Great Seal of California - Official State Symbol and Meaning #3887155 (License: Personal Use)

The seal features Minerva, emerging fully grown-symbolizing California’s statehood without territorial phase-holding a spear and shield bearing the head of Medusa. Below her sits a California grizzly bear beside agricultural fields and mining tools, with three sailing ships on the Pacific and the Sierra Nevada range under a rising sun. The motto “Eureka” (I have found it) encircles the central scene, referencing the 1848 gold discovery.

Used on official government documents, websites, and legal instruments; commonly sought by students, historians, and civic educators researching state symbols or U.S. heraldry.