Seal of Idaho
Encyclopedia
The Seal of the Territory of Idaho was adopted in 1863, and redrawn several times before statehood in 1890. The state Great Seal was designed by Emma Edwards Green, the only woman to design a state seal.
The current seal contains the text "Great Seal of the State of Idaho" in the outer ring, with the star that signifies a new light in the galaxy of states. The inner ring contains a banner with the Latin motto, Esto perpetua
("Let it be perpetual" or "It is forever"). A woman, signifying justice, and a man, dressed as a miner, support a shield. The miner reminds us of the chief industry of the State at the time of statehood.
Inside, the shield bears images symbolic of the State. The pine tree in the foreground refers to Idaho's immense timber interests. The husbandman plowing on the left side of the shield, together with the sheaf of grain beneath the shield, are emblematic of Idaho's agricultural resources, while the cornucopias, or horns of plenty, refer to the horticultural. Idaho has a game law, which protects the elk and moose, and an elk's head rises above the shield. The state flower, the wild Syringa or Mock Orange, grows at the woman's feet, while the ripened wheat grows as high as her shoulder. The river depicted in the shield is the Snake
or Shoshone River
.
The current seal contains the text "Great Seal of the State of Idaho" in the outer ring, with the star that signifies a new light in the galaxy of states. The inner ring contains a banner with the Latin motto, Esto perpetua
Esto perpetua
Esto perpetua is the state motto of Idaho. The motto appears on the back of the 2007 Idaho quarter.The words are traced back to the Venetian theologian and mathematician Paolo Sarpi , also known as Fra Paolo...
("Let it be perpetual" or "It is forever"). A woman, signifying justice, and a man, dressed as a miner, support a shield. The miner reminds us of the chief industry of the State at the time of statehood.
Inside, the shield bears images symbolic of the State. The pine tree in the foreground refers to Idaho's immense timber interests. The husbandman plowing on the left side of the shield, together with the sheaf of grain beneath the shield, are emblematic of Idaho's agricultural resources, while the cornucopias, or horns of plenty, refer to the horticultural. Idaho has a game law, which protects the elk and moose, and an elk's head rises above the shield. The state flower, the wild Syringa or Mock Orange, grows at the woman's feet, while the ripened wheat grows as high as her shoulder. The river depicted in the shield is the Snake
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
or Shoshone River
Shoshone River
The Shoshone River is long river in northern Wyoming in the United States. Its headwaters are in the Absaroka Range in Shoshone National Forest. It ends when it runs into the Big Horn River near Lovell, Wyoming. Cities it runs near or through are Cody, Powell, Byron, and Lovell. Near Cody, it...
.