--- title: Oregon Lost Lake Disappearing Lake: Watch This Lake Drain description: Melted snow fills the basin with water creating a lake, but at the bottom of the body a giant hole sucks down the water. canonical: https://time.com/3848333/oregon-disappearing-lost-lake/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-06T11:33:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:08.626Z article:section: Science og:title: Watch Oregon's Lost Lake Disappear Through a Hole in the Ground og:description: It looks like a draining bath tub og:url: https://time.com/3848333/oregon-disappearing-lost-lake/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Oregon's Lost Lake Disappear Through a Hole in the Ground twitter:description: It looks like a draining bath tub twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Watch Oregon's Lost Lake Disappear Through a Hole in the Ground  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 6, 2015 11:33 AM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 6, 2015 11:33 AM UTC Lost Lake in Central Oregon looks a bit like a draining bath tub. Melted snow fills up the basin with water at the end of winter creating a lake. But at the bottom of the body of water is a giant hole that sucks down the water, much like the drain in a bath tub. The drain, an open lava tube, is one of many throughout the region, according to a [report](http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/3095112-151/lost-lake-shrinking-down-a-hole#) in _The Bend Bulletin_. The water is likely absorbed by material just below the surface. \[[_The Bend Bulletin_](http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/3095112-151/lost-lake-shrinking-down-a-hole#)\] ### See the Most Insane Natural Disasters of 2014  Polar Vortex The U.S. side of Niagara Falls is pictured in Niagara Falls, N.Y. on Jan. 8, 2014\. The frigid air and "polar vortex" affected about 240 million people in the United States and southern Canada. Aaron Harris—Reuters  California Drought A car sits in dried and cracked earth of what was the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir in San Jose, Calif. on Jan. 28, 2014. 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Bernard Merci—AFP/Getty Images  Japan Volcano Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel and other rescuers arrive to conduct search operations at the ash-covered Ontake Shrine near the summit of Mount Ontake in central Japan on Oct. 4, 2014. Kyodo News/AP  Hawaii Lava Lava pushes through a fence marking a property boundary above the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii, Oct. 28, 2014. U.S. Geological Survey/AP  Buffalo Snow Storm Storm clouds and snow blow off Lake Erie in Buffalo, N.Y. on Nov. 18, 2014\. An autumn blizzard dumped a year's worth of snow in three days on Western New York state, where five people died and residents, some stranded overnight in cars, braced for another pummeling expected later on Wednesday. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) Lindsay Dedario—Reuters  Philippines Typhoon Hagupit A Filipino typhoon victim collects water in front of a damaged home where Typhoon Hagupit hit, Samar Island, Philippines, on Dec. 8, 2014. Francis R. 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