| Bear Creek | |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Oregon |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of Bear Creek in Oregon |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Oregon |
| Subdivision Type3: | County |
| Subdivision Name3: | Jackson |
| Length: | 28.8miles[1] |
| Discharge1 Location: | Medford, Oregon |
| Discharge1 Min: | 0.2cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 114cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Max: | 10900cuft/s |
| Source1 Location: | Near Emigrant Lake |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 42.1944°N -122.6644°W[2] |
| Source1 Elevation: | 1842feet |
| Mouth: | Rogue River |
| Mouth Location: | Central Point |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 42.4322°N -122.9703°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 1168feet |
| Basin Size: | 361sqmi |
Bear Creek is the name of a stream located entirely within Jackson County, Oregon. The stream drains approximately 400mi2 of the Rogue Valley and discharges an annual average of 114cuft/s into the Rogue River. It begins near Emigrant Lake and travels 28.8miles through the municipalities of Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford, and Central Point.[1]
Prior to the arrival of settlers in the 1850s, the Bear Creek Valley was home to three Indian tribes; these were the Takelmas, the Latgawas, and the Shastas. The scattered camps hunted deer and elk, fished for salmon, raided other tribes, and consumed plums, sunflowers, and root crops.[3] When the area was originally settled, the stream was called Si-ku-ptat by the natives and may have been known as Stewart River by settlers.[4]
Various forced migrations occurred during the 1850s in which almost all of the Native American inhabitants were displaced to Indian Reservations to stop their raids. This was completed by 1857.[5] Farmers and ranchers continued to acquire land claims, and when the Oregon and California Railroad arrived in 1883, Bear Creek was chosen as the route to follow.[6]
The Bear Creek watershed is a curved valley (actually part of the Rogue Valley) averaging about 13miles wide and 28miles long, covering approximately 361mi2.[7] [8] The confluence with the Rogue River is in the northwestern tip of the valley. The highest point in the watershed is on Mount Ashland at an elevation of about 7500feet. From there at least 83 streams in 21 sub-watersheds share a link with the greater Rogue River Basin.
The landscape surrounding the watershed has been carved by tectonic activity leaving steep canyons that are prone to flooding when snow melts in the spring. The slopes are part of the transition zone between volcanic soil and granitic soil covering much of Southern Oregon and Northern California and are prone to significant periods of erosion and runoff during high-flow periods. Furthermore, the elevation of the watershed at the point of confluence is about 1075feet, and a significant amount of kinetic energy builds up over the first 5000feet of drop. Historically, the landscape plays a large part in dispersing this energy but flooding has become a regular problem along the Bear Creek; several earlier bridges in the Rogue Valley have been wiped out during random flood events.[9]
