| Mission
Purísima Conception (Site): Founded by Garcés
in 1780 in the area of the campsite of the expedition after it crossed
the Colorado River, the mission was destroyed by the Yumas in 1781 and
Father Garcés killed. (CRHL No. 350) The mission site may have been
the granite bluff where Font and Anza paused to view the confluence of
the Gila and Colorado Rivers. St. Thomas Mission, a Catholic church, stands
on the site today.
Expedition Camp
# 42, Pilot Knob: West of Yuma crossing, in the area between
Pilot Knob and the All American Canal, a trace of an ancient Indian foot
trail can still be seen crossing the scaly hills, suggesting the historic
uses of this area. The Anza expedition passed thorough this area where
much of the landscape is preserved. Due to the presence of several very
fragile archeological sites in the immediate vicinity, the existence of
the trail section is not currently publicized by the Bureau of Land Management
which manages it.
Expedition Camp
# 47, Wells of Santa Rosa (Yuha Well): About seven miles northwest
of Mount Signal and four miles above the boundary with Mexico, the well
is on the southwest side of Dunaway Road in Yuha Wash and is listed as
a point of interest by BLM, the land managers. The well, called Santa
Rosa de las Lajas (Flat Rocks) by Anza, was used on March 8, 1774 by
the Anza exploring expedition. On December 11–15, 1775, the three divisions
of Anza’s colonizing expedition used this first good watering spot beyond
the Colorado River. The CRHL No. 1008 plaque is placed at the Sunbeam rest
stop #54 on Interstate 8.
Expedition Camp
#49, San Sebastian Marsh/San Felipe Creek:
Located 18 miles northeast of Westmoreland in the vicinity of the junction
of state highways 86 and 78, San Sebastian Marsh is the site of prehistoric
villages and represented a stable water source in the desert environment.
It was a campsite for both the 1774 and 1775–76 expeditions. On the 1774
expedition, Anza named it for his Indian guide, Sebastian Tarabal. It is
managed by the BLM. [See San Felipe Creek, San Diego County] |