Flag of New Mexico
The official flag of New Mexico, a subnational polity of the United States, consists of a red sun symbol of the Zia people on a field of gold (yellow). It was officially adopted in 1925 to highlight the state's Native American and Hispano heritage: It combines a symbol of the Puebloan people, who have ancient roots in the state, with the colors of the flag of Spain, which established and ruled Nuevo México for over two and a half centuries.
| Use | Civil and state flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | March 15, 1925 |
| Design | The red and gold (yellow) of old Spain. The ancient Zia sun symbol in red on a field of yellow. |
| Designed by | Reba Mera |
The New Mexico flag is among the most unique and iconic in the U.S., and has been noted for its simple and aesthetic design. It is one of four U.S. state flags without the color blue (along with Alabama, California, and Maryland) and the only one among the four without the color white. Along with Oklahoma, New Mexico is the only state that depicts Native American iconography in its flag.
The proportions of the symbol are fixed by New Mexico law: the four groups of rays are set at right angles, with the two inner rays one-fifth longer than the outer rays, and the diameter of the circle in the center is one-third the width of the symbol.