Raising the Flag.

• Author: Caley, Nora
• Position: StateStats

So what makes a great flag?

A vexillologist--somebody who conducts scholarly studies of flags--will identify five principles:

* Keep it simple. A child should be able to draw it from memory.

* Use meaningful symbolism.

* Use two or three contrasting colors (no more) from a standard color set.

* No lettering or seals. Never use writing of any kind or an organization's seal.

* Be distinctive--or be related. Avoid duplicating other flags but use similarities to show connections.

Based on those criteria, outlined in the flag-design bible, "'Good' Flag, 'Bad' Flag," compiled by Ted Kaye of the North American Vexillological Association, there are some really great state flags.

But if you can't differentiate your state's flag from all the others at a distance, you might want to come up with a new design--and some states are.

"I'm part of the world that wants states to consider the opportunity they are missing by having boring flags," Kaye says.

Read on to find out everything you ever wanted to know about the flags that fly above the U.S. states and territories.

BY NORA CALEY

Alabama

* Year adopted: 1895

* Designed by: Rep. John W.A. Sanford Jr.

* What's on it: Crimson cross of Saint Andrew on a field of white.

* What it means: According to the Acts of Alabama 1895, the bars forming the X-shaped cross are to be not less than 6 inches broad and extend diagonally across the flag from side to side. The act did not specify whether the flag should be square or rectangular.

* Did you know? Around 1915, Thomas Owen, director of the Department of Archives and History, determined the flag should be square to preserve certain features of the Confederate battle flag. In 1987, the attorney general's office issued an official opinion that the flag should be rectangular.

Alaska

* Year adopted: 1927

* Designed by: Benny Benson

* What's on it: Eight five-pointed gold stars on a dark blue field. Seven stars are arranged as the Big Dipper; one larger star is positioned in the upper right corner.

* What it means: Blue represents the sky and the forget-me-not, the state flower. The lone star in the upper right symbolizes the North Star and the future of the most northerly state. The Big Dipper is part of the Ursa Major, or Great Bear, constellation, which symbolizes strength.

* Did you know? Benson was an Alaska Native seventh grader who won a flag-design contest open to school-age kids four years after Native Alaskans received citizenship. During the flag introduction ceremony in Seward, he was awarded a watch bearing the flag emblem and a $1,000 scholarship.

Arizona

* Year adopted:1917

* Designed by: Col. Charles W. Harris

* What's on it: Two horizontal halves, the top half consisting of 13 alternating red and yellow rays, the bottom half a solid blue field. A large copper-colored star is superimposed in the center.

* What it means: The rays represent both America's 13 original colonies and the Western sunset. The red and yellow refer to the flags carried by Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado on his expedition to the area in 1540. The blue is the same as that in the U.S. flag. The color of the star identifies Arizona as the nation's largest producer of copper.

* Did you know? Harris designed the flag for the Arizona National Guard Rifle Team, because it was the only state team without a flag at the National Trophy Rifle Matches.

Arkansas

* Year adopted:1913

* Designed by: Willie Hocker

* What's on it: A large white diamond on a red background is bordered by 25 white stars on a blue band. Inside the diamond is the state name with one blue star above it and three blue stars below it.

* What it means: The stars signify that Arkansas was the nation's 25th state, and the diamond refers to its status as the first diamond-producing state. The four stars symbolize that Arkansas has been part of France, Spain, the United States and the Confederate States of America.

* Did you know? Hocker won a design contest sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution, which wanted a flag to present when the battleship USS Arkansas was commissioned. Hocker's design had three stars; the fourth, for the Confederacy, was added in 1923.

California

* Year adopted:1911

* Designed by: William Todd

* What's on it: A white background with a grizzly bear centered above the words "California Republic" and a red stripe. In the upper left corner is a five-pointed red star.

* What it means: The California grizzly is a symbol of great strength. The red of the star and bar symbolizes courage, with the star itself representing sovereignty.

* Did you know? The flag was hastily drawn during an 1846 uprising, when a small band of rebels marched on the Mexican garrison at Sonoma, took the commandant prisoner and issued a proclamation declaring California to be a republic independent of Mexico. Todd, one of the men who remained to hold Sonoma, was the nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln.

Colorado

* Year adopted:1911

* Designed by: Andrew Carlisle Carson

* What's on it: Three horizontal stripes of equal width, one white stripe between two blue ones. Sitting atop the stripes is a red letter "C" filled with a golden disk.

* What it means: Gold stands for the state's abundant sunshine, white for its snowcapped mountains and blue for its clear blue skies. The red represents the ruddy color of much of Colorado's soil.

* Did you know? In 1929, the Legislature passed a bill specifying that the red and white stripes be the same shades used in the U.S. flag. In 1964, lawmakers specified the size of each element, including the "C," resulting in today's flag.

Connecticut

* Year adopted: 1897

* Designed by: Inspired by a memorial from a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution

* What's on it: The state coat of arms in white, centered on an azure blue field. The arms includes a shield bordered in gold and silver and depicting three grapevines bearing fruit. Below the shield is a white streamer with the motto "Qui transtulit sustinet."

* What it means: The design is based on the 1711 seal of the colony of Connecticut. The motto translates to "He who transplanted still sustains."

* Did you know? Gov. O. Vincent Coffin introduced to the General Assembly the first proposal for the adoption of a state flag in 1895.

Delaware

* Year adopted:1913

* Designed by: Commission

* What's on it: A buff-colored diamond on a background of colonial blue. In the center of the diamond is the state coat of arms; below it are the words "December 7,1787."

* What it means: The buff and colonial blue represent the colors of Gen. George Washington's uniform. The date is when Delaware ratified the federal Constitution, inspiring its official nickname, "The First State."

* Did you know? The coat of arms includes a wheat sheaf, corn and farmer to represent agriculture, an ox to represent animal husbandry, a ship for the state's shipbuilding industry, a militiaman with a musket, water for the Delaware River, and the motto "Liberty and independence."

Florida

* Year adopted:1868

* Designed by: Various

* What's on it: A red Saint Andrew's cross on a white field. In the center is the state seal depicting a Seminole woman scattering flowers, a shining sun, a steamboat and a cabbage palmetto tree.

* What it means: Florida's flag represents the state as a land of sunshine, flowers, palm trees, rivers and lakes.

* Did you know? The state adopted a version of the flag in 1868 and modified it in 1900. During the late 1890s, Gov. Francis P. Fleming suggested adding the red saltire (diagonal cross) to ensure the flag didn't look like a white flag of surrender when hanging on a pole.

Georgia

* Year adopted: 2004

* Designed by: Cecil Alexander and Gov. Roy Barnes

* What's on it: A field of three horizontal bars in red, white and red. In the upper left in a smaller blue field, or canton, is the state coat of arms in gold, surrounded by a circle of 13 white stars. Beneath the arms and within the canton is the motto "In God we trust."

* What it means: The stars represent the 13 original U.S. states, not the Confederate states. That detail was clarified in a 2003 bill.

* Did you know? The most recent version is an update to the 2001 flag, itself an update to the 1956 flag in which the three horizontal stripes had been replaced by the Confederate Stars and Bars to signal state lawmakers' opposition to the 1954 and '55 Brown v. Board of Education decisions and federally mandated school integration.

Hawaii

* Year adopted: 1845

* Designed by: Various

* What's on it: Eight horizontal stripes, alternating white, red and blue, from the top. The canton, or top quarter closest to the mast, contains the red, white and blue Union Jack of the United Kingdom.

* What it means: The eight stripes represent the eight major Hawaiian islands. The inclusion of the Union Jack represents the friendship between Britain and the Hawaiian Kingdom.

* Did you know? Hawaii's is the only U.S. state flag to include the flag of another country.

Idaho

* Year adopted:1957

* Designed by: Emma Edwards (seal)

* What's on it: The Idaho state seal is centered on a blue field with the words "State of Idaho" beneath. The seal depicts a woman, a miner, a pine tree, grain, a cornucopia and a river.

* What it means: The woman is holding scales and symbolizes justice, and the miner represents one of Idaho's top industries. The pine tree stands for the state's timber interests, and the grain and cornucopia for its agricultural and horticultural resources. The river is the Shoshone or the Snake.

* Did you know? Edwards' design won a competition held in 1890, the year Idaho became a state. The seal was revised in 1957. Idaho is the only state with a seal designed by a woman.

Illinois

* Year adopted:1970

* Designed by: Florence Hutchison

* What's on it: Centered on a white background, the state seal depicts a bald eagle holding in its beak a banner with the state motto, "State Sovereignty, National Union." Behind the eagle, the sun is shown...