Thousands of ducks, geese and other birds migrate along the Athabasca River to nesting sites on the Peace-Athabasca Delta, and Saline Lake is an important resting and feeding spot for them.

The spring water at La Saline has a reported total dissolved solids content of 71,400 milligrams per litre (0.00258 lb/cu in)[4] and it comes to the surface because it has reached an aquitard formed by the bitumen-saturated sands at the base of the overlying Early Cretaceous McMurray Formation.

As carbon dioxide and small amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas are released to the atmosphere, some of the dissolved minerals precipitate, forming the tufa.

[4] Tufa deposits, including a large mound measuring 3 m (9.8 ft) in width, have accumulated around the salt springs on the lake's southeastern shore.

[1] Outcrops of the Devonian limestones of the Waterways Formation (Moberly Member) are present along the Athabasca River on the western edge of the Natural Area.