Lost River

The Lost River is an in-development cave biome. It is a massive, frigid  cavern system located deep under the surface.

Entrances to the Lost River can be found in both Blood Kelp Zones and in the Deep Grand Reef.

Description
The Lost River is generally gloomy and foggy, possessing a distinct greenish water tint that is mostly illuminated by the acidic brine pools as well as an eerie atmosphere with the occasional Ghostray cry. These pools cover almost all of the lower portions of the caverns. The green brine found throughout most of the cave system will harm the player, but the blue brine found within the Tree Cove is harmless.

The Disease Research Facility is located in the Lost River, inside a cavern.

The Lost River is composed of five distinct areas:

Bones Field= The Bones Field is a vast cavern within the Lost River, where a massive skeleton of an unknown fauna can be seen laying. It connects to the first Blood Kelp Zone, through passages, each of them having its own flora and particular landscape, as well as the Ghost Canyon.

Gallery


Ghost Canyon= The Ghost Canyon is a huge passage featuring multiple caves and tunnels branching out from one main canyon. It connects to the Bones Field from the south. Numerous roots and luminescent-tipped branches litter the sides and bottom of the brine-filled trenches. A Precursor Cache set up to study a skeleton can be founds in this area.

Gallery


Ghost Forest= A large chamber that leads from the main entrance of the Lost River (located in the second Blood Kelp Zone). This area is filled with whitish glowing blobs and dark brown, bioluminescent giant Ghost Trees, and is also the starting point of the brine river. From there, the player can either go straight forward into the Bones Field, or turn right to enter the Tree Cove. Brinefalls of various sizes are present, and a smaller version of the skull found in the Bones Field can be found here.

Gallery


Tree Cove= The Tree Cove is a large cavern within the Lost River. The brine river forms a large lake there, with the luminous Giant Cove Tree in its center. However, the color of the brine is a bright blue, compared to the green brine of the other sections of the Lost River One end opens to the north tunnel leading to the Bones Field, and the other, a corridor, to the Inactive Lava Zone. Roots and branches grow scattered on the brine-lake and numerous Ghostrays inhabit the chamber.

Gallery
Junction= The Junction is characterised by a large plateau surrounded by a ring of brine. At the top of the plateau are several smokers, and a few glowing blobs. A naturally formed bridge connects the plateau to the northern side of the cavern, towards the Ghost Forest. Brinefalls from the north and south flow into the brine here, which contains some ghost trees and roots. The Junction connects to the Bones Field to the south, the Ghost Forest to the north, the Disease Research Facility's cavern to the east, and the Tree Cove to the west.

Gallery
 Junction-Overview.jpg|Overview Junction-Bridge.jpg|A naturally formed bridge, connecting the plateau to another side of the Junction Junction-Smoker.jpg|Some smokers nearby the Disease Research Facility cave entrance

Lost River Concept Art
For a more complete gallery, visit Lost River/Gallery.

Future Plans

 * Carar-infected fauna will be found in abundance here.
 * More bones and remains of creatures will be found here, particularly around the Disease Research Facility.

Trivia

 * The skeleton in the Bones Field is suggested to have belonged to a close cousin to the Sea Dragon Leviathan.
 * Like other segmented biomes (such as the Inactive Lava Zone), the Lost River's technical data divides it into the LostRiver_TreeCove, LostRiver_BonesField and LostRiver_TreeCove again for the Ghost Canyon (this aids the AI in deciding music tracks, random events and creature behaviour).
 * The acid damage from the brine may be possible implementation/reference to the "Pillars of Silence" concept art, where enormous jets of acid dot an alien seabed.
 * The Ghost Forest was called the "Ghost Trees Chamber" before the Bones Update.