Spanish Explorer Hernando de Soto Discovering the Mississippi River, c.1540

Father Marquette and Louis Joliet, the First White Men on the Upper Mississippi River, c.1673

Landing of Jean Nicolet on the Wisconsin Shore of Lake Michigan

Secret Burial of Hernando de Soto at Night in the Mississippi River 1542

Exploring a Tropical Rain Forest, Such as in Central or South America

Meeting of Hernando Cortes and Aztec Emperor Montezuma II in Tenochtitlan, c.1519

John Wesley Powell's Grand Canyon Expedition Running Rapids on the Colorado River, c.1870

Rescue of John Wesley Powell's Colorado River Expedition at the Grand Canyon, c.1870

Marco Polo Welcomed at the Court of Kublai Khan in China, c.1200

Chart of Vitus Bering's Voyage from Kamchatka, Russia, to North America, c.1700

John Smith a Captive Among Native Americans of Virginia Colony, c.1600

John C. Fremont's Second Western Expedition at Pyramid Lake, Nevada, c.1842-1843

Pocahontas Appeals to Powhatan to Spare John Smith's Life, Virginia Colony, c.1600

Samuel de Champlain and His Huron Indian Allies Fighting the Iroquois Near Lake Champlain, c.1609

Spanish Explorer Hernando de Soto Landing His Expedition in Florida, c.1539

One of Henry Hudson's Ships, 17th Century

Hudson's Ship, Half-Moon, Leaving Amsterdam for the New World, c.1609

Hudson's Map of His Voyages in the Arctic, Published in 1612

Mutineers Send Henry Hudson and His Son Overboard to Die Adrift in a Small Boat in the Arctic 1611

John Smith Meeting Native Americans in Virginia Colony

Henry Hudson's Ship, Half Moon, Arriving at Manhattan Island, c.1609

Father Juan de Padilla Finds the Cross Set by Coronado, c.1540

Spanish Ships of Hernando Cortes Sailing to Mexico, c.1519

Jacques Cartier Erects a Cross Along the Saint Lawrence River, Claiming Quebec for France, c.1534

Cartier's Ships Leaving St. Malo, France, to Sail for North America, c.1530

Title Page of John Smith's Book, a True Relation, c.1608