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tufa

[too-fuh, tyoo-]

noun

Geology.
  1. Also called calcareous tufa, calc-tufaAlso called calc-tuffa porous limestone formed from calcium carbonate deposited by springs or the like.

  2. (not in technical use) tuff 2 .



tufa

/ tjuːˈfeɪʃəs, ˈtjuːfə /

noun

  1. Also called: calc-tufaa soft porous rock consisting of calcium carbonate deposited from springs rich in lime

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tufa

  1. A soft, friable, and porous sedimentary rock consisting of calcium carbonate and formed by the evaporation of water, especially at the mouth of a hot spring or on a drying lakebed. It is similar to, but harder than, travertine.

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Other Word Forms

  • tufaceous adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tufa1

1760–70; < Italian tufo < Latin tōfus
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tufa1

C18: from Italian tufo , from Late Latin tōfus
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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Environmentalists say the horses are degrading the otherworldly landscape at Mono Lake, including bird habitat and its famed tufa — textured rock columns that would look at home on Mars.

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Over decades, Los Angeles’ reliance on water from nearby creeks lowered the lake level and left exposed its craggy tufa towers, formations of calcium carbonate that grew underwater around springs.

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As they walk toward the shore, the group is dwarfed by the lake’s famous craggy formations called tufa nearly 20 feet above them.

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As the saline lake retreated, rock formations called tufa, which had formed underwater, were left exposed along the shorelines.

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Mono is a million years old, one of North America’s oldest lakes, a sci-fi landscape of calcium carbonate tufa towers, more than twice as salty as the sea itself, and eerie-looking empty or full.

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TUFtuff