thumb|Location of the [[state of North Carolina in the United States of America]]
The state of North Carolina has 42 official state emblems, as well as other designated places and events. The majority is determined by acts of the North Carolina General Assembly and record in Chapters 144, 145, and 149 of the North Carolina General Statutes. The state's nicknames – "The Old North State" and "The Tar Heel State" – are both traditional, but have never been passed into law by the General Assembly.
The first symbol was the Seal of North Carolina, which was made official in 1871. The original seal also contained the future state motto. It served as the state's only emblem for 14 years until the adoption of the state flag in 1885. Enacted by law in 2013, the newest symbols of North Carolina are the state art medium, clay; the state fossil, the megalodon teeth; the state frog, the Pine Barrens tree frog; the state marsupial, the Virginia opossum; and the state salamander, the marbled salamander.
Insignia
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! align="center"| Type
! align="center"| Symbol
! align="center"| Year
! align="center"| Image
! align="center"| Source
|-
|Flag
|"That the flag of North Carolina shall consist of a blue union, containing in the center thereof a white star with the letter N in gilt on the left and the letter C in gilt on the right of said star, the circle containing the same to be one-third the width of the union. The fly of the flag shall consist of two equally proportioned bars; the upper bar to be red, the lower bar to be white; that the length of the bars horizontally shall be equal to the perpendicular length of the union, and the total length of the flag shall be one-third more than its width. That above the star in the center of the union there shall be a gilt scroll in semi-circular form, containing in black letters this inscription 'May 20, 1775,' and that below the star there shall be a similar scroll containing in black letters the inscription: 'April 12, 1776.'"
|align="center"|1885
|align="center"|100px|North Carolina flag
|align="center"|
|-
||Motto
|Esse quam videri<br/>("To be, rather than to seem")
|align="center"|1893
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Nicknames
|Old North State<br/>Tar Heel State
|align="center"|Traditional
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Seal
|The Seal of North Carolina
|align="center"|1871
(Revised in 1983)
|align="center"|100px|North Carolina state seal
|align="center"|
|-
|Christmas tree
|Fraser fir<br/>Abies fraseri
|align="center"|2005
|align="center"|100px|Fraser fir
|align="center"|
|-
|Flower
|Flowering dogwood<br/>Cornus florida
|align="center"|1941
|align="center"|100px|American dogwood
|align="center"|
|-
|Tree
|Pine<br/>Genus Pinus
|align="center"|1963
|align="center"|100px|Pine
|align="center"|
|-
|Wildflower
|Carolina lily<br/>Lilium michauxii
|align="center"|2003
|align="center"|100px|Carolina lily
|align="center"|
|}
Fauna
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! align="center" | Type
! align="center" | Symbol
! align="center" | Year
! align="center" | Image
! align="center" | Source
|-
|Bird
|Cardinal
|align="center"|1943
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Butterfly
|Eastern tiger swallowtail
|align="center"|2012
|align="center"|100px|Eastern tiger swallowtail
|align="center"|
|-
|Dog
|Plott Hound
|align="center"|1989
|align="center"|100px|Plott Hound
|align="center"|
|-
|Fossil
|Megalodon teeth
|align="center"|2013
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Freshwater trout
|Southern Appalachian brook trout
|align="center"|2005
|align="center"|100px|brook trout
|align="center"|
|-
|Frog
|Pine Barrens tree frog<br/>Hyla andersonii
|align="center"|2013
|align="center"|100px|Pine Barrens tree frog
|align="center"|
|-
|Horse
|Colonial Spanish Mustang
|align="center"|2010
|align="center"|150 px
|align="center"|
|-
|Insect
|Western honey bee
(Apis mellifera)
|align="center"|1973
|align="center"|100px|Western honey bee
|align="center"|
|-
|Mammal
|Eastern gray squirrel <br />Sciurus carolinensis
|align="center"|1969
|align="center"|100px|Eastern gray squirrel
|align="center"|
|-
|Marsupial
|Virginia opossum<br/>Didelphis virginiana
|align="center"|2013
|align="center"|100px|Virginia opossum
|align="center"|
|-
|Reptile
|Eastern box turtle
|align="center"|1979
|align="center"|100px|Eastern box turtle
|align="center"|
|-
|Salamander
|Marbled salamander<br/>Ambystoma opacum
|align="center"|2013
|align="center"|100px|Marbled salamander
|align="center"|
|-
|Saltwater fish
|Channel bass
|align="center"|1971
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Shell
|Scotch bonnet
|align="center"|1965
|align="center"|100px|Scotch bonnet
|align="center"|
|}
Geology
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! align="center"| Type
! align="center"| Symbol
! align="center"| Year
! align="center"| Image
! align="center"| Source
|-
|Mineral
|Gold<br/>Aurum
|align="center"|2011
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Rock
|Granite
|align="center"|1979
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Stone
|Emerald
|align="center"|1973
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|}
Culture
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! align="center"| Type
! align="center"| Symbol
! align="center"| Year
! align="center"| Image
! align="center"| Source
|-
|Art medium
|Clay
|align="center"|2013
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Beverage
|Milk
|align="center"|1987
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Birthplace of traditional pottery
|Seagrove Area
|align="center"|2005
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Blue berry
|Blueberry<br/>Vaccinium genus
|align="center"|2001
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Folk dance
|Clogging
|align="center"|2005
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Fruit
|Scuppernong grape<br/>Vitis genus
|align="center"|2001
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Language
|English language
|align="center"|1987
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|-
|Popular dance
|Shagging
|align="center"|2005
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|-
|Song
|"The Old North State"
|align="center"|1927
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Theatre
|Flat Rock Playhouse
|align="center"|1961
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Sport
|Stock car racing
|align="center"|2011
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Toast
|The Tar Heel Toast
|align="center"|1957
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|-
|Vegetable
|Sweet potato
|align="center"|1995
|align="center"|100px
|align="center"|
|}
See also
- List of North Carolina-related topics
- Lists of United States state insignia
- State of North Carolina
References
;General
;Specific