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A losing stream, disappearing stream, influent stream or sinking river is a stream or
river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...
that loses water as it flows downstream. The water infiltrates into the ground recharging the local
groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidat ...
, because the
water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. Th ...
is below the bottom of the stream channel. This is the opposite of a more common ''gaining stream'' (or ''effluent stream'') which increases in water volume farther downstream as it gains water from the local
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 characteri ...
. Losing streams are common in arid areas due to the climate which results in huge amounts of water evaporating from the river generally towards the mouth. Losing streams are also common in regions of
karst topography Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ...
where the streamwater may be completely captured by a
cavern A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
system, becoming a
subterranean river A subterranean river is a river that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground surface – one where the riverbed does not represent the surface of the Earth. It is distinct from an aquifer, which may flow like a river but is contained within a pe ...
.


Examples

There are many natural examples of subterranean rivers including: Bosnia and Herzegovina * Unac; Mušnica- Trebišnjica- Krupa/ Ombla (Trebišnjica is considered to be one of the largest sinking rivers in the world; one of its effluents, Ombla, springs out of huge cave near
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...
,
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
and after about 30 metres empties into
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...
's ria called Rijeka Dubrovačka);
Zalomka The Zalomka ( sr-cyrl, Заломка) is a karstic river in the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the largest sinking rivers in the country and the world. It collects its waters from Gatačko Polje. Geography The Zalomka Rive ...
- Buna/ Bunica/ Bregava;
Vrljika The Vrljika is short sinking river in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, belonging to Neretva River basin. Its source is located on the outskirts of village Proložac near town of Imotski, Croatia. The Vrljika River is home of endangered endemic ...
- Trebižat; Lištica-Jasenica; Šuica-Ričina Germany *The
Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
disappears in the Danube Sinkhole between Immendingen and Möhringen in an area of karst. New Zealand *The
Selwyn River / Waikirikiri The Selwyn River / Waikirikiri flows through the Selwyn District of Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand. Description The river has its source in the Southern Alps and flows east for before emptying into Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, ...
normally disappears below ground as it flows down the
Canterbury Plains The Canterbury Plains () are an area in New Zealand centred in the Mid Canterbury, to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and in ...
due to overlaying a deep and porous aquifer, re-emerging about 15 kilometres away from its output at
Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora is a broad, shallow coastal lake or waituna, in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is directly to the west of Banks Peninsula, separated from the Pacific Ocean by the long, narrow, sandy K ...
. US *There are two rivers in Idaho, the Big Lost River and the Little Lost River, which both flow into the same depression and become subterranean, feeding the Snake River Plain Aquifer. 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 characteri ...
and numerous
springs Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...
, 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 Snak ...
. *The Lost River in Indiana rises in Vernon Township, Washington County, Indiana, and discharges into the East Fork of the White River. The Lost River is about long and its name is derived from the fact that at least of the primary course of the river flows completely underground. The river disappears into a series of
sink hole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...
s of the type that are abundant in the karstland of
southern Indiana Southern Indiana is a region consisting of the southern third of the state of Indiana. The region's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture distinct from the remainder of Indiana. It is often considered to be p ...
. *The Lost River of New Hampshire is a stream in the White Mountains of
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
. It is part of the Pemigewasset River
watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
. The Lost River begins in Kinsman Notch, one of the major passes through the White Mountains. As it flows through the notch, it passes through Lost River Gorge, an area where enormous boulders falling off the flanking walls of the notch at the close of the last
Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...
have covered the river, creating a network of boulder caves.New Hampshire GRANIT state geographic information system
*The Lost River of West Virginia is located in the
Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...
of
Hardy County Hardy County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,299. Its county seat is Moorefield. The county was created from Hampshire County in 1786 and named for Samuel Hardy, a distinguished Vi ...
in the
Eastern Panhandle The Eastern Panhandle is the eastern of the two panhandles in the U.S. state of West Virginia; the other is the Northern Panhandle. It is a small stretch of territory in the northeast of the state, bordering Maryland and Virginia. Some source ...
region of the state. It flows into an underground channel northeast of
Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ...
along West Virginia Route 259 at "the Sinks" and reappears near Wardensville as the Cacapon River.


See also

* Ponor *
Groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidat ...
*
Subterranean river A subterranean river is a river that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground surface – one where the riverbed does not represent the surface of the Earth. It is distinct from an aquifer, which may flow like a river but is contained within a pe ...


References

{{reflist, 2
Tom Aley, Karst Groundwater, Missouri Conservationist Online, Mar. 2000 – Vol. 61 No. 3
* Hydrology Dinaric karst formations * Karst formations Karst Geomorphology