Tufa facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Mono lake tufa
Tufa columns at Mono Lake, California.

Tufa is a porous variety of limestone. It is formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from water at normal temperatures.

Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits known as travertine.

Do not confuse with the rock made of volcanic ash, which is called tuff.

Images for kids

  • Cwm Nash Barrage Tufa

    Barrage Tufa at Cwm Nash, South Wales

  • Trona Pinnacles - California

    Tufa at Trona Pinnacles, California, USA

  • Timothy O'Sullivan, The Pyramid and Domes, Pyramid Lake, Nevada, 1867

    Timothy O'Sullivan, The Pyramid and Domes, Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA (1867)


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Tufa Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.