 The first of record was Silvestre Vélez de Escalante; in 1776 he crossed northern Utah through the Uintah Basin.Spanish traders and explorers soon found a more southerly route, and their path became known as the Old Spanish Trail.It began at Santa Fe, to Durango, Colorado, crossed the Colorado River (then known as Grand River) near present-day Moab, then to the Green River-crossing where Green River is now located, thence westerly to Cedar Mountain.