Year Adopted: 1917

Arizona became a U.S. Territory in 1863 and was admitted as a U.S. State in 1912.

Arizona's state flag is divided into two halves. The top half consists of thirteen alternating red and yellow rays which represent America's thirteen original colonies. Because Arizona is a western state, the rays show a setting sun. The colors of the rays refer to red and yellow in the Spanish flags carried by Coronado when he came to Arizona in the sixteenth century. The bottom half of the flag is a solid blue field, the same color as the blue in the United States flag. A large copper colored star is superimposed in the center of the flag. This identifies Arizona as the largest producer of copper in the United States.

In 1910, Col Charles W. Harris designed a flag for the Arizona Rifle Team when they attended the National Matches at Camp Perry. Arizona was the only team in past matches without a flag. The Harris flag was adopted in 1917 by Arizona's Third Legislature and was passed into law without Governor Thomas Campbell's signature. "Governor Campbell did not officially state his reasons for taking no action on the bill, but it is generally supposed that the flag did not measure up to his ideals of what a state emblem should be." (Arizona State Library archives) January 2014