Alexander Mackenzie
Key Points
- Scottish Explorer
- Guided by Natives
- First European to cross the continent
- 1789 travelled through the Mackenzie River in Search of the Pacific Ocean
- instead ended in the Arctic Ocean
- Named the River, the River of Disappointment
- Finally Reached the Pacific Ocean through Fraser and Bella Cool Rivers
- Guided by Natives
- First European to cross the continent
- 1789 travelled through the Mackenzie River in Search of the Pacific Ocean
- instead ended in the Arctic Ocean
- Named the River, the River of Disappointment
- Finally Reached the Pacific Ocean through Fraser and Bella Cool Rivers
Summary
Alexander Mackenzie was a Scottish Explorer born 1764. In 1779 he was obtained a job in the North West Company. He was the first European to cross the continent and was guided by the Natives. He then took a canoe and discovered the Mackenzie river in 1789, following it to its mouth in hopes of ending up in the North-West coast of the Pacific Ocean. Instead the river spat him out in the Arctic Ocean. He named the river the River of Disappointment. The river was later name the Mackenzie River in honour of him.