Word for the Wise : Vancouver
March 9th, 2010
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Author: Today we celebrate the life of English navigator George Vancouver, born on June 22, 1757.
After joining the Royal Navy at age 13, Vancouver eventually went on to survey the Pacific coast of North America, considered to be one of the most difficult surveys ever undertaken. He also verified that no continuous channel exists between the Pacific Ocean and northeast Canada's Hudson Bay. And yes, the largest island off the Pacific Coast of North America is named for the man who surveyed it (and who accompanied Captain James Cook on his visit there in 1778).
If you didn't know how Vancouver was named, you may not know how Puget Sound came by its European name either. The Native American name for that arm of the Pacific
After joining the Royal Navy at age 13, Vancouver eventually went on to survey the Pacific coast of North America, considered to be one of the most difficult surveys ever undertaken. He also verified that no continuous channel exists between the Pacific Ocean and northeast Canada's Hudson Bay. And yes, the largest island off the Pacific Coast of North America is named for the man who surveyed it (and who accompanied Captain James Cook on his visit there in 1778).
If you didn't know how Vancouver was named, you may not know how Puget Sound came by its European name either. The Native American name for that arm of the Pacific
(which runs about 80 miles south of Vancouver Island) is Whulge. After George Vancouver and his crew mapped the area in 1792, the navigator renamed the broad inlet after expedition member Peter Puget, who had probed the waters' main channel.
Puget Sound begins at the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a narrow passage between Vancouver Island and Washington state's Olympic Peninsula. Who was Juan de Fuca? De Fuca was a Greek who had sailed for the Spanish and who may have visited the passage in 1592.
You're always welcome to visit us. Our e-mail address is wftw@aol.com. Our street address is Word for the Wise, 318 Central Avenue, Albany, New York 12206.
Our audio engineer is Shawn Dudley. Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and CD's including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition.
Puget Sound begins at the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a narrow passage between Vancouver Island and Washington state's Olympic Peninsula. Who was Juan de Fuca? De Fuca was a Greek who had sailed for the Spanish and who may have visited the passage in 1592.
You're always welcome to visit us. Our e-mail address is wftw@aol.com. Our street address is Word for the Wise, 318 Central Avenue, Albany, New York 12206.
Our audio engineer is Shawn Dudley. Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and CD's including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition.
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