Welcome to the Peace Garden State>! North Dakota’s roster of state symbols is lean and mean. The state flower is the wild prairie rose. Of course, a Great Plains state has to has to have a state grass (western wheatgrass), and the state bird is that Great Plains icon, the western meadowlark. (Continued below)
| Nicknames & Slogans | |||
| Nicknames | The Peace Garden State, Flickertail State, Roughrider State, Sioux State, Land of the Dakotas | 1957 | |
| Symbols of State | |||
| Motto | Liberty and Union Now and Forever, One and Inseparable | > | |
| Latin Motto | Serit ut alteri saeclo prosit | 2011 | > |
| Song | North Dakota Hymn | 1947 | > |
| EcoSymbols | |||
| Flower | wild prairie rose (Rosa arkansana) | 1907 | > |
| Tree | American elm (Ulmus americana) | 1947 | > |
| Grass | western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii) | 1977 | > |
| Fruit | chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) | 2007 | > |
| Bird | western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) | 1947 | > |
| Honorary State Equine | Nokota Horse (Equus caballus) | 1993 | > |
| Fish | northern pike (Esox lucius) | 1969 | > |
| Insect | convergent lady beetle (Hippodamia convergens) | 2011 | > |
| Fossil † | teredo petrified wood (Plantae) | 1967 | > |
| Soil | Williams (unofficial)  |
> | |
| Cultural Symbols | |||
| Railroad Museum | Mandan Railroad Museum | 1989 | > |
| Beverage | milk  |
1983 | > |
| Dance | square dance |
1995 | > |
| March | Flickertail March | 1975 | > |
| Art Museum | The North Dakota Museum of Art (on the North Dakota University Campus at Grand Forks) | 1981 | > |
| Language | English |
1987 | > |
More unique is North Dakota’s state fruit and horse, the chokecherry and Nokota Horse. The state fish seems a logical choice: northern pike.
North Dakota’s state fossil, teredo petrified wood, recalls a time when the Great Plains were covered by shallow seas. Some people wish North Dakota’s grotesque flag, with its psychedelic bald eagle, could be buried at sea. Ironically, North Dakota has one of the most beautiful state coats of arms. The arms inspired the Governor’s flag, which is far more attractive than the people’s flag.
If a great state deserves a great flag, a Great Plains state like North Dakota deserves an even greater flag. What do you think?
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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