exploration - Notable explorers since 950 A.D., Exploration by area

The investigation of the surface area of the Earth for scientific, commercial, or military purposes. Early journeys of exploration were made in the 10th-c by Scandinavian navigators, followed by the great voyages of discovery of Columbus, Vasco da Gama and John Cabot (15th-c), Magellan (16th-c) and others, through to the later era of imperialism (1880–1914) when many European powers sought to gain territories in Africa and Asia. By the last quarter of the 20th-c, nearly all of the Earth's surface had been explored and attention turned towards its subsurface regions and the oceans, particularly the deep ocean floor. The exploration of space also began and remains a major focus of interest in the 21st-c.

of unknown regions, including space (space exploration), for oil, gas, coal, ores, caves, water (also known as prospecting), or information. Although exploration has existed as long as human beings, its peak is seen as being during the Age of Exploration when European navigators travelled around the world discovering new worlds and cultures.

In scientific research, exploration is one of three purposes of research (the other two being description and explanation).

Notable explorers since 950 A.D.

Erik the Red (950 - 1003) - Viking explorer. Leif Ericson (980 - 1020) - Norse explorer. Marco Polo (1254 - 1324) - Italian explorer. Ibn Battuta (1304 - 1377) - Berber explorer. Zheng He (1371 - 1433) - Chinese explorer. 1450 - 1499) - Italian explorer. 1450 - 1500) - Portuguese explorer. Christopher Columbus (1451 - 1506) - Italian explorer. 1460 - 1521) - Spanish explorer. 1467 - c. 1520) - Portuguese explorer, generally regarded as first European discoverer of the sea route to Brazil. 1469 - 1524) - Portuguese explorer. 1475 - 1519) - Spanish explorer. 1475 - 1541) - Spanish explorer. Juan Sebastián Elcano (1476 - 1526) - Spanish explorer. Ferdinand Magellan (1480 - 1521) - Portuguese explorer. 1485 - 1528) - Italian explorer. Explored the northeast coast of America, from Newfoundland to about present day South Carolina. Hernán Cortés (1485 - 1545) - Spanish explorer. Jacques Cartier (1491 – 1557) - French explorer. 1496 - 1542) - Spanish explorer. Explored Florida, mainly northwest Florida, and discovered the Mississippi River. 1510 - 1554) - Spanish explorer. 1540 - 1596) - English explorer. Henry Hudson (1570 - 1611) - English explorer. Explored much of the North Atlantic, including Labrador, the coast of Greenland, and Hudson Bay. Vitus Bering (1681 - 1741) - Danish explorer. James Cook (1728 - 1779) - English naval captain. Explored much of the Pacific including New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii. Jean François La Pérouse (1741–1788) was a French Navy officer and explorer whose expedition vanished in Oceania Alexander von Humboldt (1769 - 1859) - German explorer and scientist whose work was foundational to the field of biogeography. Captain Meriwether Lewis (1774 - 1809) - American explorer and field scientist who led the Lewis and Clark Expedition into the Louisiana Purchase and the Pacific Northwest in 1804-1806. Robert Bartlett (1875 - 1946) - Newfoundland captain. Colonel Noel Andrew Croft (1906 - 1998) - held the record for the longest self-sustaining journey across the Arctic in the 1930s for 60 years and would have been the first man to climb Mount Everest]]. Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (born July 20, 1919) - New Zealand explorer. Reinhold Messner (born 17 September 1944) - Italian mountaineer, first man to climb all the 14 peaks higher than 8,000 meters.

Exploration by area

Exploration of Asia Exploration of the Pacific African exploration Exploration of the Americas European exploration of Asia European exploration of Africa European exploration of Australia European exploration of North America European exploration of South America Exploration of the High Alps Exploration of Mercury Exploration of Venus moon landings and Exploration of the Moon Exploration of Mars Friar Marcos