travertine in nature

Featured as a beautiful material used to adorn homes, businesses, and even civic buildings, travertine offers a design quality that exudes a “weathered” appearance. Color variations are just the beginning of the story that these wonderful and expressive stones contain many layers.

Where can travertine be found in nature? In a variety of environments. One notable setting where many have seen this incredible rock is in caves. Stalagmites and stalactites often consist of travertine; the cave walls, ceilings and even the floors are made of stone. In fact, many caverns are environments that offer the same conditions under which travertine forms.

How is travertine formed?

As mentioned above, one of the reasons travertine is found in caves is because of the atmosphere found in them. Summarizing the information to avoid getting too technical, travertine is a kind of limestone. It forms through a process in which water and organisms interact with limestone. The result is a limestone-like rock with noticeable “voids” or pockets throughout the material.

The voids created in the stone during the forming process result in very creative looking design materials that are used in various places and projects. However, much of the travertine used in houses and other architectural designs is processed to “enhance” or alter its appearance from its natural state.

Raw Natural Travertine Smoothing

As mentioned above, raw travertine has distinctive holes throughout the material that are visually interesting. However, these empty areas of the stone mean that the material may be weak. As a result, travertine is often filled with grout or epoxy. Travertine filler is used to strengthen the stone by filling in the gaps in the material. Thus, the material becomes strong enough for purposes that might otherwise be too weak for use.

Travertine fills come in many colors that complement the natural appearance of the rock. In addition, transparent inserts are available. These transparent fillers allow the natural look to be captured as the stone is filled to strengthen it.

Travertine Color Variations

Most of the time, when you see travertine ready to buy, it will be in shades of gray, tan, or brown. However, it forms in virtually every color and some travertine formations even sport a rainbow of colors including:

• Oxide
• orange
• peach
• Yellow
• Violet

However, most of the time you will find travertine tiles in a gray or beige tone.

There you go; some basic facts that contribute to the wonderful nature of the natural stone known as travertine. As we have considered, it is a distinctive rock. The way travertine is formed involves a particular process that produces pockets or holes in the stone. Also, it is stuffed or processed so that it can meet the architecture and design for which it is supposed to be used.

If you have the opportunity to use this intriguing, rustic natural stone in your project, don’t dismiss the option without serious consideration.