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Badab-e Surt's springs are two distinct mineral springs with different natural characteristics, located at 1840 meters of altitude. The first spring contains very salty water that gathers in a small natural pool; its water is considered to have medical effects, especially as a cure for rheumatism and some types of skin diseases and skin conditions. The second spring has a sour taste and is predominately orange mainly due to the large iron oxide sediments at its outlet.
Badab-e Surt's terraces are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by flowing water from the two distinct mineral springs; they were formed during Pleistocene and Pliocene geological periods. When the water, supersaturated with calcium carbonate and iron carbonate, reaches the surface, carbon dioxide degases from it, and mineral carbonates are deposited. The depositing continues until the carbon dioxide in the water balances the carbon dioxide in the air. Iron carbonate and calcium carbonate are deposited by the water as soft jellies, but they eventually harden into travertine.
As a result, over the course of thousands of years the water from these two springs emanating from the mountain range have combined and resulted in a number of orange, red and yellow colored pools shaped as a naturally formed staircase.