Rana draytonii

The California red-legged frog species is native to California from the coast to the Sierra Nevada Mountains up to 5,000 feet, and south to Baja California. They live in water or moist areas such as under or in vegetation, logs, and animal burrows, and can go dormant during hot, dry weather.

They are the largest native frog species in the western U.S., ranging in size from 1.5 to 5 inches long. Adults are olive green in color with black spots on their backs and are light grey on their underside with red back legs and abdomen. Adults are nocturnal and eat insects, small mice, and fish.

California red-legged frogs are an endangered species due to the loss of habitat, invasive species, and water pollution. Many organizations are endeavoring to protect this native species.

(Assembly Bill 2364, 2014)

California Valley Quail live from Canada to Mexico and from the Pacific coast to Utah. They congregate in social groups of 30-300 except during breeding season when they form smaller groups. For protection, quail live in oak woodlands and dense brush, and eat weeds, grain, seeds, and insects. They have a distinctive call and make a loud, unusual noise when taking flight.

They are 10 inches long with a 14-inch wingspan. A distinctive plume of 6 interlocking black feathers extends out of the top of their head, accompanied by a wide variety of intricate feathers. The females are muted in color, providing feathered camouflage when nesting. They lay 12-16 creamy white eggs with dark spots and both the males and females care for the chicks. One of the males performs sentry duty while the flock collectively protects the young and feeds.

(Assembly Bill 776, Chapter 777, 1931)

The desert tortoise can live 45-100 years and inhabit desert shrub areas from 1,000-4,000 feet elevation. They can store water in their bodies for nearly a year and eat insects, cacti, fruit, flowers, and grass to get additional moisture. They hibernate together during winter in tunnels up to 30 feet deep.

Males are about 15 inches long, have domed shells, and are larger than females. Females breed when 15-20-years old, laying about 15 eggs 2-3 times between May-July. Young tortoises have a soft, leathery shell that takes 5 years to harden. Being vulnerable to predators, only about 2% of them reach adulthood. They are on the Endangered Species Act list and it is illegal to touch, harm or collect them. Crucial habitat protected areas have been set up to protect them.

(Assembly Bill 1089, Chapter 683, 1972)

Oncorhynchus mykiss aquabonita

California’s state freshwater fish, the California golden trout, is native to California’s southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. They live at 6-10,000 feet elevation in clear, cold water at 37-71 F°. Golden trout are one of the most beautiful and colorful of the trout family.

They have an olive-green topside fading to bright gold on their sides and large, round, dark spots. Bright red-orange coloring is found on their under belly, gill-cheek patches, and along their sides. They can live up to 9 years and reach 8 inches long. Females spawn in late spring or early summer, laying 300-2,300 eggs in gravel beds. These hatch in about 20 days. On-going efforts are underway to protect the golden trout by raising and transplanting them into lakes and streams in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

(Assembly Resolution, 52 Chapter 90, 1947)

California gray whales are amazing travelers, migrating 14,000 miles a year. In the summer, they live in the Bering Sea where they eat small crustaceans on the ocean floor. In the winter, they head south in small groups along the California coast to Baja California. In these warm waters, they mate and give birth. By early spring, they once again follow the California coastline north to the Bering Sea.

Along their route, you might get to see these mottled gray colored whales that have a low hump on their back rather than a dorsal fin. At 35-50 feet in length and weighing 20-40 tons, these large mammals can be seen from the shore. International efforts starting in 1949 helped gray whale populations stabilize in most areas they frequent.

(Assembly Bill 258, Chapter 328, 1975)

Along with a state mineral (gold) and state rock (serpentine)California has a state gemstone, benitoite. This rare gemstone is also known as the “blue diamond” because of its deep shades of transparent blue color. One of over 3,000 known minerals, benitoite is classified as a barium titanium cyclosilicate.

Benitoite was first discovered in 1907 in the San Benito Mountains. Two years later, it was given the label benitoite by a UC Berkeley mineralogist who named the gemstone after the place where it was discovered. Since then, it has been mined by the Benitoite Mining Company. The rare gemstone is only found in a few places throughout the world. The California Legislature designated benitoite as the official State Gemstone in 1985.

(Assembly Bill 2357, Chapter 1365, 1985)

Serpentine is named after the colors of a serpent: green, blue, and cream. Serpentine is often very smooth, slippery, shiny and fibrous and can be easily fractured. It is found from central to northern California in lower to mid-mountain ranges.

(Senate Bill 265, Chapter 89, 1965)

Eschscholzia californica

The California golden poppy is bright orange with blue-green, fern-like leaves and grows in bushy clumps up to 2 feet tall and wide. Their flower petals can reach 2 inches long and 3 inches wide. Golden poppies grow throughout California. They bloom from spring to early summer and often cover wide valleys, fields, roadsides, and hillsides with a spectacular orange carpet. Golden poppies are drought resistant, grow best in native soil with lots of sunshine, and prefer temperatures from 50-75 degrees.

While some Native peoples use poppies for herbal remedies, all parts of the plant have toxic properties if ingested. If picked, poppy flowers fall apart. According to California Penal Code Section 384a it is illegal to harm or pick any golden poppy on state and private property.

(Senate Bill 1171, Chapter 69, 1903)

Ramalina menziessii

California is the first state to adopt a lichen as a state symbol. Lace lichen is a combination of fungi and algae. Both organisms benefit from each other and have a symbiotic relationship. They are just one of 1,900 lichen species found in California, but they play an important role. They provide food, habitat, and nesting material for animals. They also assist humans, as these lichens are sensitive to air quality and climate change and are being studied for their medicinal antibacterial properties.

Lace lichens hang in clumps from tree bark and branches, grow up to 3 feet long, are flat, yellow-green and shaped like lace. They live from Southern Alaska to Baja, and in California mostly along the coastline where conditions are moist.

(Assembly Bill 1528, 2015)

California’s nut-growing region is so crucial to the state’s economy that it has four official State Nuts: almond, walnut, pistachio, and pecan. California grows 80% of the world’s almonds, 75% of the world’s walnuts, and 98% of pistachios in the United States. Although pecans are a small portion of California’s nut industry, it is the only state nut that is native to the United States, which is why lobbyists fought to add it to the list.

Despite official recognition as State Nuts, these four are not technically nuts. Biologically, these “nuts” are the edible seeds of stone fruits known as drupes. Botanically, there is a difference. However, in culinary terms, “nut” usually refers to any hard-walled, edible kernel.

(Assembly Bill 1067, Chapter 49, 2017)

At the time, an American dance performed to American music appealed to local and international devotees from a wide variety of backgrounds. In 1988, West Coast Swing and square dancing were made the official State Dance and State Folk Dance, respectively, by the Legislature.

(Senate Bill 2460, Chapter 1645, 1988)

This uniquely American folk dance has its origins in European dance traditions which were brought here by early settlers. What makes it a distinct dance style is that it is cued, where calls or prompts are given to the dancers on their moves. Square dancing probably came to California from the Appalachian region of the country during the Gold Rush. Today, hundreds of thousands of Californians take part in this fun and lively pastime. Square dancing was made the official State Folk Dance by the Legislature in 1988.

(Senate Bill 2460, Chapter 1645, 1988)

A California Institute of Technology student developed light-weight surfboards to replace older, heavier wooden ones. The neoprene wetsuit, another California invention, helped to spread surfing to the colder waters of the northern coast. The rules for international competition were first established at the World Surfing Championships in 1966 at San Diego. The sport’s cult-like popularity inspired films, surf music and skateboarding.

(Assembly Bill 1782, Chapter 162, 2018)

Its name honors two Californians: philanthropist Gretchen Augustyn and paleontologist Dr. William J. Morris. Both specimens can be seen at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

(Assembly Bill 1540, Chapter 264, 2017)

This chipped stone artifact seems to capture the power and majesty of the most powerful mammal known in California. Because of its great age it was honored as an official state symbol in 1991. California’s Native peoples lived among the grizzlies for thousands of years, but they seem to have left few identifiable representations, making this small carving unusual.

(Senate Bill 404, Chapter 73, 1991)

The official State Colors of California have their origins in the early history of the state’s first university at Berkeley. The school’s yearbook – first published in 1875 – was entitled “Blue and Gold.” Though initially used as the colors of UC Berkeley in the 1870s, blue and gold have long been associated with California.

Blue represents the color of the sky, and gold the precious mineral of the same name. In 1913, California Secretary of State Frank C. Jordan began using ribbons in these colors on official documents. Blue and gold became the official colors of the state in 1951 upon the suggestion of his son, Secretary of State Frank M. Jordan.

(Senate Bill 122, Chapter 1214, 1951)

The final flag design was adopted from the now lost Bear Flag, employing a red star in the upper left corner and a red stripe at the bottom. Above the stripe is the legend “California Republic.” The image of the California grizzly bear that is emblazoned in the center was inspired by a nineteenth century painting by California artist Charles Nahl.

(Statutes, Chapter 2, 1911)

After the Constitutional Convention, the first set of seals were engraved, with further changes following over the next century. The Great Seal also includes two other state symbols: the grizzly bear and the state motto “Eureka.”. The Seal’s 31 stars symbolize California’s admission into the Union in 1850 as the 31st state. The State Seal is stamped on official documents including California driver’s licenses.

(Added to Statutes, Chapter 161, 1966)

The State Tartan began as an idea of the St. Andrew’s Society of Los Angeles. It is based on the tartan of the family of the noted Scottish naturalist John Muir (1838-1914), who championed California’s natural environment. Its pattern is original enough to be registered with the Scottish Tartan Authority as its own design (number 200111). It is meant to honor Scottish, Irish, and Celtic Americans’ contributions to California. The State Tartan may be claimed by any resident of California.

(Assembly Bill 614, Chapter 100, 2001)

CHS was legally recognized as the official State Historical Society in 1979. It is currently located on Mission Street in San Francisco. Its holdings comprise over 4,000 manuscript collections, 500,000 photographs and scrapbooks, 50,000 books and pamphlets, and other printed material such as posters and other visual materials. The Society makes stories of California accessible to the public through its research library, exhibitions, educational and public programs.

(Senate Bill 63, Chapter 52, 1979)

One of the earliest published uses of “Golden State” can be found in the title of a book published in 1856 by Eliza Farnham promoting California’s many attractions. The name has only grown in popularity, recalling not just the Gold Rush, but the seemingly limitless possibilities of California. The California Maritime Academy named its first training ship the Golden State. Golden State became the official State Nickname in 1968.

(Added by Statutes, Chapter 66, 1968)

Bodie (Mono County) was named after W. S. Body (or Bodey), who was first credited with discovering gold in Bodie in 1859. At an elevation of 8,379 feet, covered in snow throughout the winter and battered by winds in the summer, Bodie was not an ideal place to live.

Following the gold discovery, a great bonanza began in 1872, triggering a rush. Between 1876 and 1882, the community grew to over 10,000. By the time the last mine closed in 1942, Bodie had produced over $30 million in gold. After suffering a devastating fire in 1932, what remained of the town was turned into a 500-acre State Historic Park in 1962 and State Historic Landmark (341). The California Legislature designated it California’s official State Gold Rush Ghost Town in 2002.

(Added by Statutes, Chapter 365, 2002)

In 1981, the California Legislature authorized the California National Guard to establish the California State Military Museum and Resource Center. It was then designated the California Citizen-Soldier Museum in 1983. By the time it opened in November 1991, in Old Sacramento State Historic Park, its mission had expanded from its original intent to focus solely on the Guard and instead covered all of California’s military history.

The Museum and Resource Center is home to more than 30,000 military artifacts as well as thousands of books and documents. The museum oversees five satellite museums throughout the state. The institution was declared the official California State Military Museum by the California Legislature in 2004. The museum in Old Sacramento closed in 2014 and a new site is currently under development.

(Added by Statutes, Chapter 133, 2004)

The Pasadena Playhouse began life as a small community theater in 1916. The Pasadena Playhouse Association raised money to build a larger theater which was completed in a Spanish Revival style in 1924. The theater soon became an accredited school for theater arts, training over 30,000 students over the past century. Many famous actors, such as Victor Mature, Charles Bronson, Leonard Nimoy, Dustin Hoffman, and Sally Struthers received training at what would become known as the “Star Factory.”

The theater was made the official State Theater of California in 1937 and later became the first TV station on the West Coast. Closed in 1969, the Pasadena Theater would reopen in 1986. The Pasadena Playhouse, as the theater is known today, is a California Historical Landmark (887).

(Added by Statutes, Resolution Chapter 45, 1937)