BRAZIL POSTCARDS COLLECTION

AMAZON RAINFOREST

Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana

(World's Largest Tropical Rainforest)

(World's Largest River by Volume)

(World's Longest River in the World)
(World's Largest River by Discharge)

Thanks to SL Liew

Received: Oct. 14, 2016

Caption at the back: Caboclos sailing in the igapó, lands flooded at the time of the full one the rivers.

     Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin encompasses 7,000,000 square kilometres (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 square kilometres (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations. The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru, Colombia, and with minor amounts in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most biodiversity tract of tropical rainforest in the world, with an estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000 species.

    The Amazon is the world's largest tropical rainforest, larger than the next two largest rainforests — in the Congo Basin and Indonesia — combined. The Amazon Basin is roughly the size of the forty-eight contiguous United States. The region consists of a number of ecosystems ranging from natural savanna to swamps.

     The Amazon River is by far the world's largest river by volume or in terms of discharge, and the second longest river in the world after the Nile. It has over 1,100 tributaries, 17 of which are longer than 1000 miles.  The River once flowing west-ward instead of east-ward as it does today. The rise of the Andes caused it to flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

     The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region. One in five of all the bird species in the world live in the rainforests of the Amazon, and one in five of the fish species live in Amazonian rivers and streams. Scientists have described between 96,660 and 128,843 invertebrate species in Brazil alone.

RUSSIA POSTCARDS COLLECTION

SAINT ISAAC'S CATHEDRAL OR ISAAKIEVSKIY SOBOR
Famous Landmarks of St. Petersburg
Largest Orthodox Basilica
Fourth Largest Cathedral in the World
RUSSIA

Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral (sobor) in the city. It is the largest orthodox basilica and the fourth largest (by the volume under the cupola) cathedral in the world.  It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great, who had been born on the feast day of that saint.

The cathedral took 40 years to construct, under French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand's direction, from 1818 and completed 1858.

The cathedral is a Late Neoclassical rendering of a Byzantine Greek-cross church. The main dome rises 101.5 metres (333 ft), plated with pure gold dominates the city skyline.

St Isaac's Cathedral is one of the most famous attractions in St Petersburg.  It is the fourth largest cathedral in the world following St Peter’s in Rome, St Paul’s in London and Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence; and the major Orthodox basilica in Russia.

Thanks to Egoshina Maria of Russia

Received: June 28, 2016

UNITED STATE POSTCARDS COLLECTION

An aerial view of San Francisco International Airport

San Francisco, California, U.S.A

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) - is an international airport 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States. It has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe and Asia.

SFO is the largest airport in the San Francisco Bay Area including all of Northern California and the second busiest in California, after Los Angeles International Airport. In 2014, it was the seventh busiest in the United States and the twenty-first busiest airport in the world by passenger count.  It is the fifth largest hub for United Airlines and functions as United Airlines's primary transpacific gateway. It also serves as Virgin America's principal base of operations.  It is the sole maintenance hub of United Airlines, and houses the Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum and Library.

SFO is owned and policed by the City and County of San Francisco, but is actually in San Mateo County. Between 1999 and 2004 the San Francisco Airport Commission operated city-owned SFO Enterprises, Inc., to oversee its business purchases and operations of ventures.

ITALY POSTCARDS COLLECTION

ERUPTION OF MOUNT ETNA
Sicily, ITALY
UNESCO World Heritage Sites 
Tallest active volcano in Europe
Highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps

Thanks to Pietro Petrolo  of Italy

Received: Apr. 7, 2016

Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Province of Catania. It is the Tallest active volcano in Europe, currently 3,329 m (10,922 ft) high, though this varies with summit eruptions. It is the Highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps. Etna covers an area of 1,190 km² (459 sq mi) with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. Only Mount Teide in Tenerife surpasses it in the whole of the European–North-African region.

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity. It has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations.  In June 2013, it was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

Etna is one of Sicily's main tourist attractions.

INDONESIA POSTCARDS COLLECTION

ADWAITA

(Aldabra Giant Tortoise)

     Adwaita (meaning "unique" in Sanskrit) (c. 1750 – 22 March 2006) (aged about 255) was a male Aldabra giant tortoise that lived in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata, India.  At the time of his death in 2006 he weigh 250 kg, Adwaita was believed to be amongst the longest-living animals and oldest terrestrial animal in the world.

Thanks to Suryana Josephine Panggabean of Indonesia
Received: Feb. 3, 2016