Domínguez–Escalante expedition
The Domínguez–Escalante Expedition was a Spanish journey of exploration conducted in 1776 by two Franciscan priests, Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, to find an overland route from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to their Roman Catholic mission in Monterey, on the coast of modern day central California. Domínguez, Vélez de Escalante, and Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco, acting as the expedition's cartographer, traveled with ten men from Santa Fe through many unexplored portions of the American West, including present-day western Colorado, Utah, and northern Arizona. Along part of the journey, they were aided by three indigenous guides of the Timpanogos tribe (Ute people).
Father Escalante Discovers Utah Lake, 1776 in the rotunda of the Utah State Capitol | |
| Country | New Spain |
|---|---|
| Leader | Atanasio Domínguez Silvestre Vélez de Escalante |
| Start | Santa Fe de Nuevo México (modern-day Santa Fe, New Mexico) 1776 |
| End | 1777 |
| Goal | Find a route from Nuevo México, to the Spanish missions in The Californias |
The land was harsh and unforgiving, and hardships encountered during travel forced the group to return to Santa Fe before reaching Las Californias. Maps and documentation produced by the expedition aided future travelers. The Domínguez–Escalante route eventually became an early template for the Old Spanish Trail, a trade route from Santa Fe to Pacific Coast settlements.