- mild, wet climate
- lush temperate rainforest
- abundant fish, shellfish, sea mammals, and birds
- lived in large, permanent villages of cedar plank houses
- highly stratified social structure with hereditary chiefs and nobles
Arctic
- cold, dry climate
- treeless tundra
- relatively few land animals, such as caribou, seals, and polar bears
- lived in small, semi-permanent camps of skin tents
- egalitarian social structure with no hereditary leaders