SWITZERLAND

SWITZERLAND / SCHWEITZ - SUISSE - SVIZZERA - SVIZRA.

Definitive stamps: landscapes.
Rhein Falls near Schaffhausen.
Fifth stamp in a set of 6, issued on 15.03.1948.
Face value: 30 cents of Swiss franc.
Printing: Recess.
Print: 17,786,000 copies.
Size: 21 x 25 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 507.
- Michel No. 504.
- Scott No. 320.
- StampWorld No. 498.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 493.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 465.
- Zumstein No. 289.

The Rhine Falls (German: Rheinfall) is the most powerful waterfall in Europe. The falls are located on the High Rhine on the border between the cantons of Schaffhausen and Zürich, next to the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland, near the German border. They are 150 metres (490 ft) wide and 23 metres (75 ft) high. In the winter months, the average water flow is 250 m³/s (8,800 cu ft/s), while in the summer, the average water flow is 600 m³/s (21,000 cu ft/s). The highest flow ever measured was 1,250 m³/s (44,000 cu ft/s) in 1965; and the lowest, 95 m³/s (3,400 cu ft/s) in 1921. The Rhine Falls were formed in the last ice age, approximately 14,000 to 17,000 years ago, by erosion-resistant rocks narrowing the riverbed.