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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2024

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.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 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

Italian white varieties such as greco di tufa, fiano and roero d’arneis would work here, too.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 30, 2021

In the narrow descent that led to it Mr. Wood showed me in three consecutive strata the tufa of the time of the kingdom, travertine of the republic, and brick of the empire.

From From the Oak to the Olive A Plain record of a Pleasant Journey by Howe, Julia Ward