State Seal
of CaliforniaThe Great Seal of the State of California was designed and approved at the 1849 Monterey Constitutional Convention. The complex imagery on the Great Seal serves as a snapshot in time, capturing some of the main issues facing the convention members. These included many activities and localities in the future state that were important to them – mining, farming and water transportation.
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.
Explore our State Symbols
- Amphibian - Red Legged Frog
- Animal - California Grizzly Bear
- Bird - California Valley Quail
- Colors - Blue and Gold
- Dance - West Coast Swing
- Dinosaur – Augustynolophus Morrisi
- Fabric – Denim
- Fife and Drum Band – California Consolidated Drum Band
- Flag
- Flower – California Golden Poppy
- Folk Dance – Square Dance
- Fossil – Saber-Toothed Tiger
- Freshwater Fish – California Golden Trout
- Gemstone – Benitoite
- Gold Rush Ghost Town – Bodie
- Grass – Purple Needlegrass
- Historical Society
- Insect – California Dogface Butterfly
- LGBTQ Veterans Memorial
- Marine Fish – Garibaldi
- Marine Mammal – California Gray Whale
- Lichen – Lace Lichen
- Marine Reptile – Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle
- Military Museum
- Mineral – Gold
- Motto – Eureka
- Nickname – Golden State
- Nuts: Almond, Walnut, Pistachio, Pecan
- Prehistoric Artifact
- Quarter
- Reptile – Desert Tortoise
- Rock – Serpentine
- Silver Rush Ghost Town – Calico
- Seal
- Soil – San Joaquin
- Song – “I Love You, California”
- Sport – Surfing
- Tall Ship – Californian
- Tartan
- Theater – Pasadena Playhouse
- Tree – California Redwood
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
