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Europeans first came upon the Amazon River by accident. In 1541, Gonzalo Pizarro, a Spanish adventurer, set out to find a city of gold.
He believed it to be in the Andes Mountains of western South America. Francisco Orellana, another Spanish adventurer, joined him.
Along the way, the expedition ran out of food. So Pizarro sent Orellana in search of supplies. Neither those who stayed behind nor those who set out with Orellana ever found the city of gold. However, Orellana did reach the mouth of the Amazon, in eastern South America. That was over 3,000 miles, 9 months, and many adventures later. This made Orellana the first European to travel the whole length of the river.
