Official state nickname: The Golden State.
Official state mineral: gold.
Official state motto: "Eureka" (Greek for "I have found it," the "it" in this case probably being gold).
Official state flower: the golden poppy.
Official state colors: gold (also blue).
Official state marine fish: the garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus), which is gold-colored.
Official other fish: the golden trout.
Official state rock: serpentine, which is a significant source of gold asbestos.
Official state soil: San Joaquin soil, deposited by glaciers in the Sierra Nevada mountains long before the gold was mined out of them, between 50,000 and 250,000 years ago.
Official state gold rush ghost town: Bodie (now preserved in a state "of arrested decay").
Official state song: "I Love You, California,” a "song published in 1913 with lyrics by F.B. Silverwood and music by A.F. Frankenstein," which mentions gold a couple of times.
Editor's note: As previously noted, any reference to "Dr. Frankenstein" will be used as an excuse to mention one of my favorite facts of all time, namely that in 2008 a Dr. Richard S. Frankenstein was president of the California Medical Association.
Official state insect: the California dog-face butterfly (Zerene eurydice), which is partly gold-colored.
Official state animal: the California grizzly bear (Ursus californicus), also known as the California golden bear.
Official state animal that has been extinct since 1922: the California grizzly bear (Ursus californicus).
Official state animal that had been extinct for 31 years at the time it was designated the official state animal: the California grizzly bear (Ursus californicus).
Official state fossil: the saber-toothed cat (Smilodon californicus). Also apparently the California grizzly bear (Ursus californicus).
Official state prehistoric artifact: a chipped stone bear (or "bear-shaped eccentric," although that could also refer to my grandpa), crafted about 8,000 years ago in California by long-since-departed native Americans and quite possibly depicting an animal that is now extinct.
Official state reptile: the California desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), which is neither extinct nor linked to gold in any way, to my knowledge.
Official state marine reptile: the Pacific leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) (same).
Official state marine mammal: the California gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) (same).