Why is Greenland so named, when it is 99% frozen wasteland?

Jack Flash

The name means what it says, 'green land', and the cold country was so named in 982 AD by the Norse navigator Eric the Red to attract settlers. I have to say that having viewed Greenland from the air on a number of occasions I have never seen any evidence of greenery and my belief is that Eric was an early example of a 'con-man'. May 19 02, 1:41 PM

Brainyblonde

The name Greenland (Grønland) has its roots in this colonization and is widely attributed to Erik the Red (the Inuit call it Kalaallit Nunaat, "Our Land"), and there has been speculation on its meaning. Some have argued that the coasts in question were literally green at the time due to the medieval climate optimum, in as much as the Viking settlers practised some form of an agrarian economy. Others have suspected that the name was in part a promotional effort to lure people into settling there by making it sound more attractive. The condition of Greenland in the 10th century may have been more hospitable than today. About 81 percent of its surface is covered by ice, known as the Greenlandic ice cap. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Greenland Apr 24 06, 3:08 PM

Baloo55th

The population of Greenland in the 12th Century was 10,000 - and these would have had to feed themselves. And that refers to Viking settlers. According to http://www.greenland-guide.gl/leif2000/history.htm the Inuit only appeared on the coasts around 1350 - around the time of the abandonment of the Western coast settlements. This indicates (to me, at least) that the climate was changing and the Viking way of life wes becoming unsupportable, while the Inuit way was able to succeed. The Inuit would have been further north during the climatic warming, and returning south as the conditions worsened. Apr 25 06, 6:37 AM