The La Vérendryes: Family of Explorers

Introduction

La Vérendrye, Canada's farthest west, 1732 Copyright/Source

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye
Born 1685, died 1749

At the age of 40, La Vérendrye realized his childhood dream of being an explorer when he and his four sons headed west in search of the western sea. He failed to reach his goal, but he opened the West to the French and gave people an idea of how huge North America was. His sons were the first non-Native men to see the eastern face of the Rocky Mountains.