Travertine Introduction Part 1 – What is Travertine?

This is the first part of a series of posts that we make about travertine stone, a commonly extracted stone in Turkiye, which the country has over half reserves of the world. In this part, part 1, we introduce travertine and describe what it is, how it is formed, where it can be found. The next post, Part 2, discusses how it is extracted and processed. The last one, Part 3, is about uses of travertine. Note that, as always, since these posts are about a natural material, the information found here on our site Turkishstone.Com can vary according to different suppliers and regions, but still, these posts should hopefully serve as a general guide at least.

Rocks can be classified as sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous. Travertine falls under sedimentary rocks group. Travertine is often confused by marble. Marble is completely different type of rock, not even sedimentary, but metamorphic, which takes millions of more years to form under high temperature and pressure.

In addition to being sedimentary, it is also possible to further classify travertine as sedimentary limestone type of rock. Travertine is mainly composed of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO₃) like limestone. Therefore technically, all travertine are limestone but not all limestone are travertine. Travertine forms by precipitation of Calcium Carbonate, which is mainly how limestone forms.

Travertine forms mainly in rivers, caves or hot springs with rapid deposition of minerals, while other limestone forms in marine environments and take longer to form. So, although the formation through precipitation is similar, travertine forms faster, which makes it more porous than typical limestone which is denser. More porosity also means less durability and strength. The pores and cavities in travertine are commonly visible, while for most other limestone this visibility is to a lesser extent. Still, the durability and strength of travertine is enough to make it useful for many applications. When the porosity of travertine is too much, it can be classified as sponge stone, also called “Tufa”, which is even less durable and weaker in strength, but have good thermal insulating properties. Travertine also has a greater banded texture than most other limestone.

The formation of travertine is by chemical precipitation, while other limestone in marine environments form by precipitation of organic material. Therefore it is also possible to classify travertine as chemical sedimentary rock.

Travertine is really beautiful stone. No matter where it is used, it improves appearance and aesthetics and improves the quality of the space or the outdoor area, in other words, it certainly increases the space’s value. Travertine is also durable and tough so it is resistant to treading and scratching. This fact makes it possible to use it for both indoors and outside. Although it is durable, it is not one of the hardest stones – which of course also means that it is shaped and sculpted easily. One thing that might be considered as a slight drawback is that travertine needs occasional maintenance, to keep its surface clean and the stone in prime condition.

Travertine has a wide variety of colors such as silver, white, beige, ivory, gray, brown, walnut, pink, yellow, golden, cream all of which can come with unlimited patterns of textures, shades, veins, streaks and grain of different thicknesses, colors, brightness, intensities, pores and cavities. Note that the unlimited combinations from these are even further increased due to location of usage such as facade, indoors, lighting, wet or dry conditions, and the final surface processing, cut style, which can suppress or enhance and highlight certain features.

Common types of travertine extracted in Turkiye are listed below. For each, its Turkish name is also given in parentheses. Note that the list below is based on color but it is also possible to see classifications based on cutting style and finishing:

• Classic Beige Travertine (Krem Traverten): A very common material for wall and floor cladding and various finishes. Beige is probably the most common color for travertine stones.
• Ivory Travertine (Beyaz Traverten): Another common type, which stands out with its relatively more uniform, less veined surface.
• Yellow Travertine (Sarı Traverten): It may also be called as “Sunny” travertine, for its vibrant tones.
• Golden Sienna Travertine (Altın Traverten): Used commonly in luxurious settings, to create aesthetical finishes.
• Silver Travertine (Gümüş Traverten): Contains many tones of gray strikes and veins.
• Noche Travertine (Noce Traverten): Originates its name from the word noche, which means night in Spanish. It has dark brown / grayish color.
• Charcoal Gray Travertine (Antrasit Traverten): Known for its dark gray color tones.
• Red Travertine (Kırmızı Traverten): Comes with tones of red and orange, used for warming appearances.

Turkiye is the global leader in travertine reserves and production, which holds more than half of world reserves. Turkiye provides high quality and affordable travertine with a lot of varieties. Turkey is followed by Italy, the historical leader. These are followed by Iran, Peru, Mexico. Other producers of travertine in smaller quantities include USA, China, Pakistan, Spain, Portugal. China also provides large-scale processing of travertine which it imports from mainly Turkiye and Iran and then sells it to international markets.

In the next part, which is Part 2 of our travertine introduction posts, we discuss how travertine is extracted and processed. Part 3, discusses its uses.