 | |
| Use | Civil and state flag    |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | July 1, 1981 |
| Design | The Great Seal of the State of Montana on a blue field. Above the seal the text "Montana" in yellow. |
The flag of the state of Montana consists of the image of the Montana state seal centered on a blue field.
Within the seal, a plow, shovel, and pick rest in a field in front of the Great Falls of the Missouri River. The ribbon contains the state motto, Oro y plata, which is Spanish for "Gold and silver". The current flag was adopted in 1905, and the word "Montana" above the seal was added in 1981. In 1985, the flag was again modified to specify the font used in "Montana": Helvetica Bold. [1] [2] Before it was adopted as a state flag, it was used by Montana troops deploying for the Spanish–American War. [3]
The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) declared the flag of Montana to be the third worst state/provincial flag, 70th in a field of 72 in a list that contained all the provinces of Canada, U.S. states and U.S. territories. Georgia's flag was named the worst, but has since been changed, and Nebraska's flag was named second worst. [4] NAVA stated that about half of U.S. states used blue fields making them difficult to distinguish and the survey ranked flags with words and complex seals the lowest.
The flag of Missouri, often referred to as the Missouri flag, is the state flag of the U.S. state of Missouri. It consists of a triband of three equal horizontal stripes colored red, white, and blue, with the arms from the Great Seal of Missouri in the center. Designed by Mary Elizabeth Oliver, the red and white stripes represent valor and purity, respectively. The blue stripe represents the permanency, vigilance, and justice of the state. The three colors also highlight the French influence on the state in its early years. The Missouri flag was established on March 22, 1913, when governor Elliot Woolfolk Major signed the State flag act making it official.
The coat of arms of the state of New York was formally adopted in 1778, and appears as a component of the state's flag and seal.
The flags of the U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia exhibit a variety of regional influences and local histories, as well as different styles and design principles. Modern U.S. state flags date from the turn of the 20th century, when states considered distinctive symbols for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. Most U.S. state flags were designed and adopted between 1893 and World War I.
The flag of Florida consists of a red saltire on a white background, with the state seal superimposed on the center. The flag's current design has been in use since May 21, 1985, after the design of the Florida state seal was graphically improved and officially sanctioned for use by state officials.
The flag of Alberta is an official symbol of the province of Alberta, Canada. In 1968, the provincial legislature authorized the design of a flag, adopting it on 1 June 1968.
The flag of Arkansas, also known as the Arkansas flag, consists of a red field charged with a large blue-bordered white lozenge (diamond). Twenty-nine five-pointed stars appear on the flag: twenty-five small white stars within the blue border, and four larger blue stars in the white diamond. The inscription "ARKANSAS" appears in blue within the white lozenge, with one star above and three stars below. The star above and the two outer stars below point upwards; the inner star below points downwards. The flag was designed by Willie K. Hocker of Wabbaseka, a member of the Pine Bluff Chapter of the Arkansas Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The flag of the state of Connecticut is a white baroque shield with three grapevines, each bearing three bunches of purple grapes on a field of royal blue. The banner below the shield reads "Qui Transtulit Sustinet", Latin for "He who transplanted sustains", Connecticut's state motto. The flag dimensions are 5.5 feet (1.7 m) in length and 4.33 feet (1.32 m) in width.
The flag of Delaware consists of a buff-colored diamond on a field of colonial blue, with the coat of arms of the state of Delaware inside the diamond. Below the diamond, the date December 7, 1787, declares the day on which Delaware became the first state to ratify the United States Constitution. The colors of the flag reflect the colors of the uniform of General George Washington.
The current flag of Indiana was designed by Paul Hadley and officially adopted by the State of Indiana in May 1917.
The flag of the state of Iowa is a vertical tricolor flag designed by Dixie Cornell Gebhardt in 1917. Iowa, United States legislators officially adopted the flag in 1921.
The flag of the Commonwealth of Kentucky was adopted on March 26, 1918. In June 1962, it was slightly redesigned.
The flag of the state of Maine features Maine's state coat of arms on a blue field. In the center of the shield, a moose rests under a tall pine tree. A farmer and seaman represent the traditional reliance on agriculture and the sea by the state. The North Star represents the state motto: dirigo.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been represented by official but limited-purpose flags since 1676, though until 1908 it had no state flag per se to represent its government. A variant of the white flag with blue seal was carried by each of the Massachusetts volunteer regiments during the American Civil War alongside the National Colors. An exception were the two "Irish regiments", each of which was permitted to carry an alternative green flag with a harp symbol.
The official flag of New Mexico, a subnational polity of the United States, consists of a red sun symbol of the Zia people on a field of gold (yellow). It was officially adopted in 1925 to highlight the state's Native American and Hispano heritage: It combines a symbol of the Puebloan people, who have ancient roots in the state, with the colors of the flag of Spain, which established and ruled Nuevo México for over two and a half centuries.
The flag of Tennessee displays an emblem on a field of red, with a strip of blue bordered by white on the fly. The emblem in the middle consists of three stars on a blue circle also with a white border. The central emblem portion of the flag has been adopted as the state's unofficial logo, and appears in the logos of some Tennessee-based companies and sports teams. Examples include the First Horizon Bank and the Tennessee Titans.
The flag of West Virginia is the official flag of the U.S. State of West Virginia and was officially adopted by the West Virginia Legislature on March 7, 1929. The present flag consists of a pure white field bordered by a blue stripe with the coat of arms of West Virginia in the center, wreathed by Rhododendron maximum and topped by an unfurled red ribbon reading, "State of West Virginia." It is the only state flag to bear crossing rifles, meant to illustrate the importance of the state's fight for liberty during the Civil War as the southern unionist 35th state.
The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith (1940–2016), and others. Its membership of 1,000+ comprises flag scholars, enthusiasts, designers, collectors, conservators, educators, merchants, manufacturers, historians, and hobbyists.
The seal of the Territory of Idaho was adopted in 1863 and redrawn several times before statehood in 1890. The first state Great Seal was designed in the 1890s by Emma Edwards Green, the only woman to design a U.S. state seal. That seal was used until 1957, when the seal was slightly redrawn by Paul B. Evans and the Caxton Printers, Ltd. at the request of the state government, in order to add more anthropocentric elements to the centered shield.
The flag of the state of Nebraska is a blue rectangular cloth charged with a variation of the Nebraskan state seal. The current design was commissioned in 1925, when the Nebraska legislature passed a bill stating that the flag would consist of the state seal in gold and silver on a field of blue.
The flag of Columbus is the official municipal flag of Columbus, Ohio. Its current design is a yellow, white, red vertical triband with the city seal on a blue field. Officially, the flag was adopted in 1929, although it is unknown if the flag was ever flown when it was first adopted.
