California State Flag

The California State Flag was originally adopted into law by the California State Legislature in 1911. The California flag has been revised numerous times with various statues and California State bills being passed to define the changes and design specifications.

In 1911 a California State statute expressed “The bear flag is hereby selected and adopted as the state flag of California. ... The said bear flag shall consist of a flag of a length equal to one and one-half the width thereof; the upper five-sixths of the width thereof to be a white field, and the lower sixth of the width thereof to be a red stripe; there shall appear in the white field in the upper left-hand corner a single red star, and at the bottom of the white field the words 'California Republic,' and in the center of the white field a California grizzly bear upon a grass plat, in the position of walking toward the left of the said field; said bear shall be dark brown in color and in length, equal to one-third of the length of said flag.”

In 1953, the flag of California specs for the California state flag were organized and standardized in a bill signed by Governor Earl Warren. The flag of California is typically referred to as the "Bear Flag."

The current California state flag is white with a red band at the bottom of the flag. Additionally there is a red star in on the hoist and a grizzly bear facing left, walking on green grass. The bear on the California flag is a grizzly bear and the size of the bear is 2/3 the size of the hoist width with a 2 to 1 ratio. The California Lone Star Flag of 1836 is the basis of the five-point star.