Moapa

The Moapa Valley follows the Muddy River through the desert of the lower Colorado basin. Springs feed the river, creating a green corridor amid the arid hills. Southern Paiute communities used the valley's water to grow maize, beans and squash, while also hunting and gathering in the surrounding country. In the early nineteenth century the Old Spanish Trail brought traders through the wider region, adding new contacts and dangers to a homeland long occupied by the Moapa people.