How did people first migrate from Asia to North America?

The migration of humans from Asia to North America is widely attributed to the existence of Beringia, a vast land bridge that emerged between northeastern Asia and northwestern North America during the Pleistocene Epoch due to lowered sea levels.123

While the exact timing remains a subject of scientific study, it is generally believed that humans moved into this region from Siberia as early as 25,000 to 30,000 years ago. Theories regarding their subsequent movement into the rest of the continent include:145

• Coastal Migration: Evidence suggests that initial groups may have traveled along the Pacific coast, potentially using small watercraft, as this route would have been accessible thousands of years before interior land passages opened.23
• Interior Routes: As glaciers receded, other groups likely moved south through ice-free corridors in the interior, such as those along the Mackenzie and Yukon river systems, following the migration of game animals.25

Although some evidence suggests earlier occupation, these migrations ultimately populated the Americas, with descendants of these ancestral groups forming the diverse Indigenous cultures of the continent.23