California State Flag

U.S. state

California State Flag uses white field with a red stripe, a grizzly bear and a red star. Ratio 2:3 and current adoption February 3, 1911.

Hoist Ratio 2:3 Fly

Flag Reference

Flag	California State Flag
Entity Type	U.S. state
Official Name	State of California
Identifier	US-CA
Region	United States

Flag Specifications

Current Adoption	February 3, 1911
Proportion	2:3
Shape	Rectangle
Colours	White, Red, Brown, Green
Construction	White field with a red stripe, a grizzly bear and a red star

Documented Colour Values

Colour	HEX	RGB	CMYK
White	#FFFFFF	255, 255, 255	0, 0, 0, 0
Red	#B71234	183, 18, 52	0, 90, 72, 28
Brown	#584528	88, 69, 40	0, 22, 55, 65
Green	#008542	0, 133, 66	100, 0, 50, 48

Design and Symbolism

White	purity.
Red	courage.
Brown	the grizzly bear.
Green	the grass.
California grizzly	Strength and the animal that once roamed the state, now extinct there.
Lone star	The Lone Star of the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt.

Proportions

Ratio	2:3
Hoist	2 units
Fly	3 units

About the California State Flag

White field with a red stripe, a grizzly bear and a red star The recorded proportion is 2:3. Within this library it is grouped with plain field with a central emblem designs.

Colours and construction

The reference palette stored for California is White (#FFFFFF), Red (#B71234), Brown (#584528) and Green (#008542). The colour table above is intended for digital reference; where an issuing authority publishes a different colour standard, that specification takes precedence.

Symbols and recorded meaning

California grizzly: Strength and the animal that once roamed the state, now extinct there; Lone star: The Lone Star of the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt.

History and adoption record

The adoption field for the present record is February 3, 1911.

Entity status

California is classified here as u.s. state. That label describes the entity represented by the flag and prevents a territory, state or constituent area from being presented as a sovereign country.

Additional flag context

The design descends from the flag raised at Sonoma during the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt, a short-lived rebellion against Mexican rule that lasted under a month.

The grizzly bear is based on a subspecies that once lived across the state and was hunted to extinction by the 1920s; the flag depicts an animal California no longer has.

The 1911 statute did not specify the bear's appearance closely, and the modern standardised drawing was only fixed in 1953.

How to identify this flag

For quick identification, look for White field with a red stripe, a grizzly bear and a red star, a 2:3 proportion and the visible california grizzly. Use the comparison and design-family links on this page when another flag has a similar palette or layout.

Verification sources

Flags of the World — U.S. state flag reference — Specialist vexillological reference
USA.gov — state government directory — Government directory

Other plain field with a central emblem flags

See all

Facts about the Flag of California

California is recorded as white field with a red stripe, a grizzly bear and a red star.
The reference proportion for the flag of California is 2:3.
The stored palette for California contains White, Red, Brown and Green.
The adoption field for this u.s. state flag record is February 3, 1911.
Its construction is grouped with the plain field with a central emblem design family in this library.
California grizzly: Strength and the animal that once roamed the state, now extinct there.
Lone star: The Lone Star of the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt.
The design descends from the flag raised at Sonoma during the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt, a short-lived rebellion against Mexican rule that lasted under a month.
The grizzly bear is based on a subspecies that once lived across the state and was hunted to extinction by the 1920s; the flag depicts an animal California no longer has.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Flag of California

What does the flag of California look like?

White field with a red stripe, a grizzly bear and a red star, with a recorded proportion of 2:3.

What proportion is recorded for the flag of California?

The reference proportion stored for this flag is 2:3.

Which colours are recorded for the flag of California?

The reference palette lists White #FFFFFF, Red #B71234, Brown #584528 and Green #008542.

What do the symbols on the flag of California represent?

California grizzly — Strength and the animal that once roamed the state, now extinct there. Lone star — The Lone Star of the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt.

When was the present flag record for California adopted?

The adoption field in this record is February 3, 1911.

Which design family does the flag of California belong to?

WorldFlags.online groups it with plain field with a central emblem designs for visual browsing; that classification describes construction, not necessarily historical ancestry.

Where can I verify information about the flag of California?

The verification-source section on this page links to an official, governmental or specialist reference used to check the underlying record. Source wording is not copied into the article.