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Non-Road Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: roadman65 on June 27, 2023, 04:29:45 AM

Title: Lost Rivers in Idaho
Post by: roadman65 on June 27, 2023, 04:29:45 AM
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/idaho/hidden-lost-rivers-id/
Interesting articles of two rivers in Idaho that do not directly flow into other rivers as usually rivers do.

Instead both rivers sink into the ground and flow subterranean until they reach Thousand Springs State Park in Southern Idaho and pour out of the rocks creating springs. 

Most of the two rivers after underground have wells tapped into them for irrigation to the farms above. However they indeed flow for hundreds of miles beneath lava fields ( which is the cause of their sinking) from the point they sink to their outlet along the Snake River at the State Park.

Very interesting phenomenon, I must say.
Title: Re: Lost Rivers in Idaho
Post by: Rothman on June 27, 2023, 06:52:27 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on June 27, 2023, 04:29:45 AM
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/idaho/hidden-lost-rivers-id/
Interesting articles of two rivers in Idaho that do not directly flow into other rivers as usually rivers do.

Instead both rivers sink into the ground and flow subterranean until they reach Thousand Springs State Park in Southern Idaho and pour out of the rocks creating springs. 

Most of the two rivers after underground have wells tapped into them for irrigation to the farms above. However they indeed flow for hundreds of miles beneath lava fields ( which is the cause of their sinking) from the point they sink to their outlet along the Snake River at the State Park.

Very interesting phenomenon, I must say.
See the Humboldt River in Nevada...
Title: Re: Lost Rivers in Idaho
Post by: kalvado on June 27, 2023, 11:04:38 AM
Rivers in desert areas can easily disappear en route, especially with human help.
I believe little, if any, Colorado river water actually reaches the ocean, for example.
Finke river in Australia is another interesting example.
Title: Re: Lost Rivers in Idaho
Post by: triplemultiplex on June 27, 2023, 12:48:57 PM
A huge area of Utah and Nevada, water hasn't flowed out of there in like 12,000 years.
Though that's not the same as a river that disappears into a cave/groundwater system.  This happens in a few places around Kentucky.  Any time you've got limestone dominating your bedrock, you can get these disappearing streams.

The relationship between ground water and rivers is interesting.  In a typical wet environment like in the eastern US, the water table is usually sloping toward a stream and the creek or river represents the surface expression of that water table.  However if the river flows from a wet area into a dry area, this dynamic is reversed.  The water table will actually slope down away from the stream's banks as the land soaks water from the river.  All of the rivers in the high plains behave in this manner most of the time.  To the point that some rivers like the Cimmeron in northeast New Mexico and western Oklahoma dry up completely during the summer.

For a grander example, the Okavanga Delta in southern Africa.  Here a large river drains highlands to the north but as the river flows south into Botswana, it fans out into a desert basin. During the wet season, this delta becomes a vast oasis of thousands of square miles.  But in the dry season it all shrivels away with no water making it anywhere close to the basin.
Title: Re: Lost Rivers in Idaho
Post by: formulanone on June 27, 2023, 12:59:16 PM
Santa Fe River near High Springs, Florida goes underground into the limestone for three miles at O'Leno State Park.

I recall hearing it was unique for a river in Florida, but it's also an area of the state that has some elevation changes (comparative to the rest of Florida).

https://www.floridastateparks.org/learn/santa-fe-river-and-sink
Title: Re: Lost Rivers in Idaho
Post by: Road Hog on June 27, 2023, 04:20:52 PM
Quote from: Rothman on June 27, 2023, 06:52:27 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on June 27, 2023, 04:29:45 AM
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/idaho/hidden-lost-rivers-id/
Interesting articles of two rivers in Idaho that do not directly flow into other rivers as usually rivers do.

Instead both rivers sink into the ground and flow subterranean until they reach Thousand Springs State Park in Southern Idaho and pour out of the rocks creating springs. 

Most of the two rivers after underground have wells tapped into them for irrigation to the farms above. However they indeed flow for hundreds of miles beneath lava fields ( which is the cause of their sinking) from the point they sink to their outlet along the Snake River at the State Park.

Very interesting phenomenon, I must say.
See the Humboldt River in Nevada...
The Humboldt doesn't disappear underground. It simply evaporates in the desert or is siphoned off for irrigation before it makes it to the Humboldt Sink. Since the snowpack this year has been the best in years, you might actually see a lake in the sink.
Title: Re: Lost Rivers in Idaho
Post by: Rothman on June 27, 2023, 05:47:20 PM
Quote from: Road Hog on June 27, 2023, 04:20:52 PM
Quote from: Rothman on June 27, 2023, 06:52:27 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on June 27, 2023, 04:29:45 AM
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/idaho/hidden-lost-rivers-id/
Interesting articles of two rivers in Idaho that do not directly flow into other rivers as usually rivers do.

Instead both rivers sink into the ground and flow subterranean until they reach Thousand Springs State Park in Southern Idaho and pour out of the rocks creating springs. 

Most of the two rivers after underground have wells tapped into them for irrigation to the farms above. However they indeed flow for hundreds of miles beneath lava fields ( which is the cause of their sinking) from the point they sink to their outlet along the Snake River at the State Park.

Very interesting phenomenon, I must say.
See the Humboldt River in Nevada...
The Humboldt doesn't disappear underground. It simply evaporates in the desert or is siphoned off for irrigation before it makes it to the Humboldt Sink. Since the snowpack this year has been the best in years, you might actually see a lake in the sink.
Right, but as the OP described, the Humboldt does not flow directly into any other river.
Title: Re: Lost Rivers in Idaho
Post by: GaryV on June 27, 2023, 06:38:39 PM
Quote from: Rothman on June 27, 2023, 05:47:20 PM
Quote from: Road Hog on June 27, 2023, 04:20:52 PM
Quote from: Rothman on June 27, 2023, 06:52:27 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on June 27, 2023, 04:29:45 AM
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/idaho/hidden-lost-rivers-id/
Interesting articles of two rivers in Idaho that do not directly flow into other rivers as usually rivers do.

Instead both rivers sink into the ground and flow subterranean until they reach Thousand Springs State Park in Southern Idaho and pour out of the rocks creating springs. 

Most of the two rivers after underground have wells tapped into them for irrigation to the farms above. However they indeed flow for hundreds of miles beneath lava fields ( which is the cause of their sinking) from the point they sink to their outlet along the Snake River at the State Park.

Very interesting phenomenon, I must say.
See the Humboldt River in Nevada...
The Humboldt doesn't disappear underground. It simply evaporates in the desert or is siphoned off for irrigation before it makes it to the Humboldt Sink. Since the snowpack this year has been the best in years, you might actually see a lake in the sink.
Right, but as the OP described, the Humboldt does not flow directly into any other river.

The Humboldt doesn't flow indirectly into any other river either. Those rivers in Idaho in the link do eventually flow indirectly into another river, after being underground.