Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye
| Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 9, 1717 Quebec |
| Died | November 15, 1761 (aged 44) Atlantic Ocean |
| Nationality | New France |
| Occupation | fur trader, explorer |
Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye (November 9, 1717 – November 15, 1761) was a French Canadian fur trader and explorer. He, his three brothers, and his father Pierre La Vérendrye pushed trade and exploration west from the Great Lakes. He, his brother, and two colleagues are thought to be the first Europeans to have crossed the northern Great Plains and seen the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming.
Louis-Joseph Verendrye was born in Quebec. He joined the family business in 1735, leaving Montreal with his father and travelling west to Fort St. Charles on Lake of the Woods. He assisted in re-establishing Fort Maurepas in 1736 and building Fort La Reine in 1738. From Ft. La Reine, he and his father travelled to visit the Mandan Native Americans along the Missouri River in North Dakota later that same year. In 1739 and 1740, he went north from Fort La Reine and explored Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba, Lake Winnipegosis and the Saskatchewan River as far as the area of the present day The Pas.
In 1743-44 he may have travelled southwest to what was probably Wyoming and came within sight of the Rocky Mountains. The documentation is poor and it may have been a different Vérendrye brother who made the journey.
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