- Camas prairie
The name camas prairie refers to several distinct geographical areas in the western
United States which were named for the native perennialcamassia or camas, including regions in the states ofIdaho ,Montana ,Oregon andWashington . Camas bulbs were an important food source for Native Americans.Idaho
History
FROM THE NEZ PERCE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK: Camas Prairie is interpreted at a highway pullout on the north side of U.S. Highway 95, about 6 miles south of Grangeville, Idaho. This large prairie was a Nez Perce gathering place where camas roots were harvested for thousands of years. Several nontreaty bands gathered at Tolo Lake in early June 1877 in anticipation of moving to the Nez Perce reservation. In response to the forced move and other hostile actions, several young Nez Perce people took actions that precipitated the 1877 Nez Perce War. Camas Prairie is a large area, mostly privately owned, that extends many miles between the Salmon and Clearwater River drainages. Most of the area is agricultural.
Named for the Blue Flowering Camas -- an important food source for all interior Northwestern Native Americans -- the Camas Prairie is a traditional Nez Perce gathering place.
For more information: http://www.nps.gov/archive/nepe/site12.htm and http://www.fs.fed.us/npnht/
Cities
* Grangeville
* Cottonwood
* Craigmont
*Reubens
* WinchesterCounties
*
Idaho County, Idaho
*Lewis County, Idaho Montana
Geology
*
Glacial Lake Missoula Cities
*Camas
*PermaCounties
*
Sanders County, Montana Oregon
Protected areas
*Camassia Natural Area in West Linn [http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/oregon/preserves/art6795.html]
Communities
*
Camas Valley, Oregon Washington
Protected areas
*Dishman Hills Natural Resources Conservation Area in
Spokane County, Washington Cities
*
Camas, Washington ee also
*
Palouse prairieNotes
External links
* [http://idahoptv.org/productions/allaboard/camas.html Camas Prairie Railroad]
* [http://www.historicalmuseumatstgertrude.com/ Historical Museum at St. Gertrude]
* [http://www.stgertrudes.org/ Monastery of St. Gertrude]
* [http://www.northcentralidaho.info/cgi/TPL05.php?ID=05_999_101 North Central Idaho Visitor Information site]
* [http://www.glaciallakemissoula.org/virtualtour/camasprarie.html Camas Prairie ripple marks in Montana]
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