#1156 Boston, USA | US-4173121

The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is a medium-sized bear native to North America.

It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. Black bears are omnivores with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in search of food. Sometimes they become attracted to human communities because of the immediate availability of food. The American black bear is the world's most common bear species.

It is listed by the IUCN as a "least concern" species, due to its widespread distribution and a large global population estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. Along with the brown bear, it is one of only two of the eight modern bear species not considered globally threatened with extinction by the IUCN. American black bears often mark trees using their teeth and claws as a form of communication with other bears, a behavior common to many species of bears.

Wikipedia.org

Date of Issue: February 22, 2016 - Global: the Moon

Thank you, JillnGracelyn !

Received on: September 22, 2016

Travel time: 45 days

Distance: 6468 km

#763 Connecticut, USA

Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse is a sparkplug lighthouse in Connecticut, United States, at Fenwick Point at the mouth of the Connecticut River near Old Saybrook, Connecticut. It is featured on the state's "Preserve the Sound" license plates.

Wikipedia.org

Falkner Island Light, also known as the Faulkner Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Connecticut, United States, on Falkner Island which is off Guilford Harbor on Long Island Sound. The lighthouse was constructed in 1802 and commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson. The lighthouse has had three keeper's houses: the original house of 1802 was rebuilt in 1851 and then again in 1871. The 1871 keeper's house survived to 1976, when it was destroyed by fire; the Coast Guard repaired and automated the lighthouse two years later. A volunteer group, the Faulkner's Light Brigade, has undertaken the restoration and preservation of the lighthouse since 1991, completing the last major restoration work in March 2011. Access to Falkner Island and the light is restricted during the nesting season of the roseate terns from May to August yearly. The Falkner Island Lighthouse, as the second oldest extant lighthouse in Connecticut, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Wikipedia.org

The Stonington Harbor Light is a historic nineteenth century lighthouse located on the east side of Stonington Harbor in Stonington, Connecticut. A light housed in a small granite lighthouse known by this name was originally built by the federal government in 1824, and was located on Windmill Point in the harbor. Erosion led to the lighthouse being torn down and relocated to its current site in 1840. A second stone building was constructed and the 35 feet (11 m) tower was attached to the structure.

Wikipedia.org

Five Mile Point Light, also known as Five Mile Point Lighthouse or Old New Haven Harbor Lighthouse, is a lighthouse in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, on the harbor entrance to Long Island Sound, five miles (8 km) from Downtown New Haven. Originally in 1805, a 30-foot (9.1 m) octagonal wooden tower was built by Abisha Woodward. In 1847, a new 80-foot (24 m) octagonal tower was constructed by Marcus Bassett with East Haven brownstone from Jabez Potter's quarry. The light was powered by 12 lamps with reflectors and was located 97 feet (30 m) above sea level. Also constructed was a two-and-one-half story brick house to replace an existing structure in a "very bad state of repair". In 1855, a fourth-order Fresnel lens replaced the lamps, and a fog bell was added in the 1860s. The light was discontinued in 1877 and replaced by the Southwest Ledge Light. The lighthouse is located in Lighthouse Point Park and the light and its keeper's house were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Wikipedia.org

Date of Issue: October 23, 2014 - Global Silver Bells Wreath

Thank you, Seida !

Sent on: December 2014

Received on: December 8, 2014

#707 San Diego, California, USA

 San Diego is a major city in California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, approximately 120 miles (190 km) south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border with Mexico. San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California and is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. San Diego is the birthplace of California and is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches, long association with the U.S. Navy, and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center. The population was estimated to be 1,322,553 as of 2012.

Historically home to the Kumeyaay people, San Diego was the first site visited by Europeans on what is now the West Coast of the United States. Upon landing in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the entire area for Spain, forming the basis for the settlement of Alta California 200 years later. The Presidio and Mission of San Diego, founded in 1769, formed the first European settlement in what is now California. In 1821, San Diego became part of newly independent Mexico, and in 1850, became part of the United States following the Mexican-American War and the admission of California to the union.

The city is the seat of San Diego County and is the economic center of the region as well as the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. San Diego's main economic engines are military and defense-related activities, tourism, international trade, and manufacturing. The presence of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), with the affiliated UCSD Medical Center, has helped make the area a center of research in biotechnology.

Wikipedia.org 

Date of Issue: April 22, 2014 - Global Forever: Sea Temperatures.

Thank you, Dawna !

Sent on: July 28, 2014

Received on: August 7, 2014

#550 Seattle, Washington, USA

Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States located north of Oregon, west of Idaho, and south of the Canadian province of British Columbia on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Named after George Washington, the first President of the United States, the state was made out of the western part of the Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as a settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889.

Washington is the 18th most extensive and the 13th most populous of the 50 United States. Approximately 60 percent of Washington's residents live in the Seattle metropolitan area, the center of transportation, business, and industry along the Puget Sound region of the Salish Sea, an inlet of the Pacific consisting of numerous islands, deep fjords, and bays carved out by glaciers. The remainder of the state consists of deep rainforests in the west, mountain ranges in the west, central, northeast and far southeast, and a semi-arid basin region in the east, central, and south, given over to intensive agriculture. After California, Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in the Western United States.

Washington is a leading lumber producer. Its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa and white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. The state is the biggest producer of apples, hops, pears, red raspberries, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries, and ranks high in the production of apricots, asparagus, dry edible peas, grapes, lentils, peppermint oil, and potatoes. Livestock and livestock products make important contributions to total farm revenue and the commercial fishing catch of salmon, halibut, and bottomfish makes a significant contribution to the state's economy.

Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other transportation equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals, and machinery. Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, and water storage.

Although its official, unambiguous name is "The State of Washington," the state's name is often reversed and referred to as "Washington state" to distinguish it from Washington, D.C., also named for George Washington. Another nickname is "the Evergreen State." Its largest city is Seattle, situated in the west, followed by Spokane, located in the east, and its capital is Olympia.

Wikipedia.org

Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the State of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state, with 80,885 residents at the 2010 Census, or fifth-largest by metropolitan area after Seattle-Tacoma, the northern side of the Portland metropolitan area, Spokane metro area, and the Tri-Cities. The boundaries of the city encompass the former towns of Fairhaven, Whatcom, Sehome and Bellingham.

Bellingham is acclaimed for its small-city flavor, easy access to outdoor opportunities in the San Juan Islands and North Cascades Mountains as well as proximity to the cosmopolitan cities of Vancouver, in British Columbia and Seattle.

Wikipedia.org

Date of Issue: 2013 - Global Forever: Evergreen Wreath

Thank you, TracyLee !

Sent on: March 13, 2014

Received on: March 24, 2014

#287 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

River Road in Louisiana is considered to be the most famous section of the Great River Road in the United States of America. This fabled road extends for about 70 miles (110 km) from Baton Rouge to New Orleans as it runs next to the Mississippi River.

Dotted on both sides are famed plantations mostly built by planters in Greek style.

Wikipedia.org

On the Stamp: This stamp features a rendering of Earth composed of images created from satellite data and redesigned with 3D computer technology. The view of our planet shows the Atlantic Ocean flanked by the Americas, Africa, and part of northern Europe. In the stamp art, the globe is isolated on a white background. The shape of the stamp is round. The text, which surrounds the image of Earth, includes the words “Global Forever.”

Issue Date: January 28, 2013

Thank you, Rose !

Sent on: August 6, 2013

Received on: August 15, 2013