How does a disappearing stream form?

Answer 1

Disappearing Streams

Groundwater percolating through cracks removes the soluble rock while leaving an enlarged channel for further (and progressively more efficient) flow of water. If there is a thick cover of soil above the soluble rock, surface streams may flow above the subterranean karst drainage system. But more commonly, dissolution features occur at the surface, and hence there are few continuous surface streams because runoff encounters sinkholes or is otherwise routed underground.

In some cases, the flow of a surface stream may be diverted underground when subterranean caves collapse and break through beneath the stream bed.On May 9, 1981, a large sinkhole collapsed in Winter Park, Florida, swallowing a house, five Porsche's at a luxury car dealership, and half of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The sinkhole collapse occurred when carbonate bedrock had dissolved to the point that it could no longer support the weight of the overlying soil and sediment. The city of Winter Park stabilized and sealed the sinkhole, converting it into a 107-meter-wide (350-foot-wide) urban lake.

in a process known as stream piracy. Usually this is a gradual process, with only part of the surface stream being diverted through small cracks in the rock just below the soil cover. The amount of surface water diverted grows larger with time, and the cave also grows with time until the entire surface stream disappears into the ground. Sometimes these disappearing, or sinking, streams provide access to the caves beneath.

By:AMHB of San Pedro Laguna