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.[6] 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.[7]
The Bear Creek watershed is a curved valley (actually part of the Rogue Valley) averaging about 13 miles (21 km) wide and 28 miles (45 km) long, covering approximately 361 square miles (930 km2).[5][10] 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 7,500 feet (2,300 m). From there at least 83 streams in 21 sub-watersheds share a link with the greater Rogue River Basin.[4]
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.[5] 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 1,075 feet (328 m), and a significant amount of kinetic energy builds up over the first 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of drop.[4] Historically, the landscape plays a large part in dispersing this energy but flooding has become a regular problem along the Bear Creek;[5] several earlier bridges in the Rogue Valley have been wiped out during random flood events.[11]
^Gray, Dennis J (1987). "The Takelma and Their Athapascan Neighbors"(PDF). Southern Oregon University. pp. 17, 79. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2009-05-05.. For Stewart River, Mr. Gray was referencing a 1925 work by A. L. Kroeber called Handbook of California Indians. For Si-ku-ptat, a 1981 work by J. P. Harrington. An Oregon Department of Environmental Quality report cites "Landry" for Si'kuptat.