JUAN DE FUCA STRAIT
Juan de Fuca (1530-1601) was a Greek navigator who sailed for Spain under a Spanish name; his original name was Apostolos Valerianos (borned in Valerianos village in Municipality of Elios-Pronnoi of Kefalonia).
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De Fuca sailed up the western coast of North America from Mexico to Vancouver Island in 1592, looking for a passage from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocea
n. He was perhaps the
first European to see this area. He sailed through the Strait of Juan de Fuca (which was named for him in 1725) and believed it to be the beginning
of a route to the Atlantic Ocean. -
This strait connects the Pacific Ocean to the Puget Sound and the Georgia Strait, between the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, USA, and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. After sailing back to Acapulco, Mexico, de Fuca was not rewarded by Spain for his journey, and his discovery of the strait was not entirely believed until Captain Vancouver retraced de Fuca's route 200 years later. After this journey, de Fuca returned to Greece.
GEOGRAPHY
Juan de Fuca Strait , inlet of the Pacific Ocean, 100 mi (161 km) long and 11 to 17 mi (18–27 km) wide, between Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and Washington state, linking the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound with the Pacific; forms part of the U.S.-Canada border. Victoria, British Columbia, the strait's largest city, is located at its eastern end; ferries connect it with the U.S. mainland.