Tufa formation rates vary considerably depending on environmental conditions:
- Tufa formation rates:
- Tufa can form rapidly under the right environmental conditions, with some deposits growing at rates of approximately 30 millimetres per year and significant formations developing in less than a century.
- Scientific studies, such as those conducted at Big Soda Lake in Nevada, have shown that substantial tufa mounds—more than three metres tall—can form in less than one hundred years, with an average annual growth rate around 30 millimetres per year.
- In some circumstances, very thin layers or coatings of tufa can even form within days to weeks around submerged objects, especially where water chemistry is highly alkaline and the temperature is conducive to precipitation.