Wandering Lizard

An online magazine with information related to attractions, lodging, dining,
and travel resources in selected areas of the Western United States

Early Spanish Cultural Presence
in the Western United States

In 1539 Cabeza de Vaca walked across Texas and may have entered the southern reaches of New Mexico and Arizona. In 1540 Francisco Vazquez de Coronado led an expedition that penetrated through Arizona and New Mexico to Kansas. Late in the seventeenth century Father Eusebio Francisco Kino established a series of missions in southern Arizona. During the period 1769 - 1823 twenty one Spanish Missions were established in California stretching from San Diego to Sonoma.

"Hispanic gives us all one ultimate paternal cultural progenitor: Spain. The diverse
cultures already on the American shores when the Europeans arrived, as well as those
introduced because of the African slave trade, are completely obliterated by the term."
Ana Castillo

Table of Contents
Arches & Caverns | Flowers| Ghost Towns | Grafitti & Murals | Hiking
Lighthouses | Mining | Monoliths | Museums | Native American Culture | Parks
Railroads | Restaurants | Redwoods | Scenic Drives | Spanish Colonial Presence | Waterfalls