Travertine commonly forms in which setting?

• A. Near hot springs
• B. In caves
• C. In swamps
• D. In glacial lakes

Answer: (A)

Travertine forms when calcium carbonate precipitates from mineral-rich water as carbon dioxide escapes at the surface. This happens most readily around hot springs, where warm spring waters rich in calcium and dissolved CO2 rise and degas, depositing CaCO3 and building terraces and crusts. That spring-fed, geothermally influenced environment provides the conditions for rapid travertine growth, unlike swamps or cold glacial lakes where different processes dominate. Caves can have calcite deposits too, but travertine is most closely tied to hot-spring discharge.