Slovenia - Water Tower of Maribor

MARIBOR
Water Tower, 1555
From the book "Maribor - Along the Routes of Old Art".

Sent by Daniela, a postcrosser from Slovenia.

This is from Wikipedia : The Water Tower (Slovene: Vodni stolp ) is a medieval fortified tower in the city of Maribor, Slovenia. The tower directly abuts the river Drava, and dates from 1555. A late-renaissance fortification, it consists of massive stone blocks interspersed with embrasures. It was built to secure the southeast part of the city walls from the direction of the river.

Before the mid-16th century, the southern part of the Maribor city walls was guarded by two round defensive towers, the predecessor of the current Jewish Tower and the predecessor of the Water Tower, known as the Gunpowder Tower (Slovene: Smodniški stolp), mentioned as of 1529. Around 1555, a decision was made to extend the city's defensive fortifications against Turkish raids to include the municipal port. Italian master builders erected two bastions on the Drava, a tower that came to be known as Mariborske Benetke ("Mariborian Venice") to the west and the Water Tower to the east. The city gates once stood between Benetke Tower and the Judgement Tower.

A site called Pristan ("quay") or Lent had earlier developed outside the walls, serving as the mercantile center of old Maribor. Until the construction of the Carinthian railway between Maribor and Klagenfurt in 1863, the Benetke port building saw annual eastward-bound traffic of up to 800 šajke (characteristic local barges) and 1200 rafts.

During the 1960s, the Drava was dammed at Melje for the Zlatoličje hydroelectric plant, causing the water levels to rise. Much of the old urban core of Maribor was due to be submerged in the resultant accumulation lake, including the Water Tower, which was originally slated for demolition so as not to pose a hazard to navigation.

Between 1966 - 1967, the Benetke Tower and many medieval houses on the riverbanks were torn down, but the position of the Water Tower made it a better prospect for salvageability. The tower was saved by the efforts of builder Jože Požauk (1908–1995), who directed a project to raise the 1500 t mass by 2.6 metres over seven months in 1967 and 1968.

At present, the Water Tower houses a wine shop which specializes in top-quality Slovenian wines. It is Slovenia's oldest wine cellar, and is situated in what is now the center of Maribor. The shop is on the ground floor. The top floor of the tower contains a large, round hall with a high ceiling, reminiscent of a medieval banquet hall, which is dedicated entirely to wine tasting. The world's oldest grapevine is located on the side of a building a few hundred m away.

Poland - Stargard

The Mill Gate (The Harbour Gate), in the middle of 15th century - the only gate by the river in Poland.

Sent by my friend Patrycja from Poland.

This is from Wikipedia : Stargard Szczeciński [ˈstarɡart ʂt​͡ʂɛˈt​͡ɕiɲski] (German: Stargard in Pommern; Kashubian: Stôrgard) is a city in northwestern Poland, with a population of 71,017 (2005). Situated on the Ina River it is the capital of Stargard County and since 1999 has been in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship; prior to that it was in the Szczecin Voivodeship (1975–1998). Stargard is a major railroad junction, where the southwards connection from Szczecin splits into two directions - one towards Poznań and the other towards Gdańsk. There is also another minor line to Pyrzyce from the town.

Stargard, which was first mentioned in around 1140, received Magdeburg city rights in 1243 from the Barnim I, Duke of Pomerania.

In 1363 the city joined the Hanseatic League and was then strongly fortified. During the 15th century the Pomeranian dukes chose it as their residence.

During the Thirty Years' War the city burnt down and in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia it was incorporated, together with the rest of Further Pomerania, into Brandenburg-Prussia. In 1701 Stargard became part of the Kingdom of Prussia and in 1818, after the Napoleonic Wars, Stargard became part of the new district Saatzig within the Province of Pomerania.

As a result of the unification of Germany in 1871 the city became part of the German Empire. On 1 April 1901 it became an independent city, separate from the Saatzig District.

During World War II the large prisoner-of-war camp Stalag II-D was located near Stargard. There were Kashubians and later thousands of Canadians captured at Dieppe imprisoned there, one of whom was Gerald MacIntosh Johnston, a Canadian actor, who was killed trying to escape.

In 1945 the city was placed under Polish administration, according to the postwar Potsdam Agreement, and since then has remained part of Poland. The German population was expelled and replaced by Poles, mainly from the eastern Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union.

In 2004 a north-western part of the town was made into an industrial park - Stargardzki Park Przemysłowy.

Wood Anemone

Wood Anemone or Anemone Nemorosa.

Sent by Chloe, a postcrosser from Canada.

This is from Wikipedia : Anemone nemorosa is an early-spring flowering plant in the genus Anemone in the family Ranunculaceae. Common names include wood anemone, windflower, thimbleweed and smell fox, an allusion to the musky smell of the leaves. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, growing in early spring from 5 to 15 cm tall.

The plants start blooming soon after the foliage emerges from the ground. The leaves are divided into three segments and the flowers, produced on short stems, are held above the foliage with one flower per stem. They grow from underground root-like stems called rhizomes and the foliage dies back down by mid summer (summer dormant). The rhizomes spread just below the soil surface, forming long spreading clumps that grow quickly, contributing to its rapid spread in woodland conditions, where they often carpet large areas.

The flower is 2 cm diameter, with six or seven (and in rare occasions eight, nine or ten) petal-like segments (actually tepals) with many stamens. In the wild the flowers are usually white, but may be pinkish, lilac, blue or yellow and often have a darker tint to the back of the 'petals'. The flowers lack both fragrance and nectar and it has been suggested by some authors that they are primarily self-pollinated, but it has also been demonstrated that they are pollinated by bees and other insects that visit the flowers to collect pollen (Shirreffs 1985).

Yellow wood anemone, Anemone ranunculoides, also known as the buttercup anemone, is a similar plant with slightly smaller flowers of rich yellow colouring.

The plant contains poisonous chemicals that are toxic to animals including humans, but it has also been used as a medicine. All parts of the plant contain protoanemonin, which can cause severe skin and gastrointestinal irritation, burning mouth sensation, burning throat sensation, mouth ulcers, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bitter taste in mouth, blood in vomit

Philippines - Mount Makiling

Mount Makiling, also rarely Mount Maquiling, is located in the province of Laguna on the island of Luzon, Philippines. It is an inactive volcano, which rises to 1,090 m above sea level.

Sent by Ruby, a WiP partner from the Philippines.

This is from Wikipedia : Mount Makiling, also rarely Mount Maquiling, is a potentially active volcano in Laguna province on the island of Luzon, Philippines. It rises to 1,090 m above mean sea level.

Legends surround the mountain, many of which relate to Maria Makiling, said to be the 'guardian fairy' of the mountain. The contour of the mountain is said to be that of her in a reclining position.

The University of the Philippines, Los Baños is designated as the official caretaker of the mountain.

* Makiling National Scout Reservation, a campsite at the foot of Mount Makiling adjacent to U.P. Los Baños, which is being managed by the Boy Scouts of the Philippines this is the site of the 10th World Scout Jamboree in 1959 and 26th Asia-Pacific Regional Jamboree in 2009 and 2010.
* Mud Springs, widely accepted albeit erroneously as the volcanic crater of Mount Makiling
* National Arts Center, a patch of land at the foot of Mount Makiling adjacent to U.P. Los Baños, which is being managed by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the site of the Philippine High School for the Arts, a special school for young artist scholars
* Pook ni Maria Makiling, an eco-tourism site adjacent to the Jamboree Site, National Arts Center and U.P. Los Baños
* University of the Philippines, Los Baños

New Zealand - Tongariro National Park (2)

Mount Ruapehu 2797m: Mount Ruapehu erupting in September 1995 just at sunset, viewed from the National Park township.

Sent by Stephanie, a postcrosser from Auckland, New Zealand.

Finland - Inari

FINLAND
Inari.

Sent by Heli, a postcrosser from Finland.

This is from Wikipedia : Inari (Inari Sami: Aanaar, Northern Sami: Anár, Skolt Sami: Aanar, Swedish: Enare) is Finland's largest, sparsely populated municipality with four official languages, more than any other in the country. Its major sources of income are lumber industry and nature maintenance. With the museum Siida in the village of Inari, it is a center of Sami culture. The airport in Ivalo and the country's key north-south European Route E75 (Finland's National Road 4) bring summer and winter vacationers who look for resorts with access to well-preserved, uncrowded outdoors.

The municipality of Inari has a population of 6,779 (31 January 2011).[2] The population density is 0.45 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.2 /sq mi).

Its two largest villages are Ivalo and Inari. Other villages are Törmänen, Keväjärvi, Koppelo, Sevettijärvi–Näätämö, Saariselkä, Nellim, Angeli, Kaamanen, Kuttura, Lisma, Partakko, and Riutula.

The municipality has four official languages: Finnish, Inari Sami (ca. 400 estimated speakers), Skolt Sami (ca. 400 speakers), and Northern Sami (ca. 700 speakers). The estimates of how many people have some command of each of the Sami languages differ from the number of people who list them as their mother tongues. Of the total population of 6,863 in 2010, 6,366 people registered Finnish as their mother tongue and 400 one of the Sami languages. 97 inhabitants were native speakers of other languages.

Only about 1%, 78 persons, were citizens of countries other than Finland in 2010.

United Kingdom - England - The Elgar Country

BROADHEATH / EDWARD ELGAR / WORCESTER CATHEDRAL / GREAT MALVERN / THE MALVERN HILLS
Edward Elgar was born at Lower Broadheath near Worcester in 1857. The composer's birthplace is now a museum containing photographs, scores and other items associated with him. The Malvern Hills were a constant inspiration to Elgar whose music is frequently performed at the Three Choirs Festival which alternates between Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford. Elgar died in 1934 and is buried at Little Malvern.

Sent by David, a postcrosser from England.

This is from Wikipedia : Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, and two symphonies. He also composed choral works, including The Dream of Gerontius, chamber music and songs. He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924.

Although Elgar is often regarded as a typically English composer, most of his musical influences were not from England but from continental Europe. He felt himself to be an outsider, not only musically, but socially. In musical circles dominated by academics, he was a self-taught composer; in Protestant Britain, his Roman Catholicism was regarded with suspicion in some quarters; and in the class-conscious society of Victorian and Edwardian Britain, he was acutely sensitive about his humble origins even after he achieved recognition. He nevertheless married the daughter of a senior British army officer. She inspired him both musically and socially, but he struggled to achieve success until his forties, when after a series of moderately successful works his Enigma Variations (1899) became immediately popular in Britain and overseas. He followed the Variations with a choral work, The Dream of Gerontius (1900), based on a Roman Catholic text that caused some disquiet in the Anglican establishment in Britain, but it became, and has remained, a core repertory work in Britain and elsewhere. His later full-length religious choral works were well received but have not entered the regular repertory. The first of his Pomp and Circumstance Marches (1901) is well known in the English-speaking world.

In his fifties, Elgar composed a symphony and a violin concerto that were immensely successful. His second symphony and his cello concerto did not gain immediate public popularity and took many years to achieve a regular place in the concert repertory of British orchestras. Elgar's music came, in his later years, to be seen as appealing chiefly to British audiences. His stock remained low for a generation after his death. It began to revive significantly in the 1960s, helped by new recordings of his works. Some of his works have, in recent years, been taken up again internationally, but the music remains more played in Britain than elsewhere.

Elgar has been described as the first composer to take the gramophone seriously. Between 1914 and 1925, he conducted a series of recordings of his works. The introduction of the microphone in 1925 made far more accurate sound reproduction possible, and Elgar made new recordings of most of his major orchestral works and excerpts from The Dream of Gerontius. These recordings were reissued on LP record in the 1970s and on CD in the 1990s.

Senegal - Island of Gorée

Views of places in the Island of Gorée.

Sent by Sidibé from Senegal.

The Island of Gorée is a memorial to the African diaspora. It continues to serve as a reminder of human exploitation and as a sanctuary for reconciliation.

Gorée is a small (18 ha) land mass located off the coast of Senegal, opposite Dakar. From the 15th to the 19th centuries, it was the largest slave-trading centre on the African coast. An estimated 20 million Africans passed through the Island between the mid-1500s and the mid-1800s. Ruled in succession by the Portuguese, Dutch, English and French, its architecture is characterized by the contrast between the grim slave-quarters and the elegant houses of the slave traders.

The House of Slaves was built in 1776 by the Dutch, the last surviving slave house in Gorée; the earliest date back to 1536 and were built by Portuguese, the first Europeans to set foot on the Island in 1444. Cells, each 2.60 m by 2.60 m, were reserved for men and contained up to 15 to 20 people, seated with their backs against the wall, chained around the neck and arms. In the middle of the chain, there was a big iron ball which the slave had to carry between his two hands and two legs. They were released only once a day to satisfy their needs, generally within this house. The hygienic conditions were so revolting that the first pest epidemic which ravaged the island in 1779 originated here.

A small house contained between 150 and 200 slaves, who had to wait for very long periods - up to three months - before being carried away on board ship. Their departure to the Americas also depended on the buyers, and family separation was total. There were special cells where children were stored and in these the mortality rate was obviously the highest in the house.

The young girls were separated from the women because they were more expensive. All the houses situated on the edge of Gorée - even the actual presbytery - were former slave houses. Some slave traders had sexual relations with the young slave girls and when they got pregnant they were released in Gorée or in Saint-Louis. It was thus in the young girls' interest to give themselves to the slave traders in order to gain freedom. It was for these young girls the only way to salvation. The mixed-race girls in Gorée, commonly called 'Signare', a deformation of the Portuguese word senhoras, formed the aristocracy in Gorée, like the Creoles in the French West Indies.

There was a cell where they kept the temporarily unfit, because a man's value was based on his weight: the minimum weight for men was fixed at 60 kg. If they weighed less than this these men were placed in cells to be fattened with locally grown beans, very starchy, known in Senegal as niebe.

This sloping corridor is today known as the gate of 'the trip from which no one returned', because once the slaves left through this gate leading into the sea, it was their farewell to Africa. Just outside this gate, there was a wharf of palm wood, which served as a loading dock, and some of the slaves obviously awaited the loading to try to escape by plunging into the sea. They could not go far as they were either shot by the guards or devoured by the sharks, attracted because the sick and injured were thrown into the sea.

Leaning over the balcony on this staircase, the buyers and the European slave traders were able to observe the slaves and to discuss the muscular value of each, because each African ethnic group had its quoted value and specialization. The upper part of the building served as a residence for European traders.

The conservation of the Island of Gorée has as its objective the rehabilitation of the heritage and socio-economic revitalization. The preservation of the architectural heritage is linked to the protection of the natural environment (coastal areas) and the improvement of the infrastructure (water, sewers, refuse disposal, etc.). (Source)

USA - Alaska - Denali National Park (1)

Mt. McKinley, Alaska
Rising 20,320 feet (6,194 m) from sea level, Mt. McKinley has a greater mystical rise the Mt. Everest.

Sent by The Lowe Family, postcrosser from Washington, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Mount McKinley or Denali (Koyukon Athabaskan for "The High One", Dghelaayce’e in Ahtna) in Alaska, United States is the highest mountain peak in North America and the United States, with a summit elevation of 20,320 feet (6,194 m) above sea level. The CIA World Factbook lists its summit elevation as 6,198 metres (20,335 ft). It is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.

Mount McKinley is a granitic pluton. It has been uplifted by tectonic pressure while at the same time, erosion has stripped away the (somewhat softer) sedimentary rock above and around the mountain.

The forces that lifted Mount McKinley—the subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the North American plate—also raised great ranges across southern Alaska. As that huge sheet of ocean-floor rock plunges downward into the mantle, it shoves and crumples the continent into soaring mountains which include some of the most active volcanoes on the continent. Mount McKinley in particular is uplifted relative to the rocks around it because it is at the intersection of major active strike-slip faults (faults that move rocks laterally across the Earth's surface) which allow the deep buried rocks to be unroofed more rapidly compared to those around them.

Mount McKinley has two significant summits: the South Summit is the higher one, while the North Summit has an elevation of 19,470 feet (5,934 m) and a prominence of approximately 1,320 feet (402 m). The North Summit is sometimes counted as a separate peak (see e.g., the List of United States fourteeners) and sometimes not; it is rarely climbed, except by those doing routes on the north side of the massif.

Five large glaciers flow off the slopes of the mountain. The Peters Glacier lies on the northwest side of the massif, while the Muldrow Glacier falls from its northeast slopes. Just to the east of the Muldrow, and abutting the eastern side of the massif, is the Traleika Glacier. The Ruth Glacier lies to the southeast of the mountain, and the Kahiltna Glacier leads up to the southwest side of the mountain.

The Koyukon Athabaskan people who inhabit the area around the mountain referred to the peak as Dinale or Denali ("the high one" or "the great one"). In the late 1890s, a gold prospector named it "McKinley" as political support for then-president William McKinley. The Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain to Denali, which is how it is referred to locally. However, a 1975 request by the Alaska state legislature to the United States Board on Geographic Names to do the same was blocked by Ohio congressman Ralph Regula, whose district includes McKinley's hometown. Members of the Ohio congressional delegation continue to protect the McKinley name, blocking attempts by the Alaska congressional delegation to get the Board of Geographic Names to change it to Denali. Thus, "Denali" is correct according to the Alaska state board, while "McKinley" is correct according to the national board.

Germany - Stuttgart (Mapcard)

A mapcard of Stuttgart.

Sent by Stefanie, a postcrosser from Stuttgart, Germany.

Estonia - Mapcard (2)

ESTONIA

Sent by Lika, a postcrosser from Talinn, Estonia.

Qatar - Old Souk in Doha

The old souq as in 1990, Doha, Qatar.

Sent from Qatar by Hary who's in transit in Doha.

Russia - Kul Shariff Mosque (1)

The opening of Kul Sharif mosque (24/06/2005).

Sent by Irina, a postcrosser from Russia.

This is from Wikipedia : The Qolşärif mosque (pronounced [kɔlʃæˈriːf], also spelled Qol Sharif, Kol Sharif, Qol Sherif via Tatar: Колшәриф мәчете and Kul Sharif via Russian: мечеть Кул-Шариф) located in Kazan Kremlin, was reputed to be -at the time of its construction- the largest mosque in Russia, and in Europe outside of Istanbul (read further).

Estonia - Traditional Costumes

Two girls in traditional costumes.

Sent by Piret, a postcrosser from Talinn, Estonia.

Finland - Ancient Costume of Perniö

Ancient costume of Perniö in West Finland. It's dated back to year 1150.

Sent by DotDot, a postcrosser from Helsinki, Finland.

Netherlands - Familie Hofmann

Traditional costumes of the Netherlands.

Sent by Nanda, a postcrosser from Sas van Gent, the Netherlands.

Finland - Tradition of Pole Decorating

Finnish tradition of pole decorating, mainly by Swedish-speaking folk. The tradition takes place in mid-summer.

Sent by Vuokko, a postcrosser from Finland.

Czech Republic - Rudolfinum

Rudolfinum, a music music auditorium in Prague, Czech Republic.

Sent by Jana, a postcrosser from Czech Republic.

This is from Wikipedia : The Rudolfinum is a music auditorium in Prague, Czech Republic. It is one of the most important neo-renaissance buildings in the city and is situated at Jan Palach Square on the bank of the river Vltava.

Since 1946 the Rudolfinum has been the home-stage of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and one of the main venues performed in the Dvořák Hall for the Prague Spring International Music Festival held each year in May and June. The building was designed by architect Josef Zítek and his student Josef Schulz, and was opened February 8, 1885. It is named in honour of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, who presided over the opening.

Dvořák Hall in the Rudolfinum, one of the oldest concert halls in Europe, is famous for its acoustics. On 4 January 1896 the Czech Philharmonic’s very first concert took place here conducted by the famous Czech composer Antonín Dvořák.

The building also contains the Galerie Rudolfinum, an important Art Gallery that focuses mainly on contemporary art. Major exhibitions have included: František Drtikol - Photographer, Painter, Mystic, (1998), Cindy Sherman: Retrospective, (1998), Jürgen Klauke: Side Effect, (1998), Czech Photography 1840-1950, (2004), Annelies Štrba, (2005), Neo Rauch: Neue Rollen, (2007), Uncertain States of America, (2007-2008), Gottfried Helnwein: Angels Sleeping, (2008).

Latvia

LATVIA
The Baltic Sea at the background.

Sent by Laura, a postcrosser from Riga, Latvia.

USA - Arkansas - Arkansas River

ARKANSAS RIVER
A late afternoon view as seen from an overlook in central Arkansas.

Sent by Jackie, a WiP partner from USA.

This is from Wikipedia : The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas River Valley where the headwaters derive from the snowpack in the Collegiate Peaks. Then it flows east into the Midwest through Kansas and Oklahoma, and finally into the South through southeastern Oklahoma and Arkansas.

At 1,469 miles (2,364 km), it is the sixth longest river in the United States, the second-longest tributary in the Mississippi-Missouri system, and the 45th longest river in the world. Its origin is in the Rocky Mountains in Lake County, Colorado, near Leadville. In 1859 placer gold was discovered in the Leadville area bringing thousands seeking to strike it rich, however the easily recovered placer gold was quickly exhausted. The Arkansas River's mouth is at Napoleon, Arkansas, and its drainage basin covers nearly 170,000 sq mi (440,300 km²). In terms of volume, the river is much smaller than both the Missouri and Ohio Rivers, with a mean discharge of roughly 41,000 cubic feet per second (1,200 m3/s).

The Arkansas from its headwaters to the 100th meridian west formed part of the US-Mexico border from the Adams-Onís Treaty (in force 1821) until the Texas Annexation or Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo.

French Polynesia - Bora Bora

One of the chalet hotels in Bora Bora.

Sent by Poerava from Tahiti in French Polynesia.

Note : The stamps on the envelope went missing. There was no sign of theft and I believed the stamps must have been peeled off somewhere during the delivery.


This is from Wikipedia : Bora Bora is an island in the Leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The original name of the island in the Tahitian language might be better rendered as Pora Pora, meaning "First Born"; an early transcription found in 18th- and 19th-century accounts, is Bolabolla or Bollabolla. The island, located about 230 kilometres (140 mi) northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. In the center of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu, the highest point at 727 metres (2,385 ft).

Bora Bora is a major international tourist destination, famous for its aqua-centric luxury resorts. The island is served by Bora Bora Airport on Motu Mete in the north, with Air Tahiti providing daily flights to and from Papeete on Tahiti. The major settlement, Vaitape is on the western side of the main island, opposite the main channel into the lagoon. Produce of the island is mostly limited to what can be obtained from the sea and the plentiful coconut trees, which were historically of economic importance for copra. According to a census performed in 2008, the permanent population of Bora Bora is 8,880.

Chile - Barrio La Matriz de Valparaiso

CHILE
Valparaiso
Barrio La Matriz

Sent by my good friend Hernán from Santiago de Chile. 'Terima kasih' for the beautiful stamps.

Kenya - Jambo From Kenya

Jambo From Kenya.

Sent from Nairobi by Hary who was visiting the country.

USA - Utah - Canyonlands National Park (2)

Canyonlands National Park
Mesa Arch
Rays from Canyon sunrise steam through Mesa Arch at the Island in the Sky District. Spectacular views from the high mesa abound, delighting the eye with formations such as Washer Woman Arch in the distance. White Rim Sandstone accents the canyon rim 1,000 feet below the mesa top.

Sent by Michele, a postcrosser from USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Canyonlands National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab and preserves a colorful landscape eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. The park is divided into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the rivers themselves. While these areas share a primitive desert atmosphere, each retains its own character. The park covers 527.5 square miles (1,366 km2). Canyons are carved into the Colorado Plateau by the Colorado River and Green River. Author Edward Abbey, a frequent visitor, described the Canyonlands as "the most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth—there is nothing else like it anywhere."

Canyonlands is a popular recreational destination. On average 423,792 people visited the park each year. The geography of the park is well suited to a number of different recreational uses. Hikers, mountain bikers, backpackers, and four-wheelers all enjoy traveling the rugged, remote trails within the Park. Rafters and kayakers float the calm stretches of the Green River and Colorado River above the confluence. Below the confluence Cataract Canyon contains powerful whitewater rapids, similar to those found in the Grand Canyon.

The Island in the Sky district, with its proximity to the Moab, Utah area, attracts the majority (59 percent) of park users. The Needles district is the second most visited, drawing 35 percent of visitors. The rivers within the park and the remote Maze district each only account for 3 percent of park visitation.

Political compromise at the time of the park's creation limited the protected area to an arbitrary portion of the Canyonlands basin. Conservationists hope to complete the park by bringing the boundaries up to the high sandstone rims that form the natural border of the Canyonlands landscape.