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Discovery of America and Early Explorations.
Major Explorations of the Americas

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Date Explorer Nationality Chief Achievements
1513 Vasco Núñez de Balboa Spanish Led expedition across Isthmus of Panama; sighted Pacific Ocean.
1513 Juan Ponce de León Spanish Explored Florida.
1517 Francisco Fernández de Córdoba Spanish Reached Yucatán.
1519-1521 Hernando Cortés Spanish Conquered Mexico.
1528-1536 Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Spanish Explored Gulf Plains from Texas to Mexico.
1528 Pánfilo de Narváez Spanish Explored western Florida and northern coast of Gulf of Mexico.
1531-1537 Diego de Almagro Spanish Aided in conquest of Peru; crossed Atacama Desert in Chile.
1531-1535 Francisco Pizarro Spanish Explored Peru; founded Lima.
1536-1538 Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Spanish Explored northern Andes region; founded Bogotá.
1539-1542 Hernando De Soto Spanish Reached Mississippi River; explored southeastern United States.
1540-1542 Francisco V. de Coronado Spanish Explored central Kansas and the Grand Canyon region.
1540-1541 Pedro de Valdivia Spanish Conquered and explored Chile. Founded Santiago.
1541 Francisco de Orellana Spanish Explored Amazon River.
1598-1605 Juan de Oñate Spanish Explored southwestern United States.
1603-1616 Samuel de Champlain French Explored eastern coast of North America, and St. Lawrence River west to Lake Huron. Reached Lake Champlain.
1659-1661 Pierre Esprit Radisson French Explored Lake Superior and northern Mississippi region.
1673 Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette French-Canadian and French Explored northern Mississippi Basin.
1678-1687 Sieur Duluth French Explored Lake Superior region.
1678-1683 Henri de Tonti French Explored Mississippi Valley.
1679-1682 Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonti French Explored Lake Michigan region and Mississippi River.
1679-1680 Louis Hennepin Belgian Explored upper Mississippi region for French missionaries.
1699-1720 Sieur de Bienville French-Canadian Explored lower Mississippi Valley; founded New Orleans. Worked for France.
1699-1702 Sieur d'Iberville French-Canadian Explored lower Mississippi Valley; first European to enter Mississippi River from the sea. Worked for France.
1771 Samuel Hearne English First man known to reach Arctic overland from Hudson Bay.
1789-1812 David Thompson English Explored western Canada.
1789-1793 Sir Alexander Mackenzie Scottish Explored western Canada; reached the Mackenzie River.
1804-1806 William Clark and Meriwether Lewis American Led expedition across Rocky Mountains to Pacific Ocean and back.
1805-1807 Zebulon M. Pike American Explored Middle West and Rocky Mountain region.
1824-1829 Jedediah Strong Smith American Explored Great Basin; blazed trails across Rocky Mountains to California and the Pacific Northwest.
1824 James Bridger American First white man to visit Great Salt Lake.
1842-1846 John Charles Frémont American Did extensive western exploration in the United States.

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This page was last updated on 10/25/2011.