Urbanization Interpretive Program Outline

The Anza Expedition & Urbanization

How Urbanization has Changed the Natural Landscape over 250 Years

• Mission: Utilizing the Anza expedition as a framework to showcase the effects of urbanization on the natural landscape in the southwest US.
• Theme: Urbanization has significantly altered the natural landscape in the southwest United States.
• Goals: Use the story of the Anza Expedition to increase the audience’s awareness of the impact of climate change from urbanization in the southwest United States
• Tangibles: Architecture and infrastructure, natural landscape features or lack thereof
• Intangibles: Loss of natural resources, Ethical decision-making, Human survival, Care for the environment
• Universal Concepts: Preservation, Loss, Responsibility to future generations, Safety, Fear, Uncertainty, Hope

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Program Outline

There are many ways to interpret the Anza Trail and its relation to climate change and urbanization. How you interpret this program will depend on your site. We recommend visiting https://webdeanza.org to read through both Father Font and Juan Bautista de Anza’s journals on the days leading up to and a few days after the expedition passed through your site or region to gather ideas. Below, we’ve included a few different examples of what this could look like:

Introduction:

Begin your interpretive program by introducing yourself and your role at your site. Inform the audience of the length of the program and what they can expect during that time. Make sure to address the audience’s needs beforehand.

State the program theme before beginning: Climate change from urbanization has significantly altered the natural landscape in the southwest United States.

Body:

Expedition Summary:

The Anza Trail follows the route of a Spanish colonial expedition that took place from October 1775 to March 1776. Approximately 240 family members, 1,000 pack animals, three Spanish priests, Indigenous guides and translators, soldiers, and the military colonel Juan Bautista de Anza made the trek from Sonora, Mexico to San Francisco in less than a year.

Transition:

The Catholic priest Father Font and expedition guide Juan Bautista de Anza kept detailed journals of their travel, often referencing the state of the land and its resources. We can refer to their journals today to identify changes in the natural landscape, including the natural water levels that have been affected by urbanization and climate change.

Example #1: The Santa Cruz River

On the way north from Sonora, where military colonel Juan Bautista de Anza recruited families, the settlers followed the Santa Cruz River north to Tubac Presidio. On October 14th, the expedition stopped in an area they called Las Lagunas, in modern-day Nogales, Arizona. Father Font describes the landscape at Las Lagunas in his diaries:

“All these lands are abundant in pasturage, and in them, the San Ygnacio [Santa Cruz] River rises.” (Diary of Father Font, October 14th, 1775)

The expedition relied upon the Santa Cruz River as a natural water source to survive. Today, however, the Santa Cruz River contains contaminants and the water is not safe to drink. Due to urbanization and development, it is contaminated by pollution and sewage. The river no longer flows year round as it once did due to development and agriculture activities lowering the water table.

Transition:

We can see from the diaries how urbanization in the past 250 years has impacted natural water sources. The diaries also showcase the advancement in architecture and infrastructure.

Example #2: Yuma, Arizona

In November of 1775, The Anza expedition reached present-day Yuma, Arizona, where the Colorado and Gila Rivers converge. The colonists needed to cross the river to make it to San Francisco, but in 1775, the water level was too high to cross safely. The only way they could cross the river was on horseback with the help of the Quechan tribe who knew the best and widest crossings.

“After Mass… we went to the river, following a road which, to the surprise of Palma and the rest of the Yumas, the muleteers had opened the previous afternoon through the brush, which is very thick for a long stretch before reaching the river.” (Diary of Father Font on November 30th, 1775)

Increased agricultural activity and the canaling of water to southern California and metropolitan Phoenix has dropped the water levels of the Colorado River so much that the river no longer reaches its destination at the Gulf of California. It’s much easier to cross the Colorado River today, even on foot.

Transition:

An increase in agriculture and population in southern California and Arizona has led to lower water levels and a concern for future water needs in the American Southwest. We can see in the diaries that the Colorado River was once a formidable obstacle, and provided much to the Indigenous peoples along its banks.

Example #3: San Francisco, California

When Font and Anza arrived in San Francisco Bay, they made a note of the natural landscape to inform the colonists where the best natural resources would be located to begin building the presidio. Font noted:

“The port of San Francisco… is a wonder of nature, and may be called the port of ports… The greater part of the shore of the port, as I saw it when we made the circuit of it, is not clear, but miry, marshy, and full of ditches, and is consequently bad.” (Diary of Father Font on March 27th, 1775)

Historically, San Francisco was surrounded by tidal wetlands. In the past 150 years, approximately 90% of San Francisco’s wetlands have been lost due to drainage, agriculture, and urbanization. The wetlands were filled and built upon to account for the increasing population, though tidal wetlands are extremely valuable to the environment for flood protection, water quality, and shoreline erosion control (San Francisco Baykeeper - Wetland Conservation and Protection).

Conclusion:

End your interpretive program with a summary of the theme and subthemes, and thank your audience for coming. Now is a good time to make a call to action that is important to your site, organization, or the program’s messaging. This may include ways to reduce individuals’ carbon footprint, how to preserve natural spaces, and sharing opportunities to support your site.

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Notes:

From Yuma, alt:

Today, you can drive through Yuma on Interstate 1-10. After industrialization, the increase of fossil fuels for transportation has caused temperatures to rise annually. In 1990, Yuma residents experienced around 7 days a year above 112 degrees. It’s projected that in 2050, Yuma residents will experience close to 39 days a year over 112 degrees (Climate Check - Heat risk in Yuma, Arizona).