The tribes of this family occupied a large section of country along the
Columbia and its tributaries. Their western boundary was the Cascade
Mountains; their westernmost bands, the Klikitat on the north, the Tyigh
and Warm Springs on the south, enveloping for a short distance the
Chinook territory along the Columbia which extended to the Dalles.
Shahaptian tribes extended along the tributaries of the Columbia for a
considerable distance, their northern boundary being indicated by about
the forty-sixth parallel, their southern by about the forty-fourth.
Their eastern extension was interrupted by the Bitter Root Mountains.