Father Silvestre Velez de Escalante was a Spanish Franciscan missionary-explorer who led an expedition through the Great Basin desert in 1776-77, according to an undated source from DesertUSA. The expedition was conducted alongside his superior, Francisco Domínguez, to seek a northern route from Santa Fe to Monterey in California. This journey, which was requested by New Mexico's Spanish Governor Mendinuetta in 1775, aimed to find a path that avoided hostile Indian tribes and less arid lands by traveling north of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, according to an undated report from the Bureau of Land Management.
The expedition left Santa Fe, New Mexico, on July 29, 1776, with 14 men, according to an undated source from DesertUSA. This group included eight volunteers and was outfitted with saddle horses, pack animals, and beef cattle on the hoof, according to an undated report from the Bureau of Land Management. The party traveled northwest into what is now western Colorado, reaching and naming the winding Dolores River on August 13, according to an undated source from DesertUSA. During this portion of the trek, Fathers Escalante and Dominguez found the ancient ruins of a small Indian village, which Escalante noted in his journal, according to an undated source from DesertUSA. This site is identified as the first written record of a prehistoric Anasazi site in Colorado, and is known as Escalante Ruin, while a second site discovered nearby is called Dominguez Ruin, according to an undated source from DesertUSA.
As the party moved north through western Colorado, they encountered a Ute Indian who guided them to the Uncompahgre River, where his band was camped, according to an undated source from DesertUSA. Dominguez and Escalante acquired the services of two northern Utes who took the party further north toward the area where Rangely, Colorado, now stands, according to an undated source from DesertUSA. After traveling across eastern Utah and facing the Green River, the party reached Utah Lake, near Salt Lake City, and proceeded in a southwesterly direction, according to an undated report from the Bureau of Land Management and an undated source from the Provo Library.
By October of 1776, the party arrived near Cedar City, according to an undated report from the Bureau of Land Management. Due to low provisions and the approaching winter, the group decided to return home rather than continue to California, according to an undated report from the Bureau of Land Management. The party traveled south along Ash Creek to its confluence with the Virgin River, near modern-day Hurricane, and according to Escalante's journal, they camped on top of Sand Mountain before traveling south along Ft. Pearce Wash, according to an undated report from the Bureau of Land Management. The expedition eventually turned north along the Rio Grande River and arrived back in Santa Fe on January 2, 1777, having traveled approximately 2,000 miles over nearly six months, according to an undated report from the Bureau of Land Management.
Fray Escalante's maps and journal, which described the landscape and Native American tribes encountered during the trek, were used by future explorers, including Lewis and Clark in 1803, according to an undated report from the Bureau of Land Management. One of the routes that Dominguez and Escalante helped to pioneer was the Old Spanish Trail, which is now a designated National Historic Trail, according to an undated report from the Bureau of Land Management.
What this means for Escalante
The historical travels of Silvestre Velez de Escalante provided early written records of the Great Basin desert and prehistoric Anasazi sites. His journal and maps helped shape the understanding of the region for future explorers and contributed to the designation of the Old Spanish Trail as a National Historic Trail.
