Mile 71 - Cardenas Creek & Butte

Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, with an entourage of Spanish soldiers and some Hopi guides, came upon the Grand Canyon in September of 1540, somewhere near Desert View. Cardenas was part of the Coronado Expedition, which among other things marched in search of the mythical “Seven Cities of Gold”. Cardenas and his men spent three days endeavoring to reach the bottom of the canyon, eventually they tired of the activity and returned to the main Coronado party at Zuni. Cardenas and the soldiers under his command are credited as being the first Europeans to gaze upon the Grand Canyon.