I always imagined Alaska to be really snowy and icy so I was wondering even if they travelled down via it why did they not build settlements at Oregon and Washington,perhaps they sailed and just built where they landed which happened to be California. They probably got a shock by the climate lol

I really want to know what did the landscapes look like when they arrived there and how come they never stopped at states like Washington and Oregon too, did they travel down via Alaska or did they sail across from Asia?