MAY 10, 2017

How Do Rivers Randomly Go Missing?

WRITTEN BY: Anthony Bouchard


Across the world, there are flowing bodies of water known as rivers and streams. These bodies of water are often found around mountainous areas or where forces of nature force water to move in a single direction.

On the other hand, when a river or a stream goes missing, it can be quite alarming. After all, lots of time and resources from mother nature go into creating these things in the first place, so what causes an entire river or stream to disappear from the face of the Earth?

This concept is being called 'river piracy,' and it's when a flowing river or stream changes paths and finds its way into another flowing body. It can happen when a flowing water source becomes abruptly blocked off for one reason or another, and it leaves behind a dry waterway. These kinds of things can be observed from satellite images.

Sudden changes in geographical waterways has implications for animal species, as it can cut off one population from another and cause difficulties in terms of food sources. Lack of fresh water flow to a specific region can also impact water supplies for people.

The cause for these disappearing rivers and streams can mostly be attributed to the all-too-infamous man-made side effect known as climate change.