ALTA CALIFORNIA BECOMES A STATE
A couple of decades after arriving in Mexico, Spanish explorers began to sail northward along the Pacific Coast. The first group was led by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo. Setting out in three ships in June 1542, the men became the first Europeans to see San Diego Bay.
The expedition continued beyond San Francisco without noticing its bay before turning around. They claimed the land that they had seen for the Spanish Empire. They called it California. Other nations also explored the western coast of North America. In 1579, while sailing around the world, Sir Francis Drake resupplied his ship near Point Reyes
