Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is an alleged ape-like creature purportedly inhabiting forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid. Many believers in its existence contend that the same or similar creatures are found around the world under different regional names, most prominently the Yeti of the Himalayas.

The scientific community considers Bigfoot to be a combination of folklore, misidentification, and hoaxes. Despite its dubious status, Bigfoot is one of the more famous examples of cryptozoology and has become a popular symbol.

Bigfoot is described in reports as a large ape-like creature, ranging between 6-10 feet (1.8-3.0 m) tall, weighing in excess of 500 pounds (230 kg), and covered in dark brown or dark reddish hair. Alleged witnesses have described large eyes, a pronounced brow ridge, and a large, low-set forehead; the top of the head has been described as rounded and crested, similar to the sagittal crest of the male gorilla. Bigfoot is commonly reported to have a strong, unpleasant smell by those who have claimed to have encountered it. The enormous footprints for which it is named have been as large as 24 inches (61 cm) long and 8 inches (20 cm) wide. While most casts have five toes-like all known apes-some casts of alleged Bigfoot tracks have had numbers ranging from two to six. Some have also contained claw marks, making it likely that a portion came from known animals such as bears, which have four toes and claws. Proponents have also claimed that Bigfoot is omnivorous and mainly nocturnal.

About half of all Bigfoot sightings are concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with a roughly equal number of sightings spread throughout the rest of North America. Some Bigfoot advocates, such as cryptozoologist John Willison Green, have postulated that Bigfoot is a worldwide phenomenon.

Prominent reported sightings

There have been many hundreds of alleged Bigfoot sightings. The most notable include:

* 1924: Fred Beck claimed in a 1967 book that he and four other miners were attacked one night in July 1924, by several "apemen" throwing rocks at their cabin in an area later called Ape Canyon. The men went outside and shot at what Beck described as "mountain gorillas". The next morning, large footprints were claimed to be found around the cabin. Speleologist William Halliday argued in 1983 that the story arose from an incident in which hikers from a nearby camp had thrown rocks into the canyon. There are also local rumors that pranksters harassed the men and planned faked footprints.
* 1941: Jeannie Chapman and her children claimed to have escaped their home when a large Sasquatch, allegedly 7½ feet tall, approached their residence in Ruby Creek, British Columbia.
* 1958: Bulldozer operator Jerry Crew took to a newspaper office a cast of one of the enormous footprints he and other workers had been seeing at an isolated work site at Bluff Creek, California. The crew was overseen by Wilbur L. Wallace, brother of Raymond L. Wallace. After Ray Wallace's death, his children came forward with a pair of 16-inch (41 cm) wooden feet, which they claimed their father had used to fake the Bigfoot tracks in 1958. Wallace is poorly regarded by many Bigfoot proponents. Napier wrote, "I do not feel impressed with Mr. Wallace's story" regarding having over 15,000 feet of film showing Bigfoot.
* 1967: Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin reported that on October 20 they had captured a purported Sasquatch on film at Bluff Creek, California. This came to be known as the Patterson-Gimlin film, which is purported to be the best evidence of Bigfoot by many advocates. Many years later, Bob Heironimus, an acquaintance of Patterson's, claimed that he had worn an ape costume for the making of the film.