Umpqua

The Umpqua River drains the western slopes of the Cascades and winds through the Coast Range to the Pacific. Its valley was home to several peoples: the Athabaskan-speaking Upper Umpqua, the Cow Creek people, the Yoncalla Kalapuya in the north, and the Lower Umpqua near the river's mouth. Salmon returning upriver were an important food, and the valley's trails linked the coast with the interior. Different communities spoke different languages while sharing the resources of the same broad watershed.