US-4303492

An american official from Florida. 

US-3203492, sent by Brythe.

The St. Augustine Light Station is an active lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. The current lighthouse stands at the north end of Anastasia Island and was built in 1874. 

The tower is owned by the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, Inc. (SAL&M), a not-for-profit maritime museum and private aid-to-navigation. Open to the public, admission fees support continued preservation of the Lighthouse and fund programs in maritime archaeology and education.

The location is the subject of numerous ghost stories and supernatural legends, and the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum offers tickets for a number of "Dark of the Moon" ghost tours and ghost-themed private events to the public.

According to ghost hunters, the lighthouse and surrounding buildings have a history of paranormal activity. - in: wikipedia

Great Smoky Mountains N. P. - USA

Back in September my penpal Nova went to West Virginia and roadtripped through 4 national parks. She sent me this nice one with wonderful fall colors in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Photographer: Bill Lea

Did you know?

The majority of trees in the park are deciduous which make for an amazing show of color in the fall.

The last three weeks of October attract large number of sightseers for the fall color display.

Colors begin to change in higher elevations first and travel down the mountains to the lower elevations, making "peak" season difficult to predict with precision.

Fall color in the park's lower elevations is most spectacular; it includes sugar maple, scarlet oak, sweetgum, red mapleand hickories. 

The Watchtower, Grand Canyon - USA

A few weeks ago Laura asked me if we could swap a card. I sent her an ocean view card from southern Portugal and she sent me this card from Grand Canyon in Arizona. 

Photo by Dick Dietrich

Desert View Watchtower, also known as the Indian Watchtower at Desert View, is a 70-foot (21 m)-high stone building located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Designed by Mary Colter, the idea of this structure was to provide the widest possible view of Grand Canyon and harmonize it with its setting. Mary Colter was hired her in 1930 by the Fred Harvey Company to design a gift shop and rest area at Desert View.

Mt Rushmore - USA

I've many cards from USA but there are a few states I still don't have any cards from. South Dakota was one of those states untill last week. Thanks to the swap with Andrzej I got this card from the most iconic landmark of the state. 

Mount Rushmore features the faces of four Presidents of the United States: George Washington, the first President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, Theodore Roosevelt, who gained greater knowledge and freedom of expression, and Abraham Lincoln, who fought for the country's peace throughout the civil war.

Photographer: Dan Grigg

The initial idea of the painter and sculptor Gutzon Borglum, was to made only a bust, but there was much indecision as to what should be built. After the decision of the first bust to be built, the first scaffolding was built in 1899. It took 14 years for the work to be completed (1927 - 1941).

The monument is one of the best-known tourist attractions in the United States, yielding to the State of South Dakota the nickname of The Mount Rushmore State. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt gigantic faces were built with ancient engineering instruments, hammers and hammers 150 meters high in the Black Hills region. Borglum died shortly before completing his work. Finished by its son, Lincoln, the work was inaugurated in 1946.

Poverty Point - USA

Here it is, the 23th and last UNESCO site from the USA. The Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point were added to the WHS list in 2014.

The card was sent by Donna.

Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point owes its name to a 19th-century plantation close to the site, which is in the Lower Mississippi Valley on a slightly elevated and narrow landform. The complex comprises five mounds, six concentric semi-elliptical ridges separated by shallow depressions and a central plaza. It was created and used for residential and ceremonial purposes by a society of hunter fisher-gatherers between 3700 and 3100 BP. It is a remarkable achievement in earthen construction in North America that was unsurpassed for at least 2,000 years. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1435

Midway Atoll - USA

I can proudly say that I've all the UNESCO sites from USA. I was missing 2 sites and I finally got them. Judy helped me with this Great Frigate card from the Midway Atoll, located within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Papahānaumokuākea was classified as UNESCO WHS in 2010. 

On the back of the card: A male Great Frigate bird creates quite a sight as it flies over Midway Atoll. The male Great Frigate bird uses it's balloon-like gular sac to attract a mate. Frigate birds are frequently seen trying to steal food from tropic birds and boobies as they return to the atoll. 

Photographer: Pete Leary

Located on the far northern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, Midway Atoll is one the oldest atoll formations in the world that provides nesting habitat for millions of seabirds and it a touchstone for one of the most significant naval battles in our human history.

Nearly three million birds nest much of each year nest on Pihemanu (Hawaiian place name for Midway meaning loud din of birds) including the world's largest population of albatrosses, Bonin petrels and endangered Laysan ducks. Hawaiian monk seals, green sea turtles and spinner dolphins frequent Midway's crystal blue lagoon encircled by coral.

Midway became an "overlay" refuge in 1988, while still under the primary jurisdiction of the Navy. With the closure of Naval Air Facility Midway Island in 1993, there began a transition in mission from national defense to wildlife conservation.  In 1996 full jurisdiction was given to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Midway is one of the most remote coral atolls on earth.  However, because of the position of its remote location in the Pacific its became a strategic oasis for international communication, travel and defense operations.  - in: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/about.html

Mérida - Mexico

I've already mentioned a 37 cards swap with Andrzej but I didn't said that those 37 cards are from 18 countries!! From Mexico I only chose this one from Mérida, the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Yucatán as well as the largest city of the Yucatán Peninsula. 

The building on the card is the Town Hall, the seat of the city council. 

Foto: Luís Gomez C.

 The building is located to the west side of the main square of the city of Mérida. It was built during the government of Santiago Aguirre, between 1734 and 1736.

In 1871 the 1st clock of the city was placed in this building.