The Lauter emerges in the municipality of Lautertal in the district of Tremersdorf due to the confluence of the right Rottenbach and the left Weihergraben, which is somewhat more important in terms of both length and sub-catchment area.

Since the end of 2012, a gravity tunnel located near Oberlauter has been transferring the flood flows of the Lauter that exceed 4 m³/s to the Goldbergsee retention basin in the course of the large lower reaches tributary Sulzbach.

The source ponds of the Lauter are located between Tiefenlauter and Oberlauter in the private grounds of a former fish farm.

The Karstquellen from the middle shell limestone have a depth of up to two metres and pour out an average of 420 litres per second.

The spring ponds are designated by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment as Geotope 473Q001.