Designed to enhance the social studies curriculum for the intermediate aged student on up. The Famous Explorers Series features adventurers who have left their legacy on the history of the North American continent

Sir Francis Drake
English explorer and privateer, was the most famous of the Renaissance Era seafarers. He circled the globe from 1577-1580, explored the coast of California and was the first to sail into San Francisco Bay.

Hernando de Soto
Spanish explorer who sailed up the west coast of Florida to Tampa Bay, then inland and north to Alabama and the southeast region. He became the first European to discover the Mississippi River.

Marquette and Joliet
These two men of French and Canadian ancestry sailed down the Mississippi River from Minnesota past the Arkansas River and then headed back north where they explored the Great Lakes Region of the United States.

Francisco Coronado
Spanish general who explored Mexico and the southwest region in a desperate search for splendor and fortune . In his attempt to conquer the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, he instead discovered the riches of Native American cultures.

Henry Hudson
An Englishman whose four ocean voyages put his name on several places along the global map. He set sail in search of the Northwest Passage to the Orient and while sailing for the Dutch East India Company, explored New England's Cape Cod and Chesapeake Bay. He later discovered waters which today bear his name.