Helluland is the name given to one of the three lands discovered by Leif Eriksson sometime around 1000 CE on the North Atlantic coast of North America. Helluland was characterized in Viking legend as a land of large flat stones (from which it earns its name "Helluland" or "Land of Flat Stones"). This leads historians to guess that Helluland was Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut.
It is possible that Viking explorers made contact with the native Dorsets of the region, but if so, there were no major cultural ramifications for either side.
Helluland was the first of three lands in North America visited by Leif Eriksson. He decided not to try and settle this land because it was inhospitable. He would later continue south to Markland (Labrador) and Vinland (Newfoundland).
