DESOTO'S
EXPEDITION

Hernando DeSoto's Spanish army traversed the Mississippi Valley in the 1540s, when the Mississippian cultures were in decline. DeSoto landed near Tampa Bay, Florida, and for two years trekked across what are now the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana.

Hernando DeSoto and his entourage visited a number of large communities in the Mississippi valley, indicated here by blue helmets.

Brown jars show that many mounds are located near the communities DeSoto and his men visited on their journey.