later U.S. claims to the Oregon Territory (for
full coverage of Gray and other American
exploration of this period, see the Opening Up
North America,1497–1800 and Across Amer-
ica:The Lewis and Clark Expeditionvolumes
in this set).
On his voyage north from California, Van-
couver missed the mouth of the Columbia
River. When he later learned of Gray’s discov-
ery, the skeptical Vancouver sent a subordi-
nate, William Broughton, south to investigate.
Broughton explored and surveyed the Colum-
bia for 100 miles inland, determining that it
was not the transcontinental waterway Van-
couver sought.
Meanwhile, Vancouver continued to
explore the region’s labyrinth of coastal inlets
and harbors. He explored a large bay, naming
it Puget Sound after his lieutenant, Peter
Puget, who explored the reaches of the water-
way south of present-day Tacoma, Washing-
ton. Vancouver’s large ships, the Discoveryand
the Chathamwere too large to enter shallow
waters for surveying, so smaller boats were
frequently used to collect the desired data.
On June 22 Vancouver encountered two
Spanish ships, captained by Cayetano Valdés
and Dionisio Alcalá Galiano. The Spanish offi-
cers were under the command of Alejandro
Malaspina, an Italian-born aristocrat and cap-
tain in the Spanish navy, who was then
engaged in a scientific voyage around the
Pacific Ocean. Like Vancouver, Malaspina had
been ordered to investigate rumors of a north-
west passage. After exploring the coast of
Alaska from Prince William Sound eastward
and visiting Nootka Sound, Malaspina had
returned to Mexico. In 1792, however, he
ordered Alcalá Galiano and Valdés to sail to
the Pacific Northwest and explore the Strait of
Juan de Fuca. The Spanish presence was a
shock to Vancouver.
“I cannot avoid acknowledging that, on this
occasion, I experienced no small degree ofGeorge Vancouver explored a large island off the western coast of North America that would later be named
for him—Vancouver Island—in the early 1790s. (National Archives of Canada)
Charting the Pacific Northwest B 165