The least chipmunk is the smallest chipmunk in Oregon, but it is only slightly smaller than the yellow-pine chipmunk. As in all chipmunks, the face is marked with a dark stripe through the eye bordered on each side with a light- and a dark-colored stripe. The middorsum is marked with a dark-colored stripe followed on each side by two alternating light- and dark-colored stripes.

The least chipmunk has the largest geographic range of any chipmunk. In Oregon, it occurs east of the Cascade Range except in the Columbia Basin and most of the Blue Mountains. In general, it is a chipmunk of the shrub-steppe, but sometimes it occurs at the edges of open forests.

Least chipmunks are active during the daylight hours. It moves swiftly through its habitat, disappearing when pursued too closely, but reappearing a little further away if the observer remains motionless for a few moments. They can often be seen sitting in the tops of shrubs.

Photo by ©Keith Kohl, ODFW