USA - Washington - Mapcard (2)

WASHINGTON
A colorful state full of wildlife and recreational opportunities.

Sent by Jean, a postcrosser from Washington, USA.

USA - Washington - Olympic National Park (3)

MOUNT OLYMPUS
Olympic National Park, Washington
The beauty of the state of Washington is depicted in this breath-taking view of Mount Olympus located in the Olympic National Park. The Blue Harebell flowers add a splendid splash of color.

Sent by Greg, a postcrosser from Washington, USA.

USA - Washington - Seattle Waterfront

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Unique shops and specialty stores, as well as many renowned seafood restaurants, line the Seattle waterfront.

Sent by Olga from Seattle, USA.

USA - Washington - Mount Rainier National Park (2)

MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK
Dawn lights up Mount rainier's glaciers, casting a bright reflection on icy Upper Tipsoo Lake.

Sent by Tanya from Seattle, Washington, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Mount Rainier National Park is a United States National Park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. It was one of the US's earliest National Parks, having been established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park contains 368 square miles (950 km2) including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,411-foot (4,392 m) stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet (490 m) to over 14,000 feet (4,300 m). The highest point in the Cascade Range, around it are valleys, waterfalls, subalpine wildflower meadows, old growth forest and more than 26 glaciers. The volcano is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow on the peak every year and hide it from the crowds that head to the park on weekends.

Mount Rainier is circled by the Wonderland Trail and is covered by several glaciers and snowfields totaling some 35 square miles (91 km2). Carbon Glacier is the largest glacier by volume in the continental United States, while Emmons Glacier is the largest glacier by area. About 1.3 million people visit Mount Rainier National Park each year. Mount Rainier is a popular peak for mountain climbing with some 10,000 attempts per year with approximately 25% making it to the summit.

The park contains outstanding subalpine meadows and 91,000 acres (370 km2) of old growth forests.

Ninety-seven percent of the park is preserved as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System, including Clearwater Wilderness and Mount Rainier Wilderness, a designation it received in 1988. It is abutted by the Tatoosh Wilderness. The park was designated a National Historic Landmark on 18 February 1997 as a showcase for the National Park Service Rustic style architecture (or parkitecture) of the 1920s and 1930s, exemplified by the Paradise Inn and a masterpiece of early NPS master planning. As an Historic Landmark district, the park was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

USA - Washington - Nishinomiya Japanese Gardens

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON
Nishinomiya Japanese Gardens.
A symbol of friendship between Spokane and its sister city, Nishinomiya; The Nishinomiya Japanese Gardens has been a popular stop for visitors to Manito Park since 1974.

Sent by Joe, a postcrosser from Washington, USA.

USA - Washington - Rock Creek Park

WASHINGTON, DC.
Rock Creek Park
Starting as a spring in Laytonsville, Maryland, Rock Creek travels 33 miles to the Potomac River, winding its way through the nation's capital and Rock Creek Park, one of the early national parks in America. Visitors come here to make a personal connection with history and nature.

Sent by Arsira, a postcrosser from Bangkok, Thailand.

This is from Wikipedia : Rock Creek Park is a large urban natural area with public park facilities that bisects Washington, D.C. The park is administered by the National Park Service.

The main section of the park contains 1,754 acres (7.10 km2) along the Rock Creek Valley — more than twice the size of Central Park in New York City. In addition to the other green areas the park administers (Glover Archbold Park, Montrose Park, Dumbarton Oaks Park, Meridian Hill Park, Battery Kemble Park, Palisades Park, Whitehaven Park, etc.), it is over 2,000 acres (8.1 km2). The major portion of the area lies north of the National Zoo, and was established by act of Congress made law by President Benjamin Harrison on September 27, 1890, the same year that Yosemite National Park was established. A later addition of the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway extended the park along a narrow corridor from the zoo to the mouth of Rock Creek at the Potomac River. In 1933, Rock Creek Park, along with other National Capital Parks, was transferred to the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, and it is patrolled by the United States Park Police. Legislative language from its establishment, and the character of the park itself, suggests that it is among the oldest of America's national parks.

Recreation facilities include a golf course; equestrian trails; sport venues, including a tennis stadium which hosts major professional events; a nature center and planetarium; an outdoor concert venue; and picnic and playground facilities. Rock Creek Park also maintains cultural exhibits, including the Peirce Mill and Civil War fortifications, such as Fort Stevens and Fort DeRussy. Rock Creek is a popular venue for jogging, cycling, and inline skating, especially on the long, winding Beach Drive, portions of which are closed to vehicles on weekends.[1] It is also the path of a major traffic thoroughfare, the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, especially along the portion south of the zoo.

Beach Drive in the fallThe parklands follow the course of Rock Creek across the D.C.-Maryland border to connect with Rock Creek Stream Valley Park and Rock Creek Regional Park in Montgomery County. The Maryland parks are operated by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

The Rock Creek Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 23, 1991.

In May 2002, the remains of missing Federal Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy were found in Rock Creek Park. Police had been searching for her for over a year

USA - Washington - Mount Rainier National Park (1)

WASHINGTON
Mount Rainier National Park.

Sent by Rosalie, a Swap-Bot partner from USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Mount Rainier National Park is a United States National Park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. It was one of the US's earliest National Parks, having been established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park contains 368 square miles (950 km2) including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,411-foot (4,392 m) stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet (490 m) to over 14,000 feet (4,300 m). The highest point in the Cascade Range, around it are valleys, waterfalls, subalpine wildflower meadows, old growth forest and more than 26 glaciers. The volcano is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow on the peak every year and hide it from the crowds that head to the park on weekends.

Mount Rainier is circled by the Wonderland Trail and is covered by several glaciers and snowfields totaling some 35 square miles (91 km2). Carbon Glacier is the largest glacier by volume in the continental United States, while Emmons Glacier is the largest glacier by area. About 1.3 million people visit Mount Rainier National Park each year. Mount Rainier is a popular peak for mountain climbing with some 10,000 attempts per year with approximately 25% making it to the summit.

The park contains outstanding subalpine meadows and 91,000 acres (370 km2) of old growth forests.

USA - Washington - Olympic National Park (2) - Ruby Beach

The scene of Ruby Beach.

Sent by Dana from Washington, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Ruby Beach is the northernmost of the southern beaches in the coastal section of Olympic National Park. It is located on Highway 101, in Jefferson County, 27 miles south of the town of Forks, Washington. Per NPS, Ruby Beach is "Not in Park but right on edge."

Like virtually all beaches on the northern coast, Ruby Beach has a tremendous amount of driftwood. It is notable for the number of sea stacks there.

USA - Washington - Mapcard (1)

WASHINGTON - The Evergreen State
State Flower : Western Rhododendron
State Bird : Goldfinch
State Tree : Western Hemlock

Sent by Ben, a postcrosser from USA.

USA - Washington - State Flower

Rhododendron In Bloom
Washington's State Flower.

Sent by BeachyBlonde from Washington, USA.

From Wikipedia : Rhododendron macrophyllum (Pacific Rhododendron, Coast Rhododendron or Big Leaf Rhododendron) is a broadleaf evergreen rhododendron species native to western North America.

USA - Washington - Olympic National Park (1)

Sent by Maggie, a postcrosser from Seattle, Washington. This postcard shows the Olympic National Park in Washington, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Olympic National Park is isolated from other mountain ranges and surrounded by the waters of the Pacific Ocean and Puget Sound; this isolation has allowed the development of endemic species, including Olympic marmot, 4 subspecies of other mammals, 2 subspecies of trout, and 12 species or varieties of plant. 11 major river systems drain the Olympic mountains, offering some of the best habitat for anadromous fish species (such as salmon that live their lives in the sea and migrate to a freshwater river to spawn) in the country.

Reflecting the varied topography (from seashore to glacier) and the varied rainfall, the vegetation zones in the site are complex and varied. The park is divided into two segments: a mountainous core and a separate coastal strip. The rugged features of Olympic National Park are the result of the collision of drifting continental plates.

The area contains a great wealth of geological formations, affected by high rainfall on the west and low rainfall on the east. The lighter shales, sandstones and basalts, which had been violently sheared and squeezed during this tectonic movement, bobbed up like a cork, forming a dome some 95 km in diameter. Deep valleys and canyons were eroded out of this dome and glaciers sculpted the craggy peaks and beautiful cirques to form the spectacular landscape which characterizes the modern Olympics.

The mountains contain about 60 active glaciers; the area is unique in because it is the lowest latitude in the world in which glaciers begin at an elevation lower than 2,000 m and exist below 1,000 m. Glacier-clad peaks interspersed with extensive alpine meadows are surrounded by an extensive old growth forest, among which is the best example of intact and protected temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest.

The coastal strip of the site stretches along 80 km of wilderness beach, characterized by rocky headlands, log-strewn beaches, and a wealth of intertidal life; rocky islets along the coast are remnants of a continuously receding, changing coastline, and the arches, caves and buttresses are evidence of the continuous battering of the waves. Tide pools are filled with hundreds of species of invertebrate life, and seals, sea lions, sea otters and several species of whale are often seen in the waves and around the offshore islands.

The main danger to the integrity of the site is, oddly, one of its attractions: the mountain goat. Due to the isolation of the site, mountain goats never dispersed naturally to the Olympics, so their introduction in 1925-29 may be causing significant changes in the natural ecosystem. The mountain goats have reduced plant cover, increased erosion, and shifted plant-community dominants towards more resistant or less palatable species; they have been recorded feeding on at least three of the endemic plants, and some concern has been expressed that these species may be endangered by the mountain goat.

The coniferous forest of Olympic is of prime commercial interest and practically all the original forest outside the park has been harvested. (Source)

USA - Washington - Seattle

Seattle, Washington. Graced with the natural beauty of Mount Rainier and the splendor of the Space Needle, Seattle's skyline is both unique and spectacular in its beauty.

Send by Violet (WUAH) of Shoreline in Washington.

USA - Washington - Seattle

This one sent by Stephanie, a postcrosser from USA. This postcard shows a view of Seattle skyline from Kenny Park on a cloud Fall day.

Thanks for that lovely Lisa Simpson's stamp.