One of the earliest descriptions of the Kamas Valley was given in the report written in 1849 by Captain Howard Stansbury of the United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. He wrote: "It may be remarked here that the Camass Prairie consists of most excellent land and can be irrigated over its whole extent with comparatively little labor. Water for stock is abundant and timber for ordinary farming is plentiful and convenient."

The word "Kamas" was derived from an Indian word for a bulbous plant that was a staple of the diet of Native Americans in the area. The word was also said to describe a small grassy plain among the hills, an appropriate portrait of the Kamas Valley.

Kamas is located about eighteen miles east of Park City and about forty-six miles southeast of Salt Lake City in a valley surrounded by the Uinta Mountains to the east, the Wasatch Mountains to the west, the Provo River on the south, and the Weber River to the north. Beaver Creek, a tributary of the Weber, traverses the center of the valley.