Did you know that Father Silvestre Vélez de Escalante and Father Francisco Atanasio Domínguez, Franciscan missionaries, were the first two men of European descent to see Utah Lake, the second largest lake in the state of Utah in 1776. But after reaching Utah Lake, they turned and headed south, not realizing that a much larger and stranger lake was only about 35 miles to the north. They just missed seeing the Great Salt Lake.
The first man of European descent to see the Great Salt Lake is often credited to Jim Bridger, a famous mountain man. He did not arrive there until 1824- 48 years after Fathers Dominguez and Escalante.
No comments:
Post a Comment