tufa

American  

[too-fuh, tyoo-] / ˈtu fə, ˈtju- /

noun

Geology.

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

2. (not in technical use) tuff 2 .

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tufa British  

/ tjuːˈfeɪʃəs, ˈtjuːfə /

noun

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

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tufa Scientific  

/ to̅o̅′fə /

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

Etymology

Origin of tufa

1760–70; < Italian tufo < Latin tōfus

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tufa

“Several horses died at South Tufa over the winter and their scavenged carcasses were draped between tufa towers and along the lakeshore.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2023

But today, just to stand beside the small tufa niche where a Jewish child was laid to rest 2,000 years ago feels like a kind of prayer.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2023

A close look at the rock reveals coral-like tufa deposits left by that phantom lake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2022

In these Etruscan travel essays, pages and pages of descriptions and interpretations are devoted to what he finds inside the tombs, including porches, columns, household items made out of stone and tufa beds.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 2, 2021

The vegetation is extraordinarily rich; as well it may be, for the limestone mountain is overlaid with volcanic tufa for full half its height—though Heaven only knows where the tufa came from.

From Naples Past and Present by Norway, Arthur H.