Crossing of the Fathers
Dominguez y Escalante Expedition 1776-1976
Within sight of this place the Franciscan priests Dominguez and Escalante and their ten companions experienced two of the most difficult challenges among many along the 1,800 miles of their epic journey from the Spanish presidio at Santa Fe, New Mexico to Utah Lake and return.
The first white men to enter what is now "Lake Powell Country" the explorer-priests made an all but impossible ascent of the Paria River gorge via Dominguez Pass, then descended into Wahweap Basin and Padre Canyon where they discovered Ute Ford.
Sick, starving, and desperate, they crossed the Colorado River in Glen Canyon on November 7, 1776. The ford, later known as "The Crossing of the Fathers," is now beneath the waters of Lake Powell in Padre Bay.
This memorial was placed here and dedicated November 7, 1976 by the Arizona Bicentennial Commission.
Marker is at the intersection of Lake Powell Boulevard and Navajo Drive, on the right when traveling north on Lake Powell Boulevard.
Courtesy hmdb.org
