The flag of Wyoming
The flag of Wyoming was officially adopted in 1917. The blue background represents the sky and the forests; the state’s mineral wealth is represented by three golden bars, each representing gold, copper, and lead. A white bar shows the state’s agriculture.
The buffalo was first seen by Europeans in 1743 when Vitus Bering sailed into what is now called Port Chatham on his trip to Alaska for Russia. He was impressed with how large these animals were and wrote about them in his journal: “We observed several herds of buffaloes.”
Wyoming is one of the more sparsely populated states, ranking 50th in population, but it is the ninth-largest state in the area.
Although there are no official nicknames, some people refer to Wyoming as the Cowboy State or the Equality State.
Design
The design is based on the coat of arms of Wyoming, which was adopted in 1869. According to Wyoming’s legislature, the bison represents “the great herds that once roamed over the land,” and blue represents “the sky and snow-capped mountains.” The white border represents snow-capped mountains.
The design was created by Alice Louise Reynolds, an undergraduate student at the University of Wyoming. She submitted her designs to a contest held by Governor John Kendrick Thayer.
- The blue background represents Wyoming’s mountains and sky, with a bison charging toward it from left to right.
- The bison is the largest land mammal in North America, and it’s also the official state animal of Wyoming.
History
Wyoming became a territory in 1868, and its flag was adopted on December 7th of that year. In 1890, Wyoming became the 44th state. Its flag remained the same until 1896 when a portion of it was removed by an act of Congress because there were too many stripes, 13 rather than seven.
The state flag consists of three horizontal bars: blue over white over red, from top to bottom. These colours are also found on both sides of our seal/logo, which is at the centre of our state flag. The centre contains an image representing mountain peaks and rich mineral resources that have been discovered here since pioneer times, gold being chief among them, but also coal and other minerals for which Wyoming has become famous worldwide today; all these natural resources have played important roles in shaping Wyoming History.
