0891, 0892, 0911, 0912, 0943, 1000, 2370-2381 UNITED STATES (Arizona) - Grand Canyon National Park (UNESCO WHS)

2370 Grand Canyon - Colorado River in Marble Canyon

Posted on 07.12.2013, 20.12.2013, 06.01.2014, 31.01.2014, 12.03.2016

The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge carved out by the Colorado River (nearly 1,500m deep, 445.8km long), which is often considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Its horizontal strata retrace the geological history of the past 2 billion years, and there are also prehistoric traces of human adaptation to a particularly harsh environment. The primary public areas of the park are the North Rim and South Rim of the Grand Canyon itself. The rest of the park is extremely rugged and remote, although many places are accessible by pack trail and backcountry roads. Only the Navajo Bridge near Page connects the rims by road in Arizona.

2371 Grand Canyon - Point Imperial overlooks Mount Hayden

"The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance af time..." writted the poet Henry David Thoreau nearly 200 years ago. And the President Theodore Roosevelt said in 1903 after he visited visited the site: "The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison - beyond description; absolutely unparalleled throughout the wide world... Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see."

2372 Grand Canyon - Sunset

Marble Canyon is the section of the Colorado River canyon from Lee's Ferry to the confluence with the  Little Colorado River, which marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon, and also the western boundary of the Navajo Nation. Lee's Ferry is a common launching point for river runners starting their journey through the Grand Canyon. Marble Canyon is also well known for the Navajo Bridge. Its name is a misnomer because there is no marble there. Although John Wesley Powell, the first known European who passed through the Grand Canyon (1869), knew this when he named the canyon, he  thought the polished limestone looked like marble.

2373 Grand Canyon - Kaibab Plateau seen by Yaki Point

The floor of the valley is accessible by foot, muleback, or by boat or raft from upriver. Hiking down to the river and back up to the rim in one day is discouraged by park officials because of the distance, steep and rocky trails, change in elevation, and danger of heat exhaustion from the much higher temperatures at the bottom. The most used are the corridor trails, of which perhaps the best known is the Bright Angel, originally built by the Havasupai Native American tribe for access to the perennial water source of present day Garden Creek. In 1903, Theodore Roosevelt ordered them to leave the area, to make way for a park, but however, it was not until 1928 that the last Havasupai left, forced out by the National Park Service.

0911 Grand Canyon - Desert View Watchtower,
at the far eastern end of the South Rim

One of the most interesting historic buildings located along the South Rim is the Desert View Watchtower, one of Mary Colter's best-known works, built in 1932. Situated at the far eastern end of the South Rim, 43km from Grand Canyon Village, the tower stands 21m tall. The top of the tower is 2,293m above sea level, the highest point on the South Rim. It offers one of the few full views of the bottom of the Canyon and the Colorado River. It was designed to mimic Anasazi watchtowers, though, with four levels, it is significantly taller than historical towers.

0943 Grand Canyon - Krishna Temple, Vishnu Temple
and Freya Castle seen from Cape Royal

Where the North Rim is wild and remote, the South Rim is teaming with activities, sites, lodging and more. Most who visit the Grand Canyon come here because it’s much more accessible, many roads leading here from major cities like Las Vegas or Phoenix, while to the North Rim leads just one road. The most popular, first-time views of Grand Canyon occur at either Mather Point (named after the park’s first superintendent, Stephen Mather) or Yavapai Point. Other lookout points are Moran Point (named after the painter and etcher Peter Moran), Yaki Point, Grandview Point, Lipan Point and Lookout Studio.

2374 Grand Canyon - Brahma and Zoroaster Temples

The North Rim has also many named points, but comparatively few are easy to reach, as the terrain is much more uneven, split by deep side canyons. Of the ten points which are either next to a paved road or reachable on an easy day hike, in some cases the views are of Bright Angel Canyon rather than the main gorge, and others overlook the easternmost section of the Grand Canyon where the cliffs and ravines are not quite so extensive. Point Imperial is the highest of the North Rim overlooks, and the northernmost, presenting a rather different panorama than that from the other two popular viewing locations further south (Cape Royal and Bright Angel Point).

2375 Grand Canyon - Zoroaster Temple

Many of the canyon's landmarks were named by geologist Clarence Dutton who published one of the earliest detailed geologic studies of the canyon in 1882, The Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District. It was first in the Geological Survey's new series of monographs, "the inaugural big book of arguably the most significant scientific bureau of nineteenth century America," in one historian's view. Interspersed amongst the geology were reflections on the play of light and shade on cliffs, or comparisons to the landscape art of Europe or Japan, or suggestions for coming to imaginative terms with the many strange forms erosion had left.

0891 Grand Canyon - Bright Angel Canyon on North Rim
seen from Mather Point

In his musings, Dutton festooned the myriad spires and buttes with outrageous and fanciful names/Hindoo temple, Vishnu’s Throne, and the like, concluding that the whole ensemble amounted to "the sublimest thing on earth." The Tertiary History featured 40 plates and was accompanied by a beautiful atlas featuring the work of the photographer Jack Hillers and the artists Thomas Moran and William Henry Holmes. In its combination of science and art, it was received enthusiastically, and "quickly established itself as a model of modern natural history." He believed that the canyon was such an important feature on the planet, that the names of its features should reflect all the world's cultures and thus he chose many names from mythologies from around the world.

0892 Grand Canyon - North Rim at twilight

The Greek and Roman gods are represented with temples to Jupiter, Apollo and Diana, which stand somewhat incongruously beside Solomon's Temple. The Viking paradise of the gods is found also in the Grand Canyon, on Walhalla Plateau. Nearby, Wotan sits enthroned. England's medieval mythology is represented, with King Arthur's Castle nestled beside the Holy Grail Temple. The Egyptian gods are clustered in temples to Isis, Osiris, Horus and the Tower of Set. Nor is Asia's mythology neglected. Hindus have temples to their trinity of Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva, as well as a shrine to Rama, one of the legendary incarnations of Vishnu.

1000 Grand Canyon - Angels Gate and Deva Temple,
on North Rim seen from  the near of Moran Point

"The grandest of all the buttes, and the most majestic in aspect" is Shiva Temple, in the opinion of Dutton. He records, "All around it are side gorges sunk to a depth nearly as profound as that of the main channel. It stands in the midst of a great throng of cluster-like buttes. In such a stupendous scene of wreck, it seemed as if the fabled Destroyer might find an abode not wholly uncongenial." Even preeminent philosopher-prophets such as Confucius, the Buddha of India and the Persian Zoroaster received temples. This poetic mythos of the Grand Canyon reminds us that the mechanistic interpretations of science need not destroy the sacred mystery of the cosmos.

2376 Grand Canyon - Deer Creek

Deer Creek, like its neighbor, Thunder River, originates from springs in the Redwall Limestone of the Norther Rim, that are a result of extensive faulting and fracturing. Because of this, it flows year round and is an oasis in an area so dry and barren. In the spring, water levels increase because of snow melt so on can expect more flow then. The water in Deer Creek is cold year round, even in the summer months. It culminates in a high waterfall that flows from the slot canyon almost directly into the Colorado River. Access to Deer Creek is the main reason the Bill Hall and Thunder River Trail were built, when tracer gold was found along the edges of Deer Creek back in 1876.

0912 Grand Canyon - Havasu Falls

Located on Havasu Creek, within Havasupai tribal lands, the Havasu Falls consists of one main chute that drops over a 27m to 30m vertical cliff into a large pool. Due to the high mineral content of the water, the configuration of the falls is ever-changing and sometimes breaks into two separate chutes of water. The falls are known for their natural pools, created by mineralization, although the configuration of the falls and the pools are damaged or destroyed repeatedly by large floods that wash through the area. High calcium carbonate concentration in the water creates the vivid blue-green color and forms the natural travertine dams that occur in various places near the falls.

2377 Grand Canyon - South Rim limestones

The Colorado River has carved the Grand Canyon into Colorado Plateau, a large area characterized by nearly-horizontal sedimentary rocks. As a result, the geology of the Grand Canyon area includes one of the most complete and studied sequences of rock on Earth. The nearly 40 major sedimentary rock layers exposed range in age from about 200 million to nearly 2 billion years old. Most were deposited in warm, shallow seas and near ancient, long-gone sea shores in western North America. Both marine and terrestrial sediments are represented, including fossilized sand dunes from an extinct desert.

2378 Grand Canyon - Coronado Butte, Hance Creek Canyon

An old range of mountains, which geologists suspect were much higher than todays Rocky Mountains, now forms the base of the Grand Canyon. These mountains have long since eroded away and sediments were deposited by a series of advancing and retreating ocean coast lines, covering them over. Limestone deposits are created when the ocean moves in and slates, shales and mudstone deposits are created when the ocean moves out. The Kaibab Limestone which is the current top of the Grand Canyon is composed mostly of a sandy limestone, with some sandstone and shale thrown in for good measure. The color ranges from cream to a greyish-white.

2379 Grand Canyon - Ancestral Puebloan granaries at Nankoweap Creek

The first people known to live in the Grand Canyon area were the Ancestral Puebloans, it seems from around 1200 BCE. They evolved, becoming the Pueblos, who lived in the Grand Canyon for at least 100 years before they migrated away from the area. They were farmers as well as hunters. More than one-hundred farm sites of the Ancestral Puebloan were found at Walhalla Glades at the North Rim. Over 2,000 sites have been studied to date. Unkar Delta, an area along the water, seen from the Walhalla Point, seems to be the place where they lived. A granary, where they stored food can be seen on the short, Cliff Spring Trail, at the North Rim.

2380 Grand Canyon - Dasylirion

Differences in elevation and the resulting variations in climate are the major factors that form the various life zones and communities in and around the canyon. The five life zones represented are the Lower Sonoran, Upper Sonoran, Transition, Canadian, and Hudsonian. This is equivalent to traveling from Mexico to Canada. Grand Canyon boasts a dozen endemic plants, while only ten percent of the Park's flora is exotic. The Mojave Desert influences the western sections of the canyon, Sonoran Desert vegetation covers the eastern sections, and ponderosa and pinyon pine forests grow on both rims.

2381 Grand Canyon - Desert Bighorn Sheep

Home to reptiles, fish, and mammals, birds and more, the Grand Canyon is teeming with wildlife and the abundant vegetation that helps support the entire ecosystem. The animals found there are vast and some of them can be found on the endangered species lists. Of the 34 mammal species found along the Colorado River corridor, 18 are rodents and eight are bats. Bighorn Sheep, the largest native animal in the park, love rocky terrain and canyon walls. They are sure-footed animals and it is amazing how they can climb, walk and jump around sheer cliffs. Rams have large curved horns that can reach one meter in length.

About the stamps
On the postcard 0891
The stamp is a Global Forever First-Class Mail International one, about which I wrote here.

On the postcard 0892

The stamp is a Global Forever First-Class Mail International one, Evergreen Wreath, issued on October 24, 2013. It depict a photograph of a wreath made with evergreen twigs, pinecones, Nandina berries, and a bow of red ribbon. Art director William Gicker designed the stamp, and George E. Brown photographed the wreath, which was created by Alan Talley.

On the postcard 0911
The first stamp is part of the definitives series American Design, about which I wrote here.

The second is the last of three stamps issued this year as part of a civil rights series commemorating courage, strength and equality in America:
01.01.2013 The 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation - It's on the postcard
04.02.2013 The 100th anniversary of Rosa Parks' birth - It's on the postcard
23.08.2013 The 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington - It's on the postcard 0911

The third is one of Wedding series, about which I wrote here.

On the postcard 0912
The first stamp is part of the definitives series American Design, about which I wrote here. The second is one of Wedding series, about which I wrote here.

The last stamp was issued on August 12, 2011, to honors two of the most important festivals in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. On these days, Muslims wish each other Eid mubarak, the phrase shown in gold calligraphy on the stamp. Eid mubarak translates literally as "blessed festival" and can be paraphrased "May your religious holiday be blessed." The stamp is part of the series Holiday Celebrations, issued starting with 1996, and comprising scenes that evoke Hanukkah, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Cinco de Mayo, and Kwanzaa, pointing to the many ways Americans celebrate.
1964 Christmas Poinsettia (0.05 USD)
1996 Hanukkah (0.32 USD)
1997 Kwanzaa (0.32 USD)
1998 Cinco de Mayo (0.32 USD)
2001 Eid (0.34 USD)
2001 We Give Thanks (0.34 USD)
2002 Eid (0.37 USD)
2004 Hanukkah (0.37 USD)
2004 Kwanzaa (0.37 USD)
2006 Eid (0.39 USD)
2007 Eid (0.41 USD)
2008 Eid (0.42 USD)
2009 Eid blue (0.44 USD)
2009 Hanukkah (0.44 USD)
2009 Kwanzaa (0.44 USD)
2011 Eid dark red (forever) - It's on the postcard 0912
2011 Kwanzaa (forever)
2011 Hanukkah (forever)
2013 Eid green (forever)
2013 Hanukkah (forever)
2013 Kwanzaa (forever)

On the postcard 0943
The first stamp is part of the definitives series American Design, about which I wrote here.

The second stamp, dedicated to the singer-songwriter Ray Charles, is part of the series Music Icons, comprising beloved musicians whose blend of sound and way of life broke boundaries:
2013.05.15 Lydia Mendoza (1916-2007) - It's on the postcard 1314
2013.06.05 Johnny Cash (1932-2003) - It's on the postcard 0983
2013.09.23 Ray Charles (1930-2004) - It's on the postcard 0943
2014.03.13 Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) - It's on the postcard 1125
2014.08.07 Janis Joplin (1943-1970) - It's on the postcard 1211
2015.08.12 Elvis Presley (1935-1977) - It's on the postcard 2131
2016.03.29 Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990)
2018.09.07 John Lennon (1940-1980)
2019.04.02 Marvin Gaye (1939-1984) - It's on the postcard 3385

The third is part of the Forever series New England Coastal Lighthouses, issued on July 11, 2013:
• Portland Head (Cape Elizabeth, ME) - It's on the postcard
• Portsmouth Harbor (New Castle, NH) - It's on the postcard 1201
• Boston Harbor (Boston, MA) - It's on the postcard 1505
• Point Judith (Narragansett, RI) - It's on the postcard 2290
• New London Harbor (New London, CT) - It's on the postcard 1732

On the postcard 1000
I didn't find anything about the first stamp, issued on 2013 and depicting an winter image in Boys Town, a village in Nebraska known as the headquarters of the organization with the same name, founded by Father Edward J. Flanagan, and dedicated to the care, treatment, and education of at-risk children. The second stamp is a Global Forever First-Class Mail International one, Evergreen Wreath, about which I wrote above.

On the postcard 2370
The first stamp is part of the definitives series American Design, about which I wrote here. The second stamp is part of a definitive series with butterflies, about which I wrote here. The last stamp is part of the series Modern Art in America: 1913-1931, about which I wrote here.

On the postcard 2371
The stamp is a Global Forever First-Class Mail International one, Evergreen Wreath, about which I wrote above.

On the postcard 2372
The first stamp is one of Wedding series, about which I wrote here. The last stamp is part of the series Harry Potter, about which I wrote here.

On the postcard 2373
The stamps are part of the commemorative series Go Green, about which I wrote here.

On the postcard 2374
The first stamp is part of the commemorative series Go Green, about which I wrote here. About the second stamp, issued to celebrate the Year of the Horse, I wrote here. The last stamp is part of the series Four Flags, about which I wrote here.

On the postcard 2375, 2376, 2377
The first stamp is part of the definitives series American Design, about which I wrote here. The second stamp is part of a definitive series with butterflies, about which I wrote here. The last stamp is part of the series Modern Art in America: 1913-1931, about which I wrote here.

On the postcard 2378
About the first stamp I wrote here. The other two are part of the series Harry Potter, about which I wrote here.

The last stamp, Sealed with Love, was issued on January 30, 2013. Evoking the romance of a bygone era, the Sealed with Love stamp expresses the joy and beauty of handwritten love letters. The stamp art depicts an envelope fastened with an elegant wax seal. The seal, in shades of red, is a small heart enclosed inside a larger heart, both surrounded by a graceful filigree circle. Graphic designer Louise Fili worked with art director Derry Noyes on this stamp. Jessica Hische was the illustrator.

On the postcard 2379
The stamp is a Global Forever First-Class Mail International one, Evergreen Wreath, about which I wrote above.

On the postcard 2380
The first stamp is part of the definitives series American Design, about which I wrote here. The second stamp is part of a definitive series with butterflies, about which I wrote here. About the last stamp, Cut Paper Heart, I wrote here.

On the postcard 2381
The first two stamps are part of the definitives series American Design, about which I wrote here. The second stamp is part of the series Music Icons, about which I wrote above. The last is one of Wedding series, about which I wrote here.
 
References
Grand Canyon National Park - Wikipedia
Grand Canyon National Park - UNESCO official website
Havasu Falls - Wikipedia
Bright Angel Trail - Wikipedia
Nature, Culture and History at the Grand Canyon - an Arizona State University website
Marble Canyon - Wikipedia
Clarence Dutton: Poet of the Grand Canyon - National Geographic
Deer Creek Trail - Grand Canyon Secrets
The Geology of the Grand Canyon - Grand Canyon Explorer
Grand Canyon Map - Grand Canyon Scenic Airline

Sender 0891, 0892, 0911, 0912, 0943, 1000, 2370-2381: Denise
0891, 0892: Sent from Greenvale (New York / United States), on 30.11.2013
Photo: SOA Curtis-Conde 
0911: Sent from Greenvale (New York / United States), on 10.12.2013
Photo: Ed Cooper, Josef Muench, Russ Finley, & Tom Till 
0912: Sent from Jerycho (New York / United States), on 09.12.2013 
Photo: Ed Cooper
0943: Sent from Roslyn (New York / United States), on 10.12.2013 
Photo: Willard Clay
1000: sent from Greenvale (New York / United States), on 24.12.2013
Photo: Randy Prentice
2370: Sent from Jerycho (New York / United States), on 01.02.2014 
Photo: David Muench / 2004
2371: Sent from Jerycho (New York / United States), on 04.01.2014 
Photo: Dick Dietrich
2372: Sent from Jerycho (New York / United States), on 22.01.2014 
Photo: SOA Curtis-Conde
2373: Sent from Jerycho (New York / United States), on 01.02.2014 
Photo: on Thomas
2374, 2375, 2376: Sent from Jerycho (New York / United States), on 01.02.2014 
Photo: Marc Muench / 2004
2377, 2378, 2380: Sent from Jerycho (New York / United States), on 01.02.2014 
Photo: David Muench / 2004
2379: Sent from Jerycho (New York / United States), on 03.01.2014 
Photo: Tom Till
2381: Sent from Jerycho (New York / United States), on 20.01.2014