The Big Lost River is a major river in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
, about long.
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed May 4, 2011
Description
The river starts in the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
and flows in a generally southeast direction into the
Snake River Plain
image:Snake River view near Twin Falls, Idaho.jpg, The Snake River cutting through the plain leaves many canyons and Canyon#List of gorges, gorges, such as this one near Twin Falls, Idaho
The Snake River Plain is a geology, geologic feature ...
. True to its name, the Big Lost River's surface flow does not reach any larger river but vanishes into the
Snake River Aquifer at the Big Lost River Sinks, giving the river its name.
The river is one of the
Lost streams of Idaho, several streams that flow into the plain and disappear into the ground.
It rises at the confluence of the North Fork and East Fork Big Lost River deep in the
Pioneer Mountains, a subrange of the Rockies, in
Custer County, south-central Idaho. It flows northeast, then turns sharply southeast at the confluence with Thousand Springs Creek, which comes in from the left and into
Butte County. The river is dammed to form
Mackay Reservoir near the town of
Mackay Mackay may refer to:
*Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives
Mackay may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Mackay Region, a local government area
** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region
*** Mackay Airpor ...
, then continues south through an agricultural valley, passing
Arco
ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...
. After Arco, the river begins flowing east, northeast, and finally due north. The river terminates at the Big Lost River Sinks, a patch of marshland where its water drains into the ground.
Even though its surface flow is lost (hence its name) a short distance out of the mountains, the river is hydrologically connected to the
Snake River
The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...
, the largest river of Idaho by discharge, via the Snake River Aquifer and various springs along the course of the Snake in its journey through the plain.
See also
*
Little Lost River
*
List of rivers of Idaho
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Idaho.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name.
Pacific Ocean
*''Columbia River (WA)''
**Snake River
***Palouse ...
*
List of longest streams of Idaho
A total of seventy streams that are at least long flow through the U.S. state of Idaho. All of these streams originate in the United States except the Kootenai River (third-longest) and the Moyie River (thirty-first-longest), both of which beg ...
References
External links
{{authority control
Rivers of Idaho
Rivers of Custer County, Idaho
Rivers of Butte County, Idaho
Rivers of Bingham County, Idaho