Flag of North Dakota

What the flag looks like

A dark blue field with a bald eagle, wings spread, holding an olive branch and arrows and a ribbon reading "E Pluribus Unum", under 13 stars and a sunburst, with a red scroll below reading "North Dakota"; the flag has a gold fringe.

What it means

The design copies the regimental colors of the 1st North Dakota Infantry, and the eagle is the one from the US coat of arms.

How to remember it

North Dakota has no seal at all: just a big American eagle on blue with a red "North Dakota" scroll below.

Fun facts

• The flag is based on the banner carried by North Dakota troops in the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War.
• North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted on the same day, 2 November 1889.

North Dakota at a glance

Nickname

The Peace Garden State

Statehood

1889

Capital

Bismarck

Region

West North Central

Population

779,094

Area

183,108 km²

Flag adopted

1911

Flags often confused with North Dakota

• Michigan: Michigan and North Dakota both show an eagle on dark blue. North Dakota's eagle fills the flag on its own with a red "North Dakota" scroll; Michigan's eagle perches on top of a shield held by an elk and a moose.