sedimentary
Travertine
Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)
AI-generated identification · may be incorrectHardness of 3 on the Mohs scale, typically white, tan, or cream-colored with a fibrous or concentric banded appearance and vitreous to dull luster.
Identified More sedimentary →
Explore Travertine in the encyclopedia →Identify your own rocks.
Get a report just like this from any photo, free.
Physical properties
Hardness of 3 on the Mohs scale, typically white, tan, or cream-colored with a fibrous or concentric banded appearance and vitreous to dull luster.
Formation & geological history
Formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from supersaturated hydrothermal or freshwater solutions, often around hot springs or limestone caves.
Uses & applications
Widely used in architecture for interior and exterior flooring, wall cladding, and countertops, as well as in ornamental carvings.
Geological facts
Travertine has been used as a building material since ancient times, most famously in the construction of the Colosseum in Rome.
Field identification & locations
Easily identified by its characteristic banded layers and porous texture; commonly found in regions with active geothermal springs.
More like this
Other sedimentary specimens
Fossil-bearing concretion, possibly containing a fossil shell or other organic inclusion
Calcareous concretion; exact fossil and host-rock composition are not identifiable from the image
fossil
Fossiliferous Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary limestone with invertebrate fossil imprint
fossil
Sandstone or Siltstone
Arenite (if sandstone)
Sedimentary
Sandstone
Arenite
sedimentary
Shale
Shale (clastic sedimentary rock)
sedimentary
Shale (or Mudstone/Siltstone)
Sedimentary Mudrock (SiO2, Al2O3 base with clay minerals)
sedimentary