| Bean Creek | |
| Name Other: | Arcadia Creek |
| Pushpin Map: | USA California |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 280 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of Bean Creek in Felton, California |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | California |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Santa Cruz County |
| Subdivision Type5: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name5: | Felton, California |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 37.1308°N -121.9825°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 1920feet |
| Mouth: | Zayante Creek |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 37.0514°N -122.0614°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 266feet |
| Tributaries Right: | Mackenzie Creek, Ruins Creek, Lockhart Gulch |
Bean Creek is a 9.1adj=midNaNadj=mid[1] stream that rises on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains and discharges to Zayante Creek. This stream traverses relatively rugged, forested lands and is the locus of an important fossil bearing formation.[2] These fossils are embedded in the Lower Santa Margarita Formation and include Astrodapsis spatiosus;also rare species of gastropod Thais cf. lapillis, and shark teeth (e.g. Isurus hastalis). After joining Zayante Creek, the flows reach the San Lorenzo River and then the Pacific Ocean at Santa Cruz, California.
Bean Creek was named for James H. Bean, an early rancher from Virginia who arrived in Glenwood, California in 1850.[3]
Bean Creek was also known as Arcadia Creek, named for the resort known as Arcadia and now Mount Hermon, at the confluence of Bean Creek and Zayante Creek.[3]
The watershed area is 8.81sqmi and the peak flow of Bean Creek has been measured at 1380cuft per second.[4] Significant groundwater recharge occurs in the streambed of Bean Creek.[5]
A 2004 fisheries enhancement plan for the San Lorenzo River identified Bean Creek as an "important producer" of steelhead trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss) young of year (YOY) and yearlings, and in 2001, an estimated 8,300 YOY and 3,000 yearling O. mykiss were produced.[6]
Since 2001 the Scotts Valley Water District has monitored regularly at three stations within Bean Creek for heavy metals and nitrates.[7]