Elephant Rock at Valley of Fire

Outgoing postcard US-3599773 to Hong Kong shows an arch in the shape of an elephant near the east entrance of the Valley of Fire State Park in Overton, Nevada. Parking is prohibited on the main road near the rock, but visitors can park at the east entrance parking lot and take a short 0.2 mile hiking trail to a vantage point. There are chances to see wildlife but watch out for lizards and snakes.

The card was sent on November 28, 2015 and has since expired,

Unrelated, USPS faces a forced postal rate deduction starting today on April 10, 2016. Mailing a 4"x6" postcard domestically will now cost 34¢ instead of 35¢; while an oversize one will incur the 1oz first class letter rate at 47¢ after a 2¢ reduction. The international postcard rate, same as that of a first class international letter up to 1oz, has decreased from USD 1.20 to USD 1.15.

The Pinnacles, Western Australia

Postcard AU-402249 from Australia shows the Pinnacles Desert, made up of thousands of limestone formations inside Nambung National Park that is 17 kilometers or 10 miles south of the town of Cervantes in Western Australia, Australia. Those limestone pillars, from 5 cm to 5 meters in height, were formed by lime-rich sands from crushed seashells in an earlier marine environment under the long term effects of wind, water and plants. The area is popular with tourists and receives over 250,000 visitors a year.

Cypress Trees on Point Lobos, near Carmel, California

Outgoing postcard US-3109079 to Russia shows Point Lobos, a rugged point of rocks at the southern end of Carmel Bay in California. It is thickly wooded with pines and cedars and strikingly picturesque with its gnarled and twisted cypress trees that fringe this rocky coast.

Yehliu Geopark

Postcard TW-1309821 from Taiwan shows the "Queen's Head" (女王頭),  one of the best known hoodoo stones at the Yeliu (野柳) Geopark in the town of Wanli, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The cape, where the Geopark is located, is known by geologists as the Yeliu Promontory that consists part of the Daliao Miocene Formation (中新世野柳群大寮層). It was pushed 1,700 meters or 5,577 feet into the sea when formed as geological forces pushed Datun Mountain (大屯山) toward the ocean. The mushroom shaped rock formation was formed at the influences caused by tidal erosion, rock weathering, ground movement and crustal movement.

Due to the accelerated erosion, the neck circumference of the Queen's head is shrinking by day. Worrying that the Queen's Head may crash within a year or two, especially during earthquakes or other earth-moving events, researchers are testing nano coating to develop a reinforcement plan.

Mountain Lion on a Ledge

Postcard US-2869247 to Finland shows a mountain lion pauses on a ledge inside this swirled rock chasm in Arizona. Mountain lions, usually shy and elusive, are most commonly seen in mountainous terrain. They are solitary animals with the exception of females with kittens or breeding pairs. An average litter has three kittens, which stay with mother for about 18 months. When grown up, they weight 70-150 pounds or 31-68 kilograms and can live up to 13 years in the wild. Mountain lions are good jumpers. They can jump 20 feet or 6 meters vertically and 40 feet or 12 meters horizontally in one leap.

The postcard was purchased from National Geographic's store at Zazzle. Copyright Norbert Rosing/National Geographic Stock.

Half Dome, Yosemite National Park

Outgoing postcard US-2738812 to Finland shows a man climbing Half Dome at the Yosemite National Park in California. A recent massive rockfall has closed the Rancheria Falls Trail. Meanwhile, a number of special programs and events are being planned to celebrate the Earth Day from April 19 to April 27, 2014.

The postcard was purchased from the National Geographic store at Zazzle. Copyright: Jimmy Chin/National Geographic Stock.

Goblin Valley State Park in Utah

Postcard DE-3022284 from Germany shows Goblin Valley State Park in Utah, USA. It is noted for thousands of hoodoos and hoodoo rocks, known to locally as “goblins”, which are formations of mushroom-shaped rock pinnacles, some as high as several meters. Those distinct shaped rocks are results from an erosion-resistant layer on top of softer sandstone. The park is about 400 miles or 644 kilometers from Las Vegas.

Ladram Bay

Postcard GB-515408 from the United Kingdom shows Ladram Bay on the south coast of Devon, England. It is a secluded bay with pebble beach, between the coastal towns of Budleigh Salterton on the southwest and Sidmouth on the northeast. The RV park at Ladram Bay, Ladram Bay Holiday Park,  is the second largest holiday center in Devon, offering fantastic views over the ocean. It is located within the 155-km or 96-mile Jurassic Coast where a continuous sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rock formations reveal 185 million years of the Earths history.

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