State Symbols Listing

official state symbols, emblems, and icons: amphibians birds, butterflies, fishes, flags, flowers, foods, fossils, fruits, gems, minerals, rocks, insects, mammals, animals, mottos, names and nicknames, reptiles, seals, shells, soils, songs, trees and more that represent the cultural heritage and natural treasures of each of the 50 US States.

Arkansas State Information Guide

Capital: Little Rock

June 15, 1836 (25th State)

Arkansas State Guide: 50States: StateSymbols: State Map

Nicknamed the "Land of Opportunity," Arkansas, which joined the Union in 1836, was the 25th state. The early French explorers of the state gave it its name, which is probably a phonetic spelling for the French word for "downriver" people, a reference to the Quapaw Indians and the river along which they settled. Arkansas is the only state in which diamonds have been mined, although today the mine operates only as a tourist attraction. Arkansas state flower is the apple blossom. Despite opposition in Congress to a new slave state, Arkansas became a state on June 15, 1836with Little Rock as it capitol. Arkansas Governor Henry M. Rector seized Fort Smith and Arkansas joined the Confederacy in 1861 re-entering the Union at War's end.