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Concept
Travertine
Summary
Travertine (ˈtrævərˌtiːn ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot spring or in a limestone cave. In the latter, it can form stalactites, stalagmites, and other speleothems. It is frequently used in Italy and elsewhere as a building material. Similar (but softer and extremely porous) deposits formed from ambient-temperature water are known as tufa.
Travertine is a sedimentary rock formed by the chemical precipitation of calcium carbonate minerals from fresh water, typically in springs, rivers, and lakes; that is, from surface and ground waters. In the broadest sense, travertine includes deposits in both hot and cold springs, including the porous, spongy rock known as tufa, and also the cave features known as speleothems (which include stalactites and stalagmites). Calcrete, which is calcium minerals deposited as a horizon in the , is not considered a form of travertine.
Travertine is often defined in a more narrow sense as dense rock, sometimes massive but more commonly banded or with a fibrous internal structure, deposited in hot springs. In this more narrow sense, travertine is distinct from speleothems and tufa. Travertine is sometimes also defined by its mode of origin, as rock formed by inorganic precipitation of calcium carbonate minerals onto a surface following exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and groundwater. Calcrete, lake marls, and lake reefs are excluded from this definition, but both speleothems and tufa are included.
Fresh travertines vary widely in their porosity, from about 10% to 70%. Ancient ones may have porosities as low as 2% due to crystallization of secondary calcite in the original pore spaces, while some of the fresh aragonite travertine at Mammoth Hot Springs has a porosity greater than 80%.
Official source
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