Adopted in 1860; The flag of Ecuador consists of three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag. The flag retains the three main colors of the banner of Gran Columbia, the South American republic that broke up in 1830. The yellow color represents sunshine, grain, and mineral wealth, blue the sky, sea, and rivers, and red the blood of patriots spilled in the struggle for freedom and justice.