The clay-rich Willamette Valley soils are hard in the dry season , and the gopher 's protuberant incisors are well adapted to these conditions . Adequate soil drainage and suitable plant food are essential components of the gopher 's ideal habitat . Not typically found in wetland areas ( where its tunnels would flood ) , the species is found in seral communities of grasses and shrubs . They are also established in agricultural fields in the Willamette Valley , including fields of alfalfa , wheat and oats . The species has also been found in areas of ecological disturbance with similar terrain features . On a geologic timescale , the Willamette Valley has been the site of massive floods . During the late Wisconsin glaciation , a series of floods ( known as the Missoula or Bretz Floods ) occurred . The last flood in the series , a massive flood with an estimated of water flowing at a rate of 42 km3 per hour ( 412 million ft3 per second ) over a 40-hour period , occurred about 13,000 years ago . The flood filled the Willamette Valley to a depth of about , in a near-perfect overlay of the camas pocket gopher 's range . Although the species has been collected above this elevation , such finds are uncommon . A temporary lake , Lake Allison , formed . Although it is assumed that the gopher lived in the valley before the flood , no fossils have been recovered . The Chehalem Mountains , with a peak elevation of , probably provided refuge for survivor populations and survivors would have repopulated in isolated pockets when the waters receded . Before and since the floods , the mountains are thought to have limited gene flow between populations . The relatively narrow , sluggish Willamette River does not appear to obstruct genetic flow in gopher populations . The camas pocket gopher is a mostly solitary herbivore which is active throughout the year and does not hibernate . The gopher spends most of its time excavating tunnels in search of food , and the hard clay soils of the Willamette Valley pose a challenge . Although the gopher 's front claws are too weak to dig through the clay ( particularly during dry seasons ) , its large incisors and strongly protuberant orientation are well-adapted for this purpose . Tunnel systems constructed by the camas pocket gopher can be complex , with some tunnels exceeding in length . About in diameter , the tunnels are up to deep . When soils are damp the gopher constructs ventilation ducts or chimney mounds ( possibly unique to the species ) , to increase ventilation . The chimney mounds rise vertically , are open at the top and are thought to ventilate the burrows in accordance with Bernoulli 's principle . It is not known if adjacent gopher burrowing systems interconnect . Reports differ about whether or not the ranges of the camas pocket gopher and the Mazama pocket gopher overlap ; if so , this refutes the previous belief that Oregon gopher ranges do not overlap . Although the species is primarily fossorial , it occasionally gathers food near the entrance of a tunnel . Dandelions seem to be its favorite food , and are also used as nesting material . During breeding season males will enter the tunnels of females , and males and females may make purring ( or cooing ) sounds when they are together . Mothers seem to comfort the young by softly vocalizing , with the young twittering in response
Missoula
Missoula Floods
Camas pocket gopher