Alta California

Alta California (English: Upper California), founded in 1769 by Gaspar de Portolá, was a polity of New Spain and after the Mexican War of Independence in 1822, a territory of Mexico. The region included all of the modern states of California, Nevada, and Utah, and parts of Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Large areas east of the Sierra Nevada and San Gabriel Mountains were claimed to be part of Alta California, but were never colonized. To the southeast, beyond the deserts and the Colorado River, lay the Spanish settlements in Arizona.

Alta California

Alta California (English: Upper California), founded in 1769 by Gaspar de Portolá, was a polity of New Spain and after the Mexican War of Independence in 1822, a territory of Mexico. The region included all of the modern states of California, Nevada, and Utah, and parts of Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Large areas east of the Sierra Nevada and San Gabriel Mountains were claimed to be part of Alta California, but were never colonized. To the southeast, beyond the deserts and the Colorado River, lay the Spanish settlements in Arizona.