State Symbols of California

By | Updated on August 18, 2023

Reviewed by Rittika

California is a constituent state in the Western United States. With a total area of approximately 163,695 sq mi (423,967 sq km), California is the third largest U.S. state by area.

There is widespread agreement that the term California derives from an early 16th-century Spanish novel, Las sergas de Esplandián (The Adventures of Esplandián), which imagined a fictional heavenly island overflowing with wealth and magnificent stones called California.

The fun fact is that the fortunate influence of the discovery of gold in the state around 1848 became the major reason The Golden State became the official nickname of California in 1968. This is also why, since 1965, gold has been the state’s official element, and “Eureka” (I Have Found It) has been the new slogan since 1963.

California is bordered to the north by Oregon, to the east by Nevada and Arizona, to the south by the Mexican state of Baja California, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean.

By the early 1960s, it had exceeded all others in terms of population. The 2020 census recorded the state’s population to be 39,538,223 making it the thirty-fourth most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the second and fifth most populated urban areas in the country, with more than 18.7 million and over 9.6 million persons, respectively. Los Angeles County is the most populous in the country, whereas San Bernardino County is the largest in terms of area (There are some larger subdivisions in Alaska, but they are not labeled as counties). 

The capital of the state is Sacramento. 

California was inhabited originally by Native Americans. Before European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse places in pre-Columbian North America, with the largest Native American population density north of what is now Mexico. Juan Rodrguez Cabrillo’s establishment of a Spanish claim to the area in 1542-1543 resulted in the first European coastal development. The region remained under Spanish and, later, Mexican sovereignty until it was captured by U.S. soldiers in the Mexican War and ceded to the U.S. by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. Under the Compromise of 1850, California was admitted to the Union as a non-slavery state on September 9, 1850. It was recognized as the Union’s 31st state.

Of all American states, it has the largest economy. California’s economy, with a gross state product of $3.2 trillion in 2019, is the world’s largest sub-national economy.

The state flower of California is the California poppy, the state bird is the California valley quail and the state song is “I Love You, California”.

The official language of California is English.

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– Learn about California flag color codes and their meanings –

State Information

Official Language	English
State Rank	3
Demonym(s)	Californian
Nickname	Golden State
ISO	US-CA
Formation Date	September 9, 1850
Coordinates	Lat: 32°32′ N to 42° N, Long: 114°8′ W to 124°26′ W
Area

State seal

Motto of California

"Eureka"

State symbols of California 👇

• 
  State capital
  Sacramento
• 
  State bird
  California quail
• 
  State flower
  California poppy
• 
  State fruit
  Avocado Persea americana
• 
  State tree
  Coast redwood & giant sequoia
• 
  State dance
  Square Dance
• 
  State reptile
  Desert tortoise
• 
  State insect
  California dogface butterfly
• 
  State vegetable
  Artichokes
• 
  State gemstone
  Benitoite
• 
  State animal
  California grizzly bear
• 
  State fish
  Garibaldi

State location

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