3. Coronado began his exploration of south-western North America in search of the Seven Cities of Gold, 1540 Feb 23. He leads the expedition, which consists of 340 Spanish, 300 Indians, 1000 horses, 1000 slaves and six swivel guns indicating that the purpose was to colonise as well as explore. He led my army into what would later become Arizona and New Mexico. Coronado has two very good friends that helped him on his expedition. They were Marcos de Ninza, and Cabeza de Vaca.

4. The Journey

5. Mendoza thought of an expedition to search for the treasures that had been reported by shipwrecked sailors. Hernando de Alarcon was in command of the two cargo ships. The two ships were about the size of a tugboat and went about five or six knots at times. These treasures were thought to be in present-day Texas. The expedition left in 1540 and headed north to present-day United States.

6. There Coronado and his 300 men looked in city after city for the treasures they have heard about. Coronado sent men out scouting and all the men found were more Indian tribes, which had no important treasures. For about two full years Coronado and his men felt the heartbreak of finding no gold, which was the only reason they wanted to come on the journey anyway.

7. The Discovery

8. He discovered the southwestern part of the United States, including the Grand Canyon. He found and captured a settlement of Zuni Indians, which Coronado considered to be the city of Cibolo. He found no sign of riches.

9. Some of his army camped in the villages of Cibolo and some made separate trips to find the cities of gold. They visited the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. They were the first Europeans to travel up the Rio Grande. They found many Indian settlements and discovered the Grand Canyon. His army spent the winter of 1540 in Tiquex, a Pueblo village on the Rio Grande.

10. In spring Coronado led my army south across what is now Texas. He went to Kansas in search of the Gran Quivera, a land reported to be rich in gold and silver. They were the first Europeans to explore all of the southwestern part of the United States, but they did not find gold.

12. Some of the people that went with Coronado left him, because they weren’t having a lot of success, so they went their separate way but they also found nothing.

13. The country that Coronado was exploring for was Spain. He explored through five different states. They are, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico. His main goal was to find the seven gold cities, with gold in them, but he did not complete it. The reason why he explored was because Spain wanted more land and they sent off over 150 explorers to find land that Spain could claim, and name it after the explorer, but many explorers failed.Map of Coronado’s journey<br />