The Lost River is a river 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. They ...

of Hardy County in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

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 sources ...

region. The Lost River is geologically the same river as the

Cacapon River The Cacapon River ( ; meaning Medicine Waters), located in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle region, is an shallow river known for its fishing, boating, wildlife, hunting, and wilderness scenery. As part of the Potoma ...

: It flows into an underground channel northeast of McCauley along

West Virginia Route 259 West Virginia Route 259 (WV 259) is a state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The state highway runs from the Virginia state line near Mathias north to the Virginia state line at High View. At both termini, the road continues as Virgi ...

at "the Sinks" and reappears near Wardensville as the Cacapon. The source of the Lost River lies south of Mathias near the West Virginia/

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

border. Along with the Cacapon and

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

rivers, the Lost River serves as one of the three main segments of the Cacapon River and its watershed. The river is listed as impaired due to pathogens by the state of West Virginia; this is likely due to the livestock and poultry raising activities throughout the valley. The river was named for the fact it is a

losing stream A losing stream, disappearing stream, influent stream or sinking river is a stream or river that loses water as it flows downstream. The water infiltrates into the ground recharging the local groundwater, because the water table is below the bo ...

Tributaries

Tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

streams are listed from south (source) to north ("the Sinks"). *Culler Run *Snyder Run *Upper Cove Run *Howards Lick Run *Whitehead Run *Lower Cove Run **Adams Run *Mill Gap Run *Kimsey Run **Camp Branch **Gap Run *Fravel Run *Baker Run **Long Lick Run **Camp Branch *Three Springs Run

Cities and towns along the Lost River

* Baker * Lost City * Lost River * Mathias * McCauley

References

Rivers of Hardy County, West Virginia Rivers of West Virginia Tributaries of the Potomac River {{WestVirginia-river-stub

Tributaries

Cities and towns along the Lost River

See also

References