1870 CANADA (Alberta / Northwest Territories) - Stars and Aurora Borealis in Buffalo National Park

Located in northeastern Alberta and southern Northwest Territories, Wood Buffalo National Park is the second-largest national park in the world (after Northeast Greenland National Park), an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, but also the world's largest dark sky preserve. A dark sky preserve is an area, usually surrounding a park or observatory, that is kept free of artificial light pollution.

The purpose of a dark-sky preserve is generally to promote astronomy, even if the lighting protocol for the   Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is based primarily on wildlife sensitivity. Under a canopy of stars, you can enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the northern night skies at the annual Dark Sky Festival in August and watch the dance of the aurora borealis. Insiders say this is the best place to see the Aurora Borealis.

About the stamps

 The first two stamps are part of the series Beneficial Insects:

12.10.2007
• Lady beetle / Hippodamia convergens (0,01 CAD) - It's on the postcard 2369
• Golden-eyed lacewing / Chrysopa oculata (0,03 CAD) - It's on the postcard 2501
• Northern bumblebee / Bombus polaris (0,05 CAD) - It's on the postcard 1870
• Canada darner / Aeshna canadensis (0,10 CAD) - It's on the postcard 2369
• Cecropia moth / Hyalophora cecropia (0,25 CAD) - It's on the postcard 1870
22.04.2009
• Monarch caterpillar / Danaus plexippus (0,02 CAD) - It's on the postcard 1980
19.10.2010
• Paper wasp / Polistes fuscatus (0,04 CAD) - It's on the postcard 2406
• Assassin bug / Zelus luridus (0,06 CAD)
• Large milkweed bug / Oncopeltus fasciatus (0,07 CAD)
• Margined leatherwing / Chauliognathus marginatus (0,08 CAD) - It's on the postcard 2405
• Dogbane beetle / Chrysochus auratus (0,09 CAD)
31.03.2014
• Monarch butterfly / Danaus plexippus (0.22 CAD) - It's on the postcard 2923

The following two stamps are the series designed by Roy White and issued on August 6, 2015, to honor the Franklin Expedition. In 2014, Parks Canada and its partners located the remains of HMS Erebus, one of two ships from Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated 1840’s journey in search of the Northwest Passage. Franklin’s voyage ended in tragedy when his ships became permanently trapped in ice. The surviving sailors eventually died in a desperate southbound march.

The last stamp was issued on October 24, 1995, to celebrate 50 years since the founding of United Nations.

Sender: Jason Thomson (direct swap)
Sent from Ottawa (Ontario / Canada), on 07.08.2015
Photo: Peter McMahon