Timeline of the Portolá expedition
This timeline of the Portolá expedition tracks the progress during 1769 and 1770 of the first European exploration-by-land of north-western coastal areas in what became Las Californias, a province of Spanish colonial New Spain. Later, the region was administratively-split into Baja and Alta. The first section of the march was on the Baja California peninsula, and the northern section of the expedition's trail was in today's US state of California.
Statue of Gaspar de Portolá in Pacifica, California, near the expedition's November 1 camp
Cedros Island, off the west coast of Baja California
Portolá-Serra expedition approximate meeting point
Los Angeles River today, looking north in the area where Portolá crossed. The green hill in the mid-distance is Elysian Park, where California Historical Landmark#655 ("Portolá Trail Campsite") has been placed while the actual campsite is located on the other side of the river.
Juan Crespí was a Franciscan missionary and explorer of Las Californias.
Cenotaph of Saint Junípero Serra in the Mission San Carlos Borromeo, Carmel-by-the-Sea (1924); Fr. Juan Crespí, who predeceased Serra, stands at the head, praying over him.
The Trek of Father Crespi, 1777, by Katherine S. Works, 1938
