Tufa formations in Mono Lake, California

© Susanna Patras/TANDEM Stills + Motio

The rise of tufa. Tufa formations in Mono Lake, California

Shaped by the slow passage of time, tufa—a type of porous limestone—emerges as one of nature's most spectacular formations. While these towers can be found in many places, today's image shows some at Mono Lake in Mono County, California. These structures develop when calcium-rich fresh water, flowing into the lake from several creeks and streams, mixes with the lake's alkaline water. Over centuries, this interaction caused calcium carbonate to build up, forming tufa spires above the lake's surface. To preserve the tufa towers, the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve was established in 1981.