Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led an expedition of 1,000 men from Mexico in 1540 to search for the fabled cities of gold in South America. After exploring parts of what is now Texas and New Mexico, the expedition failed to find gold or silver and returned to Mexico in 1542 due to harsh weather conditions. Coronado is considered an important early explorer of North America, as he was the first European to explore regions now comprising the southern United States.