Bear Creek rises on the east face of Mt. Blue Sky (formerly Mt. Evans) and flows downward through alpine tundra, forests and meadows. Below Evergreen, Colorado, it slices through its tortuous canyon in the foothills before rumbling onto the Piedmont, eventually joining the South Platte River.
Before the construction of the Bear Creek Lake Dam (1977-1982) to control flooding, Bear Creek, having also received significant flow from Turkey Creek, to its south, had produced a broad floodplain of wetlands, meadows and cottonwood groves through the west side of Metro Denver. Once its flow was greatly diminished by the dam, that floodplain began to dry out and a large portion of it is now protected as a Greenbelt for walking, biking and nature study.
Of course, this flood-control project has had a significant impact on the floodplain itself, where the massive cottonwoods are gradually dying off and the wetlands have all but disappeared. Human development and recreation have been the winners.
