Ernesto Sánchez La Cruz

Ernesto Sánchez La Cruz (* 1883 in jajo, State of Trujillo, Venezuela) was a Venezuelan explorer, naval officer and gold prospector who got 1910 as the first white man the Angel Falls ( Salto Ángel ) to face, the largest free-falling waterfalls in the world (978 m). He spent the rest of his life in South America, but never published his discovery, so it was ignored or quickly forgotten. However, he informed the Ministry of Mining and hydropower (Spanish: Ministerio de Minas e Hidrocarburos ) in Caracas about his discovery.

The world learned only in 1937 by the rediscoverer Jimmie Angel of the falls, whose names they bear today.

Sir Walter Raleigh is sometimes wrongly accused of the discovery of the Angel Falls.

• Discoverer ( 20th century)
• Venezuelan
• Born in 1883
• Died in the 20th century
• Man