The Escalante Expedition

The bronze credits the friars with discovering this river, and the friars' own diary credits the guide. Domínguez and Escalante had followed Juan María de Rivera's 1765 route as far as the Gunnison; north of it they went where a Ute man from Utah Valley, whom they called Silvestre, led them. On September 9, 1776, they came down Cañón Pintado to a river they named the San Clemente, crossed it and camped on its north bank. The next day, from a high ridge to the west, the guide pointed out where it joined the Green.

What the plaque says

This tablet is the property of the State of Colorado The Escalante Expedition Discovered White River (which they called the San Clemente) and crossed it near here on Sept. 9, 1776. Seeking a route from Santa Fe to California, these Spanish explorers were the first white men to examine much of western Colorado. Erected by The State Historical Society of Colorado from the Wm. A. Braiden Fund and by The Rio Blanco County Historical Society and the Citizens of Rangely Sept. 9, 1951

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Canyon Pintado — 9.7 mi
  Fremont figures and Ute horses painted and pecked along fifteen miles of Highway 139, named the Painted Canyon by Escalante in 1776.