Cable Creek
{{Short description|Stream in the state of Idaho}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Cable Creek
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| image = Cable Creek Spokane River.jpg
| image_caption = Cable Creek mouth at the Spokane River
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| pushpin_map = Washington#USA
| pushpin_map_size = 300
| pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of Cable Creek in Washington
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = United States
| subdivision_type2 = State
| subdivision_name2 = Washington, Idaho
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| subdivision_type4 = County
| subdivision_name4 = Kootenai, Spokane
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| length = {{convert|9.1|mi|km|abbr=on}}{{cite web |title=Cable Creek |url=https://idfg.idaho.gov/ifwis/fishingplanner/water/1170659476907 |website=idaho.gov |publisher=Idaho Department of Fish and Game |access-date=9 June 2024}}
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| source1 = Cable Peak
| source1_location = Kootenai County, Idaho
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|47|37|29|N|117|00|44|W|display=inline}}{{cite gnis|id=371844|name=Cable Creek}}
| source1_elevation = {{convert|4557|ft|abbr=on}}
| mouth = Spokane River at
| mouth_location = Liberty Lake, Washington
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|47|41|26|N|117|03|56|W|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation = {{convert|2024|ft|abbr=on}}
| progression = Spokane River → Columbia River → Pacific Ocean
| river_system = Columbia River
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Cable Creek is a stream of approximately {{convert|9|mi|km}} which rises in the U.S. state of Idaho and has its mouth across the state line in Washington. A tributary of the Spokane River that flows from the forested slopes of Mica Peak into the suburban Spokane Valley just east of the city of Liberty Lake.
Geography
Cable Creek flows roughly south to north from Cable Peak on the Mica Peak ridge at approximately 4,600 feet above sea level{{cite web |title=Mica Peak Quadrangle |url=https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_browse.pl?id=563d4ffd87408b6fe96bff7335f7d1e1 |website=usgs.gov |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=9 June 2024 |date=2023}} and enters the Spokane River at approximately 2,020 feet above sea level.{{cite web |title=Liberty Lake Quadrangle |url=https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_browse.pl?id=655e4a2fca4fe2d22dd5ff6836679b06 |website=usgs.gov |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=9 June 2024 |date=2023}} The stream drops roughly 2,500 feet over the span of five miles. Most of that elevation change occurs in the first two miles, where the creek navigates down Mica Peak, the southernmost of the Selkirk Mountains.
The lower reaches of Cable Creek enter the Spokane Valley, with relatively flat terrain and a defined valley floor compared to the upper reaches. In this lower section Cable Creek transitions from a perennial stream into an intermittent stream, especially during the dry season. The stream flows under Interstate 90 and the Spokane River Centennial Trail just before meeting the Spokane River, immediately east of the city of Liberty Lake in the former community of Spokane Bridge. These very lower reaches of the creek are located in Gateway Regional Park and can be accessed via a trail network.{{cite web |title=Gateway Regional Park and Conservation Area |url=https://www.spokanecounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/4059/Gateway-Regional-Park-Trail-Map-PDF?bidId= |website=spokanecounty.org |publisher=Spokane County |access-date=9 June 2024}}
From its source in Idaho the stream crosses the state line three times, first into Washington, then back into Idaho, and ultimately into Washington once again. The source is located approximately one and a half miles east of the state line and the mouth is approximately one mile west of the state line. The upper portion is heavily forested and mountainous while the lower portion flows through farmland.{{cite web |last1=Weeks |first1=Devin |title=A tree-mendous holiday season |url=https://cdapress.com/news/2020/nov/29/tree-mendous-holiday-season/ |website=CDA Press |publisher=CDA Press |access-date=18 October 2021}}
Most of the length of the stream flows through private property and is not open to public access. However, a portion of the creek where it transitions from the slopes of Mica Peak is accessible as it passes through an area owned by the Idaho Department of Lands.{{cite web |title=IDL Endowment Land Access |url=https://gis1.idl.idaho.gov/portal/apps/View/index.html?appid=63f2089f1b7e42e79857de0fac3a7e7e |website=idaho.gov |publisher=Idaho Department of Lands |access-date=9 June 2024}} There is also public access along the lowest reaches of the creek between the state line and the mouth, where it passes under both the Liberty Lake–State Line Trail and the Spokane River Centennial Trail{{cite web |title=Spokane Regional Bike Map |url=https://srtc.maps.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=a9c8901a015b4aea8c5e23a927a7fc41 |publisher=Spokane Regional Transportation Council |access-date=9 June 2024}} before joining the Spokane River at Gateway Regional Park.
Gallery
Cable Creek Downstream.jpg|Cable Creek with an overflow channel to the right
Cable Creek Lower.jpg|Looking upstream from the mouth of Cable Creek
Cable Creek Valley.jpg|The valley of Cable Creek from Stateline Road at Hardison Road