The modern state flag is white with a wide red strip along the bottom. There is a red star in the upper left corner and a grizzly bear facing left (toward the hoist) in the center, walking on a patch of green grass. The five-point star is actually taken from the California Lone Star Flag of 1836.
The bear on the current flag of California was modeled on the last wildCalifornian grizzly bearin captivity. The bear, named "Monarch", was captured in 1889 by newspaper reporter Allen Kelley, at the behest ofWilliam Randolph Hearst.
In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial, and Canadian provincial flags and ranked the flag of California 13th.
