Flags: State of Nevada

I'm in Reno for a conference, so this seems like an appropriate time to comment on Nevada's state flag. I like the choice of the cobalt blue field; it looks nice against the western sky and complements the national flag. In the corner is a logo (significantly, not the state seal, which is the vexillological kiss of death according to my state flag manifesto) with two sprigs of sagebrush (the state flower), a star, and a banner with the slogan, "Battle Born." The slogan is a reminder that Nevada joined the Union during the Civil War. The state's silver mines helped finance the Union Army. The flag loses some points by having the name of the state printed upon it - another state flag no-no - but overall I like it. It certainly looks like the flag of no other state.

The other symbols of the Silver State include some pretty awesome things. The state flower is sagebrush, as mentioned above, and its fragrance is unmistakable and delightfully refreshing.

Nevada has a remarkable state fossil: the ichthyosaur Shonisaurus, found near the ghost town of Berlin, was a 55-foot-long marine reptile from the late Triassic. This Mesozoic fish-eater is so totally sweet that it gave its name to a state park (Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park) and a beer (Ichthyosaur IPA, from the Great Basin Brewing Company in Sparks/Reno).

When it comes to extant things aquatic, the Silver State does not disappoint. The official state fish is the Lahontan cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi, the largest subspecies of cutthroat trout. The Nevada Legislature describes its awesomeness and appropriateness:

The Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, a native trout found in 14 of the state's 17 counties, is adapted to habitats ranging from high mountain creeks and alpine lakes to warm, intermittent lowland streams and alkaline lakes where no other trout can live.

The Lahontan cutthroat narrowly escaped extinction due to overfishing and competition with introduced rainbow and lake trout. A relict population was found high in the mountains; through hatcheries, this population has reintroduced the species to some of its old habitats.

The state mammal (though the Legislature mistakenly calls it "the state animal") is the desert bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis nelsoni a handsome beast with a smaller stature but wider horns than its Rocky Mountain cousin, O. canadensis canadensis, which coincidentally is the state mammal of Colorado (likewise, another subspecies of cutthroat trout is the state fish of Colorado). The state reptiles is the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, a long-lived shellback found in the southern part of the state.

There are many other awesome things about the Silver State that I plan to write about later, so I'll stop here. One final note, though: the accepted local pronunciation is "Nuh-VAD-uh", not "Nuh-VAW-duh". Nevadans have publicly booed a sitting President on at least one occasion for deviation from the accepted local pronunciation of the state's name.

A former state archivist wrote on a Nevada State Library & Archives site that

Folks east of the Rocky Mountains defend saying “Nuh-VAW-duh” by claiming it’s the proper Spanish pronunciation. So why don’t they pronounce Florida, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California by their Spanish pronunciations?

The state tourism office is so intent on settling this issue that they included pronunciation help on their promotional logo:

Flags: State of Washington

According to the rules laid out in the State Flag Manifesto, the flag of the state of Washington is just plain lame: it's the state seal (a portrait of ol' George) on a solid green field. I'm disappointed in you, Evergreen State. I know you can do better.

Still, my mother taught me that if one can't say anything nice, one should keep one's fool mouth shut (not exactly her words). Let's focus on the things I love about Washington State, starting with my fantastic visit to their state capitol. I had the better part of a day between my arrival in Seattle and the opening session of my conference, so I rented a car and drove down to Olympia. I parked and walked across the capitol campus to the capitol itself (they prefer to call it the "Legislative Building", though the governor's office is in there too). I had paused for a moment outside the side door to check if it was in fact the correct entrance for capitol tours when I heard a female voice behind me: "Can I help you find something?"

I mumbled something about looking for the capitol tour. She said I was in the right place, and just needed to go up the stairs. Then she said, "Hi, I'm Mary Selecky, the Secretary of Health." I introduced myself and told her I had never before met a cabinet-level official on one of my thirty-odd state capitol visits. She gave me a business card and posed for a picture as documentation of the encounter. I told her I was in town for an engineering conference. She said something along the lines of, sure, we like engineers; we employ some in the water office. I found the capitol tour and went on my merry way. I don't know anything about Ms. Selecky's credentials or politics, but I am pleased to report that she is Nice To State Capitol Visitors.

My favorite Washington state symbol is the official State Endemic Mammal. First of all, props to the state for designating an official endemic species - one that occurs nowhere else. It's likely that some other state symbols are also endemic (looking at you, Hawaii), but I'm not aware that any other state has the "official endemic" category of state symbol. The Evergreen State scores more points, though, because it's official endemic mammal is a totally sweet ground squirrel: the Olympic marmot, Marmota olympus. As the name suggests, it is found exclusively on the Olympic peninsula. I'm trying to remember if we saw any when we visited Olympic National Park when I was in high school. Better go back and check the family photo album.

There's a bunch of other neat stuff on the official list of Washington state symbols: the state fish (steelhead trout, the anadromous form of the rainbow trout), the state vegetable (the awesomely named Walla Walla sweet onion), and the state marine mammal (the orca, which has also given its name to the Puget Sound unified transit fare card - One Regional Card for All), to name a few. I even have to give the flag at the top of this entry a little break: that's one of the originally-sewn flags, now on display in the governor's reception room at the state capitol. Betsy Ross it ain't, but that's still a neat piece of history.

Flags: State of California

Part II of the three states in three weeks series

When Lisa's brother moved to California for graduate school, I asked him if he would have to swear allegiance to the Bear Flag Republic. Apparently, the answer is yes. Now that he's finished his degree and is moving on, though, he says that they had his fingers crossed behind his back during the oath. Good news for him - that bear looks serious.



The Bear Flag was the symbol of the 1846 revolt of settlers in the old province of Alta California against the Mexican government. At right is a photograph of a reproduction of the original Bear Flag, on display in the museum at Alcatraz. The rebels attempted to form a government in Sonoma, but then the US Army showed up and asserted control of the area (the United States was at war with Mexico at the time, though the news had not reached Sonoma before the revolt was underway). California was admitted to the Union as the 31st state in 1850, having never been organized as a territory. The state seal includes an image of the Greek goddess Athena, who burst forth, fully formed, from the forehead of Zeus, as an allusion to their direct admission to the Union.

I'm a big fan of the Bear Flag, and it seems that Californians are too, displaying it proudly throughout the state. And why not? Bears mean business. Ironically, the same settlers who make the California grizzly (Ursus arctos californicus, also known as the California golden bear) the symbol of their rebellion, and later their state, later exterminated it. The last California grizzly was shot in 1922. Thus, California has the dubious distinction of being the only state in the Union (known to me, anyway) whose official state mammal is extinct.

California miscellany:

• State Symbols at the California State Library
• Flags over California at the California State Military Museum
• More on the Bear Flag Revolt from the Museum of the City of San Francisco
• Some dude's thoughts on reintroducing grizzly bears to California

Flags: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Summer travel is here, and I'm going to try to write three posts about the flags of three different states I will visit within as many weeks. I'm currently sitting in a hotel room in Pennsylvania, the first of those three states. It is also one of the four states of the Union that officially are known as commonwealths. Score +5 nerd points if you can name the other three.

In my State Flag Manifesto, I wrote that 23 of the state flags are totally uninspired, being composed only of the vexillological cop-out of plopping the state seal on a color field. Lame. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania dodges that bullet - although just barely - by putting its state coat of arms, rather than the seal, on a blue field. The state motto, found in the banner at the bottom of the coat of arms, is "Virtue, Liberty, and Independence." I think the motto ought to be "Our Flag Has Horsies On It." Speaking of state seals, though, the Seal of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is - oddly enough - ringed with the words "Seal of the State of Pennsylvania." Maybe the Keystone State would be better nicknamed The Identity Crisis State.

Still, Pennsylvania has some excellent state symbols. The state fossil is Phacops rana, a species of everybody's favorite Paleozoic arthropod, the trilobite. Apparently its bulging eyes reminded someone of a frog's, leading to the specific name rana. The state fish is the brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, a fine-looking resident of the Keystone State's spring-fed streams. The identity crises continue insofar as S. fontinalis is actually a species of char, not a true trout - but it's close enough for government work.

Best of all Pennsylvania has two official state locomotives, both formerly operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad: the steam-powered K4s (a 4-6-2 locomotive used to pull passenger trains), and the electric GG1 Number 4859, which hauled freight and wartime troop trains. Makes me want to visit Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, where the National Park Service runs a locomotive shop, excursion trains, and other steam railroad nerdosity.

Finally, the Keystone State scores major points for the mosaics in the rotunda of the state capitol. Among other things are a turtle (looks like a common snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina) and a skunk (probably a striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis). Win.

Flags: District of Columbia

I am pleased to write about a flag that is doubly special: (1) it is the flag not of a state of the Union, but the Federal District, and (2) I am currently in this District. I love when my travel schedule aligns with my geographic nerdosity.

The authorization for a special federal district, not to be a part of any state, as the seat of national government was laid out in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which grants the Congress authority

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;

Conveniently, the Constitution now spends most of its time in "such District." Now, I once thought that the creation of the Federal District was mandated by the Constitution, but the excerpt above suggests that Congress was allowed, but not required, to establish a seat of federal government distinct from any state. Anyway, the Federal District was established along the Potomac River, on land ceded from Maryland and Virginia - though Virginia got its cession back in 1846. Until then, the District of Columbia had been divided into two counties: the county of Washington on the north bank, and the county of Arlington on the south. Similarly, there were multiple municipalities in the District: until 1871, letters could be properly addressed to Georgetown, DC. The Organic Act of 1871 unified the City of Georgetown, the City of Washington, and the County of Washington into a single legal entity, the District of Columbia.

So, while DC as we know it came into existence in 1871, it wasn't until 1938 that it adopted its spiffy red-and-white flag. The banner is based on the three stars and stripes from the shield on George Washington's family coat of arms. I heartily approve - it is instantly recognizable, and simple enough for schoolchildren to draw. The citizens of the Federal City seem to dig it - it appears on non-governmental logos and is flown from non-governmental buildings throughout the District.

The official motto of the District - Justitia omnibus ("Justice for all") - and the license plate slogan, "Taxation Without Representation," are not-so-subtle digs at the governance of the Federal City. Citizens of DC have a non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives, and only won the right to vote in presidential elections in 1961, with the ratification of the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution (they didn't actually get to vote until the presidential election in 1964).

As far as I can tell, the selection of the wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) as the official bird, or the scarlet oak as the official tree, of the District carries no specific political message. Too bad.

Flags: State of Colorado

My ridiculous travel schedule has afforded another opportunity to reflect on the flag of the state in which I am currently sitting - this time, I'm even sitting in the state capital.

I like to think that the prominent C flying over the state house in Denver represents not only "Colorado" but "centennial," since the state entered the Union during 1876. While Colorado is widely known as the Centennial State, the notion that this figured into the flag design is pure conjecture. Still, the flag is attractive and distinctive. It's even featured in the design of the state highway signs - the only state to do so, though Alaska and New Mexico incorporate elements of their flags into their highway markers.

Colorado's official animal symbols - living and extinct - are superb; they're so fantastic, in fact, that I'll forgive the legislature for using the word "animal" when the mean "mammal." With that in mind, let's start with the official state mammal, the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). In addition to their spectacular head-butting ability, I admire the ability of an animal weighing up to three hundred pounds to balance on precipitous slopes.

The official state fish is the greenback cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki somias), a beautiful subspecies of the cutthroat trout (so named for red slash marks on the lower jaw) found from the Rocky Mountains west to the Pacific. The Centennial State is not alone in its admiration for these handsome fishes; the Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi) is Nevada's state fish¹. Anyway, it seems that the once-common greenback cutthroat was severely affected by human activity and was feared extinct until intrepid biologists found relict populations in a few backcountry streams in Rocky Mountain National Park. There are plans to reintroduce the greenback to waters in its former range.

Colorado is lucky to have one of the best-known dinosaurs as its official state fossil. Stegosaurus lived in Colorado during the Jurassic Period, before the rise of the Rocky Mountains for which the state is now famous. One prominent specimen was discovered by high school students from Cañon City, west of Pueblo. Moving on to scaly critters with us yet today, the state reptile is the western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii), a handsome shellback found throughout the state.

There are many more awesome things about Colorado, from the subtle beauty of the high plains in the east, to the sudden rise of the Front Range, to the blooms of the short alpine summer, but these will have to wait. Read more about Colorado state symbols from the state's Department of Personnel & Administration web site.

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¹ When I checked the list of Nevada state symbols to confirm my suspicion, I found that Nevada's official state mammal is the desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), closely related to the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep of Colorado. I don't know who's copying whom, but it's a good thing that Utah separates the Centennial and Silver States, preventing them from bickering like siblings in the back seat of a station wagon.

Flags: State of Maryland

I'm going to take advantage of a special opportunity to write about the flag of a state in which I am currently sitting.

The flag of the State of Maryland is one of my favorites. It features the combined arms of the Calvert and Crossland families, ancestors of the Lords Baltimore, for whom the state's most populous city is named. I like the flag because its is distinctive, instantly recognizable, and steeped in the state's history.

A glance at the listing provided by the state archives reveals that Maryland has an awful lot of state symbols. Sure, many states have an official bird, mammal, or song, but the Free State has an official crustacean (the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun), dessert (Smith Island Cake), exercise (walking), and horse (Thoroughbred). Oh, and did I meantion that the official state sport is jousting? How sweet is that? The Old Line State was the first to adopt an official sport, and they picked a doozy. I have yet to meet a Marylander who practices the state sport, though, so let me know if you know one. If it were up to me - and most citizens will probably be thankful that it is not - close gubernatorial races would be decided by a winner-takes-all jousting match.

The official state reptile is the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin). This noble testudine is perhaps best known as the mascot of the University of Maryland College Park. I'm endlessly amused that Maryland fans often abbreviate "Terrapins" as "Terps." I also enjoy their "Fear the Turtle" athletic campaign.

Maryland is a land of geographical oddities, both natural and artificial. The state has no natural lakes, largely because it was not reached by the Pleistocene glaciation (see the Maryland Geological Survey lakes and reservoirs page for more information). West of Chesapeake Bay, the state is bounded on the north by the Mason-Dixon line and on the south by the Potomac River, except for a small section where the District of Columbia lies in between. As the Potomac snakes northward near the town of Hancock, the northern and southern borders converge until the state is less than two miles wide. Road nerds will also note that Hancock is the eastern terminus of Interstate 68.

Today, while visiting my cousin and her family in Calvert County, I was pleased to eat a rockfish sandwich. Rockfish (Morone saxatilis), known in other parts of the Union as the striped bass, is the official state fish. It is also delicious.

Flags: State of Alaska

"Alaska’s flag–to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier."

In honor of the 50^th anniversary of Alaska's admission to the Union today, let's have a look at its fine flag. The "Eight Stars" exhibit (PDF) of the Alaska State Museum will tell you everything you need to know, but here's an executive summary: The flag was designed for the Territory of Alaska in 1927 by a 13-year-old boy named Benny Benson. His entry was the unanimous winner of a territory-wide competition among schoolchildren in grades 7-12. The eight stars represent the constellation Ursa Major (a.k.a. "The Great Bear" or "The Big Dipper") and the North Star. The blue background represents the northern sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaskan flower.

Details: Historically, Alaska struggled to find its place in the United States. After the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, Alaska was designated as a military district. It wasn't until 1912 that Alaska became a United States territory with an elected legislature. Even then, the United States Congress had the right to override the actions of the territorial legislature. Due in part to the federal government's ignoring of Alaska, the territory fell into an economic depression in the 1920s while the rest of the country was relatively prosperous (though we all know how that ended).

During a 1926 visit to Washington, DC, territorial Governor George A. Parks visited the Post Office building, where the Postmaster General pointed out that Alaska was not represented in the display of flags in the building's rotunda because the territory did not have a flag. In response, Parks arranged for the American Legion to organize a flag design contest for the territory's schoolchildren. 142 entries were submitted, and Benny Benson's elegant design was selected unanimously; fortunately for Benny, his design was not disqualified due to his misspelling of the word "strength" in the narrative submitted with the design, as he had feared it would be. The flag later inspired the poem "Alaska's Flag" which later was set to music to become the official state song.

Alaska's flag is one of my favorites because of the elegant simplicity and powerful symbolism of the design as well as the compelling story of its origins. The flag is beloved by citizens and played a role in the Territory's quest for statehood, which was finally realized with President Eisenhower's signature on January 3, 1959. However, the sweetness of Alaska's state symbols doesn't end there. The state's Office of Economic Development site describes them all; I will comment on a few below.

The official state bird is the willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), a member of the grouse family. Legend has it that the founders of the town of Chicken, Alaska wished to name the town after the large numbers of ptarmigan observed in the area. However, they couldn't agree on how to spell it, so they named it "Chicken" to avoid embarrassment.

Alaska is so big it has to have two official state mammals. The state land mammals is the moose (Alces alces). I'll save my moose-related comments for another post, but my own encounters with Alaskan moose were pretty fantastic. The state marine mammal is the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus). Apparently the walrus lobby wasn't very strong in Juneau. The bowhead makes lots of interesting noises, though.

Speaking of Juneau, Alaska is the only state in the Union without some kind of official-looking state capitol building. The state legislature chambers and the governor's office are in the former Federal and Territorial Building, an Art Deco office building completed in 1931.

Flags: State of Arizona

I'll begin the state flags series with my favorite, the copper-colored banner of the State of Arizona. According to the Arizona State Capitol Museum web site, the thirteen alternating red and yellow rays represent the original thirteen colonies, the red and yellow flag of the Spanish conquistadors, and the western sun. The copper-colored star reminds us that the Grand Canyon State is the nation's leading producer of copper. Finally, the bottom half of the flag is the same shade as the union on the US flag.

More importantly, though, it just looks good. It's distinctive, visually appealing, and it complements the national flag nicely.

The awesomeness of Arizona's state symbols doesn't end there, though:

• The state mammal is the ringtail (Bassariscus astutus), also known as the ringtail cat or miner's cat, a small raccoon-like creature which can rotate its ankles over 180 degrees.
• The song of the state bird, the cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus), has been described as similar to an automobile engine turning over. It's uncanny. Have a listen at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology library.
• The official state neckwear, the bolo (or bola) tie, reminds me of my grandfather, who became fond of them upon retiring to the Valley of the Sun.
• Petrified wood, the state fossil, is both beautiful and scientifically interesting.
  

...and I didn't even mention the Apache trout, ridge-nosed rattlesnake, and Arizona treefrog! Maybe my expatriate Arizonan cousins will have something to add.

State flag manifesto

As with many of my activities, this rant started with angry comments while on a road trip. I'm a fairly civic-minded individual, and as such I noticed that the state flags of my home state and some of our Old Northwest neighbors consisted only of the state seal on a solid field of some color, typically white or blue. I was miffed by this, thinking that surely the great states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan, to name a few, deserved better...but this required examples of what I consider to be excellent state flags.

The inevitable question, however, is "who cares?" Why are state symbols important? Federal powers expanded tremendously during the 20th Century. We see ourselves as citizens of the United States of America first, and state identity is less important. However, it was not always so: for the Founding Fathers, state identity came first. This persisted through the Civil War. The United States was founded on the idea expressed in the Illinois state motto: "State sovereignty, national union."

State flags and other symbols are important because they connect us to the principles of states' rights that are the foundation of our country. They provide a sense of pride in one's home and a connection to these places. Federal power is important (as indicated by the warm fuzzy feelings I get from the Interstate Highway System), but we shouldn't forget the importance of state identity.

To begin, I'd like to point out that the flags of 23 states fall into the same basic category - lame. These are the flags that are simply the state seal on a solid field. It seems that nearly half of the states in the Union didn't even want to try. State seals are swell, but it's hard to rally around a flag that is only recognizable by reading the fine print.

My home state is one of the many flags that are sort of lame. However, the Illinois state seal is more interesting than most, and more importantly, we have a fantastic state fossil. The Tully monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium), a swimming creature from the Pennsylvanian period which is found only in the Mazon Creek formation near Joliet. Also, the state fish is the bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus, or "sunnies" if you're from Minnesota), which is also pretty sweet. A mature male bluegill has a beautiful copper-colored patch below the gills and is tons of fun to catch on a 4-weight fly rod.

Because everyone needs to know my opinions on inconsequential things, I plan to post some thoughts on some state flags later.