Hernando de Alarcón

For the Bolivian Olympic weightlifter, see Hernán Cortez (weightlifter).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cortés de Monroy and the second or maternal family name is Pizarro Altamirano.
Hernando de Alarcón
Personal details
BornHernando de Alarcón
c. 1500
Trujillo, Castile
Died1541
Alta California
OccupationConquistador
Known forFirst European to see and perhaps step in the state of California
Military service
Allegiance Spain
RankCaptain
Battles/warsSpanish conquest of Mexico
Designated1957
Reference no.568
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Hernando de Alarcón (born c. 1500) was a Spanish explorer and navigator of the 16th century, noted for having led a 1540 expedition to the Colorado River Delta, during which he became one of the first Europeans to ascend the Colorado River from its mouth and became the first European to see Alta California.

Little is known about Alarcón's life outside of his exploits in New Spain. He was probably born in the town of Trujillo, in present-day Extremadura, Spain, in the first years of the 16th century and travelled to the Spanish colonies in the Americas as a young man.

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