Environmental Conditions:

    Current major research on the subject of stromatolites began during the 1960s.  Until then it was thought that stromatolites could only form in marine intertidal areas.  Now it known that stromatolites can form in a wide range of environments.  It is believed that they can form in almost any free-standing body of water, if the following conditions are met:

Stromatolites at Salt Lagon, Baja,California

the environment is suitable for the growth of appropriate microorganisms the rate of growth of the constructing microorganisms exceeds their  rate of consumption by other organisms  the rate of sedimentation is sufficient to produce a preservable structure but is not so great as to prevent colonization by microorganisms  the stromatolites accrete faster than they can be destroyed by boring  and burrowing organisms and erosive and other mechanical and chemical  forces.