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Do you know California's official state symbols? Stacker put together a quiz to test Californians' state knowledge. "Each state in America boasts its own culture, history, and natural beauty. To represent such diversity, people from these states have chosen their own set of symbols and customs. Specific flags, songs, mottos, flowers, and even fruits commemorate the uniqueness of individual states. Some of these symbols border on the bizarre: Texas, for example, has made the Dutch oven its official state cooking pot," the website states.
Test your knowledge with the following quiz with clues created by Stacker! (Answers are at the bottom):
#1: What is the California state fish (freshwater and saltwater)?
- Clue (freshwater): California is the Golden State, and the name of this fish incorporates both the state's proper name and its nickname.
- Clue (saltwater): This vibrant orange fish from the damselfish family was named after a 19th-century Italian military and political figure.
#2: What is the California state mammal?
- Clue: California has two officially designated mammals. The state marine mammal is a crustacean-eating animal that can grow 50 feet in length. The official state animal is a large mammal that’s so identified with the state that it’s got California in its name and appears on the state flag.
#3: What is the California state song?
- Clue: It wasn’t a Californian, but a Canadian who wrote the Golden State’s official song. Immigrant Francis Silverwood penned the lyrics and composed the song with Orpheum Theater Orchestra director Abraham Frankenstein in 1913. Silverwood also opened Silverwood’s Clothing Store, which was long an iconic downtown Los Angeles shopping destination.
#4: What is the California state insect?
- Clue: This species is endemic to California. It is named for the pattern on its blue, orange, or yellow wings, each of which appears to vaguely resemble the profile of a poodle.
#5: What is the California state tree?
- Clue: California has two state trees, both botanical giants from the same subfamily (meaning they are closely related on the evolutionary tree). The first grows in low elevation, rainy areas along the coast and can live for over a thousand years, while the second grows in higher elevations along the Sierra Nevada mountains and requires a longer trek from tourists.
#6: What is the California state bird?
- Clue: This bird is a bit of a dandy, with a distinctive black plume on its forehead. The look befits the state famous for show business.
#7: What is the California state flower?
- Clue: California may be a large state, but its state flower can be as small as 2 inches short. It can also be named the flame flower, la amapola, or copa de oro, the latter meaning “cup of gold.” Indigenous peoples in California found the flower to be an important resource, taking advantage of it for food and oil; the flower is also quite drought-resistant.
Answers:
#1. California golden trout (freshwater), Garibaldi (saltwater)
#2. California grizzly bear, gray whale
#3. "I Love You, California"
#4. California dogface butterfly (zerene eurydice)
#5. Coast redwood, Giant sequoia
#6. California valley quail
#7. California Poppy