Kamiah

History

The Kamiah area has been inhabited by the Nez Perce for centuries. The name "Kamiah" is Nez Perce for "many rope litters," as Nez Perce manufactured "Kamia" ropes in the area to fish steelhead. Also according to Nez Perce tradition, the Appaloosa horse was first bred in the area. On their return trip east, the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped in the Kamiah area for several weeks during the spring of 1806, waiting for snows to melt. Kamiah is the character name of the Nez Perce/Blackfoot woman in Across the Wide Missouri, a 1951 'mountain men' film set in the 1830s. Similar in fame to Sacagawea of the Lewis & Clark expedition, Kamiah led her associated mountain men's troop over the Bitterroot Range to her homeland (Three Forks, Montana for Sacagawea). Hohots Ilppilp was the leader around Kamiah from at least the time of Lewis and Clark until the 1840s. When the first leader for all the Nez Perce was appointed, it was Hohots Ilppilp's grandson Ellis who lived in this area and maintained large herds of sheep, cattle and over a thousand horses. Kamiah is within the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. Similar to the opening of lands in Oklahoma, the U.S. government opened the reservation for white settlement in November 1895. The proclamation had been signed less than two weeks earlier by President Cleveland.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The city is located at the confluence of Lawyer Creek and the Clearwater River on the left bank of the latter. In the Kamiah area, the Lewis-Idaho County line follows Lawyer Creek to its confluence with the Clearwater, and then turns to follow the Clearwater. U.S. Route 12 passes through Kamiah, crossing from the right to left bank of the Clearwater at the city. The two streams cut deep and narrow valleys through the otherwise relatively flat, rolling Camas Prairie region that surrounds Kamiah. The city is located at 1,250 feet above sea level, but elevations of over 2,800 feet on the prairie lie within three miles of Kamiah. In addition to U.S. Route 12, transportation links to Kamiah are provided by Idaho State Highway 64 and Idaho State Highway 162. | date = November 2015 }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  252
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  236
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  211
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  208
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  206
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  181
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  161
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  156

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2021-12-15
  1 km NW of Lewiston Orchards, Idaho
• M 2.9 — 2021-10-16
  8 km SSW of Culdesac, Idaho
• M 3 — 2018-11-23
  11 km SE of Riggins, Idaho
• M 4.1 — 2018-11-20
  21 km SE of Stites, Idaho
• M 2.7 — 2018-07-29
  49 km NNE of Enterprise, Oregon
• M 2.51 — 2017-06-21
  29 km WNW of White Bird, Idaho