The Postal Service celebrated the variety and beauty of the nation’s waterfalls during a stamp dedication ceremony at the Canyon Visitor Education Center in Yellowstone National Park on June 13.
The Forever stamps depict 12 noteworthy waterfalls. Each design features a photograph with the waterfall’s name and location underneath.
“The Postal Service is proud to celebrate the natural world through our stamps, and these gorgeous new stamps will bring the beauty of these waterfalls to millions of people who will see them on the cards and letters they receive in their mailboxes,” said Michael J. Elston, secretary of the USPS Board of Governors, who spoke at the ceremony.
Other participants were Leonard Carlman, master of ceremonies; Cameron “Cam” Sholly, Yellowstone National Park superintendent; Kenneth Keifer, photographer of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River stamp; and Carol Quinn, Yellowstone supervisory park ranger.
A waterfall is part of a river or stream where its flow pours over a near-vertical rocky ledge or cliff before reaching rocks or a pool below.
One of the most familiar types is the plunge, where the stream falls vertically without making contact with the underlying cliff face. Sometimes there are caverns behind the falls carved by earlier erosion.
Other types include the cascade, which breaks into smaller falls as the water descends over a slope of rocks and boulders, and the cataract, where large amounts of fast-moving water plummet over a cliff to create a waterfall of great size and power.
Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the Waterfalls stamps and pane.
The stamps are available in panes of 12 at Post Offices and usps.com.
