Flag of Pocatello

Last updated
City of Pocatello
Flag of Pocatello, Idaho.svg
Mountains Left
Use Pocatello
Adopted20 July 2017
DesignA sun behind a red mountain with snow on top with a blue background

The flag of Pocatello is the official flag of the city of Pocatello, Idaho, United States. The present flag was adopted on July 20, 2017, replacing the previous flag, used from 2001 to 2017. The former flag was considered by a 2004 survey of the North American Vexillological Association to be the worst of 150 selected US city flags. [1] The current flag is commonly known as the Mountains Left, while the previous flag (used until 2017) was known as the Proud to be Pocatello. [2]

Contents

Design

Current flag (2017–present)

The second version of the flag has been used since 2017. It is a rectangular flag with a medium-dark cyan-blue background. It includes three overlapping pink-red triangles, with the triangle on the left being the largest, and the other triangles getting proportionally smaller. Together, they represent the mountains of the nearby Sawtooth Range, specifically Scout Mountain, Kinport Peak, and Chinese Peak. At the top of the biggest triangle is a yellow compass rose, formed from eight triangular arms, that are arranged with alternating longer and shorter arms. The southern point and half of each of the southwestern and southeastern points are white, with the rest of the rose being yellow. The white portion of the rose is positioned to represent the snowy peak of the largest mountain. While not officially stated in the description of the flag, the compass rose is usually interpreted by viewers as a star in the sky. [3] At the bottom of the flag is one blue and one red stripe. The colors of the flag are described in the hexadecimal format as: [4]

SchemeBlueRedYellowWhite
HEX #3661AD#DB2F32#FFCC2D#FFFFFF

The red triangles also represent industry, recreation, and education. The compass rose symbolizes the role of the city as the transportation and trade hub for rail, road, and air, as well as the past, present, and future of the city. The yellow color represents the agricultural ties of the region and the prosperity of the city, while the white color references the snowy peaks of the mountains. The blue background symbolizes the sky, and the blue stripe near the bottom of the flag symbolizes the Portneuf River. The design of the flag was meant to represent the history of Indigenous people from the region. It conveys upward motion, signifying positive hope for the future. [4]

Old flag (2001–2017)

Flag of Pocatello
Proud To Be Pocatello Flag.gif
Proud to be Pocatello
Use Pocatello
Adopted2001
Relinquished20 July 2017
DesignTwo Purple mountains with text saying  Proud to be Pocatello on a white background and a copyright text at down

The first flag was used by the city from 2001 to 2017. It was in the shape of a rectangle and had a white background. The upper part of the flag featured two blurred purple triangles that symbolized the Sawtooth Range that are located near the city. The triangle on the left was twice the size of the second triangle, which was located behind the first one, and partially covered by it. Each triangle had five triangular notches on the viewer's right. The bottom part of the flag displayed writing that read "Proud to Be Pocatello", distributed into two lines. The upper line included "Proud to Be", in a yellow Sans-serif font with black edges and shadow. The lower line included "Pocatello" in a red serif font with white inner edges and black outer edges with black shadow. The words were put together without space left between them. On the sides of the flag, at the height of the top of the text, were displayed five horizontal thin lines. The trademark symbol (™) appears next to these lines on the viewer's right. At the bottom is a copyright notice, "Copyright © Greater Pocatello Chamber of Commerce". [5] [6]

History

The first flag was created by the Pocatello Chamber of Commerce for their use as a logo. It was unofficially used by the city as its flag, from 2001 to 2017. [5] [6] The flag gained national attention after the North American Vexillological Association ranked it as the worst city flag in North America in its 2004 survey. [2] In 2015, Roman Mars held a TED Talk, [7] [8] popularizing the question of flag design and the last place of Pocatello in the survey, and motivating the city to create a new flag.

In April 2016, the city's newly created flag design committee met for the first time; Roman Mars was invited and attended the meeting. [8] The process as agreed was:

On July 20, 2017, after over one year of work by the flag committee, the Pocatello City Council approved the adoption of the new flag. The city listed 98 participants "whose submission contributed or had similar features of the final design whether through style or symbolism". [4] [9] [10] [11]

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References

  1. "The American City Flag Survey of 2004" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  2. 1 2 "East Idaho City Ditches 'Worst Flag In North America'". Boise State Public Radio. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  3. "Idaho city with ridiculed flag unveils new design". kmvt.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  4. 1 2 3 "Pocatello Flag". Archived from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  5. 1 2 "Pocatello". nava.org. Archived from the original on 2021-05-27. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  6. 1 2 "Pocatello has the "Worst Flag in America"". byui.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  7. "Roman Mars: Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed making Pocatello's flag infamous". Archived from the original on 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  8. 1 2 McFarland, Cidney. "Pocatello starts effort to improve derided city flag". Washingtontimes.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  9. "Pocatello City Council Approves Flag Resolution, New and Official City Flag to be Raised" (Press release). City of Pocatello, Idaho. July 20, 2017. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  10. Inglet, Misty (July 21, 2017). "Pocatello officially has new city flag". KIFI-TV. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  11. "Pocatello council approves new flag for Gate City". Idaho State Journal (Press release). July 20, 2017. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.