Which Viking explorer is credited with reaching North America before Columbus?

Which Viking explorer is credited with reaching North America before Columbus?

• A. Ragnar Lothbrok
• B. Christopher Columbus
• C. Erik the Red
• D. Lief Ericson

Answer: (D)

Leif Erikson’s voyage to Vinland shows that Norse explorers reached North America long before Columbus. Around the year 1000, Leif led a journey to lands west of Greenland, likely at L’Anse aux Meadows in present-day Newfoundland, providing one of the earliest European contacts with North America. This predates Columbus’s 1492 voyage by about five centuries and is supported by Norse sagas and the archaeological site at Vinland. The other figures don’t fit: Ragnar Lothbrok is a legendary hero, Erik the Red founded a settlement in Greenland but didn’t cross to North America, and Christopher Columbus is associated with the later voyage that opened widespread sustained contact.

Leif Erikson’s voyage to Vinland shows that Norse explorers reached North America long before Columbus. Around the year 1000, Leif led a journey to lands west of Greenland, likely at L’Anse aux Meadows in present-day Newfoundland, providing one of the earliest European contacts with North America. This predates Columbus’s 1492 voyage by about five centuries and is supported by Norse sagas and the archaeological site at Vinland. The other figures don’t fit: Ragnar Lothbrok is a legendary hero, Erik the Red founded a settlement in Greenland but didn’t cross to North America, and Christopher Columbus is associated with the later voyage that opened widespread sustained contact.