Exploration of North America

Crossing the Pond What would inspire travelers to cross the Atlantic ocean into the unknown?

Vikings Came from Scandinavia - Modern countries of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark

11th Century Viking Colonies Iceland and Greenland

Leif Erikson (Leif the Lucky) Believed to have discovered North America in the year 1000 almost 500 years before Christopher Columbus 1964 that President Lyndon B. Johnson designated Oct. 9 an annual American observance in honor of the explorer.

Leif Erikson (Leif the Lucky) Icelandic Sagas tell us about his adventures Wrote about a place he visited and called Vinland Some thought it was a southern region where vines and grapes grew

L’ Anse aux Meadows Newfoundland Many historians convinced it was L’Anse aux Meadows because of the discovery of Viking artifacts and remains of Viking style buildings the discovery of a small cloak pin in 1968 This proved that Leif Erickson and crews of Norse explorers settled here in Newfoundland and Labrador (or Vinland as they called it) over a thousand years ago.