Portolá expedition
Route of expedition with modern borders | |
| Date | July 14, 1769 – January 24, 1770 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 195 days |
| Motive | Survey Alta California and assert the Spanish Crown's land claims |
| Organized by | José de Gálvez, 1st Marquess of Sonora |
| Participants | 74 men, including Gaspar de Portolá, Junípero Serra, the Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia, and Franciscan missionaries |
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The Portolá expedition was a Spanish voyage of exploration in 1769–1770 that was the first recorded European exploration of the interior of the present-day California. It was led by Gaspar de Portolá, governor of Las Californias, the Spanish colonial province that included California, Baja California, and other parts of present-day Mexico and the United States. The expedition led to the founding of Alta California and contributed to the solidification of Spanish territorial claims in the disputed and unexplored regions along the Pacific coast of North America.