Chapter 1: The First Americans - Part 3

This region is mostly in a basin, or low land, between two big mountain areas. The land has many high flat places, or plateus. The climate is dry due to little rain.

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​California Intermountain Region

Some years there was very little rain, causing the American Indians to be hungry. To avoid starvation, they ate nuts, seeds and wild plants. They gathered these in baskets they made. Sometimes they used acorns, which are seeds from an oak tree to make bread.

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Some American Indians in the California Intermountain Region lived along the coast where they could fish for food.

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Many of the Southwest American Indians belonged to the Pueblo tribe.

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​Native Americans of the Southwest

The Southwest Region has a very dry climate. Most of the region is desert and dry grassland. Instead of wood, the Pueblo buildings were made of adobe, which is a material made of clay, straw, and water. Some villages were built agains cliffs.

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Pueblo Indians grew corn, beans, pumpkins, and squash. Due to the dry climate, they planted crops near rivers. In some places, they dug ditches to bring river water to their crops.

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