The Spanish and U.S. Government Exploration The Spanish and U.S. Government

The Spanish The Spanish were the first non Native American people to explore Utah After colonizing Central America the Spanish decided that they needed to explore further north, especially after they had heard a Ute had traded a silver ingot to a blacksmith in New Mexico. The main expeditions the Spanish sent were led by Juan Rivera and Fathers Dominguez and Escalante.

Rivera Expedition Juan Rivera was sent by the Governor of New Mexico to find out if there were more riches to be had Rivera explored parts of Colorado and Utah In Utah he made it as far as Monticello

Rivera Expedition Rivera did not find any riches but the documentation of the route he followed was used by another expedition 11 years later by Dominguez and Escalante

Dominguez and Escalante Expedition Fathers Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante set out on their expedition to discover a route from Santa Fe to Monterrey, California in 1776

Dominguez and Escalante Expedition Fathers Dominguez and Escalante had many in their party including a mapmaker named Bernardo Miera and two Ute guides they named Silvestre and Joaquin. Silvestre and Joaquin led them safely through unfamiliar territory and Miera mapped their route and surroundings as they went Unfortunately, the expedition never made it to California because they decided to head back to Santa Fe before the winter came

Miera’s Map This map was used by several explorers after the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition

Outcomes of Spanish Exploration Horses were introduced to the Native Americans that interacted with the Spanish explorers. Horses became an extremely important part of Native American life Dominguez’s journal and Miera’s map were used by several different explorers including those sent by the U.S. Government Several locations in Utah bear Spanish names: Escalante, San Juan River, San Juan county, Spanish Fork etc.

U.S. Government Eventually the U.S. Government believed it was the destiny of the country to stretch all the way to the Pacific Ocean In order to begin the process of expanding the borders the U.S. government began to send several expeditions to explore the west and make maps of the lands Just a few examples of the expeditions that were sent were led by Captain Benjamin Bonneville, John C. Fremont and John Williams Gunnison

Bonneville Expedition Captain Benjamin Bonneville was sent to discover trade routes throughout the west He sent a party of men to explore the Great Salt Lake and discover an overland route to California

Fremont Expedition John C. Fremont was trained as a mapmaker and he led five different expeditions into the west He and his family believed in the destiny of the U.S. to stretch its borders to the Pacific While exploring he created maps, measured altitude, collected soil samples and wrote descriptions of the land and animals

Gunnison Expedition Gunnison was sent by the U.S. Government to study the Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake Several years later Gunnison was sent back to Utah to discover the best route for a new transcontinental railroad Later, Gunnison and six of his men were killed by Native Americans that were avenging the death of their chief

Outcomes of U.S. Government Exploration Several more accurate maps were created by the explorers allowing people to migrate from the east to the western part of the U.S. Several places in Utah were named after Captian Bonneville, e.g. Lake Bonneville and Bonneville City Fremont created the best maps of the regions for the time and his descriptions of the land drew people west Gunnision’s expeditions provided a southern wagon trail to California, established a road that the U.S. military later used to come to Utah and determined the railroad route that would go through Wyoming and northern Utah