There are two rivers in Idaho named "Lost", the

Big Lost River The Big Lost River is a major river in the U.S. state of Idaho, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 4, 2011 Description The river starts in the Rocky Mountai ...

and the Little Lost River. They are often considered separate streams, but both flow into the same depression and become subterranean, feeding the Snake River Aquifer. The rivers are located in Custer County and Butte County, in

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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Via the

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

and numerous springs, they are tributaries of 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 ...

Course

The Big Lost River is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 4, 2011 has two main tributary forks, the North Fork Big Lost River and the East Fork Big Lost River. The river originates in the Pioneer Mountains in Salmon-Challis National Forest, flows northeast then turns southeast, with the

Lost River Range The Lost River Range is a high mountain range of the Rocky Mountains, located in Central Idaho, in the Northwestern United States. It runs southeast for approximately from the Salmon River near the community of Challis to the Snake River Val ...

to the east separating the Big Lost River Valley from the Little Lost River Valley. A dam impounds the river and creates Mackay Reservoir. Near

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 ...

the river enters 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 ...

, curves east and then northeast and enters the depression where the water flows into the ground, called Big Lost River Sinks. Near the sinks there is a dry

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

called the ''Dry Channel Big Lost River''. The Little Lost River is about long. It flows southeast between the

to the west and the

Lemhi Range The Lemhi Range is a mountain range in the U.S. state of Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, 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 wit ...

to the east. It enters the Snake River Plain north of the sinks and flows into them at locations called Little Lost River Sinks. The sinks and the lower courses of both rivers are within the land of the

Idaho National Laboratory Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is one of the national laboratories of the United States Department of Energy and is managed by the Battelle Energy Alliance. While the laboratory does other research, historically it has been involved with nu ...

, northeast of Craters of the Moon. Water from both rivers emerges about away at Thousand Springs near Hagerman and other springs downstream of Twin Falls. Due to irrigation using the aquifer's water, most of the rivers' water is pumped out of the ground, used to irrigate crops, and returned to the ground as irrigation drainage, where it eventually emerges at the springs and joins the Snake River.

Basin and discharge

The Big Lost River's

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

is approximately in areaUpper Snake, Headwaters, Closed Basin Subbasins Plan Plan
, Northwest Power and Conservation Council Its mean annual discharge, as measured by

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

gage 13132500 (Big Lost River near

), is , with a maximum daily recorded flow of , and a minimum of zero flow.Snake River basin between Mud Lake and King Hill (includes Lost, Wood, Malad River basins)
Water Resources Data, Idaho, 2005 The Little Lost River's drainage basin is approximately in area Its mean annual discharge, as measured by USGS gage 13118700 (Little Lost River below Wet Creek, near Howe, Idaho), is , with a maximum daily recorded flow of , and a minimum of .

References

* "Idaho Atlas and Gazetteer". 5th ed.

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, 2002.
Big Lost River
The Columbia Gazetteer of North America.

The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. * * * * * * * {{authority control Rivers of Idaho Rivers of Butte County, Idaho Rivers of Custer County, Idaho Tributaries of the Snake River

Course

Basin and discharge

See also

References