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Map of the Eastern settlement of the Norse in medieval Greenland. The area is within the modern municipalities of Nanortalik, Qaqortoq and Narsaq. The known major farms and churches are identified on the map as well as some probable geographical names. The names are the English versions of the Norse names.

The Eastern Settlement (Old Norse: Eystribygð, Icelandic: Eystribyggð) was the largest and first of the three areas of Greenland, settled in approximately 985 AD by Norse farmers from Iceland (the other settlements being the Western and Middle Settlements). At its peak it contained approximately 4000 inhabitants. The last written record from the Eastern Settlement is of a wedding in 1408; thus it ceased to be occupied after around 1410-1420 AD, about 60-70 years longer than the Western Settlement.

Despite its name, the Eastern Settlement was more south than east of its companion and, like the Western Settlement, was located on the southwestern tip of Greenland at the head of long fjords: Eirik's Fjord, Igaliku Fjord/Einarsfjord, Sermilik Fjord, to name a few (see also the map).

Ruins of Norse farms and churches (see Brattahlíð, Garðar and Hvalsey) remain and the town of Qaqortoq is nearby as are smaller Inuit villages.

Source

• Diamond, Jared (2005): Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed. New York: Penguin.