who were the first european explorers of utah
United States History. Human habitation made have begun in Nevada 20,000 years ago. Explorers in the early 1800s found Mohave, Shoshoni, Washoe, and Paiute Indians living in Nevada. The first European explorer was Francisco Garces, a Spanish missionary, who visited in 1775 or 1776. Fur trappers and traders explored the area around 1825.