Leif Erikson Landed In Continental North America 500 Years Before Columbus

One of the most interesting facts about Leif Erikson was that he was the first European to discover America. Leif Eriksson and his brave band of Vikings arrived in North America and founded a town 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Some researchers assert that the Americas may have been visited by maritime people from China far earlier, as well as perhaps people from Africa and even Ice Age Europe.

The sagas offer two alternative explanations for how this occurred. According to "The Saga of Erik the Red," a storm forced him to land in North America while his route to Greenland.

However, according to "The Saga of the Greenlanders," Leif Erikson made the journey on purpose after hearing a tale from a trader by the name of Bjarni Herjólfsson. After his ship veered off course to the west of Greenland, Bjarni claimed to have seen a country. Leif collected a crew because he was intrigued by the tale and set off to investigate. At three different locations, they came to a standstill. He placed Helluland, which historians think to be Baffin Island today, in the first place. The second location was what he referred to as Markland, which historians think is Labrador. There were also reports of several woodlands in this area. He referred to the third location as Vinland and said it was full of grapes.