U.S. Virgin Islands - St. Croix

St. Croix is the largest of the three tropical U.S. Virgin Islands. With a yearly average temperature of 78 degrees F, this Caribbean island is only 2 1/2 hour jet time from Miami.

Sent by TJ from Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands.

This is from Wikipedia : Saint Croix (/ˌseɪnt ˈkrɔɪ/; Spanish: Santa Cruz; Dutch: Sint-Kruis; French: Sainte-Croix; Danish: Sankt Croix) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. Formerly the Danish West Indies, they were sold to the United States by Denmark in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies of 1916, in exchange for a sum of US$25,000,000 in gold.

St. Croix is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, being 28 by 7 miles (45 by 11 km). However, the territory's capital, Charlotte Amalie, is located on Saint Thomas.

There are two towns on the island; Christiansted with a population of 2,433 and Frederiksted with a population of 859. The total population of the island as per the 2010 U.S. Census is 50,601[1].

St. Croix is divided into the following subdistricts (with population as per the 2010 U.S. Census):

1. Anna's Hope Village (pop. 4,041)
2. Christiansted (pop. 2,626)
3. East End (pop. 2,453)
4. Frederiksted (pop. 3,091)
5. Northcentral (pop. 4,977)
6. Northwest (pop. 4,863)
7. Sion Farm (pop. 13,003)
8. Southcentral (pop. 8,049)
9. Southwest (pop. 7,498

Netherlands - Birds of Terschelling

Birds of Terschelling.

Sent by Madcy, a postcrosser from Netherlands.

This is from Wikipedia : Terschelling; West Frisian: Skylge; Terschelling dialect: Schylge) is a municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands.

Waddenislanders are known for their resourcefulness in using anything and everything that washes ashore. With few trees to use for timber, most of the farms and barns are built with masts recovered from shipwrecks. The islands are surrounded by shipwrecks, and even today many containers wash ashore that are blown off the decks of cargo ships in the North Sea.

The main source of income on Terschelling is tourism. There is some agriculture, but a large part of the island has become a nature reserve.

Terschelling is well-known for the yearly Oerol Festival during which theatre-performances are played throughout the island, making use of its landscape and nature.

Terschelling can be reached by ferry from the mainland Frisian town Harlingen and from Vlieland by high-speed catamaran.

Spain - Madrid (3)

Calle de Alcalá or Alcalá Street in Madrid.

Sent by Eva, a postcrosser from Zaragoza, Spain.

This is from Wikipedia : Calle de Alcalá is the longest street in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for 10.5 km, to the northeastern outskirts of the city.

Calle de Alcalá is also one of the oldest streets in the city. It was the old road which led to the city of Alcalá de Henares (from which it takes the name) and continued to Aragón; today, this route is covered by the A-2 motorway. Along this street it is possible to find landmarks such as Edificio Metrópolis, Plaza de Cibeles, Puerta de Alcalá, the Spanish Ministry of Education, the Instituto Cervantes HQ building, the Bank of Spain building, Parque del Buen Retiro and Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas.

USA - California - Giant Sequioa

GIANT SEQUOIA
SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS, CALIFORNIA
The giant sequoia, with their massive trunks rising skyward, are the largest living things on earth. They can be seen in the greatest numbers in Calaveras Big Trees State Park and Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.

Sent by Patrick, a postcrosser from California, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, or Wellingtonia) is the sole living species in the genus Sequoiadendron, and one of three species of coniferous trees known as redwoods, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae, together with Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood) and Metasequoia glyptostroboides (dawn redwood). The common use of the name "sequoia" generally refers to Sequoiadendron, which occurs naturally only in groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.

The genus Sequoiadendron includes a single extinct species, S. chaneyi.

Giant sequoias are the world's largest trees in terms of total volume; see Largest trees. They grow to an average height of 50–85 metres (160–279 ft) and 6–8 metres (20–26 ft) in diameter. Record trees have been measured to be 94.8 metres (311 ft) in height and over 17 metres (56 ft) in diameter. The oldest known giant sequoia based on ring count is 3,500 years old. Sequoia bark is fibrous, furrowed, and may be 90 centimetres (3.0 ft) thick at the base of the columnar trunk. It provides significant fire protection for the trees. The leaves are evergreen, awl-shaped, 3–6 mm long, and arranged spirally on the shoots. The seed cones are 4–7 cm long and mature in 18–20 months, though they typically remain green and closed for up to 20 years; each cone has 30-50 spirally arranged scales, with several seeds on each scale giving an average of 230 seeds per cone. The seed is dark brown, 4–5 mm long and 1 mm broad, with a 1 mm wide yellow-brown wing along each side. Some seed is shed when the cone scales shrink during hot weather in late summer, but most seeds are liberated when the cone dries from fire heat or is damaged by insects.

Giant sequoia regenerates by seed. Trees up to about 20 years old may produce stump sprouts subsequent to injury. Giant sequoia of all ages may sprout from the bole when old branches are lost to fire or breakage, but (unlike coast redwood) mature trees do not sprout from cut stumps. Young trees start to bear cones at the age of 12 years.

At any given time, a large tree may be expected to have approximately 11,000 cones. The upper part of the crown of any mature giant sequoia invariably produces a greater abundance of cones than its lower portions. A mature giant sequoia has been estimated to disperse from 300,000-400,000 seeds per year. The winged seeds may be carried up to 180 m (600 ft) from the parent tree.

Lower branches die fairly readily from shading, but trees less than 100 years old retain most of their dead branches. Trunks of mature trees in groves are generally free of branches to a height of 20–50 m, but solitary trees will retain low branches.

Netherlands - Drenthe

Multiviews of Drenthe.

Sent by Chantal, a postcrosser from Netherlands.

This is from Wikipedia : Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany (districts of Emsland and Bentheim) to the east.

Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a sparsely populated rural area since medieval times. Except for some industry in Assen and Emmen, the lands in Drenthe are mainly used for farming.

Drenthe has been populated by people since prehistory. Artifacts from the Wolstonian Stage (150.000 years ago) are among the oldest found in the Netherlands. In fact it was one of the most densely populated areas of the Netherlands until the Bronze Age. Most tangible evidence of this are the dolmens (hunebedden) built around 3500 BC, 53 of the 54 dolmens in the Netherlands can be found in Drenthe, concentrated in the northeast of the province.

Drenthe was first mentioned in a document from the year 820, it was called Pago Treanth (district Drenthe). In archives from "Het Utrechts Archief" from 1024 to 1025 the "county Drenthe" is mentioned, when Emperor Henry II gave it to Bishop Adalbold II of Utrecht.

After long being subject to the Utrecht diocese, Bishop Henry of Wittelsbach in 1528 ceded Drenthe to Emperor Charles V of Habsburg, who incorporated it into the Habsburg Netherlands. When the Republic of the Seven United Provinces was declared in 1581, Drenthe became part of it, although it did not gain provincial status until January 1, 1796 due to its poverty.

Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Dutch government built a camp near the town of Hooghalen to accommodate German (Jewish) refugees. Ironically, during the Second World War, the German occupiers used the camp (which they named KZ Westerbork) as a "Durchgangslager" (transit camp). Many Dutch Jews, Sinti, Roma, resistance combatants and political adversaries were imprisoned before being transferred to other camps in Germany and Poland. Anne Frank was deported on the last train from Westerbork.

The name of this region is said to stem from *thrija-hantja "three lands".

USA - Texas - State Flower (3)

BLUEBONNET
Official State Flower
Round Top, Texas.

Sent by Cate, a postcrosser from Texas, USA.

"Named for its color and, it is said, the resemblance of its petal to a woman's sunbonnet, the bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas. It blooms in the early spring and can be readily found in fields and along the roadsides throughout central and south Texas. Scientifically named Lupinus texensis, the bluebonnet is also called buffalo clover, wolf flower, and (by the Mexicans) el conejo. It was adopted as the official state flower by the Texas Legislature in 1901."(Source)

Rwanda - Rwandan Boys

Our first postcard from Rwanda. It features Rwandan boys.

Sent by Linda from Rwanda. Terima kasih.

United Kingdom - England - Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites (2)

Stonehenge interior
Photographer : Not known
Taken : 1977

Sent by Dan, my best pal from Cheshire, England.

Bicycles (8)

Sent by JJ, a postcrosser from Netherlands.

Germany - Red Wine Hiking Trail

Rotweinwanderweg or Red Wine Hiking Trail.

Sent by Sabine, a WiP partner from Germany.

"The red wine hiking trail is definitely an experience, as you can walk along the paths of wine, appellation for appellation, variety for variety, through a wonderful scenery. High above the Ahr Valley the red wine hiking trail connects the famous winegrower’s villages in the “Valley of the Red Grape”. On a length of 35 kilometres the trail winds from Altenahr to Bad Bodendorf through the steep vineyard terraces.
A special tip: From Ahrweiler on, a winegrowing training path with 31 notice boards leads via the red wine hiking trail to Walporzheim."(Source)

Philippines - Singkil Dance (2)

SINGKIL - A royal Muslim dance performed with quick steps through four crisscrossed bamboo poles to the rhythm of brass gongs.

Sent by Jenell, a postcrosser from Philippines.

Bicycles (7)

Sent by Nadya, a postcrosser from Ukraine.

United Kingdom - England - Nottingham - Robin Hood Statue

England - Nottingham - Robin Hood Statue

Sent by Vish, a postcrosser from England.

This is from Wikipedia : Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes. The origin of the legend is claimed by some to have stemmed from actual outlaws, or from ballads or tales of outlaws.

Robin Hood became a popular folk figure in the medieval period continuing through to modern literature, films and television. In the earliest sources, Robin Hood is a yeoman, but he was often later portrayed as an aristocrat wrongfully dispossessed of his lands and made into an outlaw by an unscrupulous sheriff.

Sequoyah

Sequoyah was born between 1760 1nd 1770 in Taskigi, Tennessee and is best known as the inventor of the Cherokee alphabet. He developed the 85-character syllabary over a 12-year period enabling the Cherokees to communicate during the difficult years of their removal to the west. Sequoyah is one of the best known and most respected members of the Cherokee Nation and his contributions will be carried forward from generation to generation.

Sent by oklahaomaplatypus, a postrosser from Oklahoma, USA.

Indonesia - South Kalimantan

Bamboo rafting in South Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Sent by Maya from Banjarmasin in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

This is from Wikipedia : South Kalimantan/South Borneo (Indonesian: Kalimantan Selatan often abbreviated to Kalsel) is one of the thirty-three Provinces of Indonesia and one of four Indonesian provinces in the Indonesian part of Borneo. The provincial capital is Banjarmasin. The province boundaries are with Makassar Strait in the east, Central Kalimantan in the west and north, the Java Sea in the south and a small part of East Kalimantan in the north.

The population of South Kalimantan was recorded at just over 3.625 million people at the 2010 Census. In 2008 the number of visitors to the province was 339,000 of which 21,000 were international visitors, mostly from China, Philippines and India.

USA - Alaska - State Flower

Forget-Me-Nots
Mountain Forget-me-nots are found throughout Alaska. Forget-me-nots are the Alaska state flower.

Sent by Sarah, a WiP partner from Alaska, USA.

"Alaska's state flower is the alpine forget-me-not. It was chosen in 1949. The alpine forget-me-not is a perennial that grows 5 to 12 inches high in alpine meadows. The flowers have five connected salviform petals, colored sky blue, that are a quarter to a third of an inch wide. They have a white inner ring and a yellow center. The best time to see the alpine forget-me-not is midsummer, from late June to late July. In addition to finding the Myosotis alpestris, botanists in Denali National Park might also come across the mountain forget-me-not (Eritrichium aretiodes) and the splendid forget-me-not (Eritrichium splendens)."(Source)

Martta Wendelin (19)

Martta Wendelin.

Sent by Tuula, a postcrosser from Finland.

Martta Wendelin (18)

Martta Wendelin.

Sent by Hannele, a postcrosser from Finland.

Oman (1)

My first written and stamped postcard from Oman.

Sent by Mohd from Muscat, Oman.

Bicycles (6)

As if the time would keep standing.

Sent by Petra, a postcrosser from Austria.

China - Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area

Ley Waterfall, part of Jiuzhaigou landscape.

Sent by Winnie, a postcrosser from Shanghai, China.

This is from UNESCO : The valley lies in the southern part of the Min Shan Range, approximately 330 km from the provincial capital of Chengdu and includes the catchment areas of the Shizheng, Rize and Zechawa gullies, which join Jiuzhaigou Valley.

Lying on the edge of the diverging belt between the Qinghai-Tibet Plate and the Yangtze Plate, there are major fault lines running through the site: earthquakes are not uncommon and have been a major influence on the geological landscape. Of greater geological interest, are the high-altitude karst landforms that have been strongly influenced by glacial, hydrological and tectonic activity.

The best known features are the large number of lakes in the area: many are classic ribbon lakes, at the base of glacially formed valleys, which have been dammed naturally, for example behind rock falls from avalanches. Processes of carbonate deposition are responsible for the cementation and stabilization of these dams. A number of the lakes are bounded on the upstream and downstream sides by calcareous tufa dykes and shoals. In two places, there are a stepped series of lakes, like terraces separated by these tufa dykes. These sites, Shuzheng Lakes and Nuorilang Lakes, with 19 and 18 lakes respectively, can be compared with the travertine pools of Huanglong Scenic Area to the south. They are less well-developed geologically but are much larger in size.

Also of note are a number of large and spectacular waterfalls, including Xionguashai (Panda Lake) Fall and the Zhengzhutan (Pearl Shoal) Fall. This latter fall lies at the downstream end of the Zhengshutan, which is the larger of two calcareous tufa shoals in the site.

The hydrology of the site is dominated by three valleys, Rize and Zechawa gullies flowing from the south and meeting at the centre of the site where they form the Shuzheng Gully.

Over most of the site the soils express their limestone parent rock, to a greater or lesser degree, while there is some variance in colour and texture. They are all neutral to slightly alkali. On the higher mountain slopes, the soils are poorly developed.

The rich flora and wide altitudinal range undoubtedly contribute to a highly diverse and important range of fauna. There are no records of detailed surveys or inventories, but 10 mammal's species are listed including notable species such as giant panda, golden snub-nosed monkey, lesser panda, Szechwan takin, mainland serow, common goral and Thorold's deer.

There have been 141 species of bird recorded from the site. Some 13 of these are listed including Chinese monal, snowy-cheeked laughing thrush and a subspecies of Tengmalm's owl, which is endemic to the region.

USA - Virginia - Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge

Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge
Black-eyed Susan, Fire Pink, Phlox
Bull Thistle, Turk's Cap Lily, Columbine
Great Mullein, Butterfly Weed, Flame Azalea
Small Red Morning Glory, Chicory, Trumpet Vine

Sent by Ash from Virginia, USA.

Romania - Bucharest - The Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral

Romania - Bucharest - The Patriarchy.

Sent by Raluca, a WiP partner from Romania.

This is from Wikipedia : The Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral is located near the palace of the Patriarchate of the Romanian Orthodox Church, on Dealul Mitropoliei, in Bucharest, Romania.

American Samoa - National Park of American Samoa

National Park of American Samoa
Pola Island, in the National Park of American Samoa, is on the north coast of Tutuila Island and is an important nesting area for sea birds, such as the booby.

Sent by Samuel, a Park Ranger in the National Park of American Samoa.

This is from Wikipedia : The National Park of American Samoa is a national park on the American territory of American Samoa, distributed across three separate islands: Tutuila, Ofu-Olosega, and Ta‘ū. The park includes coral reefs and rain forest and is popular for hiking, snorkeling, and scuba diving, although the primary purpose of the park is that of preservation of Samoa's unique natural resources. Of the park's 10,500 acres (4,200 ha), 7,970 acres (3,230 ha) is land and 2,550 acres (1,030 ha) is water. It is the only American national park south of the equator (read further).

Northern Ireland - Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast (2)

Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Sent by Claudia, a WiP partner from Ireland.

China - Nanyang - Wuhou Memorial Temple

Wuhou Memorial Temple at Nanyang, China.

Sent by Aaron, a postcrosser from Yunnan, China.