BigDaddyData.Com: California State Seal

    California adopted a design as both State Seal and arms in 1849, when the California gold rush was well under way and a year before California became a state.

     A grizzly bear is depicted on the seal feeding on clusters from a grapevine. Near the bear stands Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom.

     In Roman mythology, Minerva wasn't born. Instead, she sprang full grown from the forehead of her father, Jupiter.

     Thus, Minerva represents the fact that California was admitted directly to the United States as a state. Many others were territories before they achieved statehood. The thirty-one stars show that California was the thirty first state.

     A miner and a gold mining cradle in the background represent California's mining industry. A sheaf of wheat and a bunch of grapes represent agriculture and horticulture.

     The ships in the harbor symbolize commercial greatness. The snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains rise in the background.

     The Greek motto “Eureka” is displayed on the seal. California's official motto, it may refer to the admission of California as a state or to the success of miners.