Historedia
Person

Gaspar de Portolá

Events
3
Episodes
4
Years
1769–1770

Every event in Historedia whose sources name Gaspar de Portolá, with the role they cite and all of that event’s episodes. This is not a biography, and mentions are grouped by name, so two people with the same name can share this page.

Events and episodes

  1. Portolá Expedition Reaches San Francisco Bay

    1769

    Role: Expedition leader and first governor of the Californias

    1. 1602–1769 · California coastline and Pacific trade routesWhy Earlier Spanish Explorers Missed the Bay

      Despite Cabrillo, Vizcaíno, and two centuries of Pacific crossings, fog at the bay's entrance had kept it hidden from Spanish navigators.

    2. November 4, 1769 · Sweeney Ridge overlooking San Francisco BaySighting of San Francisco Bay from Sweeney Ridge

      Portolá's party, still searching for Monterey, unexpectedly sighted the enormous, previously unknown San Francisco Bay from a coastal mountain ridge.

  2. Portolá Expedition Reaches Santa Monica

    1769

    Role: Expedition leader; Spanish Army officer and first governor of the Californias

    1. August 3, 1769 · Campsite near present-day Barrington and Ohio Avenues, Santa MonicaPortolá's Party Camps near Present-Day Santa Monica

      On August 3, 1769, Portolá's northbound expedition camped near present-day Barrington and Ohio Avenues, becoming the first non-indigenous group recorded in the Santa Monica area.

  3. Establishment of Monterey

    1770

    Role: First Governor of the Californias and military leader

    1. June 3, 1770 · MontereyFounding of Mission San Carlos Borromeo

      Serra founded the Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo on June 3, 1770, inside the presidio enclosure with a formal ceremony.

Sources

  1. Gaspar de Portolá Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-26
  2. Santa Monica, California Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-26
  3. Monterey, California Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-26