Deer Creek is a southwestward-flowing stream in Northern California that flows through Tehama County, California. It is an eastside tributary of the Sacramento River. As one of only three remaining Sacramento River tributaries supporting native runs of the genetically distinct Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon, it is a stronghold for this state and federally endangered fish as well as other salmonids. History Now Deer Creek flows through the Ishi Wilderness, named for Ishi, the last member of the Native American Yana or Yahi people who had originally lived in the area. The Spanish had named what was later translated to Deer Creek, Arroyo de los Venados or Rio de los Venados, after the immense deer herd that lived in the region. Black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) still thrive in the Deer Creek watershed and are a part of the large Tehama deer herd that at one time numbered 100,000. Watershed and course Deer Creek and its tributaries drain . The creek flows roughly southwest for most of its length. Its headwaters are in Lassen National Forest at an elevation of on Butt Mountain in the southern Cascade Range, several miles (9 km) west of Lake Almanor. The creek's upper reaches are through meadows and dense forests. The Lost Creek tributary sources in Lake Wilson and joins Deer Creek along Highway 89, as does Gurnsey Creek (also known as North Fork Deer Creek). After leaving these meadows and broader valleys, Deer Creek flows through a steep rock canyon until it reaches the Sacramento Valley. About after entering the valley, it joins the Sacramento River at an elevation of only , about south-southeast of the small city of Tehama, California. Two natural falls are located in the upper Deer Creek watershed: Lower and Upper Deer Creek Falls. Lower Deer Creek Falls has a functioning but sub-standard fish ladder. Upper Deer Creek Falls represents the natural limit of anadromy for spring-run Chinook salmon, and although it also has a fish ladder, it is no longer opened in the spring as it was historically. While the upper watershed is public land primarily in the Lassen National Forest, there are large private ranches in the mid- and lower-elevation areas. The creek has four diversions in its lower reaches, all occurring after the stream flows into the Sacramento Valley. Three use diversion dams and one uses a ditch. There are no storage dams on the creek.