Canton (flag)

A canton in a flag is a rectangular area at the top hoist corner of a flag, occupying up to a quarter of the flag's area. The canton of a flag may be a flag in its own right. For instance, British ensigns have the Union Jack as their canton, as do their derivatives such as the national flags of Australia and New Zealand.

Following the practice of British ensigns, a canton sometimes contains a symbol of national unity such as the blue field and white stars of the U.S. flag. In these cases, the canton may be called simply the union.

Current flags using cantons

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  The flag of Abkhazia features a red canton with a white right hand and seven white stars on it.
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  The flag of Australia features the Union Flag as a canton.
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  The flag of Chile incorporates a blue canton bearing a white five-pointed star.
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  The flag of Fiji has a canton of the Union Flag.
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  The flag of Greece has a blue canton with a white Greek cross.
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  The flag of Liberia has a blue canton with a white five-pointed star.
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  The flag of Malaysia has a canton with a crescent and 14-pointed star in yellow on a blue field.
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  The flag of New Zealand has a Union Flag canton.
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  The flag of Samoa has a blue canton which bears the Southern Cross constellation in white.
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  The flag of the Republic of China has a navy blue canton bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays.
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  The flag of Togo has a red canton bearing a white five-pointed star.
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  The flag of Tonga has a white canton bearing a red Greek cross couped.
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  The flag of Tuvalu features the Union Flag in its canton.
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  The U.S. flag has 50 white stars on a blue canton, standing for the country's 50 states.
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  The flag of Uruguay has a white canton charged with the Sun of May.

See also

• Canton (heraldry)

External links

• Media related to Flags with cantons at Wikimedia Commons