According to the Admiralty publication released in 1784, Captain Cook’s third expedition was “undertaken, by the command of his Majesty, for making discoveries in the northern hemisphere to determine the position and extent of the west side of North America; its distance from Asia; and the practicability of a northern passage to Europe.” The expedition sighted the coastline between 44' and 45' North latitude, off of what is now Oregon State, on March 7, 1777, and turned north to search for the Northwest Passage. The Resolution and the Discovery sailed into what they named King George’s Sound in April of 1778. Soon known as Nootka Sound, it proved to be a protected inlet, with welcoming people interested in trade. They exchanged sea otter and other animal skins as well as carved work, for iron and other metal objects. Cook and his crew kept notes and made drawings of the Mowachaht people and the local landscape.
In late April, rested and supplied, the Resolution and Discovery set off on their northward course, paying little attention to the latitudes between 50' and 55' and concentrating on their mission to look for a Northwest Passage. Cook consulted Russian charts with information from the Kamchatka Expeditions. In mid-May, the expedition landed on what Bering had named St. Elias Island. They entered Prince William Sound late in the month, surveyed the Aleutian Islands along their southern coast, and sailed to Unalaska, making notes on the Russian presence in the area. The expedition then turned into Bering Strait and sailed past 70' North latitude, until the ice made it impossible to go any further. On October 26, 1778, Cook turned his ships south.
Cook is looked upon as a competent, accurate navigator. He was able to provide a general outline of what are now Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and even parts of the Siberian coastline, and his expedition returned to the north Pacific after his death to continue in the Bering Strait. Although they did not discover a Northwest Passage, Cook’s expedition was able to provide the British, and later the other European maritime powers, with working charts of the Pacific Northwest.
