Garcia Lopez de Cardenas
(birthdate unknown)

Garcia Lopez de Cardenas was the first European to view the Grand Canyon. He was a Spanish explorer in the Southwest and was a member of the 1540 Coronado expedition. After a member of the expedition heard about the Colorado River, Cardenas and about 12 companions were dispatched from Cibola to find the river. The group received Native American guides for their journey to the river. After traveling for about 20 days, they reached a bank of the Grand Canyon. They spent three days at this bank looking for a way down to the river. They sent three of the lightest and most agile men down to reach the river, but the men only made it about a third of the way. They had misjudged the difficulty of reaching the bottom. Once they were down the canyon, they realized the great height of the rocks on the sides of the cliffs.

Since a chronicler had accompanied Cardenas and the expedition, they were able to give the general a written account of what they had seen. It is believed that Cardenas eventually returned to Spain.

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