Do you know Arizona's official state symbols?
Do you know Arizona's official state symbols?
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. Other symbols are more universal, like state birds.
Many people remember learning about their states' history back in elementary school. But can you still remember your state bird? How about your state flower? To test your state knowledge, Stacker compiled a list of symbols in Arizona.
Clue: Arizona state fish
Clue: This fish is found nowhere in the entire world beyond the approximately 820 miles of cold, gravel-bottomed streams of Arizona's White Mountains. Once pushed to the edge of extinction, it is rebounding but still endangered.
Answer: Arizona state fish
Answer: Apache trout
Clue: Arizona state mammal
Despite its name, this state mammal is not a feline; it’s more closely related to the raccoon. They’re experts at climbing—they can even climb vertical walls and cactuses—partly because their back feet can rotate 180 degrees, making it easy for them to climb back down.
Answer: Arizona state mammal
- State mammal: Ring-tailed cat
Clue: Arizona state song
In 1919, the Fourth State Legislature officially adopted a song written by Margaret Rowe Clifford with music composed by Maurice Blumenthal. More than six decades later, however, a famous singer of cowboy songs named Rex Allen Jr. got his own song chosen by the Arizona State Legislature as an alternate state anthem.
Answer: Arizona state song
- Answer:
--- State anthem: "Arizona March Song"
--- Alternate anthem: "Arizona"
Clue: Arizona state insect
This insect has yellow wings with black stripes and makes it homes near streams and other moist areas. It has an array of host plants, including the Arizona rosewood, Arizona sycamore, and California hoptree.
Answer: Arizona state insect
- State butterfly: Two-tailed swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata)
Clue: Arizona state tree
The name of Arizona’s state tree includes two colors, but only one of these colors dominates the tree’s leaves, branches, and even its trunk during its blooming period in late spring. While the tree’s color may make it popular with tourists visiting Arizona’s deserts, it is more popular with plant researchers because it survives well in droughts: in fact, this tree does not need any supplemental water (from rainfall or humans) once a sapling is established.
Answer: Arizona state tree
Answer: Blue palo verde (Parkinsonia florida)
Clue: Arizona state bird
Much like its namesake, this bird doesn’t need to drink freestanding water—it gets most of its hydration from the food it eats. That’s why you’ll find this fearless bird hopping around the dusty desert, letting out its raw, scratchy call.
Answer: Arizona state bird
Answer: Cactus wren
Clue: Arizona state flower
Arizona's state flower is indigenous to the region and can grow up to 50-feet-high and live for up to 200 years. These flowers do not grow off of bushes or shrubs, and thrive in the desert, particularly the Sonoran Desert. Harming this flower is illegal in Arizona, meaning construction projects must take special precautions should any be in their way.
