A tufa tower west of the Winnemucca Lake playa: Needle Rock
Needle Rock

Needle Rock: Face this place without leaving a trace
Spectacular tufa deposits are found along the shores of Pyramid Lake and in neighboring areas. These hydrothermal precipitations of calcium carbonate come in various forms depending on the actual conditions under which their formation took place. Tufa mounds are common. Occasionally, the mixing of calcium-bearing springwater with alkaline, carbonate-containing water at lake bottom resulted in towerlike pipes of calcium carbonate—often called needles. Examples are The Needles and Needle Rock featured herein. Needle Rock can be explored on the west side of Nevada State Route 447, at milepost 43 between Nixon and Gerlach. Unfortunately, its roadside accessibility made this tufa site a target of vandalism, including graffiti. Hands-on access to the tufa scenery around Pyramid Lake has recently been limited; but many interesting sites can always be visited virtually: USGS site by Larry Benson, Black Rock Explorers Society, Photographs of Pyramid Lake, All Around Nevada.
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Nearby Pyramid Lake
▶ Pyramid Lake
▶ Popcorn Rock at Pyramid Lake
▶ Hiking between tufa pinnacles and mushroom castles
▶ Anaho Island
▶ Pouched fishermen
▶ American white pelicans