L'Anse aux Meadows is a site on the northernmost tip of the island of
Newfoundland, located in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador,
Canada, where the remains of a Viking village were discovered in 1960
by the Norwegians Helge and Anne Ingstad. The only authenticated
Viking settlement in North America outside Greenland, it was the site
of a multi-year archaeological dig that found dwellings, tools and
implements that verified its time frame. The settlement, dating more
than five hundred years before Christopher Columbus, contains the
earliest European structures in North America. Named a World
Heritage site by UNESCO, it is thought by many to be the semi-legendary
'Vinland' settlement of explorer Leif Ericson around AD 1000. The settlement
at L'Anse aux Meadows consisted of at least eight buildings, including a
forge and smelter, and a lumber yard that supported a shipyard. The
largest house measured 28.8 by 15.6 m and consisted of several rooms.
Sewing and knitting tools found at the site indicate women were present at
L'Anse aux Meadows
The image was acquired on September 14, 2007, covers an area of 14.2 x 14.6 km,
and is located at 51.5 degrees north latitude, 55.6 degrees west longitude.
The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission
Directorate.
