Editing Geographical exploration (section)

===European Age of Discovery===
[[File:Viajes_de_colon_en.svg|thumb|300px|The transatlantic [[voyages of Christopher Columbus]]]]

The [[Age of Discovery]], also known as the Age of Exploration, is one of the most important periods of geographical exploration in human history. It started in the early 15th century and lasted until the 17th century. In that period, Europeans discovered and/or explored vast areas of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. [[Portuguese Empire|Portugal]] and [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] dominated the first stages of exploration, while other European nations followed, such as [[English overseas possessions|England]], [[French colonial empire|France]], and the [[Dutch colonial empire|Netherlands]].

[[File:Map of Portuguese Carreira da India.gif|300px|thumb|Outward and return voyages of the [[Portuguese India Armadas|Portuguese India run]] in the Atlantic and the Indian oceans, with the [[North Atlantic Gyre]] (''[[volta do mar]]'') picked up by [[Henry the Navigator|Henry]]'s navigators, and the outward route of the South Atlantic westerlies that [[Bartolomeu Dias]] discovered in 1488, followed and explored by the expeditions of [[Vasco da Gama]] and [[Pedro Álvares Cabral]].]]
Important explorations during this period went to a number of continents and regions around the globe. In Africa, important explorers of this period include [[Diogo Cão]] (1452–1486), who discovered and ascended the [[Congo River]] and reached the coasts of present-day [[Angola]] and [[Namibia]]; and [[Bartolomeu Dias]] (1450–1500), the first European to reach the [[Cape of Good Hope]] and other parts of the [[South Africa]]n coast.

Explorers of routes from Europe towards Asia, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean, include [[Vasco da Gama]] (1460–1524), a navigator who made the first trip from Europe to India and back by the Cape of Good Hope, discovering the ocean route to the [[East]]; [[Pedro Álvares Cabral]] (1467/1468–1520), who, following the path of Vasco da Gama, claimed [[Brazil]] and led the first expedition that linked Europe, Africa, America, and Asia; [[Diogo Dias]], who discovered the eastern coast of [[Madagascar]] and rounded the corner of Africa; explorers such as [[Diogo Fernandes Pereira]] and [[Pedro Mascarenhas]] (1470–1555), among others, who discovered and mapped the [[Mascarene Islands]] and other archipelagos.

[[António de Abreu]] (1480–1514) and [[Francisco Serrão]] (14??–1521) led the first direct European fleet into the Pacific Ocean (on its western edges) and through the [[Sunda Islands]], reaching the [[Maluku Islands|Moluccas]]. [[Andrés de Urdaneta]] (1498–1568) discovered the maritime route from Asia to the Americas.

In the Pacific Ocean, [[Jorge de Menezes]] (1498–1537) reached [[New Guinea]] while [[Loaísa expedition|García Jofre de Loaísa]] (1490–1526) reached the [[Marshall Islands]].

;Discovery of America
Explorations of the Americas began with the initial discovery of America by [[Christopher Columbus]] (1451–1506), who led a [[Crown of Castile|Castilian]] ([[Spanish Empire|Spanish]]) expedition across the Atlantic, [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus|discovering America]]. After the discovery of America by Columbus, a number of important expeditions were sent out to explore the Western Hemisphere. This included [[Juan Ponce de León]] (1474–1521), who discovered and mapped the coast of [[Florida]]; [[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]] (1475–1519), who was the first European to view the Pacific Ocean from American shores (after crossing the [[Isthmus of Panama]]) confirming that America was a separate continent from Asia; [[Aleixo Garcia]] (14??–1527), who explored the territories of present-day southern Brazil, [[Paraguay]] and [[Bolivia]], crossing the [[Gran Chaco|Chaco]] and reaching the [[Andes]] (near [[Sucre]]).

[[Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca]] (1490–1558) discovered the [[Mississippi River]] and was the first European to sail the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and cross [[Texas]]. [[Jacques Cartier]] (1491–1557) drew the first maps of part of central and maritime Canada; [[Francisco Vázquez de Coronado]] (1510–1554) discovered the [[Grand Canyon]] and the [[Colorado River]]; [[Francisco de Orellana]] (1511–1546) was the first European to navigate the length of the [[Amazon River]].

;Further explorations
[[File:Cook Three Voyages 59.png|thumb|300px|The routes of Captain [[James Cook]]'s voyages. The first voyage is shown in '''<span style="color:red;">red</span>''', second voyage in '''<span style="color:green;">green</span>''', and third voyage in '''<span style="color:blue;">blue</span>'''.]]

[[Ferdinand Magellan]] (1480–1521), was the first navigator to cross the Pacific Ocean, discovering the [[Strait of Magellan]], the [[Tuamotus]] and [[Mariana Islands]], and achieving a nearly complete [[circumnavigation]] of the Earth, in multiple voyages, for the first time. [[Juan Sebastián Elcano]] (1476–1526), completed the first [[Timeline of Magellan's circumnavigation|global circumnavigation]].

In the second half of the 16th century and the 17th century exploration of Asia and the Pacific Ocean continued with explorers such as [[Andrés de Urdaneta]] (1498–1568), who discovered the maritime route from Asia to the Americas; [[Pedro Fernandes de Queirós]] (1565–1614), who discovered the [[Pitcairn Islands]] and the [[Vanuatu]] archipelago; [[Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira]] (1542–1595), who discovered the [[Tuvalu]] archipelago, the [[Marquesas Islands|Marquesas]], the [[Solomon Islands|Solomons]], and [[Wake Island]].

Explorers of Australia included [[Willem Janszoon]] (1570–1630), who made the first recorded European landing in Australia; [[Yñigo Ortiz de Retez]], who discovered and reached eastern and northern [[New Guinea]]; [[Luis Váez de Torres]] (1565–1613), who discovered the [[Torres Strait]] between [[Australia]] and [[New Guinea]]; [[Abel Tasman]] (1603–1659), who explored North Australia, discovered [[Tasmania]], [[New Zealand]], and [[Tongatapu]].

In North America, major explorers included [[Henry Hudson]] (1565–1611), who explored the [[Hudson Bay]] in Canada; [[Samuel de Champlain]] (1574–1635), who explored [[St. Lawrence River]] and the [[Great Lakes]] (in Canada and northern United States); and [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle]] (1643–1687), who explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, and the entire length of the Mississippi River.