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Talent Station 7: A Bridge Over Flooding Water

BEAR CREEK HAS FLOODED many times in recorded history.

The construction of Reeder Reservoir (on Ashland Creek) and Emingrant Lake have helped to reduce some of the potentially damaging floodwaters from entering Bear Creek, but the possibility of flooding still exists. In 1974, heavy rains and rapid snow melt caused Bear Creek to rise to flood level; in 1983, rising waters flowed over this bridge.

The present Bear Creek channel has shifted a considerable distance to the northeast over much of its length. This occurred naturally, with the deposit of soils from the west-feeding streams during floods. It also resulted from agricultural activity, construction of homes and commercial structures, and from channelization of Bear Creek to protect the highways. One impact of this movement has been to bury the evidence of historic and prehistoric cultures under layers of sediment.

An example of the effort to stabilize Bear Creek are the large boulders—"rip-rap"—set along the west bank to protect the bridge. The bridge is called the "boxcar bridge," as it is made of two railroad boxcars with the tops cut off. Looking upstream from the bridge you can see a shallow area which was used in the past to ford the creek.

From the bridge look for the American dipper, a small gray bird seen flying up and down the creek. The dipper's feeding behavior more than makes up for its dull, sooty-gray color. Dippers use their wings to propel them to the bottom of the stream, where they walk along feeding on aquatic insects, larvae, and small fish. A thick undercoat of down and a large oil gland at the base of its tail provides waterproofing for this interesting bird. Although common along Bear Creek, dippers are hard to spot because they rarely venture far from the stream or adjacent bank.