Fourth Grade
Worksheets
George Vancouver: The Great Cartographer
Have you ever wanted to sail on a wind-powered ship? Can you imagine the rocking deck, the smell of salt water, the snap of the sails, and the keening of taut ropes in the wind? These were just part of life to those who lived on the sea.
One of those men was George Vancouver. Does that name sound familiar? It should. He helped name more than 400 places in his voyages. Many are still used today.
Vancouver was only fifteen when his father got him appointed to a place on a ship. This wasn't just any ship. It was with the explorer James Cook and his ship, the Resolution.
This was the second of Cook's three voyages. Vancouver wasn't to be just a sailor. He was to receive training in seamanship, navigation, and surveying. The noted astronomer of the time, William Wales, was also there to teach him.
Cook's second voyage went to the south Atlantic to confirm the existence of the Antarctic. Then they explored the south Pacific.
