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| Landmark #218 | Millard County | Visited: August 24, 2020 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A plaque in the Delta City Park! |
| What makes it historical? | THE PLAQUE SAYS: Father Escalante camped here October 2, 1776. His exploring party of ten men, headed by Father Francisco DomĂnguez and map-maker Pacheco, preached to the Indians and charted a northern route between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Monterey, California. They named this valley “Valle Salado” (Valley of Salt). They traveled west near Clear Lake then east to a hillock (Pahvant Butte). Here they found marshes and much pasturage, but salt water.
OTHER TIDBITS: After establishing a presidio at Monterey, the Spanish Empire sought new ways to connect their older colonies with their newer ones! The Dominguez-Escalante expedition set out from Santa Fe on July 29, 1776, led by two Franciscans (Atanasio DomĂnguez and Silvestre VĂ©lez de Escalante) and their Timpanog guides, whose real names we don’t know today but were recorded as Silvestre, JoaquĂn, and JosĂ© Maria. They never reached California! After trekking much of the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin, winter struck and forced the expedition to turn back! They arrived in Santa Fe on January 2, 1777, far short of their original goal but with lots of knowledge about the area. Padre Escalante’s journals and Don Pacheco’s maps (the first of their kind) gave way to the Old Spanish Trail to California, about 40 years later. |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| How do I find it? | Listed Directions: Main Street (between 1st and 2nd West) Delta, UT 84624 Annotations: From Beaver: ~86mi (139km) — 1.5hrs |
| When should I go? | Whenever the mood strikes you! |