USA - Florida - Biscayne National Park

BISCAYNE NATIONAL PARK

Established in 1980, this watery wonderland - within sight of downtown Miami, Florida - protects a rare combination of aquamarine waters, emerald islands, and fish-bejewel coral reefs. From pirates and shipwrecks to pineapple farmers and presidents, some 10,000 years of human history can be found here. Outdoor enthusiasts can boat, snorkel, camp, watch wildlife ... or simply relax and enjoy.

Sent by Nancy from Iowa, USA.

Within sight of Miami, yet worlds away, Biscayne protects a rare combination of aquamarine waters, emerald islands, and fish-bejeweled coral reefs. Evidence of 10,000 years of human history is here too; from prehistoric tribes to shipwrecks, and pineapple farmers to presidents. For many, the park is a boating, fishing, and diving destination, while others enjoy a warm breeze and peaceful scenery (read more).

USA - Nevada - Great Basin National Park (2)

NEVADA

49th National Park, established in 1986.

Sent by Diana from Washington, USA.

From the 13,063-foot summit of Wheeler Peak to the sagebrush-covered foothills, Great Basin National Park hosts a sample of the incredible diversity of the larger Great Basin region. Come and partake of the solitude of the wilderness, walk among ancient bristlecone pines, bask in the darkest of night skies, and explore mysterious subterranean passages. There's a lot more than just desert here (read more).

USA - Florida - Dry Tortugas National Park (2)

DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK

Diverse marine life and coral reef in clear waters around.a seven-island archipelago are the treasures of this Florida park also known for its historic but unfinished military post, Fort Jefferson.

Sent by Kyra from South Carolina, USA.

Almost 70 miles (113 km) west of Key West lies the remote Dry Tortugas National Park. This 100-square mile park is mostly open water with seven small islands.  Accessible only by boat or seaplane, the park is known the world over as the home of magnificent Fort Jefferson, picturesque blue waters, superlative coral reefs and marine life, and the vast assortment of bird life that frequents the area (read more).

USA - Texas - Big Bend National Park (4)

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK

The Rio Grande, the Chisos Mountains, and part of the Chihuahuan Desert are celebrated features of this West Texas park also known for its canyons cut from ancient limestone.

Sent by Diane from South Dakota, USA. 

My other Big Bend National Park's postcards are here, here, and here.

USA - Washington - Mount Rainier National Park (3)

MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK

The snow-capped active stratovolcano, known to Native Americans as Mount Tacoma, i the tallest peak in Washington's Cascade Range, towering over a park with meadows, glaciers, lakes, and waterfalls.

Sent by Kris from Spokane in Washington, USA.

Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A., spawning five major rivers. Subalpine wildflower meadows ring the icy volcano while ancient forest cloaks Mount Rainier’s lower slopes. Wildlife abounds in the park’s ecosystems. A lifetime of discovery awaits (read more).

USA - Alaska - Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park was established in 1980, the 48th among America's National Parks. Located in southeastern Alaska, it looms over the Canadian Yukon border. Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest National Park with 13 million acres, the size of Yellowstone, Yosemite and Switzerland combined! Mt. St. Elias, at 18,008 feet, is the second highest peak in the U.S.  Mt. Wrangell, at 14,163 feet, is one of the largest active volcanoes in Nort America.

Sent by Margaret from Nevada, USA.

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve is a United States national park and preserve in south central Alaska. The park, the largest in the United States, covers the Wrangell Mountains and a large portion of the Saint Elias Mountains, which include most of the highest peaks in the United States and Canada, yet are within 10 miles (16 km) of tidewater, one of the highest reliefs in the world. The park's high point is Mount Saint Elias at 18,008 feet (5,489 m), the second tallest mountain in both the United States and Canada. The park has been shaped by the competing forces of volcanism and glaciation, with its tall mountains uplifted by plate tectonics. Mount Wrangell and Mount Churchill are among major volcanos in these ranges. The park's glacial features include Malaspina Glacier, the largest piedmont glacier in North America, Hubbard Glacier, the longest tidewater glacier in Alaska, and Nabesna Glacier, the world's longest valley glacier. The Bagley Icefield covers much of the park's interior, which includes 60% of the permanently ice-covered terrain in Alaska. At the center of the park and preserve, the boomtown of Kennecott exploited one of the world's richest deposits of copper from 1903 to 1938. The abandoned mine buildings and mills comprise a National Historic Landmark district (read more).

USA - California - Yosemite National Park (6)

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

Two famed rock formations - El Capitan and Half Dome - reign over California's park beloved also for its giant sequoias and waterfalls including the iconic Bridalveil all seen from Tunnel View

Sent by Ciera from Utah, USA.

My other postcards of Yosemite National Park are here, here, here, here, and here.

Not just a great valley, but a shrine to human foresight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra.

First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more (read more).

USA - Wyoming - Yellowstone National Park (4) - Grand Prismatic Spring

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park is a nearly 3,500-sq-mile wilderness recreation area atop a volcanic hot spot. Mostly in Wyoming, the park spreads into parts of Montana and Idaho, too. Yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs, and gushing geysers. Pictured here is the World Famous Grand Prismatic Spring which is the largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world.

Sent by Lily from California, USA.

The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world, after Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand and Boiling Lake in Dominica. It is located in the Midway Geyser Basin.

Grand Prismatic Spring was noted by geologists working in the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871, and named by them for its striking coloration. Its colors match most of those seen in the rainbow dispersion of white light by an optical prism: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.

The first records of the spring are from early European explorers and surveyors. In 1839, a group of four trappers from the American Fur Company crossed the Midway Geyser Basin and made note of a "boiling lake", most likely the Grand Prismatic Spring, with a diameter of 300 feet (90 m). In 1870 the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition visited the spring, noting a 50-foot (15 m) geyser nearby (later named Excelsior).

The bright, vivid colors in the spring are the result of microbial mats of thermophilic bacteria around the edges of the mineral-rich water. The mats produce colors ranging from green to red; the amount of color in the microbial mats depends on the ratio of chlorophyll to carotenoids and on the temperature gradient in the runoff. In the summer, the mats tend to be orange and red, whereas in the winter the mats are usually dark green (read more).

USA - North Dakota - Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park was established in 1978, the 39th park among America's 59 National Parks. The park lies in western North Dakota, where the Great Plains meet the rugged Badlands. It is known for the colorful Painted Canyon and the Maltese Cross Cabin, where President Roosevelt once lived. A habitat for bison, elk and prairie dogs, the sprawling park has 3 sections linked by the Little Missouri River.

Sent by Merete from Minnesota, USA.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a national park of the United States in the badlands of western North Dakota comprising three geographically separated areas. This park pays homage to the time that Theodore Roosevelt spent in the surrounding area and in the Dakota Territories before they were states. Roosevelt lived in the area after his mother and wife died hours apart on February 14, 1884. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the only American national park named after a single person.

The park covers 70,446 acres (110.072 sq mi; 28,508 ha; 285.08 km²) of land in three sections: the North Unit, the South Unit, and the Elkhorn Ranch Unit. The Little Missouri River flows through all three units of the park. The Maah Daah Hey Trail connects all three units. The park's larger South Unit lies alongside Interstate 94 near Medora, North Dakota. The smaller North Unit is situated about 80 mi (130 km) north of the South Unit, and Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch is located between the North and South units.

Both main units of the park have scenic drives, approximately 100 miles (160 km) of foot and horse trails, wildlife viewing, and back country hiking and camping. The park received 850,000 recreational visitors in 2021 (read more).

USA - Utah - Delicate Arch

DELICATE ARCH

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, UTAH

Probably the best known of the arches in this area, Delicate Arch, is considered by many to be the symbol of Arches National Park. The arch is reached by a 1.5 mile hike and is especially beautiful at sunset.

Sent by Kathleen from Nevada, USA.

Delicate Arch is a 52-foot-tall (16 m) freestanding natural arch located in Arches National Park, near Moab in Grand County, Utah, United States. The arch is the most widely recognized landmark in Arches National Park and is depicted on Utah license plates and a postage stamp commemorating Utah's centennial anniversary of admission to the Union in 1896. The Olympic torch relay for the 2002 Winter Olympics passed through the arch.

Because of its distinctive shape, the arch was known as "the Chaps" and "the Schoolmarm's Bloomers" by local cowboys. Many other names have been applied to this arch including "Bloomers Arch", "Marys Bloomers", "Old Maids Bloomers", "Pants Crotch", "Salt Wash Arch", and "School Marms Pants". The arch was given its current name by Frank Beckwith, leader of the Arches National Monument Scientific Expedition, who explored the area in the winter of 1933–1934. Although there is a rumor that the names of Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch were inadvertently exchanged due to a signage mixup by the National Park Service (NPS), this is false (read more).

USA - South Dakota - Wind Cave National Park (3)

The cave passages are said to "breathe" because air flows in and out, making the air pressure inside the cave the same as outside. 

Sent by Kimberley from Utah, USA. 

This is my third postcard of Wind Cave National Park. The other two are here and here.

Wind Cave National Park protects two very different worlds - one deep within the earth, the other a sunlit world of many resources. Bison, elk, and other wildlife roam the rolling prairie grasslands and forested hillsides of one of America's oldest national parks. Below the remnant island of intact prairie sits Wind Cave, one of the longest and most complex caves in the world (read more).

USA - California - Yosemite National Park (5)

Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, a prominent granite dome located in Yosemite Valley, California.

Sent by Liz from San Diego in California, USA.

This is my fifth postcard of Yosemite National Park. The other four are here, here, here, and here.

Half Dome is a quartz monzonite batholith at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape. One side is a sheer face while the other three sides are smooth and round, making it appear like a dome cut in half. It stands at over 8,800 feet above sea level and is composed of quartz monzonite, an igneous rock that solidified several thousand feet within the Earth. At its core are the remains of a magma chamber that cooled slowly and crystallized beneath the Earth's surface. The solidified magma chamber was then exposed and cut in half by erosion, therefore leading to the geographic name Half Dome.

The impression from the valley floor that this is a round dome that has lost its northwest half, is just an illusion. From Washburn Point, Half Dome can be seen as a thin ridge of rock, an arête, that is oriented northeast–southwest, with its southeast side almost as steep as its northwest side except for the very top. Although the trend of this ridge, as well as that of Tenaya Canyon, is probably controlled by master joints, 80 percent of the northwest "half" of the original dome may well still be there (read more).

USA - Texas - Big Bend National Park (3)

Big Bend National Park, Texas

Big Bend National Park in southwestern Texas includes the entire Chisos mountain range and a large swath of the Chihuahuan Desert. The park is a geological marvel evidenced in sea fossils, dinosaur bones, and volcanic dikes. Pictured here is the Santa Elena Canyon, carved by the Rio Grande. Floating down the Rio Grande is considered an international trip and a passport is required.

Sent by Yumiko from New Mexico, USA.

Big Bend National Park is a national park of the United States located in West Texas, bordering Mexico. The park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, and was named after a large bend in the Rio Grande/Río Bravo. The park protects more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56 species of reptiles, and 75 species of mammals. Additional park activities include scenic drives, programs led by Big Bend park rangers, and stargazing.

The area has a rich cultural history, from archeological sites dating back nearly 10,000 years to more recent pioneers, ranchers, and miners. The Chisos Mountains are located in the park, and are the only mountain range in the United States to be fully contained within the boundary of a national park. Geological features in the park include sea fossils and dinosaur bones, as well as volcanic dikes.

The park encompasses an area of 801,163 acres (1,251.8 sq mi; 3,242.2 km²), entirely within Brewster County. For more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km), the Rio Grande/Río Bravo forms the boundary between Mexico and the United States, and Big Bend National Park administers approximately 118 miles (190 km) along that boundary.

Because the Rio Grande serves as an international boundary, the park faces unusual constraints while administering and enforcing park rules, regulations, and policies. In accordance with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the park's territory extends only to the center of the deepest river channel as the river flowed in 1848. The rest of the channel and the land south of it lies within Mexican territory. The park is bordered by the protected areas of Cañón de Santa Elena and Maderas del Carmen in Mexico (read more).

USA - California - Kings Canyon National Park

KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK

The vast river gorge and immense sequoias in this Sierra Nevada mountain park are accompanied by several intense waterfalls and many lakes.

Sent by Jess from Ohio, USA.

Kings Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and renamed on March 4, 1940. The park's namesake, Kings Canyon, is a rugged glacier-carved valley more than a mile (1,600 m) deep. Other natural features include multiple 14,000-foot (4,300 m) peaks, high mountain meadows, swift-flowing rivers, and some of the world's largest stands of giant sequoia trees. Kings Canyon is north of and contiguous with Sequoia National Park, and both parks are jointly administered by the National Park Service as the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

The majority of the 461,901-acre (186,925 ha) park, drained by the Middle and South Forks of the Kings River and many smaller streams, is designated wilderness. Tourist facilities are concentrated in two areas: Grant Grove, home to General Grant (the second largest tree in the world, measured by trunk volume) and Cedar Grove, located in the heart of Kings Canyon. Overnight hiking is required to access most of the park's backcountry, or high country, which for much of the year is covered in deep snow. The combined Pacific Crest Trail/John Muir Trail, a backpacking route, traverses the entire length of the park from north to south (read more).

USA - Utah - Bryce Canyon National Park

BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK

Bryce Canyon National Park is named for one of a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah. Erosion has shaped colorful Claron limestones, sandstones and mudstones into thousands of spires, fins, pinnacles and mazes. Collectively called "hoodoos," these unique formations are whimsically arranged and tinted with colors too numerous and subtle to name. Ponderosa pines, high elevation meadows and fir-spruce forests border the rim of the plateau, while panoramic views of three states spread beyond the park's boundaries.

Sent by Mia from California, USA.

This is my second Bryce Canyon postcard. My first postcard is here.

USA - Missouri - Gateway Arch National Park

Gateway Arch National Park

Gateway Arch National Park was authorized in 1935 to commemorate Saint Louis role in the westward expansion of the United States during the 19th century. The park honors Thomas Jefferson's vision of a continental nation, which was the inspiration for architect Eero Saarinen's soaring 630 foot stainless steel Gateway Arch. In addition to the Arch and the museum beneath it, the Old Courthouse, scene of the historic Dred Scott case, is a major landmark in the story of the Civil Rights movement in the United States.

Sent by Allison from Saint Louis in Missouri, USA.

Gateway Arch National Park is a national park of the United States located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

In its initial form as a national memorial, it was established in 1935 to commemorate:

• the Louisiana Purchase and subsequent westward movement of American explorers and pioneers;
• the first civil government west of the Mississippi River; and
• the debate over slavery raised by the Dred Scott case.

The national park consists of the Gateway Arch, a steel catenary arch that has become the definitive icon of St. Louis; a park along the Mississippi River on the site of the earliest buildings of the city; the Old Courthouse, a former state and federal courthouse where the Dred Scott case originated; and the 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m²) museum at the Gateway Arch. It is the smallest national park in the United States at 192.83 acres (78.04 ha), less than 2% the size of the next-smallest, Hot Springs National Park.

The immediate surroundings of the Gateway Arch were initially designated the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial by secretarial order on December 21, 1935. The Gateway Arch was completed on October 28, 1965. The park is maintained by the National Park Service (NPS) (read more).

USA - Arizona - Saguaro National Park (2)

SAGUARO National Park

ARIZONA

A land of mysteries. A dry desert teeming with wildlife and dense plant life. And always the saguaros with arms reaching toward the blue sky. A rugged terrain beckons visitors to explore and discover Saguaro National Park, a place to wander and wonder.

Sent by Adrienne from Nashville in Tennessee, USA.

My first postcard of Saguaro National Park is here.

USA - Kentucky - Mammoth Cave National Park (4)

Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky - Park Entrance Sign.

Sent by Keith from Kentucky, USA.

My other postcards of Mammoth Cave National Park are here, here, and here.

USA - South Dakota - Wind Cave National Park (2)

Wind Cave National Park was established in 1903, the 6th park among America's 59 National Parks. Located in South Dakota, the vast Wind Cave has over 142 mies of passages with chambers like Post Office, Jungle Gym, Elbow Room and Ginsu Alley. The cave's wall are rich in honeycomb-shaped calcite formations known as boxwork. Prairie grasslands and pine forests are home to bison, elk and pronghorn antelope.

Sent by Sharon from Chicago in Illinois, USA.

My first Wind Cave National Park postcard is here.

USA - Texas - Big Bend National Park (2)

The park protects more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56 species of reptiles, and 75 species of mammals. EST. 1944.

Sent by Karla from Alamo in California, USA.

This is my second postcard of Big Bend National Park. The first one is here.