La Vérendrye, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes (1685-1749)

French-Canadian explorer and fur trader who, with his sons, opened up the Great Western Plains of North America. On his searches to find an overland route to the ‘western sea’ (the Pacific), he established settlements at Fort La Reine and Fort Rouge (which later became the city of Winnipeg). His sons continued exploring, and first sighted the Rocky Mountains on 1 January 1743.

La Vérendrye was born at Trois Rivières, Québec. Prompted by American Indian tales, he set out with his three sons in 1731 on their first journey westward, starting from Montréal and Lake Superior and reaching Lake Winnipeg. In the winter of 1738 he ventured south-westward from Fort la Reine and reached the Missouri River.