Juan de Fuca

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also: Juan de Fuca Plate

Juan de Fuca (born 1536 as Ioannis Phokas (John Focas) in Kefalonia, Greece; died 1602 in Zákynthos, Greece, often reported as Apostolos Valerianos), was a Greek captain employed by Spain to sail northward from Mexico and look for a northern passage from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. His ancestors had fled Constantinople about half a century before his birth.

In 1592, his exploration took him into the body of water, the Strait of Juan de Fuca (in 1787 an English explorer rediscovered the strait and in 1788 it was named after Juan de Fuca), now marking part of the border between Canada and the United States.

[edit] Juan de Fuca Plate

The Juan de Fuca Plate, which also bears his name, is a tectonic plate subducting under the northerly portion of the western side of the North American Plate along the coasts of Oregon and Washington.

[edit] External links