travertine

travertine
/trav"euhr teen', -tin/, n.
a form of limestone deposited by springs, esp. hot springs, used in Italy for building.
Also, travertin /trav"euhr tin/.
[1545-55; < It travertino, equiv. to tra- across ( < L trans- TRANS-) + (ti)vertino < L Tiburtinus, equiv. to Tiburt- (s. of Tiburs) the territory of Tibur (see TIVOLI) + -inus -INE1]

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Dense, banded rock composed of calcium carbonate, CaCO3.

Formed by rapid chemical precipitation of calcium carbonate from solution in surface and ground waters, it is a variety of limestone that has a light colour and takes a good polish. It is often used for walls and interior decorations in public buildings and as a paving stone. Travertine is mined extensively in Italy; in the U.S., Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs are actively depositing travertine. It also occurs in limestone caves in the form of stalactites and stalagmites.

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      dense, banded rock composed of calcite (calcium carbonate, CaCO3). Formed by the evaporation of river and spring waters, it is a variety of limestone that has a light colour and takes a good polish; it is often used for walls and interior decorations in public buildings. Travertine deposits along the Aniene River, near Rome, are several metres thick. In the United States the Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, are actively depositing travertine. It also occurs in limestone caves in the form of stalactites and stalagmites, as, for example, in Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Travertine — is a sedimentary rock. It is a natural chemical precipitate of carbonate minerals; typically Aragonite, but often recrystallized to or primarily Calcite. Basically, calcium carbonate is deposited from the water of mineral springs or rivulets… …   Wikipedia

  • Travertine — Trav er*tine, n. [F. travertin, It. travertino, tiburtino, L. lapis Tiburtinus, fr. Tibur an ancient town of Latium, now Tivoli.] (Min.) A white concretionary form of calcium carbonate, usually hard and semicrystalline. It is deposited from the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • travertine — 1797, from It. travertino a kind of building stone, from L. tiburtinus, from Tiburs, adjective from Tibur (modern Tivoli), region in Latium …   Etymology dictionary

  • travertine — [trav′ər tēn΄, trav′ərtin] n. [It travertino, altered < tiburtino < L ( lapis) Tiburtinus, (stone) of Tibur (now Tivoli)] a light colored, dense type of tufa, as dripstone or flowstone, deposited in caves or around limy springs, lakes, or… …   English World dictionary

  • travertine —    1. Hard calcareous mineral deposited by flowing water, that is the same as the calcareous variety of sinter and comparable to the softer tufa. The term is normally used only for deposits formed outside caves, where plants and algae cause the… …   Lexicon of Cave and Karst Terminology

  • travertine — noun Etymology: French travertin, from Italian travertino, trevertino, from Latin tiburtinus, adjective, of travertine, literally, of Tibur (Tivoli) Date: 1730 a mineral consisting of a massive usually layered calcium carbonate (as aragonite or… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • travertine —    A limestone characterized by irregularly shaped hollows. It is used most for architecture (often cladding other materials), and is also used for outdoor sculpture. Travertine is quarried in the Tiber Valley near Rome …   Glossary of Art Terms

  • Travertine Spa Hotel & Club — (Памуккале,Турция) Категория отеля: Адрес: Mehmet Akif Ersoy Bulvarı No …   Каталог отелей

  • travertine — noun a) Any of several light, porous forms of calcite deposited from solution; found most often as stalactites and stalagmites. b) A similar form of limestone used as a facing material in building …   Wiktionary

  • travertine — n. type of limestone deposited at the mouth of a spring …   English contemporary dictionary

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