Cahuilla People - Prehistory

Prehistory

Oral legends suggest that when the Cahuilla first moved into the Coachella Valley, a large body of water which geographers call Lake Cahuilla was in existence. Fed by the Colorado River, it dried up sometime before 1700, following one of the repeated shifts in the river's changed course. In 1905 a break in a levee created the much smaller Salton Sea in the same location.

The Cahuilla lived from the land by using native plants. A notable tree whose fruits they harvested is the California fan palm. The Cahuilla people also used palm leaves for basketry of many shapes, sizes and purposes; sandals, and roofing thatch for dwellings. The Cahuilla lived in smaller groups than some other tribes.