30 Important Explorers in History

Explorer - Country of Origin - Discovery or Region Traveled

Amundsen, Roald Norway South Pole
Balboa, Vasco Núñez de Spain Isthmus of Panama, eastern shore of Pacific Ocean
Cabot, John Italy/England Grand Banks, parts of eastern Canada
Cabrillo, Juan Rodriguez Portugal/Spain Guatemala, California coast
Cadillac, Antoine de France Detroit, Great Lakes area
Cartier, Jacques France St. Lawrence River, Montreal
Champlain, Samuel de France Quebec, Lake Champlain
Columbus, Christopher Italy/Spain West Indies, coastal Central and South America
Cook, James England New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Pacific Northwest
Coronado, Francisco Spain northwestern Mexico, southwestern U.S.
Cortes, Hernando de Spain Veracruz, Aztec Empire (Mexico)
da Gama, Vasco Portugal around Africa to India
de Soto, Hernando Spain southern U.S., Mississippi River
de Vaca, Alberto Spain northwest Mexico, Paraguay
Dias, Bartolomeu Portugal Cape of Good Hope
Drake, Francis England second voyage around the world
Erikson, Leif Norway Newfoundland
Frobisher, Martin England Baffin Bay, north Atlantic
Hudson, Henry England Hudson River
Joliet, Louis France upper Mississippi, Illinois, Wisconsin
La Salle, Sieur de France Mississippi River to Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana
Magellan, Ferdinand Portugal first voyage around the world, Strait of Magellan
Marquette, Jacques France upper Mississippi, Illinois, Wisconsin
Peary, Robert U.S. North Pole
Pizarro, Francisco Spain Lima, Incan Empire (Peru)
Ponce de Leon, Juan Spain Florida, Puerto Rico
Raleigh, Walter England Roanoke Island
Vancouver, George England Puget Sound, Vancouver Island, Mount Rainier
Verrazzano, Giovanni da Portugal east coast of North America
Vespucci, Amerigo Italy/Spain coastal Venezuela and Brazil