The word Camas is used to describe geographic features in many parts of Oregon, including Camas Valley in Douglas County, Camas Swale in Lane County, Camas Swale in Douglas County, and Camas Creek in Umatilla County. The name is taken from that of a favorite food of the western Native Americans, the Camassia bulb, a plant related to the scilla. The word was derived from the Nootka Native American word chamass, meaning "fruit" or "sweet." It was adopted into the Chinook jargon as camas, kamass, lacmass, and lakamass. The locality of Camas Valley was a place where the Native Americans gathered supplies of the sweetish bulbs of the blue-flowered "Lakamass" Camas Valley post office was established in July 1870, with Matthew Reeves first postmaster.