Bear Creek (Rogue River)

Bear Creek
Bear Creek in Medford, Oregon
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Jackson
Source
- location	Near Emigrant Lake
- elevation	1,842 ft (561 m)
- coordinates	42°11′40″N 122°39′52″W / 42.19444°N 122.66444°W / 42.19444; -122.66444
Mouth	Rogue River
- location	Central Point
- elevation	1,168 ft (356 m)
- coordinates	42°25′56″N 122°58′13″W / 42.43222°N 122.97028°W / 42.43222; -122.97028Coordinates: 42°25′56″N 122°58′13″W / 42.43222°N 122.97028°W / 42.43222; -122.97028
Length	28.80 mi (46.35 km)
Basin	361 sq mi (935 km2)
Discharge	for Medford, Oregon
- average	114 cu ft/s (3.23 m3/s)
- max	10,900 cu ft/s (308.65 m3/s)
- min	0.2 cu ft/s (0.01 m3/s)
Location of the mouth of Bear Creek in Oregon
Route of Bear Creek

Bear Creek is the name of a stream located entirely within Jackson County, Oregon. The stream drains approximately 400 square miles (1,000 km²) of the Rogue Valley and discharges an annual average of 114 cubic feet per second (3.2 m³/s) into the Rogue River. It begins near Emigrant Lake and travels 28.8 miles (46.3 km) through the municipalities of Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford, and Central Point.

Prior to the arrival of settlers in the 1850s, the Bear Creek Valley was home to three Native American tribes; these were the Takelmas, the Latgawas, and the Shastas. The scattered camps hunted deer and elk, fished for salmon, and consumed plums, sunflowers, and root crops. 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.

Various forced migrations occurred during the 1850s in which almost all of the Native American inhabitants were displaced to Indian Reservations by 1857.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.