US City Flags Trivia Quiz

The flag of the city of Baltimore was adopted in 1915 and features the black and gold colours of the coat of arms of the Calvert family who were involved in the founding of Maryland as a colony. The flag also features the Battle Monument, a monument located in Baltimore commemorating soldiers who died defending the city during the War of 1812.

The flag of Denver was adopted in 1926 and was designed by Margaret Overbeck when she was a student at North High School. The flag depicts the sun in the sky over snow-topped red mountains with the colour red being chosen for the hills as the name Colorado refers to red earth.

The flag of Washington. DC is based on the coat of arms of the Washington family which was granted to Lawrence Washington, a relative of George, in 1592. The flag was adopted in 1938 and was selected by the District Flag Commission which had been established by an Act of Congress.

The flag of Chicago has appeared with four stars since 1939. The original design by Wallace Rice adopted in 1917 had two stars commemorating the Great Chicago Fire and the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. In 1933 a third star was added to mark the Century of Progress Exposition while the fourth was added in 1939 and commemorates Fort Dearborn which was built in 1803 on the site of what is now Chicago.

The two blue bars represent local waterways with the top representing Lake Michigan and the North Branch of the Chicago River while the bottom bar represents the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal along with the South Branch of the Chicago River.

The flag of Indianapolis was adopted in 1963 and was designed by 18 year old art student Roger E. Gohl. It replaced a previous flag design which was generally unpopular with residents and also bore resemblance to the Confederate battle flag. The star in the centre of the flag represents the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the centre of Indianapolis with the white circle surrounding it standing for Monument Circle and the white stripes leading off this representing major streets which run off from Monument Circle.

The flag of New Orleans was adopted in 1918. The flag combines elements of two designs which were submitted to the Citizen's Flag Committee. The colour scheme was taken from a design by Bernard Barry while the fleur-de-lis were part of Gustave Couret's design.

The red, white and blue colour scheme was chosen as it is patriotic while the fleur-de-lis, as a traditional French symbol, represents the city's French heritage.

The flag of Albuquerque was designed by Dr Richard P Vann and adopted in 1968. The flag features the same Zia sun symbol as the flag of the state of New Mexico with the year 1706 inside it to mark the year the city was founded. The top left of the flag features a thunderbird and the city name is written at the bottom of the flag (though this was removed for this quiz to avoid giving away the answer!)

The flag of Salt Lake City was adopted in 2020 following a contest to replace the previous flag which had been in use since 2006. The final design chosen combined elements from the submissions by Arianna Meinking and Elio Kennedy-Yoon from West High School. The flag depicts a sego lily which is the state flower of Utah.

This version of the flag of Portland was adopted in 2002 and was designed by the graphic designer R. Douglas Lynch who lived in Portland. The original version adopted in 1970 added the city seal on a dark blue background in the upper left which was not included in Lynch's design but in 2002 Lynch and others persuaded the city to remove this element of the design making it more in line with Lynch's original.

The cross on the flag is a combination of a Brigid's Cross with a Nordic Cross. The colours in the flag have symbolic meanings with the green standing for the forests and green spaces of the city, yellow agriculture and commerce while the blue celebrates the rivers Portland is situated on and near.

The flag of Pittsburgh was adopted in 1899 and features the coat of arms of the city in the centre of the flag. This coat of arms is based on those of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham after whom the city is named. The black and gold colours of the flag are reflected in the colours used for Pittsburgh's sports teams who all either play in or have logos featuring black and gold.