The United States has fifty official states, not including its commonwealths and territories. The U.S.A. capital is none other than Washington D.C. but each state has its own capital and is ruled by a governor. Note that the state capital is not always the same as the state's most populous city. An example is the state of Alaska. While Anchorage is the state's most populous city, Juneau is the capital. Each state also has its own official flower, bird, tree, and motto.



The state capital

The state's capital city is the seat of government for that particular state. This is where major government decisions within the state are made. The state capital is the center of government in that state. It is actually modeled after the national capital; the only difference is that the national capital administration covers the whole country while state capital administration covers only the state. Again, the state capital does not have to be the most populated city but it needs to house the capitol and other governmental establishments or departments.

The state governor

The state governor is the one in charge of the whole state just as a president is the head of the nation. He or she has a big responsibility because federal states are like small nations.

Most populous city

The most populous city of a state is simply that: the city with the most number of permanent residents. Sometimes it is also the state capital. However, there are also cases when it is not. The only thing that you can assume about the most populous city is that it may offer sufficient employment or entertainment venues that people actually flock towards it.

The state flower and state tree

Every state has a state tree and flower. Some of the state flowers are actually trees themselves. This is made obvious by Mississippi's chosen state tree and flower: the magnolia tree and the magnolia flower. The state of the commonwealth of Virginia follows the same idea by having dogwood as its state tree and flowering dogwood as its state flower. Some states even share the same state flower. Some have variations of the same flower: the state flower of Washington is the pink rhododendron while the state flower of West Virginia is simply the rhododendron. You should realize though that the state tree and flower do not really reflect the most grown trees and flowers in the state. Sometimes, a state chooses a tree or a flower for symbolic reasons.

The state bird

State birds are sometimes chosen even before they have their official names as given by the American Ornithologists? Union. As with the state trees and flowers, some states share the same state bird. The cardinal and the mockingbird are very popular choices. States started choosing their bird representatives in 1927.

A state's population

While you know that the most populous city is not necessarily the same as the capital city, putting all the cities and towns of a state make up the whole state's population. A state's population may reflect the state's popularity. Crowded states may provide more job opportunities and entertainment venues many Americans are looking for.

The state motto

Every state has a motto that reflects what the residents generally believe in. Some are longer mottos while some are simply one-word mottos. Some state mottos are even written in Latin, with English translations, while the Hawaiian motto is written in the state's native language: ?Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono,? which means ?the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.? An example of a one-word motto is Wisconsin's ?Forward"" motto. Wyoming's motto consists of only two words - ""equal rights.