The flag of Colorado was officially adopted to represent the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
on June 5, 1911. The flag, designed by Andrew Carlisle Carson, consists of a
fess
In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ''fesse'', from Old French ''faisse'', from Latin ''fascia'', "band") is a charge on a coat of arms (or flag) that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shiel ...
design of three horizontal stripes of equal width, with the top and bottom stripes colored blue, and the middle stripe colored white. A circular red "C", filled with a golden disk, sits atop the stripes. All aspects of the flag contain symbolism related to the state, as the blue is meant to represent the sky, the gold the abundant sunshine the state receives, the white the snowcapped
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
, and the red the "
ruddy
Ruddy is a reddish-rosy crimson colour, closer to red than to rose.
Ruddy may also refer to:
Surname
* Albert S. Ruddy (born 1930), Canadian-born American film producer
*Christopher Ruddy (born 1965), American journalist; CEO of NewsMax Media
...
" earth. The gold and white portions of the flag also represent the state's
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
and
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
mining industries, respectively.
The state had one previous official flag before the current one, from 1907 to 1911. The Denver chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution, unaware that this flag existed, wanted to create a flag for the state and settled on a red and white colored one, designed with the help of then-state senator
William H. Sharpley. This flag was presented to the legislature but, because it was less popular than Carson's design, it was replaced. The new design passed the
Senate and
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
on April 25 and May 6, 1911, respectively. The flag made its public debut at a parade on May 30, 1911 and was officially adopted on June 5, 1911. Further revisions were made by the legislature on February 28, 1929 to specify the exact colors used and on March 31, 1964 to specify the size and positioning of the letter "C" and gold disk.
History
Colorado joined the
union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
as the 38th state with the approval of President
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
on August 1, 1876. An unofficial banner, consisting simply of the
state seal on a blue background, was used beginning that year. The state did not have an official flag until 1907, when a design incorporating parts of the state seal complete with the state motto, ''Nil sine numine'',
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "Nothing without Providence or Deity",
was adopted.
This flag proved unpopular, as only one physical flag was ever produced and it was never flown publicly. Rather, it sat unused in a custodial closet within the
Colorado State Capitol Building.
The origin of the modern flag of Colorado can be traced to a meeting of the
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) held on November 14, 1910. Those present at the meeting were unaware of the flag that had been adopted three years earlier, and came up with the idea to design a flag for the state under the impression that none existed. The DAR members created a committee which was receiving designs by the next month, and decided to support one design that contained three horizontal stripes of red, white, and red, with the state seal in the middle. Then-state senator
William H. Sharpley assisted in getting the flag bill through the legislature with relative ease, though the design ultimately proved unpopular.
A new design was submitted by Andrew Carlisle Carson, with horizontal stripes of blue, white, and blue, with a red "C" and a gold disk within the "C" both in the middle and offset slightly to the
hoist side of the flag.
This design proved far more popular among the legislature than the initial proposal, and passed the
Colorado Senate as Senate Bill 118 with "no opposition" on April 25, 1911. The bill was sent to the
Colorado House of Representatives and passed easily on May 6, 1911. The flag made its public debut at the end of that month, on May 30, as a part of a
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...
parade,
and was officially approved by the
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
as a whole on June 5, 1911, at which point it became the new flag of the state of Colorado. The wording of the bill that was passed included a permission for the use of the flag by all citizens, meaning the design could be used on items that were not explicitly flags.
However, the legislature did not specify the size of the "C" or the exact shade of blue or red.
Therefore, some flags utilized slightly different colors. On February 28, 1929, the General Assembly added to the description of the flag that the blue and red would be the same colors as those found on the
national flag. Further discrepancies arose in the size of the "C" and gold disksome designs had the "C" wholly within the center stripe while some had the "C" over parts of each blue stripe. To resolve this, on March 31, 1964, the legislature further dictated the diameter of the gold disc to be equal to the width of the center stripe. This final clarification brought about the design that is in use today.
Design and symbolism
Within Senate Bill 118, which passed the
Colorado Senate on May 6, 1911, ten specific points of symbolism within the flag were laid out. The red letter "C" stands for three things: the name of the state, "Colorado", the word "centennial", referring to Colorado's accession to statehood in 1876, the year of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
' centennial; and "columbine", referring to the
state flower.
The gold disk in the center of the "C" represents not only the sunshine the state receives (which totals nearly 300 days annually), but also
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
and the
gold mining industry in the state. The blue stripes represent the sky, and the white stripes represent both the peaks of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
and
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
, as well as the resulting
mining industry
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
; the blue and white stripes together also represent the colors of the columbine flower.
Other symbolism apart from the senate bill has been noted, including the red coloring of the "C" standing for the "ruddy" earth that covers much of the state's terrain.
The flag is laid out in a 2:3 ratio, specifically with "a width of two-thirds of its length". Legislation passed in 1964 specified that the diameter of the yellow disc should be equal to that of the white stripe, while the red letter "C" occupies two-thirds of the width of the entire flag.
In a 2001 survey of 72 state, provincial, and territorial flags conducted by the
North American Vexillological Association
The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the scientific and scholarly study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith (1940–2016), and others. It ...
, Colorado's flag was ranked sixteenth, with a score of 6.83 (the winner,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
, scored 8.61).
Protocol
The state of Colorado and the office of the
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
have laid out rules as to when the flag can be flown at
half-staff
Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salu ...
and protocol for various other situations. The governor may order the flag lowered to half-staff, along with the
national flag, on the day of the funeral of a Colorado service member, at the request of the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
(usually for the death of a federal government official or a national tragedy), or on the day of the funeral of a state government official.
The flag is always to be lowered to half-staff on three holidays:
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
(though the flags are raised to full-staff at noon, a custom dating back to at least 1906),
September 11
Events Pre-1600
* 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...
, and
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, also referred to as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day or Pearl Harbor Day, is observed annually in the United States on December 7, to remember and honor the 2,403 Americans who were killed in the Japanese surpri ...
. The governor also has the jurisdiction to order the flag lowered when it is "deemed appropriate". The flag is always to be flown to the right and below the national flag, a guideline specified by the
United States Flag Code
The United States Flag Code establishes advisory rules for display and care of the national flag of the United States of America. It is Chapter 5 of Title 4 of the United States Code ( ''et seq''). Although this is a U.S. federal law, the code ...
.
State law mandates that government buildings and schools maintain a "suitable"
flagpole
A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...
for both the national and state flags, and that the flags must be the same size.
Other uses
![Colorado 23](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Colorado_23.svg)
The state flag is also incorporated into the design of Colorado's
state highway markers, though some markers use a representation of the flag that differs slightly from the official version, namely one in which the red letter "C" does not extend into the white stripe and is cut off at the border of the blue stripes instead. The flag is also used as an inspiration behind Colorado's newest state logo, which was unveiled in March 2019.
The
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...
, who compete in
Major League Soccer and play in the
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
area, played in an alternate
kit for part of the
2017 season with colors inspired by the state flag: the top was yellow with blue accents, and the shorts were blue with yellow accents.
The courthouse in
Mesa County, Colorado
Mesa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 155,703. The county seat is Grand Junction. The county was named for the many large mesas in the area, including Grand Mesa.
Mesa County ...
, made headlines in 2007 when county commissioners realized its flagpole was flying only the national flag, making it one of the few government buildings in the state that did not fly the state flag, though no reason was given for the state flag's absence. The flag enjoyed renewed popularity during the 2010s, with shirts, decals, and other items incorporating the design seeing increased demand.
[ ]
File:Golden Top.JPG, The state flag flying under the national flag at the Colorado State Capitol
The Colorado State Capitol Building, located at 200 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado, United States, is the home of the Colorado General Assembly and the offices of the Governor of Colorado and Lieutenant Governor of Colorado.
History ...
File:Colorado flag chair made partly with old skis.jpg, An Adirondack chair
The Adirondack chair is an outdoor lounge chair with wide armrests, a tall slatted back, and a seat that is higher in the front than the back. Its name references the Adirondack Mountains.
The chair was invented by Thomas Lee between 1900 and 190 ...
in Vail
Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the numer ...
with a state flag design
File:Marlon Hairston.jpg, The Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...
' alternate kit with a flag-inspired color scheme
File:Four Corners, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, July 2011 - panoramio.jpg, The flag of Colorado (third pole from left) alongside others at the Four Corners Monument
The Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states, leading to the area being na ...
See also
*
Seal of Colorado
The Seal of the State of Colorado is an adaptation of the territorial seal which was adopted by the First Territorial Assembly on November 6, 1861. The only changes made to the territorial seal design being the substitution of the words, "State o ...
*
List of Colorado state symbols
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado, Flag of
United States state flags
Flag
Flags introduced in 1964
1964 establishments in Colorado