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 28.8mi through the municipalities of Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford, and Central Point.HistoryPrior 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.
