Matterhorn

The Matterhorn is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetrical pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps.

Sometimes referred to as the Mountain of Mountains, the Matterhorn has become an iconic emblem of the Swiss Alps and of the Alps in general.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matterhorn
Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [thubcabe]
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/06/01:: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

USA: Hanauma Bay, Hawaii

Hanauma Bay was declared a protected marine life conservation area and underwater park in 1967. Formed within a volcanic cone, today Hanauma Bay offers a pristine marine ecosystem after the City and County of Honolulu laid out a plan in 1990 to restore the "curved bay" after years of use from the millions of visitors who visit and love to snorkel Hanauma bay.

Source: https://hanaumabaystatepark.com/
Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [akm]
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/05/28 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Netherlands: Winter in Holland

Postcrossing ID: NL-4050378
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/05/17 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

United Kingdom: Bidean nam Bian

Bidean nam Bian, lying to the south of Glean Coe, Highland, Scotland, is the highest point in the former county of Argyll.

The most noticeable features of Bidean nam Bian are the famous Three Sisters of Glen Coe, three steeply-sided ridges that extend north into the Glen. Two of the sisters, Gearr Aonach (Short Ridge) and Aonach Dubh (Black Ridge) converge at Stob Coire nan Lochan, a subsidiary peak of Bidean nam Bian that lies about 1 km to the northeast of the actual submit.

Sent from my very dear high school friend
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/05/10 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taiwan: Sun Moon Lake

Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [Defe]
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/04/24 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Japan: Lion rocks (Shishiiwa)

Sotomo Arch was chosen by "Japan's 31 most beautiful places" by CCN. Sotomo boasts many natural formations that let you forget yourself in nature's imaginative beauty, such as Fufukameiwa (Turtle Couple Rock), Shishiiwa (Lion Rock), and Karafunajima (Tang Ship Island).

Source: http://wakasa-obama.jp/en/Tourism/detail.php?52
Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [mahora]
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/04/19 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

USA: St. Augustine, Florida

Fireworks over the Castillo de San Marcos.

The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States. It is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castillo_de_San_Marcos
Postcrossing Forum - 2018 January 50 RR [koyohtay]
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/03/27 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

USA: Lava Field

A stream of water winds its way through a lava field before kissing the ocean.


















Postcrossing Forum - 2018 January 50 RR [akm]
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/03/26 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

USA: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a US National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridge line of the Great Smoky Mountains. The border between Tennessee and North Carolina runs northeast to southwest through the center line of the park.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smoky_Mountains_National_Park
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/03/25 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finland: Winter Greetings

Postcrossing ID: FI-3167887
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/03/23 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

USA: Yosemite Valley

On the left El Capitan, the world's largest monolith of exposed granite, rises over 3600 feet above the valley floor. To the right Bridalveil fall drops over 600 feet into Yosemite Valley's Merced River.

Postcrossing ID: US-5090354
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/03/21 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canada: The Athabasca Glacier

Extending almost to the highway, the breathtaking Athabasca Glacier is the most accessible and the most visited glacier in North America. Located in the Canadian Rockies in Jasper National Park, the Athabasca Glacier is one of the six toes of the great Columbia Ice Field. The ice is the thickness of the height of the Eiffel Tower but the lateral moraines show that is has receded 5km and lost half its volume from when it was originally formed.

Postcrossing ID: CA-783286
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/03/20 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

India: Grey-headed Starling

The grey-headed starling is a member of the starling family of perching birds. It is a resident or partially migratory species found in wooded habitats in India and Southeast Asia.

Postcrossing Forum - 2018 January 50 RR [theArgon]
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/03/18 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

USA: Aurora borealis over the sea

Postcrossing Forum - 2017 December 50 RR [Triol]
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/03/16 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Japan: Furano

Furano (富良野) is a town in the center of Hokkaido, known for their pleasant and picturesque rural landscapes. The best time to visit is July, when the lavender fields are in bloom. During winter, Furano turns into a popular downhill and cross country skiing resort.

Source: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6825.html
Postcrossing ID: JP-1061474
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/03/14 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spain: Teide National Park

Teide National Park (Parque Nacional del Teide) is a national park located in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It is centered on Mount Teide, the tallest mountain in Spain. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. It has also been one of the 12 Treasures of Spain.

Postcrossing ID: ES-498831
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/03/12 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Japan: Mount Fuji

Mt. Fuji, the symbol of Japan is the most beautiful and highest in Japan The view from Kawaguchiko Lake is most popular and typical.

Postcrossing Forum - 2018 January 50 RR [fuyukaki]
----- :: WalaGemini 2018/03/11 :: -------------------------------------------------------------------------