What do the triangles on the Saint Lucia flag mean?

They are the Pitons, the island's two volcanic peaks. The gold triangle also stands for prosperity, and the black and white triangle for the relationship between the island's black and white populations.

Why is blue used on the Saint Lucia flag?

Blue is the Caribbean Sea around the island, and it also stands for fidelity.

The Flag of Saint Lucia

The flag of Saint Lucia has a light blue field for the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. At the center is a golden isosceles triangle for sunshine and prosperity, flanked by two white edges for the purity and aspiration of the people, and two black triangles for the African heritage of many of the island's citizens. The black triangles are edged in white and meet at their bases, forming the Pitons, the island's two volcanic cones.

Saint Lucia's flag is a portrait of two mountains. The triangles at its center are the Pitons, Gros Piton and Petit Piton, the volcanic peaks that are the island's most recognizable feature.

Dunstan St Omer's design

The flag was adopted on March 1, 1967, when Saint Lucia became an associated state of the United Kingdom, a step toward the full independence it reached in 1979. The Saint Lucian artist Dunstan St Omer designed it, and the country kept it unchanged through independence. The adjustments since have been small, mostly to the shade of blue and to the size and placement of the triangles.

Reading it

The field is cerulean blue, for the Caribbean Sea around the island and for fidelity. At the center a gold isosceles triangle sits beneath a smaller black triangle edged in white.

Gold is sunshine and prosperity. The black and white triangle stands for the relationship between the island's black and white populations, with the white edging read as purity and the aspirations of the people. Together the triangles make the Pitons.

Few national flags depict a specific piece of landscape rather than an abstraction, which is a large part of why this one is hard to confuse with anything else in the region.

In use

The flag is the national standard and flies at government buildings and official events, with protocol covering handling and display. Variants exist for particular state functions, including naval ensigns. It is central to national holidays, festivals, and public celebrations.

Among Caribbean flags

Saint Lucia shares some symbolic colors with other former British colonies in the region. What it does not share is the subject matter: most Caribbean flags reach for stripes, stars, or geometric divisions, while this one draws a picture of a place.