FIELD NOTES   The confluence of the teacolored Moose River with the blue-green Kenai River creates a major holding area for thousands of sockeye salmon migrating to spawning grounds in June and July. Watch for rolling and jumping where the currents join. The channel broadens and encompasses wetlands in the first miles upstream from the Sterling Highway bridge, offering a vast staging area for swans, ducks, geese and other migrating birds in the spring. Look for juvenile salmon swimming in shallow water along the shore. During summer, the confluence draws activity by Arctic terns, swallows and gulls. Moose can sometimes be seen in the early morning.

GEOLOGICAL CONNECTION     During glacial periods the Kenai River was diverted by ice into the Moose River drainage, creating the wide channel observed today upstream of the bridge.