One of the country’s outstanding examples of tufa deposits is located in Searles Valley near the town of Trona. This unique geological feature consists of more than 500 spires, some as high as 140 feet. The Pinnacles were formed when microscopic blue-green algae extracted carbon dioxide from calcium carbonate (lime). Bit by bit, the lime accumulated on the lake bottom until the towers reached the surface. This process took thousands of years to form. When the lake dried up, the tufa spires remained as a monument to the lake that existed more than 10,000 years ago.