16th Century to the 19th Century
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| Explorers 16th Century to the 19th Century |
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| The Spanish came through this region in the mid-1500s, leaving their names etched in the pale flank of El Morro, their artifacts (eg trash), and their quest indelibly marked in the collective minds of the Zuni and other indigenous people. The Spanish never mentioned petrified wood and saw the Grand Canyon as merely a large obstruction to their goals. The first written account of petrified wood discovered was in 1849, by Lieutenant James H. Simpson of the United States Corps of Topographical Engineers. He found the wood near Canyon de Chelly and and a brief description in his expedition report. The next account came from the expedition lead by Captain Lorenzo L. Sitgreaves in 1851, exploring a new route across the Southwest. The survey of the 35th Parallel was lead by Lieutenant Amiel Weeks Whipple of the Topographical Engineers in 1853 definitely passed through Petrified Forest. Whipple named Lithodendron Creek when they camped in badlands of the Painted Desert. This region is now called the Black Forest for its brown and black petrified wood. He also commented on the large amount of pottery fragments and "stone houses". Baldwin Mollhausen drew scenes of the petrified forest, later published in his Diary of a Journey from the Mississippi to the Coasts of the Pacific. The railroad passed through the region in 1871, bringing tourists to the remote area. They could stay in Adamana from whence they could take tours. The days of remoteness, and thus a natural protection, were gone. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Don't forget Beale's Camels and Powell! | |||||||||||||||||||||
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