Tufa

Tufa is the name for an unusual geological formation.

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Tufa is a rough, thick, rock-like calcium carbonate deposit that forms by precipitation from bodies of water with a high dissolved calcium content. Tufa deposition occurs in six known ways:

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• Mechanical precipitation by wave action against the shore. This form of tufa can be useful for identifying the shoreline of extinct lakes (for example in the Lake Lahontan region).
• Precipitation from supersaturated hot spring water entering cooler lake water.
• Precipitation in lake bottom sediments which are fed by hot springs from below.
• Precipitation from calcium-bearing spring water in an alkaline lake rich in carbonates.
• Precipitation throughout the lake as the lake dries out.
• Through the agency of algae.

There are some prominent towers of Tufa at Mono Lake and Trona Pinnacles in California, USA, formed by method 4, above. Tufa is also common in Armenia.

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Precipitation: In meteorology, precipitation is rain, snow and other material falling from the sky.In chemistry, precipitation is the condensation of a solid from a solution during a chemical reaction.In geology, precipitation is the sum of runoff, infiltration, and evapotranspiration....

Calcium: :See also Calcium, New York, United States....

Mono Lake: Mono Lake is an alkaline and hypersaline lake in California, United States that is a critical nesting habitat for several bird species and is one of the most productive ecosystems in North America....

Tufa related Images and Photos (experimental)

Tufa Outcrops Reflected in Lake Eastern Sierra Nevada Mono Lake USA