California flag

The original bear flag, photographed in 1890.

California flag waving in the port of San Francisco.

The California flag, also known as the Bear Flag, is the official flag of the state of California. California in the United States. The predecessor of the current flag was first flown during the Bear Flag rebellion of 1846. A predecessor, called the lone star flag, was used in an uprising against Mexico in 1836; the red star element of that ensign appears on the bear flag today.

During the American Civil War, the Bear Flag was sometimes flown by Californians who supported secession from the South, instead of flying the Stars and Stripes flag representing the Union.

The current flag was adopted by the California State Legislature in 1911. The California flag consists of a white cloth with a red stripe along the bottom and a grizzly bear in the center, accompanied by a star five-pointed red at the top of the pole and the name of the state as a republic in English.

Construction of the flag