State Symbols of Iowa

By | Updated on January 21, 2023

Reviewed by Rittika

Iowa is a constituent state in the United States Midwestern region. It is one of twenty-seven U.S. states that are landlocked. 

“Ah-hee-oo-ba” is an Indian word that means “sleepy ones” or “drowsy ones.” They named the valley, where the state’s main river flows, after their tribe. The state later adopted the name. The nickname of Iowa is Hawkeye State. People who live in the state of Iowa are called Iowans or Hawkeyes. On December 28, 1846, Iowa became the 29th state to join the Union. 

Iowa connects the forests of the east with the grasslands of the high prairie plains to the west. Mississippi River forms its eastern border. Iowa is the only U.S. state whose western border is formed by two parallel rivers, the Missouri River and its tributary, the Big Sioux. Iowa is bordered to the north by Minnesota, to the east by Wisconsin and Illinois, to the south by Missouri, and to the west by Nebraska and South Dakota.

Des Moines is the state capital and most populous city of Iowa.

Iowa was a part of French Louisiana and Spanish Louisiana throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, and its state flag is designed after the flag of France. Following the Louisiana Purchase, residents in the heart of the Corn Belt established the groundwork for an agriculture-based economy. Iowa’s agricultural economy transformed into a diversified economy of modern manufacturing, processing, financial services, information technology, biotechnology, and green energy production in the second half of the 20th century. 

Iowa is one of the most agriculturally diverse states in the United States. More than nine-tenths of the area is dedicated to agriculture, making it one of the top agricultural-producing states. The fun fact is that Iowa is the leading corn producer in the United States. Farmers harvested more than 2.3 billion bushels in 2011. Iowa is also commonly known as The Corn State. 

The total area of the state is 56,273 sq mi (145,745 sq km), and the population of Iowa was 3,190,369 according to the United States Census 2020. Of the fifty U.S. states, Iowa has the twenty-sixth largest total area and the thirty-first most populous one.

The state bird of Iowa is the Eastern goldfinch, the state flower is the Wild prairie rose, and the state song is “The Song of Iowa”. 

The official state motto is “Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain”.

In 2002, former Governor Tom Vilsack signed the Iowa English Language Reaffirmation Act into law. The law declares English as the state’s official language.

State Information

State seal

Motto of Iowa

"Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain"

State symbols of Iowa 👇

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  State capital
  Des Moines
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  State bird
  American Goldfinch
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  State flower
  Prairie rose
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  State tree
  Bur Oak
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  State dance
  Square Dance
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  State insect
  Honeybee (unofficial)
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  State gemstone
  Geode (Rock/Stone)
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  State fish
  Channel catfish

State location

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