Adapted from the West Virginia Shawl tartan and adopted by the West Virginia senate (HCR #29) on March 6th 2008. The colours have been chosen to represent the mountain state as follows: red for the Cardinal, the State bird; yellow for the Sugar Maple, the State tree, and the fall colors; dark blue for the mountain rivers and lakes; black for the Black Bear, the State animal, and for coal and oil; green for the Rhododendron, the State Flower, and mountain meadows; azure for the sky above; and white to have all the colors of this great nation intertwined with the State of West Virginia.