Spaniards Arrive at the Grand Canyon

Coronado started from Mexico City in February 1540.  He had more the 300 soldiers with him, plus four priests, hundreds of (Central) America Indian allies, slaves and 1500 stock animals.  Thus began a two year exploration for the seven cities of gold known as Cibola.

Six months into their search, the Hopi Indians asked if they'd like to see a "great river."  After twenty days, Garcia Lopez de Cardenas and his men (Coronado wasn't with them) walked out of the stubby, twisted, pine forest to stand on the southern edge of the eastern end of what we now call the Grand Canyon.

Cardenas was totally amazed, but entirely frustrated after staying for three days trying to figure out how to get down to the bottom of Canyon and thus the Colorado River, and never succeeding.  We know this because twenty years later, in 1560, Pedro de Castaneda wrote down his memories of the Coronado excursion into North America.

Coronado never did find the Seven Cities of Gold, but he did find Kansas!