# 4474 - 2010 44c Nature of America: Hawaiian Rain Forest
2010 44¢ Hawaiian Rain Forest
Issue Date: September 1, 2010
City: Hilo, HI
The Hawaiian rainforest was featured in the 12th and final pane in the Nature of America series. Tropical rainforests cover more than 2,500 square miles of the Hawaiian Islands. The region has tremendous biodiversity, and designer John Dawson, who created the art for the rest of the series, included 24 separate species. Rainforests experience extremely high amounts of rainfall, and few places are wetter than Hawaii’s forests. The slopes of Mount Waialeale get about 426 inches of rain per year – with a record of 683 inches in 1982. That’s nearly 57 feet of precipitation in a year, making it the rainiest place on Earth.
U.S.P.S. Introduces Nature Of America Series
Before settling on Nature of America, the U.S.P.S. discussed issuing a set of four American desert stamps, based on the popularity of the 1981 Desert Plants stamps. Over time, the concept for the stamps evolved into a set of six stamp sheets depicting six ecosystems found in America.
The first sheet in the Nature of America series was issued on April 6, 1999. Picturing the Sonoran Desert, its first day ceremony was held at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona. According to a U.S.P.S. representative at the ceremony, “these stamps will help promote a greater appreciation for the diversity and beauty of our desert lands, and serve as a nature lesson for the enjoyment of young and old alike.” Among the ceremony’s participants were some of the animals pictured on the new stamps.
Click any of the images above or below to learn more about the stamps and regions they picture. And click here to get the complete set of 12 Nature of America sheets.
2010 44¢ Hawaiian Rain Forest
Issue Date: September 1, 2010
City: Hilo, HI
The Hawaiian rainforest was featured in the 12th and final pane in the Nature of America series. Tropical rainforests cover more than 2,500 square miles of the Hawaiian Islands. The region has tremendous biodiversity, and designer John Dawson, who created the art for the rest of the series, included 24 separate species. Rainforests experience extremely high amounts of rainfall, and few places are wetter than Hawaii’s forests. The slopes of Mount Waialeale get about 426 inches of rain per year – with a record of 683 inches in 1982. That’s nearly 57 feet of precipitation in a year, making it the rainiest place on Earth.
U.S.P.S. Introduces Nature Of America Series
Before settling on Nature of America, the U.S.P.S. discussed issuing a set of four American desert stamps, based on the popularity of the 1981 Desert Plants stamps. Over time, the concept for the stamps evolved into a set of six stamp sheets depicting six ecosystems found in America.
The first sheet in the Nature of America series was issued on April 6, 1999. Picturing the Sonoran Desert, its first day ceremony was held at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona. According to a U.S.P.S. representative at the ceremony, “these stamps will help promote a greater appreciation for the diversity and beauty of our desert lands, and serve as a nature lesson for the enjoyment of young and old alike.” Among the ceremony’s participants were some of the animals pictured on the new stamps.
Click any of the images above or below to learn more about the stamps and regions they picture. And click here to get the complete set of 12 Nature of America sheets.