Escalante Cross

Erected in 1981, The Escalante Cross sits on top of Dominguez Hill in the foothills of Loafer Mountain above Spanish Fork, Utah. The cross honors the Dominguez and Esclante expedition. In July of 1776, two Franciscan monks, Fathers Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante, began an expedition to explore the southwestern United States in search of an overland route from Santa Fe, NM to Monterey, CA. On September 23, 1776 the expedition reached the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. They climbed the hill now known as Dominguez Hill and became the first white men to see Utah Lake and Utah Valley.