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State Animal: Rocky Mountain Elk—sometimes called wapiti by the Shawnee Indians.
State Bird: California Seagull—The seagulls saved early pioneer crops from hungry crickets during their first year in Utah. After the pioneers prayed for help, the seagulls came and ate the crickets. The pioneers were able to keep their food crops safe.
State Cooking Pot: The Dutch Oven—Early pioneers cooked with big, heavy, black kettles. Many people in Utah use these at special events or when they go camping. Dutch ovens are used by more people in the Utah than in any other state.
State Fish: The Bonneville Cutthroat Trout—These fish have a “cut”, or rather an orange patch of color on their throat. The Cutthroat was adopted as the state fish in 1997. It is a fish that has been in Utah since earliest recorded history and was a source of food for Utah Indians and Pioneers.
State Flower: The Sego Lily—This beautiful flower was selected by the State legislature in 1911. During hard times for the pioneers, they would dig up these flowers and eat the root bulbs.
State Folk Dance: The Square Dance—Mormon Pioneers loved to dance and this was on of the most popular types of dances that they would perform together. Dancing was an important form of entertainment for early settlers.
State Fossil: The Allosaurus—More allosaurus specimens have been found in Utah than any other dinosaur. The Allosaurus was believed to be a meat-eater that grew to be about 16 feet in height and weighed probably 4 tons (8,000 pounds!)
State Fruit: The Cherry—Utah is the second largest producer of tart cherries in all of the United States. They are the fifth largest grower for sweet cherries.
State Gem: The Topaz—This gem is nearly as hard as diamonds. They can be found in a number of places in Utah.
State Grass: Indian Ricegrass—Yes, Utah also has a state grass! Indian Ricegrass was used by Native Americans in Utah many years ago when food was scarce. They would ground it up and make a special flour out of it so that they could make bread.
State Insect: The Honey Bee—The honey bee is an important insect in the culture and history of early Mormon Pioneers. The original proposed name of the state was to be “Deseret” which is a Mormon Scriptural word for Honey Bee.
State Mineral: Copper—Utah has the world’s largest open pit mine called the Bingham Canyon Mine. It is a half a mile deep and 2.5 miles wide. 12 million tons of copper have been mined from this location since 1906.
State Rock: Coal—Coal has been an important source of energy since the industrial revolution. Coal has been found in 17 of Utah’s 29 counties.
State Tree: The Blue Spruce—this tree is commonly found in the large mountain ranges of the northern half of Utah.
State Vegetable: The Spanish Sweet Onion— Utah farms sell about 100 million pounds of onions every single year!
