SPM - SAINT PIERRE AND MIQUELON

Saint Pierre and Miquelon, officially the Overseas Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (French: Collectivité d'outre-mer de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, , is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France, situated in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean near the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the only part of New France that remains under French control, with an area of 242 square kilometres (93 sq mi) and a population of 6,008 at the March 2016 census. Located off the western end of the Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula, the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon is composed of eight islands, totalling 242 square kilometres (93 sq mi), of which only two are inhabited. The islands are bare and rocky, with steep coasts, and only a thin layer of peat to soften the hard landscape. The islands are geologically part of the northeastern end of the Appalachian Mountains along with Newfoundland.  Saint Pierre Island, whose area is smaller, 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi), is the most populous and the commercial and administrative center of the archipelago. Saint-Pierre Airport has been in operation since 1999 and is capable of accommodating long-haul flights from France.

Miquelon-Langlade, the largest island, is in fact composed of two islands; Miquelon Island (also called Grande Miquelon, 110 square kilometres (42 sq mi)) is connected to Langlade Island (Petite Miquelon, 91 square kilometres (35 sq mi)) by the Dune de Langlade (also known as the Isthme de Langlade), a 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) long sandy tombolo. A storm had severed them in the 18th century, separating the two islands for several decades, before currents reconstructed the isthmus. Morne de la Grande Montagne, the highest point in the territory at 240m, is located on Grande Miquelon. The waters between Langlade and Saint-Pierre were called "the Mouth of Hell" (French: Gueule d'Enfer) until about 1900, as more than 600 shipwrecks have been recorded in that point since 1800. In the north of Miquelon Island is the village of Miquelon-Langlade (710 inhabitants), while Langlade Island was almost deserted (only one inhabitant in the 1999 census).

A third, formerly inhabited island, Isle-aux-Marins, known as Île-aux-Chiens until 1931 and located a short distance from the port of Saint-Pierre, has been uninhabited since 1963. The other main islands are Grand Colombier, Île aux Vainquers and Île aux Pigeons. 

Seabirds are the most common fauna. Seals and other wildlife can be found in the Grand Barachois Lagoon of Miquelon. Every spring, whales migrating to Greenland are visible off the coasts of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Trilobite fossils have been found on Langlade. The stone pillars off the island coasts called "L'anse aux Soldats" eroded away and disappeared in the 1970s. The rocky islands are barren, except for scrubby yews and junipers and thin volcanic soil. The forest cover of the hills, except in parts of Langlade, had been removed for fuel long ago.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon have issued stamps since 1885. A handstamp is known used from the head post office in Saint-Pierre in 1853. The general colonial issues of France were used from 1859. In 1885 St. Pierre and Miquelon began overprinting stamps of the French Colonies initially with S P M and with ST PIERRE M-on from 1891 to 1892. From 1909 it issued its own stamps with the islands' name printed in French, either St. Pierre & Miquelon or Saint Pierre et Miquelon. On July 1, 1976, the islands became an official overseas department of France and the islands used the stamps of France from April 1, 1978, until February 3, 1986, when it once again resumed publishing separate issues.

The covers posted on April 22, 2016 and I received on May 12, 2016.