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The Elk (Cervus
canadensis) became the Utah State Animal
by an act of the legislature in 1971 |
The California
Gull (Larus californicus) was designated
as the State Bird by an act of
the legislature in 1955. The designation
commemorated the role a huge flock of seagulls
played in destroying hordes of crickets that were
decimating crops in 1848. |
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In 1997, the Utah
State Legislature designated the Dutch Oven as
the State Cooking Pot. The
International Dutch Oven Society is located in
Logan, Utah, which is also the site of the World
Championship Dutch Oven Cookoff, a major event of
the Festival of the American West. |
The Beehive became
the official State Emblem on
March 4, 1959. Utahns relate the beehive symbol
to industry and the pioneer virtues of thrift and
perseverance. The beehive was chosen as the
emblem for the provisional State of Deseret in
1848 and was maintained on the seal of the State
of Utah when Utah became a state in 1896. |
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The 1997 State
Legislature adopted the Bonneville Cutthroat
Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah) as the
State Fish after having the
Rainbow Trout since 1971. The Bonneville
Cutthroat is native to Utah and was important to
the Indians and the Mormon pioneers as a source
of food. |
By an act of the
Utah State Legislature, approved on March 18,
1911, the Sego Lily (Calochortus nuttalli)
was declared to be the State Flower.
Between 1840 and 1851, food became very scarce in
Utah due to a crop-devouring plague of crickets,
and during this time the pioneers learned to dig
for and eat the soft, bulbous root of the sego
lily. The sego lily was chosen after a census was
taken of the state's school children as to their
preference for a state flower. |
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In 1994, the Utah
State Legislature designated Square Dancing to be
the State Folk Dance of Utah. |
The Allosaurus
was designated the State Fossil
in 1988. More Allosaurus specimens have
been found in two of Utah's quarries than any
other dinosaur. Sixty individuals, from juveniles
to adults, were found at one site in Utah. |
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The Cherry was
designated the State Fruit in
1997. The 2nd graders at Millville Elementary
School in Millville championed the cause for a
state fruit, and chose the apple, peach, and
cherry as candidates. After compiling some basic
information concerning each of these fruits and
their economic impact upon Utah and polling
elementary schools throughout the state, the
cherry came out the strong leader. Utah is the
second largest tart cherry producing state in the
nation and fifth in the nation in the production
of sweet cherries. |
Topaz was
designated the State Gem in
1969. The semiprecious gem isfound in Beaver,
Juab, and Tooele counties of Utah. |
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Indian Ricegrass (Achnatherum
hymenoides) was officially recognized as the
Utah State Grass in 1990. The
Society for Range Management's Utah Section began
campaigning for a state grass in the mid-1980s
and after studying many species the field was
narrowed to four candidates: Indian racegrass,
bluebunch wheatgrass, galleta grass, and Great
Basin wildrye. Indian ricegrass was then selected
as the favorite. The state grass bill was
introduced by Senator Alarik Myrin, a member of
the Society. |
The Sugar Beet was
named the Historic State Vegetable
in the 2002 General Session of the Utah State
Legislature. The bill was championed by the
students of Realms of Inquiry school of Salt Lake
City. |
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Utah We Love
Thee, written by Evan Stephens and published
in 1917, was designated the State Song in 1937.
The State Legislature adopted a new state song in
2003, and Utah We Love Thee became the
State Hymn at that time. |
The Honey
Bee (Apis mellifera) became the
official State Insect in 1983
through the lobbying efforts of a fifth grade
class. |
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Copper
was designated the State Mineral
in 1994. The Bingham Canyon Mine in the Salt Lake
Valley is one of the largest open-pit copper
mines in the world. |
"Industry"
officially became the State Motto on
March 4, 1959. Industry is associated with the
symbol of the beehive. The early pioneers had few
material resources at their disposal and
therefore had to rely on their own
"industry" to survive. In the first
session of the state legislature (1896), the
state seal was fully described and the word
"Industry" was prominently displayed
thereon. |
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In 1988 Utah
designated the historic Union Station in Ogden as
the state's Official Railroad Museum. |
Coal, which is
found in 17 of Utah;s 29 counties, was designated
the Official Rock in 1991. |
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The design of the Seal
of Utah was adopted during the first session of
the State Legislature, on April 3, 1896. The
beehive featured in the center is a symbol of
hard work and "industry." A bald eagle,
the United States national bird, perches atop the
shield as a symbol of protection in peace and
war. The sego lilies are a symbol of peace and
represent Utah's support to the nation. 1847 is
the year the Mormons came to Utah. 1896 is the
year Utah became the 45th state. |
The 2003 Utah
State Legislature voted to change the State Song
from Utah, We Love Thee to Utah,
This is the Place. Utah's original state
song was then designated as State Hymn. Rep. Dana
Love sponsored the bill at the behest of the Cook
Elementary School class in Syracuse who insisted
that Utah We Love Thee wasn't very much
fun to sing.
In 1996, Sam and Gary Francis wrote Utah,
This Is The Place for Utah's centennial
celebration, in 1996. |
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The star, Dubhe
(Alpha Ursae Majoris), one of the seven bright
stars composing the Big Dipper of the
constellation Ursa Major (Great Bear), was
designated as the State Star in
1996. Dubhe differs from other stars in the Big
Dipper by having an orange hue. It was chosen
because the light emitted from the star takes 100
years to reach Earth and 1996 was Utah's
Centennial Year. |
The Beehive
Cluster was designated as the State Star
Cluster (aka Astronomical Symbol) in
1996. Visible to the naked eye as a small cloud
in the constellation of Cancer, the Beehive is a
bright open cluster of stars that has been known
since ancient times. Modern astronomers refer to
it as Messier Object 44. |
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The Quaking Aspen
(Populus tremuloides) was chosen by the
State Legislature in 2014 to be the State Tree,
replacing the Colorado blue spruce, which had
held the honor of State Tree since 1933. The
quaking aspen makes up about 10% of the forest
cover in the State of Utah and can be found in
all of Utah's 29 counties. In comparison, the
Colorado blue spruce is primarily found in the
the Wasatch and Uinta mountains. The change was
initiated by fourth-grade students at Monroe
Elementary in Sevier County, who didn't think
that the blue spruce represented the State of
Utah as a whole. |
The Spanish Sweet
Onion was designated the State Vegetable
by an act of the State Legislature in 2002. Grown
in Davis, Weber, and Box Elder counties, the
onion was championed for State Vegetable
designation by students of Lone Peak Elementary
School. |
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