French Explorers in North America

Cartier Explores Canada (1535)
Cartier saw many beavers along the river. Soon demand for their fur rose in Europe
student notebook page
map from Interactive 3-D Maps: American History, Scholastic

Jacques Cartier
(1491 – 1557) claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and its shores which he named "The country of Canadas" after the Iroquois names for the two big settlements there. 

Marquette and Joliet Explore the Upper Mississippi River (1673)
student  map from Interactive 3-D Maps: American History, Scholastic

Giovanni da Verrazzano

(1485–1528) was an Italian explorer of North America, in the service of the French crown. He explored the Atlantic coast of North America between the Carolinas and Newfoundland, including New York Harbor and  Naragansette Bay in 1524. The bridge over the opening of New York harbor is named after him.