Welcome to the Sagebrush State! What state but Nevada would call sagebrush its state flower? The Sagebrush State also adopted the desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, and sandstone as state symbols. We clearly aren’t in Kansas. (Continued below)
| Nicknames & Slogans | |||
| Nicknames | The Sagebrush State, Silver State, Mining State, Battle Born State | ||
| Slogan | Battle Born | 1937 | |
| Symbols of State | |||
| Motto | All for Our Country | 1866 | > |
| Song | Home Means Nevada | 1933 | > |
| EcoSymbols | |||
| Flower | sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) | 1917 | > |
| Tree | single-leaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla) | 1953 | > |
| Tree | bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata) | 1987 | > |
| Grass | Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides) | 1977 | > |
| Bird | mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) | 1967 | > |
| Animal | desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) | 1973 | > |
| Reptile | desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) | 1989 | > |
| Fish | Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi) | 1981 | > |
| Insect | vivid dancer damselfly (Argia vivida) | 2009 | > |
| Rock | sandstone | 1987 | > |
| Precious Gemstone | Virgin Valley black fire opal | 1987 | > |
| Semi-Precious Gemstone | turquoise | 1987 | > |
| Metal | silver | 1977 | > |
| Fossil † | ichthyosaur (Shoshonisaurus) | 1977 | > |
| Soil | Orovada Series | 2001 | > |
| Element | neon | 2019 | |
| Cultural Symbols | |||
| Colors | silver and blue | 1983 | > |
| Artifact | Tule duck decoy | 1995 | > |
| Locomotive | Engine No. 40 | 2009 | > |
| Fabric | denim | 2016 | > |
| Tartan | 2001 | > | |
| March | Silver State Fanfare | 2001 | > |
On the other hand, Nevada, like Kansas, chose a giant marine reptile as its state fossil. And what a beautiful name it has: Shonisaurus.
There’s an amazing story behind Nevada’s official artifact, the Tule duck decoy. It’s a story best told in the shadow of an ancient bristlecone pine, one of the longest-lived organisms on the planet.
Nevada’s official colors, blue and silver, recall the state’s snow-capped mountains. However, I think its state flag would look nicer with an orange stripe, representing its arid expanses and beautiful sandstone formations. 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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