US-4670049 Quinault Rain Forest in Washington State, USA

The Quinault Rain Forest is a temperate rain forest, which is part of the Olympic National Park and the Olympic National Forest in the U.S. state of Washington. The rain forest is located in the valley formed by the Quinault River and Lake Quinault. The valley is called the "Valley of the Rain Forest Giants" because of the number of record size tree species located there. The largest specimens of Western Red Cedar, Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock, Alaskan Cedar and Mountain Hemlock are found in the forest as well as five of the ten largest Douglas-firs. The forest receives an average of 12 feet of rain per year. It is believed to be the area with the greatest number of record size giant tree species in the smallest area in the world. It does have the largest trees in the world outside of the state of California and New Zealand. (Wikipedia)

This postcard came from Becky S (6 June 2017)

Washington State, USA

Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States located north of Oregon. The state is named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Olympia is the state capital.

Washington is the 18th largest state with an area of 71,362 square miles (184,827 sq km), and the 13th most populous state with over 7 million people. Approximately 60 percent of Washington's residents live in the Seattle metropolitan area, the centre of transportation, business, and industry along the Puget Sound region of the Salish Sea, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean consisting of numerous islands, deep fjords, and bays carved out by glaciers. The remainder of the state consists of deep temperate rainforests in the west, mountain ranges in the west, central, northeast and far southeast, and a semi-arid basin region in the east, central, and south, given over to intensive agriculture. Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the state's highest elevation at almost 14,411 feet (4,392 m).

Washington is a leading lumber producer. Its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa pine, white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. The state is the biggest producer of apples, hops, pears, red raspberries, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries, and ranks high in the production of apricots, asparagus, dry edible peas, grapes, lentils, peppermint oil, and potatoes. Livestock and livestock products make important contributions to total farm revenue, and the commercial fishing of salmon, halibut, and bottomfish makes a significant contribution to the state's economy.

Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other transportation equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals, and machinery. Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, and water storage.

The state's widely used nickname "Evergreen" has not been officially adopted. The name is popular as the forests are full of evergreen trees and the abundance of rain keeps the shrubbery and grasses green throughout the year.

The flag of the state of Washington consists of the state seal (which displays an image of George Washington) on a field of dark green with gold fringe being optional. It is the only U.S. state flag with a field of green as well as the only state flag with the image of an American president.

(Source: Wikipedia)

US-3186936 Washington State Capitol

The Washington State Capitol in Olympia is the home of the government of the state of Washington. It contains chambers for the Washington State Legislature and offices for the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and treasurer and is part of a campus consisting of several buildings. Buildings for the Washington Supreme Court, executive agencies and the Washington Governor's Mansion are part of the capitol campus.

The Legislative Building, the main building in the campus, was completed in 1928 after six years of construction.  It is comprised of more than 173 million pounds of stone, brick, concrete and steel. Washington State Capitol’s Legislative Building is the fifth-tallest masonry dome in the world and the tallest in North America, rising 287 feet high.

This postcard came from hootnoodle Mary (6 February 2015) Postcrossing.

US-3131673, SW DH-269 WC 84-502 Mount St. Helens

Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Washington, USA. It is 96 miles (154 km) south of Seattle, Washington, and 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Portland, Oregon. The volcano is located in the Cascade Range and is part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire that includes over 160 active volcanoes. This volcano is well known for its ash explosions and pyroclastic flows.

Mount St. Helens is most notorious for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980 the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed. A massive debris avalanche triggered by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale caused an eruption that reduced the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 ft (2,950 m) to 8,365 ft (2,550 m), replacing it with a 1 mile (1.6 km) wide horseshoe-shaped crater.

Mount St. Helens is a popular climbing destination for both beginning and experienced mountaineers. The peak is climbed year-round, although it is more often climbed from late spring through early fall. A permit system has been in place for climbers since 1987.

The first postcard came from Celia (29 December 2014) Postcrossing, the second postcard came from Jenna F. ‘goodmorningfelicity’ (25 August 2014) Swap-bot, the third postcard came from Colleen P. (15 December 2014) Direct Swap Postcrossing.and the fourth postcard came from kalsea (30 June 2015) Swap-bot.

SW CH-198 Second Beach, Washington Coast

The Washington Coast

Washington State’s maritime playground is the stretch of Washington coast from Ocean Shores down to Cape Disappointment at the mouth of the Columbia River.  This area has expansive beaches and locally run oyster farms.  Unlike the coastline further north this area is free of wild coves and stormy sea stacks. According to a tourist site “this is where the whole of Washington (and beyond) comes to sail, fish, fly kites and hang out.”

Second Beach is, with First Beach and Third Beach, collectively known as La Push Beach.  First Beach and Third Beach cannot be accessed from Second Beach even though the other two beaches are within a mile in each direction, north or south; they are inaccessible due to the protruding headlands and steep bluffs.

Trails to Second Beach start at the Quileute Indian Reservation and one has to walk a mile before reaching the coast. Second Beach is the longest and flattest of the three beaches. Half a mile offshore is an archipelago. Sea stacks are mixed throughout the small islands and are known as the Quileute Needle.

This postcard shows Second Beach at sunset and was sent by Craftybarbie (21 July 2014) Swap-bot.