Welcome to the Gem of the Mountains! Idaho has some exciting symbols, but they get off to a bad start . . . (Continued below)
| Nicknames & Slogans | |||
| Nicknames | The Gem State, Gem of the Mountains, Land of Famous Potatoes | ||
| Symbols of State | |||
| Motto | Esto Perpetua | 1891 | > |
| Song | Here We Have Idaho | 1931 | > |
| EcoSymbols | |||
| Flower | Syringa (Philadelphus lewisii) | 1931 | > |
| Tree | western white pine (Pinus monticola) | 1935 | > |
| Fruit | huckleberry (Vaccinium) | 2000 | > |
| Vegetable | potato (Solanum tuberosum) | 2002 | > |
| Bird | mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) | 1931 | > |
| Raptor | peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) | 2004 | > |
| Horse | Appaloosa (Equus caballus) | 1975 | > |
| Amphibian | Idaho giant salamander (Dicamptodon aterrimus) | 2015 | > |
| Fish | cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) | 1990 | > |
| Insect | monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) | 1992 | > |
| Gem Stone | Idaho star garnet | 1967 | > |
| Fossil † | Hagerman horse (Equus simplicidens) | 1988 | > |
| Dinosaur † | Oryctodromeus | 2022 | > |
| Soil | Thrreebear (unofficial)  |
> | |
| Cultural Symbols | |||
| American Folk Dance of Idaho | square dance  |
1989 | > |
| Writer-in-Residence | (various) | 1923 | > |
| Language | English |
2007 | > |
Idaho is cursed with one of the ugliest state flags. Fortunately, there are some inspirational icons in its state seal, including an elk and the state flower, Syringa.
How could a state as beautiful as Idaho be so closely associated with the lowly potato? Land of Famous Potatoes has to be one of the strangest state nicknames. Is Idaho owned by McDonalds?
Idaho’s state bird and fruit, the mountain bluebird and huckleberry, complement each other. However, Idaho is perhaps best distinguished as the only state with two official horses, the beautiful Appaloosa and the Hagerman horse, which was designated the state fossil.
Idaho boasts what may be America’s fastest state symbol. Can you guess what it is?
If you think state flags and flowers are nothing more than trivia, guess again. A thorough exploration of the more than 1,500 items adopted as state symbols embraces geography, history, and psychology.
You have found the best state symbols website, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The introduction above is adapted from Geobop’s State Symbols and My State Symbols Book, by far the biggest and most detailed state symbols references ever. You can learn still more about the symbols of the 50 states in the books Flag Quest and Grading the States. (Learn more about them here.)
After you spend some time exploring your favorite state’s symbols, you can come back here and tell us what you think about them.
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