Gold field with red Zia sun symbol in the center.
Ratio: 2:3
A golden field with a red Zia sun symbol at centre. The design, borrowed from Pueblo culture, radiates in fourfold symmetry, directions, seasons, life stages, sacred elements. It is minimal, luminous, and one of the nation’s most admired state flags.
Flag Symbolism & Meaning
Zia sun symbol
Represents the Zia people and the sacred number four.
red and gold
Colors of Spain, honoring early colonial history.
Historical Timeline
1912
New Mexico admitted as the 47th state.
1925
Zia sun symbol design adopted.
Fascinating Facts
1
One of the most recognizable and simple U.S. state flags.
2
Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the U.S.
For Students & Teachers
Key Learning Points (4-12)
Explain Zia cultural symbolism of the number four.
Relate colors to Spanish colonial history.
State Information
- Population
- 2,117,522
- Area
- 121,590
- Founded
- 1912-01-06
- Region
- Southwest