Leif Gets Lost
c1000 AD
1000 1000
56.00W50.00N
SCI

NORTH AMERICAN COAST
	According to an Icelandic saga, Leif Ericsson set sail from Norway on a missionary trip to Greenland, which had been settled by his father, Eric the Red.  However, Leif missed Greenland.  But after a long time he encountered a fertile land with wheat, vines and maple trees.  Many believe he was the first European to discover North America.
	When Leif returned to Greenland, others were inspired to go to the same land, which they called "Vinland."  There they first traded with, and then fought, Indians or Eskimos.  Though the land was fertile, the saga says they decided not to settle there because of the strife.
	The story of Leif Ericsson's trip, which apparently occurred around 1000 AD, is bolstered by the discovery of a map drawn by a Swiss monk in 1440.  It shows an island southwest of Greenland called Vinland, whose discovery is credited to Bjarni Herjolfsson and Leif Ericsson.