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DEEEP Utah

After traveling through Colorado, Domínguez and Escalante entered Utah on September 13, 1776.

View of the Green River looking west, where the river disappears out of view it enters an area called Horseshoe Bend, which is where the friars passed on September 16, 1776. Photo by UCSS Steward Tom Howells, 2025.

And so the Journey continued…

In 1776, a small and hardy group of explorers lead by two Fransciscan Friars, Domínguez and Escalante, traversed hundreds of miles of Utah’s varied terrain entering near today’s Dinosaur National Monument and exiting near modern St. George. While their time in what we know as Utah today lasted only over a month, their exploration and thorough documentation of the Native peoples, landscapes, and potential resources for future colonization shaped the future of this region. Please explore this interactive StoryMap including photographs and drone footage showing a birds-eye view of the path of Domínguez and Escalante.

For more information on DEEEP Utah, please contact Christopher Merritt, PhD, RPA, State Historic Preservation Officer with the Utah Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. Email: cmerritt@utah.gov

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