Wells Creek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wells Creek |
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Location of the mouth of Wells Creek in Washington
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| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| Counties | Whatcom County |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Between Ptarmigan and Lasiocarpa Ridge North Cascades, Washington 48°49′25″N 121°44′37″W / 48.8236111°N 121.7436111°W |
| River mouth | Nooksack River At the base of Nooksack Falls, Washington 48°54′18″N 121°48′32″W / 48.905°N 121.8088889°W |
Wells Creek is a swift creek located in Whatcom County, Washington. It flows into the Nooksack River right after the famous Nooksack Falls.
This creek is special because it has six big waterfalls along its path! The creek gets its name from Hamilton C. Wells. He explored this area a long time ago, in the 1880s and 1890s.
The Creek's Journey
Wells Creek starts its journey high up between Ptarmigan Ridge and Lasiocarpa Ridge. At first, it flows towards the northeast. Soon, it turns to the northwest.
As it flows, the creek is joined by water from Mazama and Iceberg Lakes. Here, it drops over the huge Mazama Falls. The creek keeps flowing northwest. About 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) after Mazama Falls, the water drops over Wells Creek Falls.
Right after these falls, the creek flows under the Wells Creek Forest Service Road (FSR). It is then joined by Bar Creek. Bar Creek is the only officially named stream that flows into Wells Creek. Interestingly, Bar Creek is actually bigger than Wells Creek where they meet!
The creek continues its northwest path for about 1.3 miles. Then, it drops over Landslide Falls. From this point on, Wells Creek flows through a very deep gorge. In this gorge, it drops over two more major waterfalls. It is about 2 miles from Landslide Falls to where Wells Creek joins the Nooksack River. This meeting point is at the bottom of Nooksack Falls.
