Research

Expedition Journals

The University of Oregon provides the most thorough historical and cultural source of online information on the 1775-76 Anza expedition. Access the journals written by Juan Bautista de Anza, Pedro Font, and Francisco Garcés. Research additional information with this interactive study environment on Spanish exploration and colonization of Alta California from 1769-79.

Gauging Hispanic Interests in Hispanic Heritage Resources

An exploratory study of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, Tucson, Arizona

Magda E. Mankel, 2015 intern with the National Park Service Cultural Resources Diversity Internship Program, conducted this research. Through bilingual focus groups with Hispanic participants in Tucson, she discovered barriers that prevent Hispanic individuals from engaging with the Anza Trail. The report also includes suggestions for increasing awareness, encouraging visitations, and improving experiences along the Anza Trail.

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail Historic Resource Study

This 2012 Historic Resource Study provides an overview and synthesis of the currently available literature about Anza's overland colonizing expedition of 1775-1776, as well as an extensive bibliography to aid additional research.The 268-page study was prepared for the National Park Service by Dr. Peter Gough of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Mapping Historic Campsites of the Anza Colonizing Expedition

Anza Trail historian Phil Valdez Jr., MBA, DBA Anza Historian & Immediate Anza Society Historian Past President wrote this 2015 report. In it, he identifies and revises the locations of the Anza Trail historic campsites. The report describes the methodology and process Mr. Valdez used to locate the campsites, including direction of travel, distance traveled each day, descriptions of the route and landscape features, and location where the group stopped for the night. This report does not reflect the official locations of the campsites but offers the most current understanding of where the campsites may be located. The research was conducted by Emanuel Delgado, 2015 GIS Intern, under Dr. Thomas Herman, Adjunct Faculty, at San Diego State University.