The Lake Whatcom control dam gates at the head of the creek
Derby Pond, where water is diverted to the fish hatchery
The 1939–40 WPA stone bridge across the creek, with main falls above it
A minor waterfall below the bridge
The creek valley in the sensitive area that is still recovering in 2020 from the 1999 explosion
The lower falls, in downtown Bellingham
| Whatcom Creek | |
|---|---|
 Whatcom Creek in Whatcom Falls Park | |
 | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Lake Whatcom, Bellingham, Washington |
| • coordinates | 48°45′28″N 122°25′16″W / 48.7577778°N 122.4211111°W |
| • elevation | 328 ft (100 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Whatcom Creek Waterway, Bellingham Bay |
• coordinates | 48°45′11″N 122°29′05″W / 48.7530556°N 122.4847222°W |
• elevation | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Whatcom Creek → Whatcom Creek Waterway → Bellingham Bay |
GNIS ID | 1509442 |
Whatcom Creek (North Straits Salish: X̌’wótqwem /χˈʔwotqəm/) is a waterway in Bellingham, Washington, United States.
Approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) long, it drains Lake Whatcom through Whatcom Falls Park and through the city of Bellingham to Bellingham Bay. The creek starts at the control dam for Lake Whatcom, in Whatcom Falls Park, where the creek goes over many falls, from about 350 feet (110 m) to about 80 feet above sea level. It flows across a short plain to downtown Bellingham and over the falls where the first lumber mill that was powered by the falls was built in 1854.
When two men, Henry Roeder and Mr. Peabody, went looking for a falls to power a sawmill back in the early 1850s, they learned of a creek up north that the Indians called Whatcom. In the local lingo this meant "noisy waters" by some accounts. The men canoed to Bellingham Bay and found a fairly large creek tumbling over a 35-foot fall and founded their mill. This was the start of the city of Bellingham.
The creek has a small fishery, with trout and salmon, but only minors are allowed to fish above the falls. During the fall, a large group of people fish below the falls, and large salmon can be spotted jumping the falls.
