KUWAIT

KUWAIT / الكويت

Definitive stamps.
Wara Hill.
Third stamp in a set of 9, issued on 01.04.1961.
Face value: 40 Kuwaiti fils.
Printing: Recess.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 156.
- Scott No. 166.
- StampWorld No. 156.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 157.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 154.

The Wara or Tell Wārah Hill (Arabic: جبل وارة) is located south of the city of Kuwait City and northwest of al-Ahmadi, in the east of the country, to whose governorate it belongs. It has a height of 30.5 m (100 ft) above sea level. Its coordinates are 28.991384 N 47.952419 E. Archaeologists found prehistoric remains at the site.

CHAD

CHAD / TCHAD.

Ouaddaï Region and greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros).
Fifth stamp in a set of 13, issued on 1961/1962.
Face value: 4 Central African CFA francs.
Printed: Typography.
Size: 25 x 41 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 73.
- Scott No. 74.
- StampWorld No. 74.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 73.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 70.

Ouaddaï (Arabic: وداي) is a region located in the south-east of Chad, and it borders with Sudan. Its capital at Abéché. Prior to 2002 it was known as Ouaddaï Prefecture; in 2008 the southern portions of Ouaddaï (the Sila Department and Djourf Al Ahmar Department) were split off to become the new Sila Region. The region was the heartland of the former Ouaddaï Empire, or Wadai Sultanate, which existed from the early 16th century until 1911 when it was conquered by France in the Wadai War. As per the 2009 census, the region has a population of 721,166. The main ethnolinguistic groups are the Assangori, Baggara (generally speakers of Chadian Arabic).

The greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) is a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas due to declining habitat, deforestation, and poaching. Greater kudus have a narrow body with long legs, and their coats can range from brown/bluish grey to reddish brown. They possess between 4 and 12 vertical white stripes along their torso.

UNITED STATES

UNITED STATES.

50 Years New Mexico Statehood.
Shiprock.
Stamp issued on 06.01.1962.
Face value: 4 cents of United States dollar.
Printing: Recess.
Print: 113,000,000 copies.
Size: 39 x 26 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 820.
- Scott No. 1191.
- StampWorld No. 991.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1190.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 723.

Shiprock (Navajo: Tsé Bitʼaʼí, "winged rock") is a monadnock (volcanic breccia and minette) aged 27 million years, rising nearly 482.5 m (1,583 ft) above the high-desert plain of the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, New Mexico. Its peak elevation is 2,187.5 m (7,177 ft) above sea level. It is about 17.30 km (10.75 mi) southwest of the town of Shiprock, which is named for the peak. The formation is in the Four Corners region and plays a significant role in Navajo religion, myth, and tradition. It is located in the center of the area occupied by the Ancient Pueblo People. In 1975, Shiprock was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service. The first ascent was in 1939, by a Sierra Club team. The idea of climbing Shiprock is repugnant to many Navajo people: climbing has been illegal since 1970. The name "Ship Rock" in english dates from the 1870s.

IRAQ

IRAQ / العراق

9th Anniversary of the July 14 Revolution.
Opening of Um Qasr Port.
Last stamp in a set of 4, issued on 14.07.1967.
Face value: 40 Iraqi fils.
Printed by De la Rue.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Size: 40 x 25 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 491.
- Scott No. 442.
- StampWorld No. 488.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 762.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 477.

Um Qasr port is Iraq's is strategically important, located on the western edge of the al-Faw peninsula, where the mouth of the Shatt al Arab waterway enters the Persian Gulf. It is separated from the border of Kuwait by a small inlet. Um Qasr was originally a small fishing town, but was said to have been the site of Alexander the Great's landing in Mesopotamia in 325 BC. During the Second World War a temporary port was established there by the Allies to unload supplies to dispatch to the Soviet Union. In 1950s the government of King Faisal II sought to establish a permanent port there in the 1950s, and In 1958 after the coup d'etat of the Iraqi Army known as the July 14 Revolution, the Iraqi Navy established a base there. The port opened for business in July 1967. The Battle of Umm Qasr (March 2003) was the first military confrontation in the Iraq War, with its objective the capture of the port. On 23 May 2003, control of the facility was transferred from the Spanish Army operating under the British Royal Marines. The restoration works of the port were carried out between January and May 2004.

NAMIBIA

NAMIBIA / NAMIBIË.

Minerals.
Rosh Pinah zinc mine.
First stamp in a set of 8, issued on 02.01.1991.
Face value: 35 South African cents.
Design: J. van Niekerk.
Printing: Offset lithography.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 690.
- Scott No. 682.
- StampWorld No. 23.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 560.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 647.

This mine is located near Rosh Pinah in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia, about 20 km (12 mi) north of the Orange River and 50 km (31 mi) east of the Atlantic. It is owned by Trevali Mining Corporation since 2017. German-born Jew Mose Kohan discovered zinc in the nearby Hunz Mountains in 1963. He also coined the name "Rosh Pinah" which is a Hebrew term for "cornerstone". The mine has been in continuous operation since 1969, and it has reserves amounting to 14 million tonnes of ore grading 2% lead and 8% zinc thus resulting 280,000 tonnes of lead and 1.12 million tonnes of zinc. The mine also produces copper, silver and gold as byproducts.

UNITED STATES

UNITED STATES.

Pre-Columbian America Issue.
Grand Canyon.
Stamp issued on 12.10.1990.
Face value: 25 cents of United States dollar.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 151,000,000 copies.
Size: 40 x 25 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 2111.
- Scott No. 2512.
- StampWorld No. 2246.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2546.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 1923.

The Grand Canyon (Hopi: Öngtupqa; Yavapai: Wi:kaʼi:la; Navajo: Bidááʼ Haʼaztʼiʼ Tsékooh; Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi; Spanish: Gran Cañón or Gran Cañón del Colorado) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona. It is 446 km (277 mi) long, up to 29 km (18 mi) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (1,857 m or 6,093 ft). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. The Grand Canyon is a river valley in the Colorado Plateau that exposes uplifted Proterozoic and Paleozoic strata. Between 100,000 and 3 million years ago, volcanic activity deposited ash and lava over the area which at times completely obstructed the river. These volcanic rocks are the youngest in the canyon. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540. James Ohio Pattie, along with a group of American trappers and mountain men, may have been the next European to reach the canyon, in 1826.

AUSTRALIA

AUSTRALIA.

National Parks.
Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park.
Second stamp in a set of 7, issued on 06.04.1979.
Face value: 20 cents of Australian dollar.
Design: Max Robinson (1934-2018).
Printed by Asher and Co., Melbourne.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Size: 38 x 27 mm.

Catalogs
- Brusden-White No. 838.
- Michel No. 674.
- Scott No. 701.
- Seven Seas Stamps No. 726.
- StampWorld No. 673.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 709.
- Unificato No. 714.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 656.

Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park is home to both Uluṟu / Ayers Rock and Kata Tjuṯa / Mount Olga. It covers 1,326 km² (512 sq mi). The location is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for natural and cultural landscape. Uluṟu / Ayers Rock is recognised as "Australia's most natural icon" and has become a focal point for Australia and the world's acknowledgement of Australian indigenous culture. Aṉangu are the traditional Aboriginal owners of the Park. They believe that their culture was created at the beginning of time by ancestral beings. The domed rock formations are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of sandstone. The crevasses are due to erosion. The Ayers Rock National Park was recognised in 1950.

LIBYA

LIBYA / ليبيا

Inauguration of the Zueitina Oil Terminal.
Illustrated map of northern Libya.
Second stamp in a set of 2, issued on 23.04.1968.
Face value: 60 millieme.
Design: A. Rahuma.
Printing: Offset lithography.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 257.
- Scott No. 339.
- StampWorld No. 262.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 417.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 325.

Zueitina or Zuwetina (الزويتينة) Terminal is a large camp situated on an arid plain next to the town of the same name, in the Al Wahat District of the Cyrenaica, at the Eastern end of the Gulf of Sidra on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It was inaugurated in 1968 and its oil port is used to export crude oil.

ISRAEL

ISRAEL / יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ - إِسْرَائِيل

Landscapes.
Arava.
Second stamp in a set of 2, issued on 18.10.1977.
Face value: 1 Israeli lira.
Printing: Photogravure.
Size: 30 x 25 mm.

Catalogs
- Israel Philatelic Federation No. 734.
- Michel No. 720.
- Scott No. 664.
- StampWorld No. 719.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 683.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 658.

Arava or Arabah (Hebrew: הָעֲרָבָה; Arabic: وادي عربة) is a desert area south of the Dead Sea basin, which is part of the border between Israel and Jordan. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the area that covered almost the entire length of what is now called the Jordan Rift Valley, between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee and the Gulf of Aqaba, was considered by this name, and included the valley of the Jordan River between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea itself and what is today commonly called the Arava Valley. Currently, the term is restricted only to this southern section. It is 166 km (103 mi) long, from the Gulf of Aqaba to the southern shore of the Dead Sea. The area is drained by several streams of seasonal course, which in some places form gorges.

ARGENTINA

ARGENTINA.

Tourism.
Valle de la Luna or Ischigualasto Park (San Juan).
First stamp in a set of 3, issued on 10.01.1977 [09.1977?].
Face value: 300 Argentine pesos ley.
Printed by Casa de Moneda, Buenos Aires.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Size: 34.5 x 45 mm.

Catalogs
- Cefiloza No. 1293.
- Götig & Jalil No. 1761-
- Michel No. 1288.
- Scott No. 1108.
- StampWorld No. 1312.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1474.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 1075.

The Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) or Ischigualasto Provincial Park is located in the northeast of the Argentine province of San Juan and borders the province of La Rioja to the north. Its altitude with respect to sea level varies between 1,200 m (3,940 ft) and 1,800 m (5,900 ft). It is an area of 2,754 km² (1,063 sq mi), of great scientific importance, since it protects an important paleontological reserve. It is the only place in the world where the entire Triassic period can be seen uncovered and perfectly differentiated in a complete and orderly manner. The geological formations at this site are estimated to be between 200 and 250 million years old. The place is characterized by having little vegetation and the most varied range of colors in its soils. Being a preserved place (declared a Natural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, on November 29, 2000), visits are restricted and can only be done guided. Due to the large deposits rich in fossils in the Ischigualasto area, this place has attracted the interest of geologists and paleontologists since the 1930s. One of the most important pieces found in the area is the Eoraptor lunensis, a very primitive dinosaur discovered in 1991.

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Thanks to Óscar Valencia for his contribution.

CHILE

CHILE.

National Parks Ecotourism.
Pan de Azúcar National Park.
Stamp issued in a minisheet of 4 on 27.09.1996.
Face value: 100 Chilean pesos.
Design: Alejandro Inostroza Fabres (n. 1949).
Printed by Casa de Moneda de Chile.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 100,000 copies.
Size: 48 x 36 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1795.
- Scott No. 1185d.
- StampWorld No. 1768.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1752.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 1397.

Pan de Azúcar National Park (Parque Nacional Pan de Azúcar) straddles the border between the Antofagasta Region and the Atacama Region, in northern Chile. It was founded in 1985 and has an extension of 437.54 km² (168.9 sq mi), including 1.1 km² (0,42 sq mi) of insular terrain. The park is divided into two ecosystems: the coastal desert of Taltal and the steppe desert of the Sierra Vicuña Mackenna. It’s importance derives from the diversity of species. There are more than 20 cactus species in the area, mainly of the genus Copiapoa. The guanaco is the main mammal found in the park. Other mammals include culpeo fox, chilla fox and European hare. The shoreline area is home to marine mammals, such as the marine otter and the South American sea lion. Among the birds are the Humboldt penguin and Peruvian pelican. Also reptile species of the genera Tropidurus and Callopistes inhabit the park.

AUSTRALIA

AUSTRALIA.

Panorama of Australia.
The Pinnacles Desert.
First stamp in a set of 4, issued on 17.10.1988.
Face value: 39 cents of Australian dollar.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Size: 35 x 35 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 1131.
- Scott No. 1098.
- Seven Seas Stamps No. 1174.
- StampWorld No. 1133.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1161.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 1099.

The Pinnacles are limestone formations within Nambung National Park, near the town of Cervantes, Western Australia. The area contains thousands of weathered limestone pillars. Some of the tallest pinnacles reach heights of up to 3.5 m (11.48 ft) above the yellow sand base. The different types of formations include ones which are much taller than they are wide and resemble columns (suggesting the name of Pinnacles) while others are only a meter or so in height and width resembling short tombstones. A cross-bedding structure can be observed in many pinnacles where the angle of deposited sand changed suddenly due to changes in prevailing winds during formation of the limestone beds. The raw material for the limestone of the Pinnacles came from seashells in an earlier era that was rich in marine life. These shells were broken down into lime-rich sands that were blown inland to form high mobile dunes.

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Thanks to Óscar Valencia for his contribution.

SPANISH SAHARA

SPANISH SAHARA / SAHARA ESPAÑOL (now Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco).

Pro-Children.
Dunes in the Sahara Desert.
First stamp in a set of 2, issued on 01.06.1973.
Face value: 2 Spanish pesetas.
Printed by F.N.M.T. (Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre), Madrid.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 800,000 copies.
Size: 40.9 x 28.8 mm.

Catalogs
- Edifil No. 310.
- Michel No. 341.
- Scott No. 226.
- StampWorld No. 334.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 307.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 295.

The territory of Western Sahara was gradually colonized by Spain since 1860. The first area occupied was the Río de Oro (ادي الذهب), to the south, where in 1884 the city of Villa Cisneros (now Dakhla [الداخلة]) was founded, to which later La Güera (الكويرة‎) and Tiris (part of the Adrar territory, ولاية آدرار, which currently belongs to Mauritania) were annexed. In 1912 the annexation of Saguía el Hamra (الساقية الحمراء) region was agreed with France, where in 1938 the city of El Aaiún (العيون) was founded, which would later become the capital of the entire colony of the Spanish Sahara (الصحراء الإسبانية), relegating Villa Cisneros. The total area of ​​the colony, mostly desert, was about 280,000 km². Its definitive limits were established in the Cintra agreements (April 2, 1958).

In 1968, the Advanced Organization for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Río de Oro, known simply as the Liberation Movement, was founded in the city of Smara (السمارة), which was formally constituted on December 11, 1969 with the aim of achieving the independence from Western Sahara and was outlawed by the Spanish authorities. Later, on May 10, 1973, the Polisario Front (جبهة البوليساريو) was born in Zouérate (الزويرات, Mauritania), ready to fight for independence. Morocco and Mauritania had ambitions to seize the colony, and finally on November 6, 1975 King Hassan II of Morocco organized the so-called Green March, which crossed the internationally recognized border of the Spanish Sahara (which by then had already become a semi-metropolitan province of Spain) to the north. On February 26, 1976, Spain abandoned the territory, after which the Polisario Front proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and launched a war of liberation of the territory, which would finally be annexed to Morocco despite the reluctance of the international community and the United Nations.

MALI

MALI.

Hammamet Colloquium. Campaign against Desertification.
Desert.
Stamp issued on 18.05.1978.
Face value: 200 Malian francs.
Design: Odette Baillais (b. 1929).
Printed by EDILA, Geneva.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Size: 53 x 31 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 646.
- Scott No. 306.
- StampWorld No. 646.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 645.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 307.

In 1975, after eleven years of persistent drought throughout the Sahel, which caused famines and massive emigration, a program against desertification and for the protection of agriculture in the Mopti region was launched through the construction of small reservoirs that allowed the permanent availability of water, the restoration of the water table and, with it, the increase in agricultural and livestock productivity, which led to a decrease in the exodus of the rural population (which represented 72% of the total population of the country). At the same time, the planting of eucalyptus was started to stop desertification. These interventions turned out to be very effective. Similar interventions were carried out in other regions of the country, as Tombouctou, which are also heavily affected by desertification.

ISRAEL

ISRAEL / יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ - إِسْرَائِيل

Landscapes.
Arava.
First stamp in a set of 3, issued on 05.11.1974.
Face value: 0.25 Israeli lira.
Printing: Photogravure.
Size: 31 x 26 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 623.
- Scott No. 465A.
- StampWorld No. 622.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 498.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 533.

Arava or Arabah (Hebrew: הָעֲרָבָה; Arabic: وادي عربة) is a desert area south of the Dead Sea basin, which is part of the border between Israel and Jordan. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the area that covered almost the entire length of what is now called the Jordan Rift Valley, between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee and the Gulf of Aqaba, was considered by this name, and included the valley of the Jordan River between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea itself and what is today commonly called the Arava Valley. Currently, the term is restricted only to this southern section. It is 166 km (103 miles) long, from the Gulf of Aqaba to the southern shore of the Dead Sea. The area is drained by several streams of seasonal course, which in some places form gorges, like the one seen in the stamp.

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Thanks to Dragan Buškulić for his contribution (https://worldofstamp2.wordpress.com/).

FRENCH SOMALILAND

 FRENCH SOMALILAND / CÔTE FRANÇAISE DES SOMALIS (now DJIBOUTI).

Danakil tent in the desert.
First stamp in a set of 3, issued on 06.10.1947.
Face value: 10 cents of French Somaliland franc.
Printing: Photogravure.
Size: 25 x 40 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 285.
- Scott No. 248.
- StampWorld No. 285.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 393.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 264.

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Thanks to Óscar Valencia for his contribution.

ISRAEL

ISRAEL / יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ - إِسْرَائِيل

Nature reserve.
Nahal Baraq Canyon, Negev.
Third stamp in a set of 5, issued on 21.01.1970.
Face value: 0.05 Israeli lira.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 1,957,000 copies.
Size: 26 x 40.5 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 458.
- Scott No. 404.
- StampWorld No. 457.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 434.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 396.

Nahal Baraq Canyon (in Hebrew, נחל ברק), also known as Baraq river, is formed by a dry stream bed in the Arava desert, in Israel's South District. During the rainy season, the waterway fills with water and uneven terrain creates rapids and waterfalls, the highest of which reaches 20 meters (it is called the White Canyon, in Hebrew, הקניון הלבן). It empties into the Nahal HaArava (נחל הערבה), which in turn flows northward into the southernmost end of the Dead Sea. The stream itself is 18 km (11.2 mi) long.

POLAND

POLAND / POLSKA.

Polish scientific expeditions.
Paleontological expeditions to Mongolia between 1963 and 1971. Small simplified map of Mongolia.
Last stamp in a set of 6, issued on 22.05.1980.
Face value: 8.40 Polish złotych.
Design: H. Matuszewska.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 1,300,000 copies.
Size: 55.2 x 32.6 mm.

Catalogues
- AFA No. 2577.
- Fischer No. 2543.
- Michel No. 2691.
- Scott No. 2395.
- StampWorld No. 2692.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2677.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2508.

These were two important scientific expeditions, the first between 1963 and 1965, and the second between 1967 and 1971, both sponsored by the Polish Academy of Sciences and led by the prominent paleobiologist Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska (1925-2015) in collaboration with the naturalist Naydin Dovchin of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. Her work allowed the discovery of numerous remains of prehistoric animals under the sands of the Gobi desert, among which that of the first Deinocheirus know and a a Protoceratops and a young Velociraptor entangled in a fight, a position in which they were surprisingly fossilized. For additional information, see here.

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Thanks to Sylvester Dulewski for his contribution (https://birdsposta.blogspot.com/).

ISRAEL

ISRAEL / יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ - إِسْرَائِيل

Definitive airmail stamps.
Lion Rock, Negev.
Stamp issued on 06.04.1954.
Face value: 150 Israeli prutot.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Size: 40 x 26 mm.

Catalogues
- Israel Philatelic Federation No. 107.
- Michel No. 83.
- Scott No. C12.
- StampWorld No. 83.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 79.
- Yvert et Tellier No. PA 12.

Lion Rock (or Frog Rock) is one of many eroded rocks found in the Negev desert, southern Israel. This is located in the area of Ma'ale Akrabim (in Hebrew, מעלה עקרבים), next to the road that connects Be'er Sheva (בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע) and the port of Eilat (אֵילַת), in the Red Sea.

FRENCH SOMALILAND

FRENCH SOMALILAND / CÔTE FRANÇAISE DES SOMALIS (now DJIBOUTI).

Post of Khor Angar.
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 06.10.1947.
Face value: 60 cents of French Somaliland franc.
Printing: Photogravure.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 289.
- Scott No. 252.
- StampWorld No. 289.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 397.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 268.

Khor Angar (Khôr ʽAngar, in Arabic خور أنغار) is a strategic location on the coast of the Bab el Mandeb, the strait that separates the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden, in the Arabian Sea (Indian Ocean). It is located in a desert area, very dry and hot, of the Obock region, converted in 1884 into a French colony, which extended to the entire so-called French Coast of the Somalis (French Somaliland). From 1967 the colony was called the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas until June 27, 1977 when the independence of the Republic of Djibouti was proclaimed.