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The state seal of Oregon displays a shield supported by 33 stars (Oregon was the 33rd state to join the Union). The seal is divided by a ribbon with the inscription “The Union” (adopted as Oregon's motto in 1957, but replaced in 1987 with “She Flies With Her Own Wings”).
Above the ribbon are the mountains and forests of Oregon, an elk with branching antlers, a covered wagon and ox team, the Pacific Ocean with a setting sun, a departing British man-of-war ship (a symbol of the departure of British influence in the region) and an arriving American merchant ship (a symbol of the rise of American power).
Below the ribbon are a sheaf of wheat, plow, and pickax (symbols of Oregon’s mining and agricultural resources). The crest of the seal is the American Eagle. Around the perimeter of the seal is the legend “State of Oregon 1859,” the year Oregon became a state.
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