Adobe is a building material made from clay, sand, straw, and water, mixed together and dried into hard bricks in the sun. For thousands of years, people in hot, dry regions have used adobe to build homes, churches, and entire villages. The thick adobe walls keep buildings cool during scorching days and warm during cold desert nights.

You can still see adobe buildings throughout the American Southwest, especially in New Mexico and Arizona, where Native American pueblos and Spanish colonial missions have stood for centuries. These structures have a distinctive look: thick walls, rounded edges, and an earthy brown or tan color. Some adobe buildings are over 400 years old and still standing strong.

While modern builders often use concrete and steel, adobe remains popular in desert regions because it's made from local materials, requires no expensive manufacturing, and works beautifully with the climate. Traditional adobe bricks are still made the same way: workers pour the mixture into wooden frames, let the sun bake them hard, then stack them with mud mortar to create walls that can last for generations.