A losing stream, disappearing stream, influent stream or sinking river is a

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

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 Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

, because the

water table The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...

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 material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

. Losing streams are common in arid areas due to the

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

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 carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

where the streamwater may be completely captured by a

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

rn system, becoming a

subterranean river A subterranean river (also known as an underground river) is a river or watercourse that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground, one where the riverbed does not represent the surface of the Earth. It is distinct from an aquifer, which may flow ...

Examples

There are many natural examples of subterranean rivers including:

Bosnia and Herzegovina

* Unac; Mušnica-

Trebišnjica The Trebišnjica ( sr-cyrl, Требишњица) is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the right tributary of the Neretva. Before it was utilized for hydro exploitation via various hydrotechnical interventions and systems with different purp ...

- Krupa/

Ombla The Ombla is a short river in Croatia, northeast of Dubrovnik. Its course is approximately long, and it empties into the Rijeka Dubrovačka, ria formed by the Adriatic Sea near Komolac in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. Rijeka Dubrovačka is actua ...

(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, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

, Croatia 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 Se ...

's ria called

Rijeka Dubrovačka Rijeka Dubrovačka is a ria (coastal inlet) to the north of Dubrovnik, Croatia, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The Ombla The Ombla is a short river in Croatia, northeast of Dubrovnik. Its course is approximately long, and it empties into t ...

); Zalomka- 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 Trebižat is a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 1991 census, the village is located in the municipality of Čapljina Čapljina ( cyrl, Чапљина, ) is a city located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosn ...

; Lištica-Jasenica; Šuica-Ričina

Germany

*The

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

disappears in the Danube Sinkhole between

Immendingen Immendingen is a municipality in the district of Tuttlingen (district), Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany located on the Upper Danube Nature Park, Upper Danube. It is famous for the Danube Sinkhole. Geography Immendingen is located on ...

and Möhringen in an area of

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

New Zealand

*The Selwyn River / Waikirikiri 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 ...

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 shallow coastal lake or waituna, in the Canterbury, New Zealand, 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, ...

United States

*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

and numerous springs, they are tributaries of the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

. *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 also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

s of the type that are abundant in the

land of

southern Indiana Southern Indiana is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern third of the U.S. state of Indiana and borders the states of Illinois to the west, Kentucky to the south, and Ohio to the east. Spanning the state's southe ...

. *The Lost River of New Hampshire is a

in the White Mountains of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. It is part of the

Pemigewasset River The Pemigewasset River , known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is in length and (with its tributaries) drains approximately . The name "Pemigewasset" comes from the Abenaki word ''bemijijoas ...

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

. 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 g ...

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, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

of Hardy County in the Eastern Panhandle region of the state. It flows into an underground channel northeast of

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, 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 histo ...

along West Virginia Route 259 at "the Sinks" and reappears near Wardensville 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 ...

References