| Bear Creek[1] | |
| Source1 Location: | Paradise Lake |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 47.7636°N -122.0589°W |
| Mouth Location: | Confluence with Sammamish River |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 47.6681°N -122.1264°W |
| Progression: | Sammamish—Lake Washington |
| Mouth Elevation: | 30feet |
| Basin Size: | 32100acres |
| Pushpin Map: | Washington#USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of Bear Creek in Washington |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
Bear Creek is a tributary of the Sammamish River in King County, Washington, United States. The stream flows approximately 12.4miles from its source at Paradise Lake near Maltby to a confluence with the Sammamish River at Marymoor Park in Redmond. The creek has two tributaries, Cottage Lake Creek and Evans Creek, and a watershed of .[2]
The Lushootseed name of the creek,, means "used to be wide".[3]
The earliest human occupation in the vicinity of the creek dates back at least 12,000 years. An archaeological site found in 2008 had artifacts dating between 10,000-12,500 years, revealing the first tool-making site at least 10,000 years old found in Washington state. Some tools found at the site held DNA from ice-age animals such as bison, deer, bear, sheep, and salmon. The people of that time were the ancestors of modern tribes, such as the Muckleshoot, Snoqualmie, Tulalip, and Stillaguamish.[4] Nearby, the Marymoor Prehistoric Indian Site in Redmond shows human occupation in the vicinity of the creek with artifacts on its banks dating to 4,000 BCE.
From 2009-2013, the city of Redmond constructed the first phase of revitalization of the creek. The project hopes to return the industrialized creek to a "more natural state" in order to support salmon habitat and other wildlife.