Tufa Cave

A cave, above dry Winnemucca Lake, which is an archeological site that has been excavated for Native American artifacts. The cave is located along the paleo-shoreline of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan. Tufa is a freshwater limestone typically deposited in agitated water, often in association with algal growth. It encrusts lots of the bedrock around Lake Lahontan. The cave probably results from erosion by wave action when the lake shore was at this level. The left inset shows the cave in context, as seen from below. The right pix show views of the interior, including a look back toward the entrance. The cave is surprisingly deep considering its mode of origin.