By Dr. John W. Lund, PE – Director, Geo-Heat Center (Klamath Falls, OR)
A wide variety of topical areas are keen to postage stamp enthusiasts, such as sports, trains, flowers, movie stars and more. But stamps depicting geothermal manifestations and development are a little more unusual, and not sought by the majority of philatelists.
Geothermal energy is depicted on stamps from many countries, however, offering everything from violently erupting volcanoes and geysers, to power plants and spas. Blessed with abundant geothermal activity, three countries have consistently illustrated their stamps with geothermal energy: Iceland, Japan and New
Zealand. This article divides the topics illustrated by stamps from around the world into three main areas:
• Uses of geothermal resources such as heating, cooking, swimming, drilling and power generation; and,
This stamp from the Solomon Islands provides not only a map, but a geologic cross-section.
• Natural features such as volcanoes, mud pots, hot spring, fumaroles and geysers;
Dormant Volcanoes. Classic examples of this type of stamp include Mt. Fuji in Japan. Since 1930, Mt. Fuji has been depicted with photographs and paintings on several dozen stamp issues. The only two U.S. stamps of this type are from a National Park series
• Volcanic disasters, mainly from volcanic eruption due to ash falls and lava flows.
in 1934, offering Crater Lake, Oregon, and Mt. Rainier, Washington. Samples from other countries are provided below.
Illustrations of stamps from each of these three topics are arranged by category in the following pages, with emphasis on the use of geothermal resources. Due to space limitations, sometimes only one of a series will be shown. The country where a particu- lar event takes place—and not the country of issue—is listed.
Past articles on geothermal stamps appear in the Geo-Heat Center
Quarterly Bulletin (Lund, 1980; Lund, 1996a; and Lund, 1996b).
Other articles on the subject can be found on the Internet at: www.iomoon.com, and in an American Topical Association compilation (Jochimsen, 1990).
NATURAL GEOTHERMAL FEATURES
The most common natural geothermal features shown on postage stamps are volcanoes. There are many thousands available, especially with recent international issues by many countries for
“The Year of the Mountains.” The following examples show both dormant and active volcanoes. To start, an issue from the Solomon
Islands (opening illustration) provides a good introduction about what causes volcanic eruptions.
Mt. Fuji, Japan Mt. Egmont, New Zealand
Crater Lake, United States Mt. Bristol, S. Sandwich Islands
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Mt. Chimborazo, Ecuador Mt. Lopevi, Vanuatu Mt. Popocatepelt, Mexico
Active Volcanoes. Stamps depicting active volcanoes are fewer in number, but more interesting. Stamps of volcanic eruptions have been issued by a wide range of countries, from Italy to the South
Sandwich Islands in Antarctica. Classic examples of this type are the first stamps issued by El Salvador in 1867 of Mt. San Miguel.
Another helped defeat the Central American canal route proposed through Nicaragua in 1902. Surprisingly, there are no stamps of the famous U.S. eruptions of Lassen Peak, California (1914-17) and Mt. St. Helens, Washington (1980), or any of the spectacular lava fountains and flows of Hawaii. However, a recent series from the small African island nation of Sao.Tomé and Príncipe does show the Mt. St. Helens eruption. Another erupting volcano stamp of interest is of Parícutin, the cinder cone that started in a Mexican farm field in 1943. The stamp illustrates the volcano’s eruption, but incorrectly shows black smoke instead of pyroclastic cinders blasted into the air or lava flowing from Parícutin. Of unusual note are stamps from Somalia showing a submarine eruption (black smoker), and from San Marino showing a volcano erupting in the middle of a campground!
Mt. San Miguel, El Salvador
Ardoukova, Djibouti
San Cristobal, Nicaragua
Mt. Momotombo, Nicaragua
Island Making, Tristan da Cunha
Ocean Vent, Somalia Campground, San Marino Marum & Benbow, Vanuatu Cook Island, Solomon Islands
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Klyuchevskoi, U.S.S.R.
Tongariro, New Zealand Parícutin, Mexico Popocatepetl, Mexico
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Surtsey, Iceland Mt. Bagana, Papua New Guinea Karumski, Russia Coastal Scene, New Hebrides
Taal, Philippines Symbolic Volcano, UN Soufriere Hills, Montserrat Hekla, Iceland
Mt. San Pedro, Guatemala Santiago-Masaya, Nicaragua Bentjana Alam, Indonesia Galeras-Pasto, Colombia
Sakurajima, Japan
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Niuafo-ou, Tonga Stromboli, Italy Etna, Italy
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Other Geothermal Manifestations. These stamps feature steaming ground, hot springs, mud pots and geysers. The majority are from Japan, Iceland and New Zealand. The beautiful pink and white terraces in New Zealand were buried by the eruption of Mt. Tarawera in 1886.
Submarine Vent, Guyana Hverarönd, Iceland Pink Terraces, New Zealand White Terraces, New Zealand
Old Faithful Geyser, United States Pohutu Geyser, New Zealand Geysir, Iceland Hakone Hot Springs, Japan
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Rotorua Mud, New Zealand Champagne Pool, New Zealand Pyroclastic Flow, Monserrat Strokkur Geyser, Iceland w w w. g e o t h e r m a l . o r g
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GEOTHERMAL UTILIZATION
Geothermal utilization has been shown on only a few stamps around the world. Even though the United States is the leader in geothermal electric generation, for example, none show power plants at the world’s largest geothermal power operation, The Geysers in northern California. Nor does Italy have any stamps that show Lardarello, where geothermal electric power was first generated. Iceland and New Zealand geothermal utilization, however, is well represented on their stamps.
Direct-Use. These stamps illustrate mainly cooking, swimming and greenhouse growing of vegetables and flowers. Most interesting are issues showing clothes being washed at the hot springs in
Laugardalur in downtown Reykjavik, Iceland, and Maori geothermal cooking in New Zealand. The “Pearl” restaurant in Reykjavik is shown sitting atop hot water storage tanks for a district heating system. New stamp issues include those from the former Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria, beautifully illustrating their geothermal spas.
An unusual stamp from Sweden depicts a Hot Dry Rock geothermal well was part of their Renewable Energy series.
Sport Swimming, Iceland
Geothermal History
District Heating, Iceland
Hot Dry Rock Well, Sweden Hot Springs Therapy, Iceland
Blue Lagoon, Iceland The Pearl, Iceland
Piestany Spa, Slovakia
Carlsbad Spa, Czech Republic
Sofia Central Bath, Bulgaria
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Gorna Banja Bath, Bulgaria Washing Clothes, Iceland Maori Cooking, New Zealand
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Geothermal Power Generation. Only a few stamps show geothermal power plants, from New Zealand, Iceland, El Salvador and
Nicaragua. One stamp from Iceland shows a venting well, ostensibly for power generation. And finally, the power of a volcano and geyser supporting handballs is shown from a series printed for the
1995 International Handball Championship in Iceland.
Momotombo, Nicaragua
Power Scematic, New Zealand Steam Venting, Iceland
Plant and Wells, Iceland
Ahuachapan, El Salvador Berlín Power Plant, El Salvador Volcano and Handball, Iceland Geyser and Handball, Iceland
Volcanic Eruptions
Geothermal disasters are usually caused by volcanic eruptions and subsequent ash falls, ash and lava flows, and seismic sea waves.
In general, these are “bad” events, but diverted lava flows from the
1973 eruption on Heimeyar in Iceland’s Westmann Islands improved a local harbor. In addition, galleries were excavated in the cooling lava, and rain water collected in them was used to heat a town for a number of years. Stamps commemorating this event were issued by
Iceland, Greenland and Denmark. Another interesting stamp depicts the 6 th century voyage of Irish Monk St. Brendan, sailing near Iceland and calling it the “gates of hell.” Mexican stamp issues of the
Parícutin eruption can also be included in this group, as the lava flows buried a nearby village. Montserrat issued a set of nine stamps to provide monetary relief for victims of the Soufriere Hills Volcano eruption, as well as a regular set to commemorate “Active Volcano
1995-97,” and “Endangered Species.” An issue from St. Vincent was sold to generate monetary relief for victims of the 1979 Soufriere eruption. A Central African Republic issue depicts various disasters around the world, including the infamous 911 attack in New York
City. Iceland’s disastrous Hekla eruption in 1947 (p. 255) can also be included here.
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Tin Can Island, Tonga
St. Brendan, Iceland
Taal Eruption, Philippines
Gunung Meletus, Indonesia
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Soufriere Hills, Montserrat Soufriere Hills, Montserrat Relief Fund, Soufriere Mt. Etna, Italy
Heimaey, Iceland Heimaey, Iceland
C ollecting geothermal stamps is a hobby with me, so
I am surprised by the almost complete lack of geothermal energy stamps from the United States. As noted in my 1980 Geo-Heat Center Quarterly Bulletin article, three U.S. geothermal stamps had been proposed
(worth 15 cents each at the time), including a Geysers power plant, a drill rig, and a greenhouse direct-use project.
These were sent to the U.S. Postal Service stamp screening committee for consideration, but nothing was heard of the ideas again. To help publicize geothermal energy and development in the United States, such a proposal for geothermal stamps should be renewed.
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References
Lund, John W., 1980. “Geothermal Philately,” Geo-Heat Center Quarterly Bulletin,
V. 5, No. 1 (March), Klamath Falls, OR, pp. 16-23.
Lund, John W., 1996. ‘New Zealand Geothermal Stamps,” Geo-Heat Center Quarterly
Bulletin, V. 17, No. 1 (February), Klamath Falls, OR, pp. 27-28 (available online at: http://geoheat.oit.edu)
Lund, John W., 1996, Geothermal Stamps of Iceland, Geo-Heat Center Quarterly
Bulletin, V. 17, NO. 4 (November), Klamath Falls, OR, pp. 34 - 36. (Available online at http://geoheat.oit.edu).
Morris, Edmund, 2001. Theodore Rex, The Modern Library, New York, 772 p.
Jochimsen, Bertha, 1990. Volcanoes on Stamps, Topical Time, P.O. Box 57, Arlington,
TX 76004 (Journal of Thematic Philately, American Topical Association).
Updated in 1999 by J. L. Whitford-Stark. Email: jlwstark@overland.net.
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Edinburgh, Tristan da Cunha Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
To obtain a copy, contact the GRC for details:
P.O. Box 1350 • Davis, CA 95616 tel (530) 758-2360 • fax (530) 758-2839 grc@geothermal.org
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