Bull Creek, California facts for kids
Bull Creek is a small area located about 11 kilometers (7 miles) south of Scotia in Humboldt County, California. It sits very low, only about 7 feet (2 meters) above sea level. A road called Bull Creek Road runs alongside Bull Creek itself. This road is also known as the Mattole Road.
A Look Back in Time
Long ago, Native American people called the Northern Sinkyone lived along the South Fork of the Eel River. Their main village was right where the South Fork met Bull Creek.
The first written notes about this area come from 1851. An explorer named George Gibbs wrote about a flat, open area surrounded by huge redwood trees. He said some trees were as wide as 52 feet (16 meters) near the ground! He also noted that the local people spoke a different language. He even saw a canoe made from a redwood tree.
People started settling in the Bull Creek area in the 1850s. However, the giant trees made it hard to farm or cut down many trees. This changed when heavy machinery was invented. The small town of Bull Creek was once located near what is now the Albee Campground.
Large-scale tree harvesting began in 1946. Between 1950 and 1959, over 10,000 acres of the forest burned in big, uncontrolled wildfires.
The Big Floods
Bull Creek has experienced some very powerful floods. In the 1955 floods, about three dozen homes were washed away. Even coffins from the cemetery ended up in the redwood trees! The sawmill's logs, propane tanks, cars, and other items were swept into the creek. So much gravel and rocks were moved that a county bridge was completely buried.
By 1960, nearly 60% of the forest in the area had been cut down. Sadly, no new trees were planted, and nothing was done to stop soil from washing away.
The Christmas flood of 1964 caused even more damage. All the buildings from the Civilian Conservation Corps were destroyed. Mud and debris slides from the cut-down slopes above Bull Creek caused huge problems downstream. Almost 30 feet (9 meters) of sand and gravel were dumped into the creek during this flood. The same bridge that was buried in 1955 was covered in gravel again. Over 850 large redwood trees were washed away. The creek channel, which was about 40 feet (12 meters) wide in 1955, grew to over 400 feet (122 meters) wide in some places because of the land sliding and water wearing away the banks.
A Special Park
In 1961, the areas where trees had been harvested became part of Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The redwood trees growing along the flat areas near Bull Creek are some of the tallest trees in the entire world!
The Bull Creek Flats/Rockefeller Forest Loop Trail is a special path that everyone can use. It's near where the old Bull Creek town used to be. The trail follows the creek for a while before leading you into the amazing redwood forest.
Every year, the Humboldt Redwoods Marathon is held here. This race helps runners qualify for the famous Boston Marathon. The course includes the entire Bull Creek Road section of the Mattole Road.
