La Salle's voyage was primarily aimed at finding the mouth of which river?

• A. Mississippi River
• B. Amazon River
• C. Rio Grande
• D. Colorado River

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is understanding why early explorers aimed to reach the mouth of a great river. Reaching the river’s mouth allowed a power to claim territory and create a trade route from the interior of the continent to the sea.

La Salle’s mission was focused on locating the mouth of the Mississippi River so France could claim the region and control a vital inland-to-sea route for trade and expansion. His journey took him from the Great Lakes down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, where the river meets the sea, near present-day Louisiana. This objective—finding the river’s mouth to secure access to the Gulf—drives why the Mississippi is the correct answer.

The other rivers listed aren’t tied to La Salle’s voyage: the Amazon is in South America, the Rio Grande lies along a different frontier area, and the Colorado River’s explorations were in a different region altogether.