Willow Creek, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Willow Creek, California
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The "Bigfoot Museum" in Willow Creek
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Location in Humboldt County and the state of California
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Humboldt |
| Area | |
| • Total | 30.610 sq mi (79.281 km2) |
| • Land | 30.310 sq mi (78.504 km2) |
| • Water | 0.300 sq mi (0.777 km2) 0.98% |
| Elevation | 610 ft (186 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 1,720 |
| • Density | 56.19/sq mi (21.69/km2) |
| Demonym(s) | Willow Creeker |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code |
95573
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| Area code(s) | 530 |
| FIPS code | 06-85642 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1660182 |
Willow Creek is a small town in Humboldt County, California, United States. It used to be called China Flat. In 2020, about 1,720 people lived there. The town is located about 30 miles (48 km) from Eureka, which is the county seat and a harbor city.
Willow Creek is found along the Trinity River. It's known as a "rugged mountain community" because it's in the middle of the Six Rivers National Forest. This part of California is close to the Oregon border. You can easily get there using State Routes 299 and 96. Route 96 is even called the "Bigfoot Scenic Byway"!
The town is famous for its connection to Bigfoot. Willow Creek calls itself the Bigfoot capital of the world! It has a special Bigfoot Museum and hosts an event called "Bigfoot Daze" every September. This festival celebrates the creature with fun activities in a local park. The area where the famous Patterson-Gimlin film was made, which many believe shows Bigfoot, is about 50 miles (80 km) south of Willow Creek. Many Bigfoot sightings and footprint discoveries have also happened about 50 miles (80 km) north, near Bluff Creek / Fish Lake Road.
Contents
History of Willow Creek
The first people to live in this area were the Tsnungwe (or South Fork Hupa) indigenous people. They spoke the Hupa Language.
The first non-indigenous settlers in Willow Creek were Chinese workers. They came to work in the mining and lumber camps. This is why the town was first named China Flat. The China Flat post office opened in 1878. The town's name was changed to Willow Creek in 1915.
Geography and Climate
Willow Creek is a census-designated place (CDP). This means it's a specific area identified by the government for statistics. The total area of Willow Creek is about 30.6 square miles (79.3 square kilometers). Most of this area is land, with a small part being water.
Weather in Willow Creek
Willow Creek has much warmer summers than places right on the coast, like Eureka. However, it still gets a lot of rain in winter, similar to coastal areas. Summer days can be very hot, but the nights are cool. This causes a big difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures.
Willow Creek has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. This means it has hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Summers are much hotter here compared to parts of the county that get coastal fog. Winters are also colder, and it's common to see light snowfall a few times each winter.
| Climate data for Willow Creek, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1968–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 70 (21) |
76 (24) |
85 (29) |
96 (36) |
105 (41) |
112 (44) |
119 (48) |
115 (46) |
108 (42) |
99 (37) |
80 (27) |
65 (18) |
119 (48) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 59.6 (15.3) |
67.1 (19.5) |
76.6 (24.8) |
86.1 (30.1) |
93.7 (34.3) |
100.1 (37.8) |
105.6 (40.9) |
105.0 (40.6) |
99.9 (37.7) |
86.2 (30.1) |
69.3 (20.7) |
58.8 (14.9) |
107.8 (42.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 53.5 (11.9) |
57.0 (13.9) |
63.0 (17.2) |
69.9 (21.1) |
77.6 (25.3) |
86.2 (30.1) |
95.2 (35.1) |
94.5 (34.7) |
87.9 (31.1) |
74.6 (23.7) |
58.8 (14.9) |
50.4 (10.2) |
72.4 (22.4) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 44.3 (6.8) |
46.3 (7.9) |
50.4 (10.2) |
55.1 (12.8) |
60.9 (16.1) |
67.6 (19.8) |
74.0 (23.3) |
73.3 (22.9) |
67.7 (19.8) |
58.5 (14.7) |
49.1 (9.5) |
43.3 (6.3) |
57.5 (14.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 35.0 (1.7) |
35.5 (1.9) |
37.8 (3.2) |
40.3 (4.6) |
44.1 (6.7) |
49.0 (9.4) |
52.7 (11.5) |
52.0 (11.1) |
47.4 (8.6) |
42.4 (5.8) |
39.3 (4.1) |
36.1 (2.3) |
42.6 (5.9) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 29.0 (−1.7) |
28.9 (−1.7) |
31.1 (−0.5) |
33.2 (0.7) |
37.2 (2.9) |
41.5 (5.3) |
46.6 (8.1) |
46.3 (7.9) |
42.2 (5.7) |
34.1 (1.2) |
31.0 (−0.6) |
28.3 (−2.1) |
24.6 (−4.1) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 17 (−8) |
13 (−11) |
22 (−6) |
24 (−4) |
27 (−3) |
29 (−2) |
34 (1) |
39 (4) |
32 (0) |
22 (−6) |
19 (−7) |
5 (−15) |
5 (−15) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 10.16 (258) |
7.75 (197) |
7.02 (178) |
3.81 (97) |
2.50 (64) |
0.94 (24) |
0.22 (5.6) |
0.31 (7.9) |
0.69 (18) |
2.86 (73) |
7.46 (189) |
11.76 (299) |
55.48 (1,410.5) |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service (mean maxima/minima 1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
People of Willow Creek
In 2010, the 2010 United States Census counted 1,710 people living in Willow Creek. Most residents (80.4%) were White. About 9.8% were Native American. A smaller number of people were African American, Asian, or Pacific Islander. About 6.3% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.
The average age in Willow Creek in 2010 was about 49.5 years old. This means many adults and older people live there. There were slightly more males than females.
Local News
For many years, Willow Creek had a weekly newspaper called the Klamity Kourier. It closed in 2006 and was replaced by the Bigfoot Valley News. That paper also closed later.
However, a regional newspaper called the Two Rivers Tribune started in 1994 and is still publishing today. It covers news from Burnt Ranch to Happy Camp, an area about 97.5 miles (157 km) long.
See also
In Spanish: Willow Creek (California) para niños
