Willow Creek (formerly China Flat) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Humboldt County,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. The population was 1,710 at the 2010 census, down from 1,743 at the 2000 census. The town is located around from county seat and harbor city

Eureka Eureka often refers to: * Eureka (word), a famous exclamation attributed to Archimedes * Eureka effect, the sudden, unexpected realization of the solution to a problem Eureka or Ureka may also refer to: History * Eureka Rebellion, an 1854 g ...

. Willow Creek sits along the Trinity River. Willow Creek is described as a "rugged mountain community nestled in the heart of the

Six Rivers National Forest The Six Rivers National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the northwestern corner of California. History It was established on June 3, 1947 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman from portions of Klamath, Siskiyou and Trinity Nationa ...

." This area of California is located in the Trinity/Shasta/Cascade Region, near the

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

border, and is easily reached via State Routes

299 __NOTOC__ Year 299 ( CCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, year 1052 ''Ab urbe condita''). The de ...

and 96 (the "Bigfoot Scenic Byway"). The town is approximately south of where the Patterson-Gimlin film was made. Willow Creek calls itself the

Bigfoot Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

capital of the world, has a and holds an annual "Bigfoot Daze" festival in September in honor of the cryptid, followed by various festivities in a local park. The roadhead of the Bluff Creek / Fish Lake Road, near which many alleged

sightings and footprint finds occurred, is about north, along Route 96.

History

The indigenous people from here are part of the Tsnungwe or South Fork Hupa and are speakers of the Hupa Language. Willow Creek's first non-indigenous settlers were Chinese laborers from the mining and lumber camps, which earned the town the name China Flat. The China Flat post office opened in 1878, and changed its name to Willow Creek in 1915.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , which include of land and of water. The CDP in 2000, according to the

, was larger with a total area of , which included of land and of water.

Climate

This region experiences much warmer summers than locations near the coast, such as county seat

, but retains high winter rainfall associated with coastal locations. Daytime highs in summer represent areas with hot-summer-Mediterranean climates but are moderated by cool nights, causing high

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag, also known as thermal inertia, is an important factor in diur ...

. On climate maps, Willow Creek has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(Csa). Summer highs are extremely hot compared to areas of the county affected by coastal fog. At the same time, winters are considerably colder, with light snowfall not unusual a few times per season.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Willow Creek had a population of 1,710. The population density was . The racial makeup of Willow Creek was 1,375 (80.4%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 6 (0.4%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 167 (9.8%) Native American, 14 (0.8%) Asian, 6 (0.4%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 29 (1.7%) from other races, and 113 (6.6%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 108 persons (6.3%). The Census reported that 1,699 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 11 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 812 households, out of which 161 (19.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 353 (43.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 63 (7.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 32 (3.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 75 (9.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 7 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships; 283 households (34.9%) were made up of individuals, and 94 (11.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09. There were 448

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(55.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.65. The population was spread out, with 287 people (16.8%) under the age of 18, 100 people (5.8%) aged 18 to 24, 366 people (21.4%) aged 25 to 44, 642 people (37.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 315 people (18.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males. There were 1,108 housing units at an average density of , of which 812 were occupied, of which 525 (64.7%) were owner-occupied, and 287 (35.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%. 1,087 people (63.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 612 people (35.8%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,743 people, 772 households, and 481 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,099 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 81.81%

, 0.52%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 9.52% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.34%

, 1.43% from other races, and 5.79% from two or more races. 5.57% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 772 households, out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. Of all households, 31.6% were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.81. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 30.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $27,276, and the median income for a family was $35,720. Males had a median income of $33,375 versus $27,955 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $18,664. About 10.3% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Politics

In the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

, Willow Creek is in , and . Federally, Willow Creek is in .

Media

Willow Creek was served for many decades by the weekly ''Klamity Kourier'' newspaper, which closed in 2006 and was quickly replaced by the ''Bigfoot Valley News''. The ''Bigfoot Valley News'' has since closed, but the regional newspaper, ''Two Rivers Tribune'' (www.tworiverstribune.com), opened in 1994 and is still going strong. Its news coverage area is from

Burnt Ranch Burnt Ranch ( Chimariko: ''č’utamtače'') a census-designated place (CDP) in Trinity County, California. It has a school and a post office. Its ZIP Code is 95527, and it is in area code 530. Its elevation is . Its population is 250 as of the 2 ...

to Happy Camp, Per Google Maps (by Routes 299 and 96) to the north.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1878 establishments in California Bigfoot Census-designated places in Humboldt County, California Census-designated places in California Populated places established in 1878