Alarcon's mission was to provide supplies for Francisco Coronado's expedition in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. The Spaniards led by Hernando De Alarcon ascended the Colorado River by boat from the Gulf of California past this point, . . . — — Map (db m88572) HM
As Avi-Milikit of Quechen legends; Picacho noted Spanish arrival in 1640, lured Sonora miners after 1852, brought steamboats to its mining and milling port until 1910. Her mines were never worked to extinction, but Picacho became a squatter haven. . . . — — Map (db m51576) HM
To protect the Anza Trail where it forded the Colorado River, the Spanish founded a pueblo and mission nearby on January 7, 1781. Threatened with the loss of their land, the Quechans (Yumas) attacked this strategic settlement on July 17, 1781. The . . . — — Map (db m264709) HM
The Millimeter Interferometer, built through the generous support
of the National Science Foundation.
May 4, 1985
Owens Valley Radio Observatory
California Institute of Technology — — Map (db m315890) HM
Good Life in Badwater
Water is rare and precious in Death Valley. Imagine the disappointment when a surveyor mapping this area could not get his
mule to drink from this pool. He wrote on his map that the
spring had "bad water," and . . . — — Map (db m159465) HM
Through this natural gateway the Death Valley Forty-Niners, more than one hundred emigrants from the middle west, seeking a shortcut to gold fields of central California, entered Death Valley in
December, 1849. All suffered from thirst and . . . — — Map (db m167508) HM
In 1949, the government of California hosted
several statehood centennial celebrations across
the state. One such event was hosted here at the
mouth of Desolation Canyon in what was then
Death Valley National Monument. The . . . — — Map (db m275649) HM
Also known as Jayhawker's Well
or McLean's Spring.
It was here on December 27, 1849 that the Jayhawkers, the
"Mississippi Boys" and the Briers learned from their scouts
that no probable wagon route lay ahead. Their only
alternative was . . . — — Map (db m249821) HM
This waterhole, only one in the sand dune area of Death Valley, was at the junction of two Indian trails. During the bonanza days of Rhyolite and Skidoo it was the only known water source on the cross-valley road. When sand obscured the spot, a . . . — — Map (db m94591) HM
Upon feeling the intense heat rising from the Death Valley floor, the first travelers may have been overcome by a sense of foreboding believing they had indeed arrived at the gates of hell. These travelers also recount that even their horses . . . — — Map (db m272360) HM
William Manley & John Rogers crossed
this pass on the way to get supplies for 49ers trapped in Death Valley. Later, as they led the
Bennett & Arcane families to safety, they came here to view the land
ahead. Looking back, one said . . . — — Map (db m260617) HM
Now a ghost town, Ballarat served nearby mining camps from 1897 to 1917. They produced nearly a million in gold. The jail & a few adobe ruins remain. Seldom Seen Slim, it's last resident, was buried in Boothill in 1968. It had a school but no . . . — — Map (db m159350) HM
In this area, several groups of midwestern emigrants, who had escaped from hazards and privations in Death Valley in 1849, sought to secure water from Searles Lake. When they discovered its salty nature, they turned northward and westward in . . . — — Map (db m93441) HM
Padre Garcés, first recorded non-Indian to visit this locality, came in April of 1776, seeking a new route from Mexico to California. His epic journey covered more than two thousand miles of uncharted wilderness, opening trails that later became . . . — — Map (db m11932) HM
Padre Garces seeking a new route between Sonora, Mexico and Monterey crossed Rio de San Felipe (Kern River May 7, 1776) at Rancheria San Miguel now Bakersfield. First recorded white man in this locality, he brought Christianity to the Indian and on . . . — — Map (db m34769) HM
Near this spot stood the last home of Elisha Stevens, noted American pathfinder and scout. Born in Georgia April 5, 1804, he learned blacksmithing during his youth. Drifting west he became a trapper on the Upper Missouri for more than two decades. . . . — — Map (db m231869) HM
Fur Traders - Trail Blazer - Map Maker
Jedediah Smith and fourteen men from the Smith, Jackson and Sublette fur trading partnership camped near here along the Kern River about February 10, 1827 on their way, North, up the San Joaquin . . . — — Map (db m284936) HM
Near this site stood the home of Alexis Godey, frontiersman and scout, who lived here from 1883 until his death on January 19, 1889. Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1818, he acted as guide for John C. Frémont's expedition through the Kern area in . . . — — Map (db m51676) HM
One mile north of here on May 1, 1776, Francisco Garces of the Franciscan Order, crossed Kern River in his search for a shorter route from Sonora, Mexico to Monterey, California. He was the first known explorer to describe this river, which he . . . — — Map (db m24984) HM
The Randsburg Mojave Road was built by Rice & Shippee of Mojave to speed stage transportation from the Southern Pacific railroad station at Mojave, to the rich gold mines in the Randsburg area; service commenced on November 22, 1898. The stage left . . . — — Map (db m143407) HM
About February 1, 1827, Jedediah Strong Smith, first American to reach Mexican California overland, passed near this spot with his party of fur trappers. From San Gabriel Mission, the group was en route north to a land reported teeming with . . . — — Map (db m51855) HM
The SR-71 is long-range Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft that was operated by the U.S. Air Force from 1964 to 1998. It was developed as a “black” project of the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by Lockheed and its “Skunk . . . — — Map (db m207916) HM
In 1834 explorer Joseph R. Walker passed this junction of Indian trails after discovering nearby Walker Pass. Death Valley 49er parties here diverged west and south after their escape from Death Valley enroute to the California gold fields. . . . — — Map (db m207791) HM
Indian water hole on Joseph R. Walker trail of 1834 where Manly-Jayhawker parties of 1849 found their first water after five days of travel from Argus Range. During 1860's was site of stage and freight station from Los Angeles to Coso and Cerro . . . — — Map (db m50243) HM
Near this spot at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Kern River the Theodore Talbot Party of Captain John C. Fremont’s third expedition to the West camped for several weeks during December 1845 and January 1846. The river was named . . . — — Map (db m25092) HM
In 1772, Don Pedro Fages, leaving the first written record of explorations in the south San Joaquin Valley, passed this site, traveling from San Diego to San Luis Obispo via Cajón Pass, Mojave Desert, Hughes Lake, Antelope Valley, Tejón Pass, . . . — — Map (db m20132) HM
This military post was established by the United States Army on June 24, 1854, to suppress stock rustling and for the protection of Indians in the San Joaquin Valley. As regimental headquarters of the First Dragoons, Fort Tejón was an important . . . — — Map (db m117523) HM
In 1772, Don Pedro Fages, first recorded non-Indian to visit the southern San Joaquin Valley, crossed this spot on his way from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. Near this point crossed Father José María de Zalvidea in 1806, while accompanying the . . . — — Map (db m54266) HM
General Contractor, vintage aircraft re-builder, owner and collector. Al was born in December 1930 and was raised in South Pasadena and moved to Mojave after service in U.S. Army in 1956. He first came to Mojave in 1947 with his father Homer Hansen . . . — — Map (db m233802) HM
Wen Painter was a pilot who exemplified a dedication to community service on the ground and in the air.
Wen served as a NACA and NASA Dryden engineer for decodes, on projects that included the Northrop HL-10 lifting body, which helped . . . — — Map (db m233800) HM
Visited by Padre Garces (1776) while following Old Horse Thief Trace later known as Joe Walker Trail. Fremont stopped here (1844). The famished Jayhawk Party (1850) found water here while struggling from Death Valley to Los Angeles. Still later was . . . — — Map (db m156684) HM
The first non-Indian man known to visit the local Indians in the Tehachapi area was Father Francisco Garces in 1776. He didn’t record much about them other than to record that they gave him food and were friendly people.
In 1826, mountain man . . . — — Map (db m134566) HM
Father Francisco Garces used the Oak Creek Pass in 1776 to return to the Mojave after exploring the San Joaquin Valley, as did Fremont in 1844-45. Until the building of the railroad through the Tehachapi Pass in 1876, Oak Creek Pass was the only . . . — — Map (db m50250) HM
“In November 1859 – almost half a year after Lassen’s death, another party with Joe Kitts, Antone Storff, and John Tutt, began a new trip back to Black Rock. The men were going to bring the remains of Peter Lassen’s body back to . . . — — Map (db m14233) HM
“When Lassen returned to Sutter’s Fort he was still haunted by memories of the beautiful scenery in the North Valley. He decided to apply for land and settle there. There were no settlements at all in this region, so there would be room enough for . . . — — Map (db m14226) HM
“We do not know the exact date on which Peter Lassen arrived in America. Let us suppose that he landed in the early spring of 1831. Most reports say that Lassen arrived in Boston, Massachusetts. Also his passport had Boston written as the . . . — — Map (db m31741) HM
“In Camponit Peter Lassen and his party had been waiting for the winter to be over. Instead of crossing the mountain ranges on their way south, he and six other persons decided to go by ship from Fort Vancouver. A small steamship, . . . — — Map (db m31740) HM
While archaeological evidence puts human inhabitance here
back at least 4,500 years, it is believed that the first European
contact in this area may have only occurred in 1772. In less
than three centuries, drastic changes to the land and . . . — — Map (db m262556) HM
To the memory of Benjamin Davis Wilson, Don Benito, 1811 – 1878, pioneer trapper and settler who came to California in 1841, and in 1864 blazed the trail up this mountain which bears his name. — — Map (db m123037) HM
The expedition of Don Gaspar de Portolá from Mexico passed this way en route to Monterey to begin the Spanish colonization of California. With Captain Don Fernando Rivera y Moncada, Lieutenant Don Pedro Fages, Sergeant José Francisco Ortega, and . . . — — Map (db m125155) HM
Bay of Smokes reflect the historical, cultural, and natural elements of the Long Beach area. San Pedro Bay, discovered in 1542 by Joao Rodriquez Cabrillo, a native of Portugal serving the Spanish Crown under Fernando Cortez carried its name "Bay . . . — — Map (db m189653) HM
On March 17, 1924, four Douglas World Cruisers (DWCs) left Santa Monica, CA for Seattle, WA where Boeing exchanged the planes' wheels for pontoon floats. April 6, the Chicago, New Orleans, Boston and Seattle took off. April 30, the . . . — — Map (db m243765) HM
Dedicated to the employees of Rocketdyne on the tenth anniversary of man’s first lunar landing, July 20, 1979.
A cluster of five Rocketdyne-built F-1 engines lifted the 365-foot-tall Apollo vehicle from Earth, beginning man’s journey to . . . — — Map (db m113129) HM
First American to discover a route overland from the east to California.
Explorer - Fur Trader - Missionary.
This boulder was brought from El Cajon Pass through which the pathfinder came in 1826. Placed here A.D. 1924 by Ramona Parlor 109, . . . — — Map (db m106328) HM
Soldier, explorer and discoverer of the overland route from Sonora, Mexico to California. Leader of the first Spanish settlers who came through San Carlos Pass December 1775 on their way to Monterey.
Done for the love of California. — — Map (db m101462) HM
Born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451; Died May 20, 1506, at the age of 55, in Valladolid, Spain; Sailed to the New World under the coat of arms of Castile and Aragon; Landed October 12, 1492 at the isle of San Salvador in the West Indies; Made three . . . — — Map (db m126092) HM
Born on the island of Majorca, off the coast of Spain, Father Serra was ordained in Palma where he taught for fifteen years before being sent to Mexico as a missionary in 1749. In 1769 he became Padre Presidente of the Franciscan . . . — — Map (db m54556) HM
Spanish colonization of California began in 1769 with the expedition of Don Gaspar de Portolá from Mexico. With Captain Don Fernando Rivera y Moncada, Lieutenant Don Pedro Fages, Sgt. José Francisco Ortega, and Fathers Juan Crespí and Francisco . . . — — Map (db m115177) HM
After successfully locating an overland passage to Alta California in 1774, Juan Bautista de Anza led 300 people and 1000 head of livestock on the first
overland colonizing expedition into California. This expedition resulted
in the . . . — — Map (db m200331) HM
Enlisted soldier Jose Vicente Feliz, his wife Maria, and their children were among the thirty Anza Expedition families. Maria was one of eight women who were pregnant. On October 23, 1775, the first night after leaving Tubac, tragedy . . . — — Map (db m142836) HM
Amelia Earhart and the Valley Skies
North Hollywood and aviation go way back, and no flyer won local hearts like Amelia Earhart.
"Lady Lindy," as the press nicknamed her, after pioneering aviator Charles Lindbergh, began flying . . . — — Map (db m116360) HM
The Arroyo Seco flows down from the San Gabriel Mountains to join the Los Angeles River on its way to the ocean. This spot, where the two rivers flow together, the “confluence”, is near the birthplace of the city of Los Angeles.
The . . . — — Map (db m145223) HM
The Catalina Channel, about 25 miles wide and close to 500 fathoms deep (about 3,000 feet), separates Santa Catalina Island from the mainland. This part of the Pacific Ocean was first visited by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542, sailing under the . . . — — Map (db m147299) HM
About 25 miles west of here, across the
channel, lies Santa Catalina Island,
which can be seen distinctly on a clear
day.
Santa Catalina Island, originally
named San Salvador by Juan Rodriguez
Cabrillo in 1542, was later visited . . . — — Map (db m155322) HM
Site of the former home of
Jessie Benton Fremont
(1824-1902),
wife of
General John Charles Fremont,
Pathfinder of the American West.
The women of California
presented the property as a gift
to her and as a memorial to the general
in . . . — — Map (db m292706) HM
The external tank (ET) was
the fuel tank for the space
shuttle orbiter. It carried the
propellants — liquid oxygen
and liquid hydrogen — that mixed and ignited in
the space shuttle main
engines (SSMEs) to help
push the shuttle to orbit. . . . — — Map (db m208588) HM
USC alumnus.
MS, Aerospace Engineering, 1970.
American Astronaut.
First person to walk on the Moon, July 20, 1969.
"That's one small step for (a) man;
one giant leap for mankind."
A gift of the Trojan League of Los . . . — — Map (db m234066) HM
Marked this day March 20 1976, as a California Historical Spanish Colonial Landmark “In 1776 Portola encamped at the springs, part of the Rancho San Vicente - Santa Monica, known as the: 1. Junipero Serra Springs; 2. El Berrendo; 3. San Gregorio; . . . — — Map (db m122157) HM
On November 24, 1793, English explorer George Vancouver, commander of an expedition to determine the extent of settlement of the northwest coast of America, named this rocky promontory, Point Dume, after his Franciscan friend, Father Francisco . . . — — Map (db m123039) HM
On October 10, 1542 famed Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered a large Chumash Indian Village close to the sea at which he first claimed possession of Alta California lands for the King of Spain. He was greeted by the Indians who . . . — — Map (db m74707) HM
Space Flight Operations Facility
has been designated a
National Historic Landmark.
This building possesses national significance
in commemorating the history of the
United States of America. — — Map (db m231405) HM
Voyagers 1 and 2 were launched in 1977 to meet a solar-system alignment that occurs only once every 176 years. Both spacecraft sent back valuable pictures and information of Jupiter and Saturn and their satellites. Voyager 2 sailed on to explore . . . — — Map (db m189649) HM
Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
This structure possesses national significance
in commemorating the history of the
United States of America.
1985 - National Park Service - United . . . — — Map (db m313643) HM
Voyager 1 Crosses the Termination Shock, December 16, 2004
This occurs 24 years after
passing Saturn. The crossing
also clarifies the location of
the Termination Shock, the inner
boundary of the Heliosheath.
V1 . . . — — Map (db m313871) HM
Located approximately 20 miles from the mainland, Santa Catalina Island rises 2000 feet above sea level, approximately 500 feet higher than the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The island is over 20 miles long, making it the longest of the eight California . . . — — Map (db m157646) HM
Jedediah Strong Smith,
an American explorer,
was the first man to lead a party of Americans over land into California.
Setting out from near the Great Salt Lake in August, 1826, Smith and his party traveled the entire length of the Great . . . — — Map (db m168938) HM
In January of 1776, San Gabriel Mission was host to trailblazer Colonel Juan Bautista De Anza and over 200 colonists and soldiers, enroute from Sonora, Mexico, to become the first residents of San Francisco. This was the first overland immigration . . . — — Map (db m67294) HM
Erected by
Society of Colonial Wars
in the state of California
at the terminus
of the overland
march of 1774 — Capitan Juan Bautista de Anza
of the Royal Army of Spain.
"In length and in difficulties
of
terrain and hostile . . . — — Map (db m293874) HM
Lt. Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza by decree of Carlos III of Spain led an expedition to this site - the mission being to colonize the San Francisco Bay Area. De Anza Expedition 1775 - 1776 — — Map (db m67293) HM
La Puerta - "The Door" was a natural gateway
located in present-day Elsmere Canyon, near the
modern-day 14 Freeway and Beale's Cut.
Forming part of the historic El Camino Viejo
("The Old Road"), La Puerta was an essential
passage through . . . — — Map (db m294520) HM
La Puerta - "The Door" was a natural gateway
located in present-day Elsmere Canyon, near the
modern-day 14 Freeway and Beale's Cut.
Forming part of the historic El Camino Viejo
("The Old Road"), La Puerta was an essential
passage through . . . — — Map (db m310069) HM
In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of Santa Monica by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo on October 8, 1542, this tablet is erected and dedicated by the Historic Landmarks Committee, Native Sons of the Golden West, with the cooperation . . . — — Map (db m130424) HM
panel 1:
Under this oak — the legend runs — the first Easter Services in California
were held by Father Crespi in 1770.
panel 2:
Near this spot the Cathedral Oak stood. Time destroyed its roots. This monument is . . . — — Map (db m134912) HM
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE
Born in 1540, Sir Francis Drake went to sea at about age 12. After Spaniards attacked an English trading fleet, including his ship, at San Juan de Ullua in Mexico, Drake began raiding Spanish ships and coasts. In a . . . — — Map (db m153379) HM
The Mighty Vessel
The terror of the Spaniards in the Pacific,
the Golden Hind was about 80 feet long in the
oak hull, 23 feet maximum breadth, and drew
13 feet of water. Her 18 cannons fired 6-pound
shot, outgunning every Spanish . . . — — Map (db m153381) HM
Drakes Bay Historic
and Archaeological District
has been designated a
National Historic Landmark.
This landmark is associated with the 1579 landing of
Francis Drake, the 1595 landing of Sebastián Rodríguez
Cermeńo and the wreck of the San . . . — — Map (db m184869) HM
On June 17, 1579, Captain Francis Drake sailed his ship, Golden Hinde, into the Gulf of the Farallones and the bay that now bears his name. He sighted these white cliffs and named the land Nova Albion.
During his 36 day encampment in . . . — — Map (db m221808) HM
Two plaques make up this marker. This cove is believed by many scholars to be the site of Sir Francis Drake’s California Harbor, where he careened the Golden Hinde to repair a leak received at sea and replenished his ship from 17 June to 25 . . . — — Map (db m73706) HM
In Commemoration of
the landing of Francis Drake
upon these shores June 17, 1579
This cross is erected by
The Sir Francis Drake Association
June 1906 — — Map (db m221787) HM
BCE 2000-1800s
The indigenous Coast Miwok people inhabit Marin County
1769
The Spanish Ship San Carlos becomes the first European vessel to enter San Francisco Bay. The explorers anchor and begin charting the bay
1775
Spanish . . . — — Map (db m232198) HM
In 1775, the packet San Carlos, first known Spanish ship to enter San Francisco Bay, anchored in this cove while her commander, Lieut. Juan Manuel de Ayala, directed the first survey of the bay. Ayala named this island Isla de los Angeles. . . . — — Map (db m143405) HM
Lieut. Juan de Ayala of the Royal Spanish Navy sailed through the Golden Gate on Aug. 5, 1775. He commanded the packet-boat San Carlos, which was the first known ship in the waters of San Francisco Bay. On the 13th day of August, Ayala anchored . . . — — Map (db m316129) HM
Downtown Tiburon and Harbor
Originally name “Punta de Tiburon” (Shark Point) by Spanish explorers in 1775, downtown Tiburon today is a quaint village in an extraordinary waterfront setting. You’ll find delightful shops and enticing . . . — — Map (db m316222) HM
El Capitan is famous for its massive bulk of largely unbroken rock and its sheer, vertical face soaring 3,000 feet into the air. This monolith is composed of a particularly durable granite, allowing it to withstand the pressures of glaciers and . . . — — Map (db m81949) HM
Who giving voice to silence
benefitted the world
irradiating a new glorious
light upon Italy
I Figli D'Italia
of
Los Banos
Devoted to their great country
of adoption but unforgetful
of their mother country,
in perpetual . . . — — Map (db m41187) HM
John Rogers was a member of the Death Valley wagon train.
Rather than spending a winter near Salt Lake City, a wagon
train was formed to go a southern route to Los Angeles.
Many choose to take a supposed short cut across the
desert. Among . . . — — Map (db m315760) HM
Portuguese people from the Azores, as well as mainland Portugal, have a long and honored history in California. The first Europeans to land on the West Coast of the new world were Portuguese. Joao Rodrigues Cabrilho explored the coast in 1542 and . . . — — Map (db m243829) HM
“Striking the river this morning I noticed a cluster of
singular shaped rocks sticking up in spires of a conical
shape 20 to 30 feet high” - Andrew Lopp Murphy, Sep 26, 1849 — — Map (db m113025) HM
“We crossed the creek here running between high banks,
and drove a short distance down the north west side
and encamped” — Elijah Preston Howell, Sep 6, 1849 — — Map (db m113037)
“My shoes are giving out and I have no others. Left one of
them and the other is barely on...At our noon camp I made
some moccasins of cloth” — Joseph Stuart, Sep. 28, 1849 — — Map (db m113024) HM
"We now call this cr. a river, but we do not know what it is. We begin to hear ... that we are near the Sacramento Valley" - Elijah Preston Howell, Sep 8, 1849 — — Map (db m147426) HM
"A few hundred yards N. W. of our camp, a tall, symetrical [sic] butte, or isolated mountain, rises from the level plain, like a tent." - J. Goldsborough Bruff, Oct 6, 1849 — — Map (db m147884) HM
This is the location of the junction of the original 1846 route of the Applegate Trail and the 1853 realignment of the trail as laid out by road engineers from Siskiyou County. The original route goes due east from this point and its traces are no . . . — — Map (db m152261) HM
The 1846 Applegate Trail, also known as the South Road to Oregon, lies behind this sign and heads westward along the banks of Fletcher Creek. It leaves Fletcher Creek after about two miles and then swings around the southern flank of Blue Mountain. . . . — — Map (db m152283) HM
... Decent [sic] to the lake ... Night brought us to the end of the lake ... We laid up on a mountain brook where the roads forked ... One branch going to Oregon, the other to California."
Alonzo Delano, August 28, 1849 — — Map (db m147424) HM
"Four miles to a beautiful little stream of pure cold water coming from the mountains to our left and emptying into Goose Lake ... Camped there ...Found plenty of ripe plums on the neighboring mountain sides." - Andrew Murphy, Sep 23, 1849 — — Map (db m147338) HM
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