States101 
California
State Flag
The California flag was formally adopted on February 3, 1911. Since, California has maintained the same flag for the last 113 years.
The California flag was voted 11th best out of 51 Flags ranked by the North American Vexillological Association.
The 5 main colors in the California flag are #FFFFFF, #B71234, #584528, #BD8A5E, and #008542. The California flag width is 1.5 times the height. Standard flag size is 3 feet x 4.5 feet.
We also provide high resolution and Scalar Vector Graph (SVG) downloadable images — free of charge. Go to Flag Downloads.
Buy Your California State Flag Now!California Flag
Colors
| #FFFFFF | 67.1% |
| #B71234 | 17.1% |
| #584528 | 8.4% |
| #BD8A5E | 2.7% |
| #008542 | 2.1% |
Description
The California flag depicts a five-pointed star in the upper left corner, a grizzly bear in the center, the words “California Republic” below the bear in gold, sans-serif font, and a red bar stretching along the bottom.
Meaning
The California state flag was designed to establish California’s separation from Mexico before the “Bear Flag Revolt” in 1846.The single star on California’s flag is a reference to Texas’s Lone Star Flag design as Texas had previously gained independence from Mexico in 1836. The bear on California’s flag represents the grizzly bears that were common in California at the time and are much less common today. The bold words “California Republic” were placed to firmly establish California as an independent state apart from Mexico. The red strip along the bottom of the California flag is simply a design element and does not have a specific meaning.
History
California’s first flag, known as the “Bear Flag”, was first used in 1846 in Sonoma by American settlers rebelling against Mexican rule in what came to be known as the “Bear Flag Revolt”. The flag has been refined over the years but the basic elements have remained the same.
The flag was officially named the state flag in 1911 with its design standardized in 1953. In addition, the 1953 state flag law made the flag’s nickname official by stating that the “Bear Flag is the State Flag of California.”
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Download California State Flag
Download California State Flag as a high quality SVG file. Scaler Vector Images (SVGs) look good at any size. This flag can be used as tiny icons (height less than 50px) or you can make the flag huge (height over 2000px) and still look great!
Or, you can Download All State Flags!
We also provide a large black and white California Flag Line Drawings for download. This coloring-book style image are perfect for student activities.
Link To Us
If you use these flags on your own website, please provide a link back to us. Your link ensures others can find these images too. When using our black and white line drawings, a link back to use is required. For all other flags, a link back is optional but greatly appreciated.
Simply copy the code below and insert it on pages where you display the flags. If you are not a developer, please direct your web developer to this page or provide them with the code snippet below.