U.S.A. - Wyoming - State Flower

THE INDIAN PAINTBRUSH, Wyoming's State Flower grows wild in the natural setting of the state's prairie and foothill regions.  Red is the predominant color, but shades of yellow and orange are also common.  This wild flower, growing amid sagebrush and cactus, adds great beauty to Wyoming's springtime landscape.

Sent by Camellia from Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA.

Indian paintbrush (Castilleja linariaefolia) was designated the state flower of Wyoming in 1917. Also called prairie fire, Indian paintbrush is a genus of about 200 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants native to the west of the Americas from Alaska south to the Andes (as well as northeast Asia).

The species of Indian paintbrush adopted as a symbol of Wyoming (Castilleja linariaefolia) occurs on rocky slopes and arid plains and is associated with sagebrush scrub and pinyon pine or juniper woodland. It is native to Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. (read further)

U.S.A. - Wyoming - State Bird

WYOMING STATE BIRD
A rural fence post makes an excellent perch to survey the grassy fields that are home to the Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta).

Sent by Camellia from Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA.

Wyoming designated the western meadowlark as offiicial state bird in 1927. The western meadowlark is a familiar songbird of open country across the western two-thirds of the continent.

In the same family as blackbirds and orioles, adults are 8-11 inches long and have a black and white striped head; a long, pointed bill; yellow cheeks; bright yellow throat; and a distinctive black "V" on breast. The western meadowlark is often seen perched on fence-posts in grasslands and agricultural areas singing its distinct 7-10 note melody (their flute-like song usually ends with 3 descending notes). (read further)

Åland - Mariehamn

Mariebad, Mariepark
Självstyrelsegården, Stadshuset.

Sent by Mikaela from Mariehamn, Åland.

Mariehamn (Finnish: Maarianhamina) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. Like all of Åland, Mariehamn is unilingually Swedish-speaking and around 88% of the inhabitants speak it as their native language.

The town was named after Maria Alexandrovna, the Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia. Mariehamn was founded in 1861, around the village of Övernäs, in what was at the time part of the municipality of Jomala. The city has since expanded and incorporated more of Jomala territory. The city is located on a peninsula, and has two important harbours, one located on the western shore and one on the eastern shore. The Western Harbour is an important international harbour with daily traffic to Sweden and mainland Finland. A powerful incentive for Baltic ferries to stop at Mariehamn is that, with respect to indirect taxation, Åland is not part of the EU customs zone and so duty-free goods can be sold aboard. Mariehamn Airport is located in the neighbouring municipality of Jomala, some 3 kilometres (2 mi) north-west of Mariehamn city centre. (read further)

France - Rhône-Alpes - 01 Ain - Mapcard

Map and views of Ain Department.

Sent by Nadine from Ain, France.

Ain (French pronunciation: ​[ɛ̃]; Arpitan: En) is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Being part of the region Rhône-Alpes and bordered by the rivers Saône and Rhône, the department of Ain enjoys a privileged geographic situation. It has an excellent transport network (TGV, highways) and benefits from the proximity to the international airports of Lyon and Geneva.

Ain is composed of four geographically different areas (Bresse, Dombes, Bugey and Pays de Gex) which – each with its own characteristics – contribute to the diversity and the dynamic economic development of the department. In the Bresse agriculture and agro-industry are dominated by the cultivation of cereals, cattle breeding, milk and cheese production as well as poultry farming. In the Dombes, pisciculture assumes greater importance as does wine making in the Bugey. The high diversification of the department's industry is accompanied by a strong presence of the plastics sector in and around Oyonnax (so-called "Plastics Valley"). (read further)

Falkland Islands - Stanley (3)

Stanley
Cathedral and Whalebone Arch

Sent by Vanessa from Stanley, Falkland Islands.

New Zealand - Kakapo

Sirocco is a rare kakapo parrot. His cheeky antics have made him world famous, but he channels his celebrity for good - as ambassador for his species and New Zealand's Spokebird for Conservation.

Sent by Aunty Seahorse from Paraparaumu, New Zealand.

The Kakapo (Māori: kākāpō, night parrot), Strigops habroptilus (Gray, 1845), also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the super-family Strigopoidea endemic to New Zealand.  It has finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc of sensory, vibrissa-like feathers, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and wings and a tail of relatively short length. A certain combination of traits makes it unique among its kind; it is the world's only flightless parrot, the heaviest parrot, nocturnal, herbivorous, visibly sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low basal metabolic rate, no male parental care, and is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system. It is also possibly one of the world's longest-living birds.  Its anatomy typifies the tendency of bird evolution on oceanic islands, with few predators and abundant food: a generally robust physique, with accretion of thermodynamic efficiency at the expense of flight abilities, reduced wing muscles, and a diminished keel on the sternum.  Like many other New Zealand bird species, the Kakapo was historically important to the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, appearing in many of their traditional legends and folklore. It was hunted and used as a resource by Māori, both for its meat as a food source and for its feathers, which were used to make highly valued pieces of clothing. It was also sometimes kept as a pet. (read further)

Finland - South Karelia - Imatra

Imatra
Imatran Valtionhotelli

Sent by Marju from Imatra, Finland.

Imatra is a town and municipality in eastern Finland, founded in 1948 around three industrial settlements near the Finnish–Russian border. In the course of the last 50 years, this amorphous group of settlements has grown into a modern industrial town dominated by Lake Saimaa, the Vuoksi River and the border. It gained its municipal charter in 1971.

On the other side of the border, 7 kilometres (4 mi) away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk. St Petersburg is situated 210 km (130 mi) to the southeast, Finland's capital Helsinki is 230 km (140 mi) away and Lappeenranta, the nearest Finnish town, is 37 km (23 mi) away. Imatra belongs to the administrative province of Southern Finland and the region of South Karelia.

An Art Nouveau or Jugend style castle, currently known as Imatran Valtionhotelli, was built near the rapids in 1903 as a hotel for tourists from the Russian Imperial capital Saint Petersburg. (read further)

Finland - Southern Savonia - Savonlinna

Savonlinna
Olavinlinna Castle

Sent by Maarit from Savonlinna, Finland.

Savonlinna (Swedish: Nyslott, Russian: Нейшлот, Neishlott) is a town and a municipality of 27,420 (31 January 2014) inhabitants in the southeast of Finland, in the heart of the Saimaa lake region. The Finnish name of the town means "Castle of Savonia" and the Swedish name means "Newcastle". The city's Russian name is a direct transliteration of the Swedish name. (read further)

Canada - Manitoba - Winnipeg

An aerial view of downtown Winnipeg.

Sent by Lynette from Winnipeg, Canada.

Winnipeg /ˈwɪnɪpɛɡ/ is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. The Winnipeg area was a trading centre for Aboriginal peoples prior to the arrival of Europeans. The first fort was built there in 1738 by French traders. A settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers in 1812, the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873. Winnipeg is the seventh-largest municipality in Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region. (read further)

U.S.A. - Wyoming - Cheyenne

CHEYENNE, WYOMING
As the capital of Wyoming, the labor force of Cheyenne is predominately government,local, state, and federal employees. Trucking firms are a major employer. The city also functions as a regional shopping center, serving nearly 200,000 people in Southeastern Wyoming, Western Nebraska and Northern Colorado.

Sent by Camellia from Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA.

Cheyenne (/ʃaɪˈæn/ shy-an or /ʃaɪˈɛn/) (Arapaho: Hítesííno'óowú' ) is the capital and most populous city of the US state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population was 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the northern terminus of the extensive and fast-growing Front Range Urban Corridor that stretches from Cheyenne to Pueblo, Colorado, and has a population of 5,467,633 according to the 2010 United States Census. Cheyenne is situated on Crow Creek and Dry Creek. The Cheyenne, Wyoming Metropolitan Area had a 2010 population of 91,738, making it the 354th most populous metropolitan area in the United States. (read further)

Netherlands - Flevoland - Lelystad

Images of Lelystad.

Sent by Esther from Lelystad, Netherlands.

Lelystad (Dutch: [ˈleːlistɑd]) is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands, and it is the capital of the province of Flevoland. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who engineered the Afsluitdijk, making the reclamation possible. Lelystad is approximately 3 m (9.8 ft) below sea level. (read further)

Finland - Central Ostrobothnia - Kokkola

Kokkola

Sent by Eelco from Kokkola, Finland.

Kokkola (Swedish: Karleby) is a town and municipality of Finland. The town is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of 46,714 (31 January 2014) and covers an area of 2,730.81 square kilometres (1,054.37 sq mi) of which 1,286.61 km² (496.76 sq mi) is water. The population density is 32.35 inhabitants per square kilometre (83.8 /sq mi). The municipality is bilingual with 84.2% being Finnish and 13.9% Swedish speakers. (read further)

Libya - Mosaic Four Seasoun

Libya - mosaic

Sent by Omran from Tripoli, Libya.

Libya

Libya

Sent by Omran from Tripoli, Libya.

Canada - Nunavut - Muskox

Nunavut - Canada's Arctic
Muskox at Cambridge Bay.

The muskox (Ovibos moschatus, also spelled musk ox and musk-ox) is an Arctic mammal of the family Bovidae, noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males, from which its name derives. This musky odor is used to attract females during mating season. Muskoxen primarily live in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland, with small introduced populations in Sweden, Siberia, Norway, and Alaska. (read further)

Russia - Kamchatka Krai - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

Petropavlosk-Kamchatsky
Stretching from center of the town to Zavoiko

Sent by Olesya from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russian: Петропа́вловск-Камча́тский) is the city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultural center of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. Population: 179,780 (2010 Census); 198,028 (2002 Census); 268,747 (1989 Census). (read further)

Greece - Athens

Athens

Sent by Elena from Athens, Greece.

Athens (/ˈæθɨnz/; Modern Greek: Αθήνα, Athína, [aˈθina]; Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athēnai) is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning around 3,400 years. Classical Athens, as a landlocked location was a powerful city-state that emerged in conjunction with the seagoing development of the port of Piraeus. A centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum, it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC in later centuries on the rest of the then known European continent. Today a cosmopolitan metropolis, modern Athens is central to economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece. In 2012, Athens was ranked the world's 39th richest city by purchasing power and the 77th most expensive in a UBS study. (read further)