The camas pocket gopher is the largest member of the genus, although large size is not a distinctive feature of the species. This gopher is a dark, sooty brown on the dorsum; the ears and nose are blackish. The venter is lead colored except for an irregular and variable-shaped patch of white on the throat. The winter pelage is long and furry; the summer pelage is short and coarse.

The camas pocket gopher is one of the most vicious animals known for its size. Nevertheless, these pocket gophers flee from potential predators whenever the opportunity arises. This pocket gopher produces chattering and grinding sound with its teeth, and crooning and purrs when males and females are put together. Young make twittering sounds.

This gopher is endemic to the Willamette Valley. Its geographic range matches almost exactly the extent that the Bretz Flood of 13,000 years ago inundated the Willamette Valley. The camas pocket gopher is associated with early seral plant communities or cultivated croplands that mimic early seral situations such as alfalfa, wheat and oat fields, filbert orchards and weedy lawns and waste-ground areas. In most occupied sites, soils are heavy clays.

Photo from Wikiwand