Kansas: State Flag, Bird and Facts
Kansas picked the western meadowlark as its state bird and the sunflower as its state flower.
- Capital
- Topeka
- Nickname
- The Sunflower State
- State bird
- Western meadowlark
- State flower
- Sunflower
- State tree
- Eastern cottonwood
- Admitted
- January 29, 1861
- Population
- 2,937,880 (2020 census)
- Motto
- Ad astra per aspera
- Region
- Midwest
- Area
- 213,100 km² (82,278 sq mi)
- Highest point
- Mount Sunflower (4,041 ft)
About Kansas
The name Kansas comes from the Kansas River, which was named after the Kansa people. Nebraska lies north, Colorado west, Oklahoma south and Missouri east. Topeka is the capital and Wichita has the most residents. Settlement sped up after 1854, when fighting broke out between antislavery Free-Staters and proslavery settlers, a period called Bleeding Kansas. The state finally joined the Union in 1861 as a free state.
Cattle drives in the 1870s pulled famous Wild West figures to the western plains, and today the farms turn out wheat, corn, sorghum and soybeans. Hazel Avery designed the flag in 1925. It shows the state seal topped by a sunflower on a blue field, and the word Kansas was added along the bottom in 1961. There is also an official banner with a single sunflower on blue.
Did you know?
- Mount Sunflower is the highest point in Kansas, at 4,041 feet.
- The first non-Native settlement in Kansas was Fort Leavenworth, in 1827.
- The governor's flag of Kansas matches the state flag but adds a star in each corner.
Questions about Kansas
What is on the Kansas flag?
The state seal sits on a blue field with a sunflower above it and the word Kansas below.
When did Kansas become a state?
Kansas joined the Union as a free state on January 29, 1861.
Sources
- Wikidata Q1558, checked October 8, 2026
- Wikipedia: Kansas, checked October 8, 2026
- Wikipedia: Flag of Kansas, checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.