🔍 Key Concepts

• Western Rivers Aids to Navigation use a special variation of the U.S. lateral system • Remember the phrase for buoy colors and numbers when returning from sea: "Red Right Returning" • On Western Rivers, "upstream" is generally considered the same as returning from sea (toward the river’s source)

💭 Think About

• Think about whether going upstream on a Western River is treated like returning from sea or going out to sea in the standard lateral system. • In the normal U.S. system (not Western Rivers), what color buoys mark the starboard side of the channel when returning from sea? Does Western Rivers change the color or just some other characteristic? • Consider whether any of the answer choices (yellow, black, green) are typically used for other special purposes instead of marking the main starboard channel boundary.

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify how upstream is defined for the Western Rivers in the Aids to Navigation System (direction of buoyage). • Confirm which color is associated with starboard-side channel markers when returning in the standard U.S. lateral system. • Eliminate any colors that are commonly used for special marks or older systems rather than standard lateral buoys.