The Discovery of California Redwoods

The Discovery of California Redwoods. . July 14, 1769, an expedition led by Don Gaspar de Portola left San Diego to rediscover Vizcaino's "Lost Port of Monterey". The expedition reached but failed to recognize Monterey Bay, traveled north, and discovered San Francisco Bay November 4, 1769. Among the members of the expedition was Fray Juan Crespi, O.F.M., who kept a diary which contains the following enter on October 10, 1769. , "We broke camp in the morning, and after crossing a river named by the soldiers Rio de Pajaro, we headed in a north wester;y direction... Because of the condition of the sick men in litters we halted again after traveling a little more than a league near a little lagoon where there was ample feed and much wild game... The plains and low hills were forested with very high trees of a red color unknown to us... different than cedar, although the wood resembles cedar in color and is very brittle. Because of the red color they were named palo colorado. , Here on the "little lagoon" now known as Pinto Lake the California Redwood was first discovered by a European.