CARI is an aquatic NEON field site located at the Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed (CPCRW) in central Alaska, northeast of Fairbanks, AK. CARI is a 2nd order wadeable stream contained within the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) research area and CPCRW, encompassing 104 km2 (25,700 acres). The land at the Bonanza Creek LTER site is managed by the University of Alaska and has been set aside for scientific study. Parts of the NEON site also overlap land managed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. CPCRW spans an elevation of 200 - 773 m (650 - 2500 ft.), with valleys and steep mountains within the watershed. CARI is one of four NEON sites (three terrestrial and one aquatic) in the Alaskan Taiga Domain (D19), which comprises Alaska’s interior and the Alaska Peninsula. It is colocated with the terrestrial site BONA.