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36-463: The earliest historical trail remnant of Montara Mountain is the precolonial Indian Trail which traverses the ridgeline between Willow Brook Estates towards Saddle Pass following the high ridgeline above Green Valley and winding down towards Martini Creek. Remnants of this trail remain visible today. The earliest descriptions of the area are from the Portolá Expedition in 1769, "We halted near

72-701: A day. The expedition recorded an earthquake on July 28 at the Santa Ana River . On July 29 they reached the site of present-day Fullerton, California at Hillcrest Park . On July 30, the expedition crossed the Puente Hills at a pass in La Habra (North Harbor Boulevard). They moved north-west to the San Gabriel River (near El Monte ) where they built a bridge to cross over. This bridge ('La Puente' in Crespi's diary)

108-578: A joint expedition by land and sea to again search for the bay and establish a colony if they were successful. The San Antonio sailed on April 16, 1770. On board were Serra, Miguel Costansó, military engineer and cartographer, and Doctor Pedro Prat, army surgeon, along with a cargo of supplies for the new mission at Monterey. On April 17, after mustering what forces he could, Portolá's land expedition, which included lieutenant Pedro Fages , 12 Spanish volunteers, seven leather-jacket soldiers, five Baja California Indians, two muleteers , and Juan Crespí serving as

144-592: A navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, etc. In militaries, the captain is typically at the level of an officer commanding a company or battalion of infantry, a ship, or a battery of artillery, or another distinct unit. It can also be a rank of command in an air force. The term also may be used as an informal or honorary title for persons in similar commanding roles. The term "captain" derives from katepánō ( Ancient Greek : κατεπάνω , lit.   ' [the one] placed at

180-478: A second, the San Antonio sailed from Cabo San Lucas on February 15. At the same time, the various elements of the land parties began to move north from Loreto, Baja California Sur . The land expedition was assembled at Velicatá, where Serra established his first new mission . From there, Portolá's plan called for splitting the land expedition in two. The lead group, charged with building a wagon trail and pacifying

216-587: Is close to the spot where the expedition crossed the Santa Ana River, and the school has a 60-foot mural depicting the Portolà Expedition. Portola Parkway running through Irvine and Lake Forest (though not connected as of 2018), was also named after Portolà. It is said that Portolà used the same route Portola Parkway now runs across. Portola Drive, which runs parallel to and near the Monterey Bay shoreline,

252-513: Is remembered in the name of today's nearby city of La Puente . They arrived in what is now Los Angeles on August 2 (where the Los Angeles River and Arroyo Seco river meet). The following day, they marched out the Indian trail that would one day become Wilshire Boulevard to the present site of Santa Monica . Winding around to the area of later Saugus , now part of Santa Clarita , they reached

288-687: Is the main street of the Pleasure Point area of Santa Cruz County . Portola Avenue is also a north-south street located in Palm Desert in the Coachella Valley . In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Gaspar de Portola was named in his honor. Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of

324-1210: The Los Angeles Central Library's History Room. The city of Portola in Plumas County , the town of Portola Valley in San Mateo County , and the Portola neighborhood of San Francisco were named after Portolà. A number of schools in California were also named after him, including Portola Hills Elementary School in Portola Hills , Portola Elementary School in San Bruno , Gaspar de Portola Middle School in Tierrasanta , Portola Middle School in Tarzana , Portola Middle School in Orange , & Portola High School in Irvine . The school in Orange

360-746: The San Carlos , the first ship to leave La Paz, having met with fierce winds and storms on the journey, arrived on April 29. A third vessel was to follow with supplies, but it was probably lost at sea. The land expedition of Portolá arrived on June 29. After their arduous journeys, most of the men aboard ship were ill, chiefly from scurvy , and many had died. Out of a total of 219 who left Baja California, little more than 100 now survived. Eager to press on to Monterey Bay , Portolá and his expedition, consisting of Juan Crespí, 63 leather-jacket soldiers and 100 mules loaded down with provisions, headed north on July 14, 1769, marching two to four leagues (1 league = 2.6 miles)

396-465: The California coastline as far north as Monterey in 1602, but no significant Spanish settlement or even trading station had followed because those earlier explorations had failed to find a good harbor that the Spanish could have used for their long-standing Pacific maritime trade between Asia and Mexico: Monterey Bay, sighted by both Cabrillo and Vizcaíno, was exposed to rough currents and winds. In May 1768,

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432-830: The East Coast of North America, had also sent explorers into the Pacific. Russian fur hunters were pressing east from Siberia across the Bering Strait into the Aleutian Islands and beyond. Dispatches of January 23, 1768, exchanged between King Carlos and the viceroy, set the wheels in motion to extend Spain's control up the Pacific Coast and establish colonies and missions at San Diego Bay and Monterey Bay , which had been discovered and described in reports by earlier explorers Juan Cabrillo and Sebastián Vizcaíno . Vizcaíno had mapped

468-544: The Golden Gate, and thus it was not exposed to rough ocean currents as was Monterey Bay, which had been known to the Spanish since Cabrillo's exploration in the sixteenth century. Despite the earlier explorations of Cabrillo and Vizcaíno, and despite two centuries of Spanish sailing the Pacific for trade between Asia and Mexico, the San Francisco Bay had been missed because of the fog that frequently shrouded its entrance. If

504-963: The Jesuits from the Spanish Empire , Portolá was tasked with removing the Jesuits from Spanish missions in Baja California . He then ensured the missions were turned over to the Franciscans and later to the Dominicans . Spain was driven to establish missions and other outposts on the Pacific Coast north of the Baja California Peninsula by fears that the territory would be claimed by foreign powers, in addition to its Catholic proselytizing mission and insatiable need for additional sources of income. The British , who had established several colonies on

540-680: The Mexican–American War of 1848, this routing was known as "Road Trail" and was considered to be nearly impassable to wheeled vehicles. In 1879 this steep and rutted Road Trail crossing of Montara Mountain was replaced by the marginally improved road known as the Half Moon Bay - Colma Road, which included road grades of 24%. This road which routed closer to the ocean and Devil's Slide terminated in Shamrock Ranch and persisted until 1915. Due in part to its biologically isolated location near

576-459: The San Francisco Bay had been discovered earlier, the region surrounding would have been settled by the Spanish earlier since it would have provided a safe, convenient harbor for Spain's Pacific maritime trade. Portolá's party then headed back to San Diego, exploring and naming many localities in the region south of what eventually became known as the Golden Gate . Surviving on mule meat for most of

612-596: The Spanish Visitor General, José de Gálvez , began to organize an expedition , by sea and by land. Portolá was created "Governor of the Californias" and given overall command. Junípero Serra , leader of the expedition's Franciscan missionaries, took command of spiritual matters. Sea and land detachments were to meet at San Diego Bay. The first ship, the San Carlos , sailed from La Paz on January 10, 1769 and

648-672: The area to become Santa Barbara on August 19, and the present-day San Simeon area on September 13. Unable to remain on the coast due to the steep, difficult terrain, the party turned inland. They marched through the San Antonio Valley and on October 1, Portolá's party emerged from the Santa Lucia Mountains and reached the mouth of the Salinas River . After a march of some 400 miles (640 km) from San Diego and about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Velicatá, they had reached

684-399: The bay they were seeking. But they failed to discern the coastline's semi-circular shape, described by Vizcaíno as round like an "O", even though members of the party had twice marched along its beach. Having failed to find their goal, they marched on north and reached the area at the north end of the bay, where Crespí named a creek Santa Cruz on October 18. Pushing on, they reached a creek in

720-693: The bay, a Mass was conducted near the oak tree that the Carmelite missionaries with Vizcaíno had worshiped under in 1603, and possession was officially taken. On June 3, 1770, they laid the beginnings of the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo and founded the Presidio of Monterey . Governor Portolá's task was finished. He then left Captain Pedro Fages in charge, and on June 9 he sailed for San Blas , never to return to Upper California. In 1776, Portolá

756-417: The end of a peninsula, the mountain has an extensive and unique biodiversity, especially on the serpentine soils of the lower slopes. A number of plant endangered species are found on this mountain, including Hickman's potentilla and San Mateo thornmint, Acanthomintha duttonii . The rare endemic manzanita Arctostaphylos montaraensis was named for this mountain. On occasions light snow has dusted

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792-567: The expedition began its climb of Montara Mountain. Portolá wrote: "We travelled two hours of very bad road up over a very high mountain." When they got to the top, the commander noted that "25 heathens came up." These were the Aramai of Pruristac . "A village of very fine, well-behaved friendly heathens, …(who brought) a good many black pies made of seeds...There must be many villages...for we have seen many smokes from here; mussels are also very plentiful here, and very large... Many deer have been seen upon

828-428: The expedition's chaplain, again marched north. The expedition followed the same route they had the previous winter while returning to San Diego. After 36 days on the road, with only two days of rest, Portolá arrived at his second cross on May 24, 1770. He then saw that on a clear day and from a certain point of view the round harbor assumed the proportions described by the earlier enthusiastic explorers. Having recognized

864-581: The expedition: San Diego de Alcalá on July 16, 1769 and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on June 3, 1770. Rivera reached the site of present-day San Diego in May, established a camp in the area that is now Old Town and awaited the arrival of the others. Because of an error by Vizcaíno in determining the latitude of the San Diego Harbor, the ships passed by it and landed too far north before finding their way back. The San Antonio arrived on April 11 and

900-861: The hills here... Bear tracks and droppings have been seen...our sick men since we left the creek of La Salud (Waddell Creek in Santa Cruz County) have been improving more every day..." They had descended the treeless hill and pitched camp in the middle of a small valley (San Pedro). During the Mexican Rancho era, a road known as Camino Pedro Cuesta also traversed Saddle Pass and connected the Sanchez Adobe in Rancho San Pedro in San Pedro Valley with Rancho Corral de Tierra Palomares in Montara. Following

936-531: The journey, they arrived on January 24, 1770. On their way past Monterey Bay, they again failed to recognize it as the same bay that Vizcaíno had described in 1602. One of Portolá's officers, Captain Vicente Vila, convinced him that he had actually been exactly on the Bay of Monterey when he placed his second cross at what later became Pacific Grove . After replenishing supplies at San Diego, Portolá and Serra decided on

972-671: The natives, was led by Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada , and departed from Velicatá on March 24. With Rivera was the priest Juan Crespí , diarist for the Franciscans. The expedition led by Portolá, which included Junípero Serra (the President of the Missions), along with a combination of missionaries, settlers, and leather-jacket soldiers, including José Raimundo Carrillo , left Velicatá on May 15. Junípero Serra founded two more missions during

1008-1062: The north face of the mountain and forms a tall thin waterfall, Brooks Falls, which is the tallest in San Mateo County at 207 feet. An unpaved fire road, the North Peak Access Road, accessible from the Pedro Mountain Road in McNee Ranch State Park , provides access to the summit by hikers from the south. From the north, Montara Mountain Trail and Brooks Creek Trail provide access to the mountain with trailheads in San Pedro Valley County Park . The Devil's Slide Trail connects Pacifica to Montara along Devil's Slide . Gaspar de Portol%C3%A0 Captain Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira (January 1, 1716 – October 10, 1786)

1044-421: The present-day town of Pacifica on October 31. On November 4, having crossed the low coastal mountain range above the creek, the party was stunned to catch a glimpse of the enormous San Francisco Bay from the mountain range, as the bay was previously unknown to the Spanish. This sighting was crucial to the later settlement of California because unlike Monterey Bay, it was surrounded by land on all sides except

1080-405: The shore, along which the passage was entirely closed by a steep hill, at the foot of which ran a stream of good water. This stream flowed from a hollow formed by various hills; at the extreme end of this hollow, close to the hills, we pitched our camp, which was thus protected to the north. To-day’s march was one league. The place afterwards known by the name of Rincón de las Almejas." On October 31,

1116-611: The summit. On clear days the summit has views of much of the San Francisco Bay Area . Denniston Creek , Arroyo de en Medio , Dean Creek , and San Pedro Creek rise on Montara Mountain. The steelhead population in San Pedro Creek is within the Central California Coast Steelhead distinct population segment and is listed at threatened (2011). Brooks Creek, a tributary of San Pedro Creek originates on

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1152-405: The top ' , or 'the topmost'), which was used as title for a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as [capetanus or catepan] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |labels= ( help ) , and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the late Latin capitaneus (which derives from the classical Latin word caput , meaning head). This hybridized term gave rise to

1188-587: Was a Spanish Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the first governor of the Californias from 1767 to 1770. Born in Catalonia into an aristocratic family , he is best known for leading the Portolá expedition into California , which laid the foundations of Spanish rule in the region Californian cities like San Diego and Monterey , and bestowed names to geographic features throughout California, many of which are still in use. Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira

1224-553: Was appointed the governor of Puebla . After the appointment of his successor in 1784, he was advanced money for expenses and returned to Spain, where he served as commander of the Numancia cavalry dragoon regiment. On February 7, 1786 he was appointed King's Lieutenant for the strongholds and castles of Lleida. He died that same year, in October. A 9 foot (2.7 m) statue in Pacifica, California

1260-766: Was born on January 1, 1716 in Os de Balaguer , Catalonia, into a family of minor Spanish nobility . After he came of age, Portolá joined the Spanish Army , being commissioned as an ensign in 1734 and a lieutenant in 1743. He saw service in Italy during the War of the Austrian Succession and participated in the Spanish invasion of Portugal during the Fantastic War . Following the expulsion of

1296-450: Was sculpted by the Catalan sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs and his associate, Francesc Carulla. It was given to the people of California by the Catalan government in 1988. The statue was taken down on January 18, 2024, after years of complaint that the statue was honoring European colonization in the area. A ten-foot high oil-on-canvas portrait of Portolá by Albert Herter in 1929 hangs in

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