Mount Rainier stamp shows star trails

By Michael Baadke

A forever stamp commemorating Mount Rainier National Park in the state of Washington will show what the United States Postal Service is describing as a “star trail photo merged from 200 images” by photographer Matt Dieterich of Pittsburgh, Pa.

The design is the 13th in the upcoming National Parks set revealed by the Postal Service since April 4. The set, marking 100 years of the National Park Service, will be issued June 2 during World Stamp Show-NY 2016 at the Javits Center in New York City

According to the Postal Service, dedication ceremonies will also take place at or near each of the parks depicted on the stamps.

On his website, Dieterich provides a date for the photo of June 22, 2015, and describes it as showing “star trails and pink aurora over Mount Rainier.”

Mount Rainier National Park is even older than the National Park Service. Established by an Act of Congress in 1899, today it encompasses 236,381.49 acres, according to National Park Service statistics, with more than 260 miles of maintained trails. Its centerpiece is the 14,410-foot high volcano Mount Rainier, which last erupted about 1,000 years ago. The volcano is described as episodically active.

The other National Parks forever stamps that have been previewed this month feature Acadia National Park, Arches National Park, Assateague Island National Seashore, Bandelier National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Everglades National Park, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Grand Canyon National Park, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Haleakala National Park, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park.