The middle horizontal band on The Gambia's national flag is blue.
The flag has three broad horizontal bands arranged from top to bottom as red, blue, and green. Two narrow white stripes separate the bands, so the complete pattern is red, white, blue, white, green. The blue center band represents the Gambia River, the country's defining geographical feature.
The flag was designed by Pa Louis Thomasi and adopted in 1965, the year The Gambia became independent from Britain. It replaced the colonial Blue Ensign that had carried the arms of the Gambia Colony and Protectorate. The flag remained unchanged during the country's confederation with Senegal from 1982 to 1989.
The colors are often remembered by their symbolism: red evokes the sun and savanna, blue refers to the river, green suggests forests and agriculture, and white represents peace and unity. A frequent mix-up is placing green in the middle; on The Gambia's flag, green is the bottom band.