L’Anse aux Meadows – Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
L’Anse aux Meadows lies at the northern tip of Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula, where the cold waters of the North Atlantic meet the Strait of Belle Isle, the narrow passage separating Newfoundland from Labrador. The site is internationally recognized as the location of the first known European settlement in North America, established by Norse explorers around the year 1000.
Archaeological excavations uncovered the remains of turf-walled buildings that once formed a small Viking settlement believed to be part of the legendary voyages to Vinland described in the Icelandic sagas. Today the site is preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where reconstructed Norse buildings help illustrate how these early explorers lived along this rugged coastline.
Surrounding the settlement are windswept meadows, rocky shorelines, and distant views across the Strait of Belle Isle toward the mountains of Labrador.
