MY-279572 Sabah on the island of Borneo

Sabah is Malaysia's easternmost state on the island of Borneo. It borders Sarawak on its southwest and it shares a maritime border with the Federal Territory of Labuan on the west and with the Philippines to the north and northeast. In the south, Sabah borders the province of North Kalimantan of Indonesia. Sabah has an autonomous law especially in immigration which differentiates it from the rest of the Malaysian Peninsula states. The capital of Sabah is Kota Kinabalu, formerly known as Jesselton. Sabah is often referred to as the "Land Below The Wind", a phrase used by seafarers in the past to describe lands south of the typhoon belt.

The population of Sabah is 3.1 million as of the last census in 2010 which showed more than a 400 percent increase from the census of 1970. Sabah has one of the highest population growth rates in the country as a result of legal and purportedly state-sponsored illegal immigration and naturalisation from elsewhere in Malaysia, Indonesia and particularly from the Muslim-dominated southern provinces of the Philippines who were awarded Malay stock and granted citizenship. As a result, the Bornean Sabahan, most of whom are non-Muslim, have become minorities in their own homeland and this problem has become the main cause of ethnic tension in Sabah. Source: Wikipedia

This postcard came from Cikgu D. (8 October 2015) Postcrossing.

New Mexico - Land of Enchantment

New Mexico was admitted to the union as the 47th state of the USA in 1912. It is usually considered one of the Mountain States. New Mexico is the 5th most extensive, the 36th most populous, and the 6th least densely populated of the 50 United States. The state's total area is 121,412 square miles (314,460 km2). The population of New Mexico in July 2014 was estimated to be almost 2.1 million. Among U.S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanic ancestry, at 47 percent including descendants of Spanish colonists and recent immigrants from Latin America.

New Mexico is frequently referred to as “The Land of Enchantment” and its capital is Santa Fe.  The largest city in the state is Albuquerque.

This postcard from Arik (24 July 2015) DS Swap-bot shows various state symbols of New Mexico.

US-3487091 US-3815581 Massachusetts, USA

Massachusetts officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a state in the New England region of the United States.  The capital of Massachusetts is Boston.

Massachusetts is the 7th smallest state by land area, but the 14th most populous and the 3rd most densely populated of the 50 States. Massachusetts has played a significant historical, cultural, and commercial role in American history. Plymouth was the site of the first colony in New England, founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, passengers of the Mayflower.

This postcard came from Lana (27 July 2015) Postcrossing and the postcard shows an outline of the State and the state flower (Mayflower - a small white or pink flower which comes from the genus Epigaea).

This map postcard of Massachusetts came from MaryAnn (8 March 2016) Postcrossing.

US-3286832 Kentucky - the Bluegrass State

Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state located in the east south-central region of the United States. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth (the others being Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts). Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States.

Kentucky is known as the "Bluegrass State", a nickname based on the bluegrass found in many of its pastures due to the fertile soil. One of the major regions in Kentucky is the Bluegrass Region in central Kentucky which houses two of its major cities, Louisville and Lexington. It is a land with diverse environments and abundant resources, including the world's longest cave system, Mammoth Cave National Park, the greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the contiguous United States, and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River.

Kentucky is known for horse racing, bourbon distilleries, automobile manufacturing, tobacco, bluegrass music, college basketball and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The state capital is Frankfort.

Source: Wikipedia

This postcard came from Meredith (12 June 2015) Postcrossing.

US-3314319 South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Southeastern United States. It is bordered to the north by North Carolina; to the south and west by Georgia, located across the Savannah River; and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean.

South Carolina was the 8th state to be admitted into the Union on May 23, 1788. It later became the first state to vote to secede from the Union which it did on December 20, 1860. After the end of the American Civil War, the state was readmitted into the United States on June 25, 1868.

South Carolina is the 40th most extensive and the 24th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. The capital and largest city of the state is Columbia.

This postcard from Joseph (24 April 2015) Postcrossing shows the flag and map of South Carolina.  Information on the flag of South Carolina can be found here.

SW FG-471, SW FL-480 & NL-3119840 Federal German State of Berlin

Berlin is the capital of Germany and one of the 16 states of Germany.

With a population of 3.5 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. Berlin is located in northeastern Germany on the banks of River Spree. It is the centre of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has about 4.5 million residents. Around one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.

The first two postcards came from Jana (Swap-bot) while the third (multi-view) postcard came from Susan (25 September 2015) Postcrossing.

SW DK-278 Phuket Province, Thailand

Thailand consists of seventy-six provinces and one special administrative area representing the capital Bangkok.  Phuket (Thai: ภูเก็ต) is one of the southern provinces (changwat).

Phuket is Thailand’s largest island. It is approximately 863 kilometres (536 mi) south of Bangkok and covers an area of 543 square kilometres (210 sq mi) excluding small islets. The island is mostly mountainous (70%) with a mountain range in the west of the island from the north to the south. The island's length, from north to south, is 48 kilometres (30 mi) and its width is 21 kilometres (13 mi). The island is connected to mainland Thailand by two bridges. It is situated off the west coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea.

These two postcards came from tmarlo (12 September 2014 and 23 September 2015) Swap-bot.

SW CR-225 North Carolina

North Carolina was the 12^th state to join the Union on November 21, 1789.  The State is known as the Tar Heel State and the Old North State.

This postcard came from Shirley (6 August 2014) Swap-bot and it contains various interesting sights in North Carolina.

1          View of Mount Pisgah

2          Lynn  Cove Viaduct after a snowfall

3          Battleship North Carolina docked at Wilmington

4          Wright Brothers National Memorial

5          Sunset over Richland Balsam

6          Autumn view of Crabtree Falls

7          Elizabeth II at Manteo

8          Wild ponies on the Outer Banks

9          Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

North Carolina is composed of 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh and the largest city is Charlotte. In the past five decades, North Carolina's economy has undergone a transition from heavy reliance upon tobacco, textiles, and furniture-making to a more diversified economy with engineering, energy, biotechnology and finance sectors.

North Carolina has a wide range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet (2,037 m) at Mount Mitchell, the highest point in the Eastern US.  North Carolina consists of three main geographic sections: the Atlantic Coastal Plain, which occupies the eastern 45% of the state; the Piedmont region, which contains the middle 35%; and the Appalachian Mountains and foothills. The extreme eastern section of the state contains the Outer Banks, a string of sandy, narrow islands which form a barrier between the Atlantic Ocean and two inland waterways or "sounds": Albemarle Sound in the north and Pamlico Sound in the south. They are the two largest landlocked sounds in the United States.

Personal Note:

I visited Charlotte and Greenville some years ago on a State Dept- sponsored visit but I did not go to Raleigh.

 

SW CD-188 The 50th State - Hawaii (Hawaiʻi)

Hawaii joined the Union on August 21, 1959. It is the only U.S. state located in Oceania . The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Archipelago, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km). At the south-eastern end of the archipelago, the eight "main islands" are (from the northwest to southeast) Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui and the Island of Hawaiʻi. The last is the largest and is often called the "Big Island" to avoid confusing the island with the State. The capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu.

This map was drawn by Joe Fehér circa 1950’s

 Hawaiʻi is the state with an Asian plurality mainly due to its mid-Pacific location.  Besides North American and Asian influences, Hawaiʻi also has its own vibrant native culture.Hawaiʻi’s diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches, oceanic surroundings, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, (wind) surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike.

25th Anniversary of Hawaii statehood

Very short historical notes

The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was sovereign from 1810 until 1893 when the monarchy (Queen Liliʻuokalani was on the throne) was overthrown by resident American (and some European) businessmen. It was an independent republic from 1894 until 1898, when it was annexed by the United States as a territory, becoming a state in 1959.

The map postcard came from Florence (18 July 2014) Swap-bot and the maxicard came from Cathy N. (14 August 2015) DS Postcrossing.

Tennessee - home of Country Music

Tennessee is located in the Southeastern United States and is bordered by 8 States - Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state, and the Mississippi River forms the state's western border. Tennessee's capital and second largest city is Nashville, which has a population of more than 624,000.  Memphis is the state's largest city, with a population of more than 655,000.

Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state on June 1, 1796. Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861 and the first state to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the war. Tennessee furnished more soldiers for the Confederate Army than any other state and more soldiers for the Union Army than any other Southern state. Tennessee is known as the "Volunteer State," a nickname earned during the War of 1812 because of the prominent role played by volunteer soldiers from Tennessee, especially during the Battle of New Orleans.

Tennessee has played a critical role in the development of many forms of American popular music, including rock and roll, blues, country, and rockabilly. First and foremost, it is known as the home of country music and the rise of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s helped make Nashville the center of the country music recording industry.  

Some major tourist attractions are Dollywood, the Parthenon, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Ryman Auditorium, the Jack Daniel's Distillery and Elvis Presley's Graceland residence.

This postcard from Jane Russell (10 April 2014) shows the State Capitol Building and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Musuem, a map of Tennessee, the State Flag, the State Bird (the Mockingbird) and the State Flower (Iris).