French Federation of Speleology French Federation of Speleology The French Federation of Speleology (, FFS), is a French organisation that represents all persons practicing or studying caving and canyoning and promotes the study and conservation of caves. It was formed in 1963 by the amalgamation of two organisations, the (CNS), or National Committee of Speleology, and the (SSF), or Speleological Society of France. Founded by Édouard-Alfred Martel in 1895, the was the first organisation of its kind in Europe. Between 1895 and 1900 the society published a journal entitled "Spelunca". The society folded in 1914 at the start of World War I. After the
Exploration of the Pacific other voyages are listed in "European and American voyages of scientific exploration." Spain on the west coast of North America: For Europeans in the Age of Exploration western North America was one of the most distant places on earth (9 to 12 months of sailing). Spain had long claimed the entire west coast of the Americas. The area north of Mexico however was given little attention in the early years. This changed when the Russians appeared in Alaska. The Spanish moved north to California and built a series of missions along the Pacific coast including: San Diego in 1767, Monterey,