This site stood out to me frankly just because of the name at first. In my hometown, there was a state park less than 3 miles from my house named Salmon River, and I figured I would check out The Salmon Hole on the Winooski River just to amuse myself. What I ended up finding was a place in Burlington where the sound of the rushing water over the dam in the distance blocks out the roar of Route 2, and a calm seat where the reddish brown slabs meet the pool’s calm surface. The old factories nestled behind the bank’s overgrowth signify an industrial industry in the area and ultimately the impact on the river. In fact, the Salmon Hole may get its name because of the inability for salmon to swim any further up river past the dam, causing them to spawn in this deep pool away from the rapids. The lack of coniferous trees in the site promised good fall foliage once the time came. I noticed little schools of minnows swimming near the pool’s edge and a large variety of bird calls coming from the deciduous canopy behind me and across the pool on the edge of the cliff. During both visits I was accompanied by multiple fly-fishermen wading in the shallower whitewater across the river, signifying a consistently productive fishing hole. The water level has risen over the past month, and the change of color in the trees and plants in the understory corresponded with the cooler temperatures and less frequent bird calls signifying the arrival of the Vermont autumn. However, the vegetation growing on the wall and in the understory on the shore remained green. Both trips to the site took place on overcast days with a light breeze both times, causing slight ripples on the surface of the pool. Much of the soil around the river that is not solid rock is sandy and varies in depth. A small inlet coming from a culvert on the hill above indicates a point-source of runoff coming from the road, and the small stream coming from the culvert is littered with cans, bottles, wrappers, and piles of tires. I also noticed oil skimmed across the top of the stream leading into the river, and deposits of rust-orange sludge in slow moving parts of the stream. It is a shame this place is being depleted by the development going on around it right now and what has happened in the past because this site has a great depiction of the geological, environmental, and river history of the area.