The Spanish mapping of the North American west on Access Utah

By Tom Williams

Published August 28, 2026 at 2:47 PM MDT

This map was made by the expedition's cartographer Don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco in 1777. It is one of the first known maps of this section of the Southwest.

Zion Canyon Mesa is presenting an event at the Canyon Community Center in Springdale — the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition 1776: The Spanish Mapping of the North American West. The presenter is Charlotte Hansen Terry, assistant professor of history at Utah State University Uintah Basin.

Zion Canyon Mesa is also celebrating their official opening.

Our guests today include Terry and Zion Canyon Mesa Executive Director Logan Hebner.

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Tom Williams

Tom Williams worked as a part-time UPR announcer for a few years and joined Utah Public Radio full-time in 1996. He is a proud graduate of Uintah High School in Vernal and Utah State University (B. A. in Liberal Arts and Master of Business Administration.) He grew up in a family that regularly discussed everything from opera to religion to politics. He is interested in just about everything and loves to engage people in conversation, so you could say he has found the perfect job as host “Access Utah.” He and his wife Becky, live in Logan.

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