The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.The largest cities by metropolitan area are Phoenix, Las Vegas, El Paso, Albuquerque, and Tucson.

In May 1768, the Spanish Visitor General, José de Gálvez, planned a four-prong expedition to settle Alta California, two by sea and two by land, which Gaspar de Portolà volunteered to command. The Portolà land expedition arrived at the site of present-day San Diego on June 29, 1769, where it established the Presidio of San Diego.

«Portolà» té aquests significats: Portolà (llibre): Col·lecció relligada de descripcions de ports. Portolà (mapa) o Carta portolana, mapes de navegació traçats a mà, fets emprant pergamí, elaborats a partir dels rumbs i distàncies registrats als (llibres) portolans. Gaspar de Portolà: Noble català colonitzador de Califòrnia; Portola Valley: Municipi de Califòrnia

Vasco Núñez de Balboa (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbasko ˈnuɲeθ ðe βalˈβo.a]; c. 1475 – around January 12–21, 1519) was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador.He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New World.