Yep! They named it after me! That’s where I was the governor! Set out in 1603 from France! I traveled from France by Newfoundland around the Gulf of St. Lawrence, down the St. Lawrence River. It was 1609 when I discovered a lake that was named for me! Follow me from France across the Atlantic, down the St. Lawrence to Quebec. Trace the route I took in BLUE.

French Waterways–St. Lawrence River & Great Lakes. Settled Quebec (Canada).

JohnKing Henry VII (7 th ) of England gave me a ship, the Matthew, to command as I voyaged across the Atlantic Ocean. It was 1497 when I landed near Newfoundland, Labrador & Cape Breton. Using PURPLE, draw my voyage from England then back to Europe. I was hired in 1497 by King Henry of England! I claimed lands England, but was from Italy!

England John Cabot The coastline of northern Canada (Labrador, Newfoundland)

I was governor of New Galicia, a western province in Mexico. In 1540, I traveled through the area of Northern Mexico. I didn’t find the “Seven Cities of Gold” there, so I traveled west to the Colorado River and then east to Kansas. Trace my expedition in RED. I left Spain in 1540 to find Cibola, a rumored city of gold! I explored much of the Southwest, saw the Grand Canyon, & met the Pueblo people!

Spain Present day Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, & Kansas.

King Louis XVI (14 th ) sent me to the “New World” to travel south from Canada, down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. I named the entire Mississippi Basin “Louisiana in honor of the King of France on April 9, Trace the route I took in GREEN. Set out in 1682 from France! Named “Louisiana” for King Louis XVI (14 th ) Fur Trade $$$!

France Water Routes - Great Lakes, to the Mississippi River Valley, & Gulf of Mexico