Tufa formation on Mono Lake, California, USA

© Susanna Patras/TANDEM Stills + Motio

The rise of tufa. Tufa formation on Mono Lake, California, United States

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 various locations, today's image highlights them at Mono Lake in Mono County, California. These stunning structures form when calcium-rich fresh water from several creeks and streams flows into the lake, mixing with its alkaline waters. Over centuries, this interaction causes calcium carbonate to accumulate, gradually creating tufa spires that rise above the lake’s surface.

Mono Lake itself is a remarkable desert lake with hypersaline and alkaline waters and no natural outlet. It is home to a thriving ecosystem, teeming with billions of brine shrimp and alkali flies. If Mono Lake feels too far to visit, you can still marvel at tufa formations in Canada, at the Nahanni National Park Reserve in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories. The Rabbitkettle Tufa Mounds, formed by slow deposits of calcium carbonate from Rabbitkettle Hot Springs, are believed to be over 10,000 years old and are among the largest of their kind in Canada.