The Hispanic-American History Timeline

1765 Juan Antonio Maria de Rivera
       Explores ​Colorado and Utah

Spanish explorer Juan Antonio Maria de Rivera leads two small expeditions of horseback riders from Santa Fe, N,M., through present-day Colorado and Utah, and all the way up to the southern Rocky Mountains, becoming the first Europeans to explore that portion of southwestern North America.
     They are not only searching for gold and silver, but seeking to discourage other European powers from moving into territory that had already been claimed by Spain. Following the Dolores River in a northwestern direction, his expeditions cover territories inhabited by the Ute natives and establishes trade routes that would prove to the essential for other explorers who followed.
     But fearing marauding Comanche raiders, he has to return to New Mexico, without finding significant gold or silver, or other Europeans encroaching on Spanish land. Yet he is also credited for naming many Colorado landmarks, including the Navajo, San Juan, Piedra, Pinos (Pine), Florida, Animas, and Dolores Rivers.

By Johany Merejo, Lehman College

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