The Northwest region of the United States is densely wooded with a temperate climate, fed by springs and streams that flow from mountain glaciers. Tribes of the Pacific coast are responsible for creating the first totem poles out of red cedar, using them to signify ancestry and commemorate events and people.
- Northwest tribes living along the resource-abundant coastline built cedar plank houses and traveled by canoe.
- Tribes of Oregon, Washington and Idaho forged trails for trade, which Lewis and Clark, early pioneers and European traders followed.
- The Northwest is home to the famous Nez Perce National Historic Trail that marks the 1877 flight of the Nez Perce from their homeland while being pursued by U.S. Army Generals for more than three months and 1,170 miles.
