Final answer:
The Incas adapted their environment by building an extensive network of roads through the mountains, which facilitated travel, communication, and the distribution of goods across the empire's challenging terrain.
Step-by-step explanation:
One way the Incas adapted their environment was by building a network of roads through the mountains. This network, which included paths along precipitous cliffs and bridges over deep gorges, was essential for maintaining the empire's unity across its diverse landscapes featuring large mountain ranges, canyons, and deserts. The Inca road system facilitated travel, communication, and the transport of goods and was a remarkable feat given the extreme geographical challenges and the lack of wheel-based transportation.
The road system enabled the Inca armies to travel efficiently, and it supported the distribution of goods to imperial storehouses. Runners known as chasquis made use of this network for swift communication across vast distances, carrying messages and goods throughout the empire. While the larger network was expanded and greatly improved under the Inca rule, parts of it predated the Inca Empire.