United States of America - Hawaii

In my World envelope collection I do not just want to have envelopes from stamp-issuing countries and territories, but also from other regions. This includes the 50 states of the United States of America. This envelope comes from the state of Hawaii, lying in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 50th state, admitted in 1959. Until now it is the last state to be admitted to the union.

The state encompasses nearly the entire Hawaiian archipelago, 137 islands spread over 2.400 km. The volcanic archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania. At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight main islands are, in order from northwest to southeast: Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. The last is the largest island in the group; it is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawaiʻi Island" to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago.

Hawaii is the 8th smallest geographically and the 11th least populous, but the 13th most densely populated of the 50 states. It is the only state with an Asian American plurality. Hawaii has over 1,4 million permanent residents, along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. The state capital and largest city is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu. The state's ocean coastline is about 1.210 km long, the fourth longest in the U.S., after the coastlines of Alaska, Florida, and California. Hawaii is the most recent state to join the union, on 21 August 1959. It was an independent nation until 1898.

Hawaii's diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches, oceanic surroundings, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists. Because of its central location in the Pacific and 19th-century labor migration, Hawaii's culture is strongly influenced by North American and East Asian cultures, in addition to its indigenous Hawaiian culture.

The stamps were affixed by me and come from the Flags of our nation and Greetings series and the stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of statehood. I sent the envelope to the post office in the capital Honolulu to be postmarked. It arrived back in just under a month with two perfect datestamps, inside another cover. This protected my cover from sorting machines with automatic postmarks.

Date sent: 26 May 2017

Date postmark: 15 June 2017

Date received: 23 June 2017

Number of days: 28

Envelope in collection: 193