7 decades before the Mormon pioneers, Spanish missionaries explored Utah. Here’s why.
While George Washington led a revolution in the colonies, Indigenous Americans helped missionaries navigate through what Utahns now call Spanish Fork Canyon.
(Abigail Landwehr | The Salt Lake Tribune) A depiction of The Domínguez–Escalante Expedition, featuring two Spanish friars, Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, is displayed on the ceiling of the Utah Capitol on Thursday, June 25, 2026.