Hernando de Alarcón Expedition
Probably the first white man to touch California soil was Hernando de Alarcón. On May 9, 1540, Alarcón started from Acapulco, Mexico, and sailed north until he reached the mouth of the Colorado River. On several occasions during the fall of 1540 he crossed the river to a point probably a little beyond the site of Yuma.
1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.
Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)
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