Before 1800, coniferous forests covered most of the watershed, and its streams supported big populations of salmon, steelhead, and other fish. Native Americans hunted, fished and gathered food and materials in the Clackamas River drainage as early as 10,000 years ago. By 2,000 to 3,000 years ago, they had established permanent settlements along the river's lower floodplain. This was home to the Clackamas tribe, a subgroup of the Chinookan speakers who lived in the Columbia River valley from Celilo Falls to the Pacific Ocean. The Clackamas lands, reaching into the Cascade Range foothills, included the lower Willamette River from Willamette Falls at what became Oregon City to the confluence with the Columbia.