Hey history fans, ever wonder how the Coronado National Forest got it's name? The Coronado National Forest is a United States National Forest that includes an area of about 1.78 million acres (7,200 km2) spread throughout mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. I live in Tucson, this is my backyard.
PBS is streaming a new documentary "Coronado:The New Evidence" about Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado's ill fated expedition looking for gold and silver in the desert Southwest. The Sobaipuri O'odham were fierce warriors who defeated and kicked Francisco Vazquez de Coronado out of the territory, not a single Sobaipuri was killed in the battle. Spain did not return for 150 years.
"In 1539, Fray (Friar) Marcos de Niza and a companion named Esteban became the first non-Indians of reliable record to enter what is now Arizona. They came searching for the Seven Cities of Cibola, a metropolis rumored to be richer than the gold-drenched capital of Aztec Mexico. Instead, they found the simple mud homes of pueblo Indians.
"Lured by de Niza’s tales of treasure (though he in fact had found none), Don Francisco Vásquez de Coronado mounted a second expedition one year later."
https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/coronado/learning/history-cultureThe route Coronado's expedition took through Arizona has been a mystery for 482 years.
1.) Start here for a short primer by archeologist Dr. Deni Seymour. "Recent discoveries in southern Arizona reveal evidence of the presence of this important expedition, that represents the moment of first contact between Europeans and Native populations in what is now the Southwestern US."
The Francisco Vazquez de Coronado expedition in Arizona 1539-1542https://www.deni-seymour.com/vasquez-de-coronadoDr. Deni Seymour shows the recently discovered medieval firearm called a "wall gun" in a scene from "Coronado:The New Evidence."
2.) Listen to an interview with Dr. Seymour, Tony Burrell, an elder from the Tohono O’odham Nation and descendent of the Sobaipuri O'odham, and filmmaker Frances Causey about this film collaboration on Arizona Spotlight.
https://originals.azpm.org/p/spotlightpodcast/2024/8/14/221409-spotlight-0815/3.) Watch the free hour long documentary:
Coronado: The New Evidencehttps://www.pbs.org/video/coronado-the-new-evidence-azs7tt/
