Losing stream

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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 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.

Contents

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. [1] Losing streams are also common in regions of karst topography where the streamwater may be completely captured by a cavern system, becoming a subterranean river.

Examples

The cave of source of the Buna can be entered by boat and dived through a cave system serving as an effluence of the Zalomka. Buna source.jpg
The cave of source of the Buna can be entered by boat and dived through a cave system serving as an effluence of the Zalomka.
Map of the lost streams of Idaho Lostidahomap.png
Map of the lost streams of Idaho

There are many natural examples of subterranean rivers including:

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Germany

New Zealand

United States

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karst</span> Topography from dissolved soluble rocks

Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. More weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, can also occur, given the right conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquifer</span> Underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock

An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials. Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Water from aquifers can be sustainably harvested through the use of qanats. Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology. Related terms include aquitard, which is a bed of low permeability along an aquifer, and aquiclude, which is a solid, impermeable area underlying or overlying an aquifer, the pressure of which could lead to the formation of a confined aquifer. The classification of aquifers is as follows: Saturated versus unsaturated; aquifers versus aquitards; confined versus unconfined; isotropic versus anisotropic; porous, karst, or fractured; transboundary aquifer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subterranean river</span> River that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground surface

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 permeable layer of rock or other unconsolidated materials. A river flowing below ground level in an open gorge is not classed as subterranean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spring (hydrology)</span> Point at which water emerges from an aquifer to the surface

A spring is a natural exit point at which groundwater emerges out of the aquifer and flows onto the top of the Earth's crust (pedosphere) to become surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere, as well as a part of the water cycle. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh water, especially in arid regions which have relatively little annual rainfall.

The Trebišnjica 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 purposes, Trebišnjica used to be a sinking river, rising and sinking through its course before resurfacing at various places from the Neretva river below the Čapljina to the Adriatic coast, and along the coast from the Neretva Delta to Sutorina.

Moose Brook is a 4.7-mile-long (7.6 km) stream in northern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Androscoggin River, which flows south and east into Maine, joining the Kennebec River near the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost River (New Hampshire)</span> River in New Hampshire, United States

The Lost River is a 4.0-mile-long (6.4 km) stream in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of Moosilauke Brook, part of the Pemigewasset River watershed leading to the Merrimack River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost River Reservation</span> Protected gorge area in New Hampshire, USA

The Lost River Reservation is a protected area with a series of caves along a gorge in the White Mountains in Woodstock, New Hampshire, United States. Located 5 miles (8 km) west of the village of North Woodstock on New Hampshire Route 112, Lost River Reservation is set in Kinsman Notch. One of the White Mountains' major passes, Kinsman Notch lies between Mount Moosilauke and Kinsman Ridge at just under 2,000 feet (600 m) above sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost streams of Idaho</span> Group of partially subterranean rivers in Idaho, United States

There are two rivers in Idaho named "Lost", the Big Lost River 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 in the United States. Via the aquifer and numerous springs, they are tributaries of the Snake River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ponor</span>

A ponor is a natural opening where surface water enters into underground passages; they may be found in karst landscapes where the geology and the geomorphology is typically dominated by porous limestone rock. Ponors can drain stream or lake water continuously or can at times work as springs, similar to estavelles. Morphologically, ponors come in forms of large pits and caves, large fissures and caverns, networks of smaller cracks, and sedimentary, alluvial drains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underground lake</span> Lake under the Earths surface

An underground lake or subterranean lake is a lake underneath the surface of the Earth. Most naturally occurring underground lakes are found in areas of karst topography, where limestone or other soluble rock has been weathered away, leaving a cave where water can flow and accumulate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trebižat (river)</span> River in Čapljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Trebižat is a river in the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and major right tributary of the Neretva River.

The Snake River Aquifer is a large reservoir of groundwater underlying the Snake River Plain in the southern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. Most of the water in the aquifer comes from irrigation recharge. Measuring about 400 miles (640 km) from east to west, it is an important water source for agricultural irrigation in the Plain. The Snake River Aquifer is commonly defined as two separate parts, separated by Salmon Falls Creek: the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer and Western Snake River Plain Aquifer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Lost River</span> River in Idaho, United States

The Big Lost River is a major river in the U.S. state of Idaho, about 135 miles (217 km) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kissingen Springs</span> Historic spring in Florida, United States

Kissingen Spring was a natural spring formerly flowing in Polk County, Southwest Florida. It was also a venue for recreation until it dried up in 1950. Hundreds of wells drilled into the Floridan Aquifer may have caused the demise of the springs. Its site is located near the northern end of Peace River, approximately 3/4 mile east of U.S. Highway 17 and 4 miles south of Florida SR 60 / south of Bartow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ombla</span> River in Croatia

The Ombla is a short river in Croatia, northeast of Dubrovnik. Its course is approximately 30 metres long, and it empties into the Rijeka Dubrovačka, ria formed by the Adriatic Sea near Komolac in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. Rijeka Dubrovačka is actually a ria, a flooded river valley formed through changes in sea surface elevation on a geologic time scale. The river rises as a karst spring fed by groundwater replenished by Trebišnjica, which is an influent stream flowing in Popovo Polje, in the immediate hinterland of the Ombla. The elevation difference between the river's source and its mouth is just over 2 metres. The average discharge of the river is 24.1 cubic metres per second. The drainage basin of the Ombla encompasses 600 square kilometres and, besides the short surface course, includes only groundwater flow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clear Creek (Salt Creek tributary)</span> Creek in Monroe County, Indiana

Clear Creek is an American creek in Monroe County, Indiana. Flowing in the general south-western and southern direction, it is a tributary of Salt Creek, which in its turn flows into the East Fork of Indiana's White River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zalomka</span> River in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Zalomka is a karstic river in the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as part of the Neretva river system it is one of the largest sinking rivers in the country and Dinarides. It rises under the Morine plateau, near Brajićevići village in Gacko municipality, but also collects its upper course waters from Gatačko Polje.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trebišnjica wellsprings group</span> Groupings of springs in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Trebišnjica wellspring-group is a system of two geographically and hydrologically distinct principal groupings of strong karstic springs, Trebišnjica and Čeplica, which together constitute source of the Trebišnjica river. Wellsprings are located just below town of Bileća in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The entire area where founts are situated is submerged under Bilećko Lake since 1967, formed after the construction of Trebinje-1 Hydroelectric Power Station and its large arch dam at Grnčarevo village.

References

  1. Ask GeoMan...
  2. "Devon Karst: Karst of the Dinaric Alps - the Dinarides in Bosnia and Herzegovina". devonkarst.org.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  3. "Devon Karst: Gatačko Polje - GP-Ponor Dobrelji". devonkarst.org.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  4. Amazing Tales from Indiana By Fred D. Cavinder, 1990, Pg 4
  5. New Hampshire GRANIT state geographic information system Archived 2013-08-03 at the Wayback Machine