Wonderstrands refers to the Furðustrandir, a stretch of coastline mentioned in the

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic ''Eiríks saga'', relating the deeds of

Erik the Red Erik Thorvaldsson (), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. Erik most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color o ...

. It was reported to be located north of ''

Straumfjörð Straumfjörður ( Icelandic), or Straumfjǫrðr (Old Norse), sometimes anglicised to Straumsfjordr,''Sveinbjörn Þórðarsson''The Saga of Erik the Red - Icelandic Saga Database/ref> Straumfjordr, Straumsfjord or Straumfjord, is according to the ...

'' and south of ''Kjalarnes'' promontory. Some believe that it refers to the extended beaches located on the coast of

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

, province of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

, Canada. In ''The Vinland Sagas and the Actual Characteristics of Eastern Canada'', Swedish archaeologist Mats G. Larsson references philologist

Jan Paul Strid Jan Paul Strid (July 15, 1947 – December 25, 2018) was a Swedish toponymist who was Professor of Linguistics at Linköping University. Biography Strid received his PhD in Nordic languages from Stockholm University in 1981, where he was made a ...

and puts forward that a more modern translation of Furðustrandir and examination of the sagas may put the Wonderstrands between Gabarus Bay and St. Peter’s Bay,

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, Canada.

The name

The first element in the Norse name is the genitive form of ''furða'' "wonder, astonishment"; the adjective ''furðuligr'' has the meaning "strange". This word is not used or found in other place names from Norse times.

Location according to the saga

According to Sephton’s 1880 translation of the saga, the Wonderstrands was beyond ''

Helluland Helluland () is the name given to one of the three lands, the others being Vinland and Markland, seen by Bjarni Herjólfsson, encountered by Leif Erikson and further explored by Thorfinn Karlsefni Thórdarson around AD 1000 on the North Atlanti ...

'', ''

Markland Markland () is the name given to one of three lands on North America's Atlantic shore discovered by Leif Eriksson around 1000 AD. It was located south of Helluland and north of Vinland. Although it was never recorded to be settled by Norsemen, ...

'' and ''Kjalarnes'', but north of ''

'' and ''Hóp''. One version of the saga of Erik the Red accounts the location thus, starting from ''Vestribygd'' (probably

Western Settlement The Western Settlement ( ) was a group of farms and communities established by Norsemen from Iceland around 985 in medieval Greenland. Despite its name, the Western Settlement was more north than west of its companion Eastern Settlement and was ...

Suggested locations

There is no popular or scholarly agreement on the exact location of the Wonderstrands, and

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...

and

Helge Ingstad Helge Marcus Ingstad (30 December 1899 – 29 March 2001) was a Norwegian explorer. In 1960, after mapping some Norse settlements, Ingstad and his wife archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad found remnants of a Viking settlement in L'Anse aux Meadow ...

held that the

Saga of Erik the Red The ''Saga of Erik the Red'', in (), is an Icelandic saga on the Norse exploration of North America. The original saga is thought to have been written in the 13th century. It is preserved in somewhat different versions in two manuscripts: ''H ...

in general could not be trusted. The suggestions that have been made, however, place the Wonderstrands from southern

to coastlines beyond

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

. For example, some have suggested a stretch of coast somewhere to the south of

. In the Introduction to John R.L. Anderson's 1967 book "Vinland Voyage", George D. Painter, deputy curator of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

's incunabula department matched the Wonderstrands to Cape Cod. The most recent suggestion, was presented in a 2012 article by

Jónas Kristjánsson Jónas Kristjánsson (10 April 1924 – 7 June 2014) was an Icelandic scholar and novelist, and one-time director of the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. In this position, he played a crucial role in the return of Icelandic manus ...

. He suggests that the Wonderstrands refers to the coastline between

L'Anse aux Meadows L'Anse aux Meadows () is an archaeological site, first excavated in the 1960s, of a Norse colonization of North America, Norse settlement dating to approximately 1,000 years ago. The site is located on the northernmost tip of the island of Newf ...

and Sop's Bay, on

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

.Acta Archaeologica vol. 83, 2012, pp 145–177. Free access.

References

External links

Picture of beach

Beaches of Southeast Cape Breton

Cape Gabarus as Kjalarnes
{{Authority control Geography of Newfoundland and Labrador Geography of Nova Scotia Viking Age populated places Norse colonization of North America Saga locations

The name

Location according to the saga

Suggested locations

See also

References

External links