Staines Moor is a Site of Special Scientific Interest at the NW corner of Surrey, England. Approximately 2 square kilometres (0.77 sq mi) in area, it consists of natural pasture and the King George VI Reservoir. Three of the six main distributaries of the River Colne run southward through it. Staines Moor is between the western part of Staines to the south and the village of Stanwell Moor, is the southern part of the Colne Valley regional park and is part of the parish of Staines.
The moor consists of rich alluvial soil on a bed of clay, a soil which is much more thick and naturally fertile compared to most of the patchy humus in the topsoil in the large historic parishes to the east such as Ashford, Stanwell, Harmondsworth, Bedfont and Feltham, which have thin, less moist humus on gravel-rich clay, formed by the ancient terraces of the Thames in the same way as the inland parts of the riverside parishes. As such rich pasture is the primary use of the land. Meads would be a more accurate term, as moor implies stony land or waste (infertile land). In the far south of the area mill mead was between two stream channels of the river, where the shopping centre Two Rivers has been built.
The Staines Moor SSSI also includes King George VI Reservoir which is to the east. The reservoir carries nationally important wintering populations of tufted ducks, pochard, goosander and common goldeneye. The moor is separated from Wraysbury Reservoir to the west by the M25 and a footpath-accessible viaduct once used by the short-lived Staines and West Drayton Railway.
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