Bear Creek is an approximately
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
Santa Ana River
The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting through ...
in the
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain â ...
of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
Course
The course of Bear Creek is entirely contained within
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
, and primarily within the
San Bernardino National Forest
The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States National Forest in Southern California encompassing of which are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernard ...
.
It rises near the community of Woodlands, and flows north into
Baldwin Lake in the eastern . From there it flows west past the town of
town of Big Bear City and the
city of Big Bear Lake into Bear Valley, where since 1912 it has been impounded by a dam to form
Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is a snow and rain fed lake, having no other means of tributaries or mechanical replenishment. At a surface elevation of , it ...
reservoir.
Downstream of the dam it receives Siberia Creek from the left, and plunges suddenly into a steep and narrow canyon, and empties into the Santa Ana River just upstream of
Seven Oaks Dam, which in wet years, impounds water on the Santa Ana River past the Bear Creek confluence.
See also
*
List of tributaries of the Santa Ana River
The Santa Ana River in the U.S. state of California has over 20 significant tributaries and there are over 50 significant streams in the watershed.
List
* Greenville-Banning Channel
* Huntington Beach Channel
*Santiago Creek
** Handy Creek
**Bla ...
*
List of rivers of California
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of California, grouped by region. Major lakes and reservoirs, if applicable, are indicated in italics.
North Coast (north of Humboldt Bay)
Rivers and streams between the Oregon border and Humboldt Bay th ...
*
References
*
Rivers of San Bernardino County, California
Tributaries of the Santa Ana River
Big Bear Valley
San Bernardino Mountains
San Bernardino National Forest
Rivers of Southern California
{{California-river-stub