它冬季如其他淡水湖泊一樣安靜祥和，但是當春夏來臨的時候，85英畝大的湖卻變成了美麗的田野。它是位于美國俄勒岡胡德山國家森林保護區内的“失落之湖”（Lost Lake ）。“失落之湖”是個自然奇觀。
湖水消失的原因一般被認為是：河床在秋天雨季來臨的時候被灌滿水，湖下的熔岩管道直徑隻有6英尺，不足以迅速把水洩走，而冬季熔岩通道也被凍住，是以湖能儲存足夠水量的。但是，當雨季過去，沒有充足水分供應時，加上春夏氣溫回暖，湖底不停的洩水，最終就導緻了整個湖的“消失”。
這裡的動物也非常适應這裡的生活，比如有的兩栖動物直接鑽進潮濕的土裡等待雨季來臨；有些小魚也就随波逐流地跟随水落而消失然後水漲又出現。
Where does Lost Lake go?
In Oregon, tucked away in the Cascade Mountains, a lake vanishes every summer. This unusual body of water is called Lost Lake. One clue is that the lake sits in a lava bed. It is fed by rain and snow. The lake bed has two or three holes that work as drains. During the rain-and-snow season, water begins to collect in the lake bed. By late summer, the water comes in at a trickle, and the lake gradually drains. Lost Lake goes through this unusual yearly cycle because it sits on top of hardened lava, which is full of cracks, holes, and tubes. The mountains run along the West Coast——from Northern California, through Oregon and Washington, and into Canada. Some experts think Lost Lake drains into large cracks or lava tubes.
Lost Lake is shallow, only a few feet deep. Some insects complete their life cycles, dying after they leave their young to carry on the next year. Some amphibians burrow into wet patches of soil and wait through the dry months. Some fish survive in small pools. When the lake drains that depend on it do a disappearing act of their own. They’ll be back when the lake reappears.
