Answers
1. D
2. D
3.
4.
5.
6.
A
B
C
D
7. A
8. C
9. B
10. A
11. D
12. A
13. B
14. D
15. A
Explanations
1. Sebastián Rodríguez Cermeño is the explorer described in the box. In the 16th
century, the Philippines in Southeast Asia became a Spanish colony. Shortly after
the Spanish started their new colony, they began shipping goods such as silks,
jewels, spices, and china across the Pacific Ocean to Acapulco in Mexico. The
ships that the Spanish used were known as Manila galleons. Sebastián Rodríguez
Cermeño was the captain of one of these ships. He left from Manila on July 5,
1595 and arrived at Point Reyes on November 6. He had been ordered to find a
good place for Manila galleons to stop in California after their long journey across
the Pacific.
2. Sebastián Vizcaíno is the Spanish explorer described in the box. He came to
California 60 years after Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo had claimed the area for the
Spanish. Vizcaíno mapped the coast and named many places in California.
3. In 1539, Francisco de Ulloa sailed north from Acapulco in Mexico and explored
the Gulf of California. He discovered the mouth of the Colorado River. He did not
explore the river, however, and continued his journey by sailing along the entire
east coast of the Baja Peninsula. He rounded the tip of the peninsula and sailed
about halfway up the west coast of the Baja Peninsula before turning around to
head back to Acapulco.
4. Some of the first Spanish explorers in North America believed there was an
island called California. In the early 16th century, a Spanish writer wrote a book
called Las Sergas de Esplandián (The Exploits of Esplandián). In this book, the
mythical island of California was ruled by Queen Calafía and was described as a
place "very near the Terrestrial Paradise." Baja California was named after the
island in the book. The Europeans discovered that Baja California was a
peninsula, not an island.
5. Monterey was founded in 1770 when Junípero Serra started Mission San Carlos
Borromeo de Carmelo, and Gaspar de Portolá started El Presidio Real de San
Carlos de Monterey. In 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno named Monterey Bay after the
viceroy of New Spain, the Count of Monterey.
6. Father Juan Crespi was part of the Portolá Expedition, or Sacred Expedition, that
began in 1769. Like Junipero Serra, Crespi was a Franciscan friar. Crespi was
responsible for writing down what happened on the expedition.
7. Vitus Bering was a Danish explorer who sailed for Russia. Vitus Bering sailed east
from Siberia and explored the Arctic Ocean and the northern Pacific Ocean. Vitus
Bering landed on Alaska in 1741. Later, Russians came to Alaska because they
were interested in the fur trade. This led Russian fur traders to start many
settlements in Alaska and along the Pacific Coast. In 1812, the Russian-American
Company started Fort Ross in California.
8. The first European settlements were along the Pacific coast because they had
arrived by ship. The settlements needed to have access to the water so that
supplies could be brought in from ships from Mexico and so that goods could be
traded with other places.
9. José de Gálvez, a colonial administrator in New Spain, sent Gaspar de Portolá on
the "Sacred Expedition" to California in 1769. The goal of this expedition was to
set up the first Spanish settlements in what is now California. There were two
ships and two land parties that were part of the expedition.
10. The Coast Ranges run north and south along much of the coast of California. The
mountains separate the Central Valley and inland deserts from the Pacific Ocean.
These mountains made it difficult for some of the first explorers to travel to areas
in California that were not near the ocean.
11. Captain James Cook was a British explorer who made three voyages in the Pacific
Ocean. He explored Australia and New Zealand and discovered the Hawaiian
Islands. In 1778, Cook mapped the northern part of California.
12. Hernando de Alarcón explored the Gulf of California and the Colorado River in
1540. He was the first European to explore the lower part of the Colorado River.
Although it is not known exactly how far he traveled up the Colorado River, it is
possible that he was the first European to set foot on what is now the state of
California.
13. As Juan Cabrillo sailed north along the California coast, he was sailing into the
California Current. An ocean current is caused by wind patterns that blow in a
certain direction. The winds that cause the California Current blow from north to
south. The winds made it very challenging for Cabrillo to sail north. He was able
to reach Point Reyes, north of San Francisco before he turned back south.
14. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was a Portuguese explorer who sailed for Spain. In 1542,
he claimed San Diego for the Spanish. He sailed north along the coast of
California to Point Reyes, north of San Francisco. He was the first European to
explore the coast of California.
15. The Spanish believed there was a waterway called the Strait of Anián that
connected the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. Many explorers sailed along
the coast of California looking for this strait. The Spanish and other Europeans
were interested in finding a water route from the Atlantic to the Pacific because
they were looking for new trade routes that would reach Asia. The Spanish never
found the Strait of Anián because it does not exist.
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