{
  "dataset": "Pakistan Stratigraphy Explorer — Indo-Pakistan Shield (Precambrian Craton)",
  "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield (Precambrian Craton)",
  "provinces": [
    "Indo-Pakistan Shield"
  ],
  "source": "https://stratigraphy.pk",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "generated": "2026-10-29",
  "count": 20,
  "units": [
    {
      "id": "asianwala-formation",
      "name": "Asianwala Formation",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/asianwala-formation",
      "rank": "formation",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Precambrian",
      "epoch": "Proterozoic",
      "age": "Proterozoic",
      "introducedBy": "Heron (1913)",
      "typeLocality": "",
      "coordinates": "",
      "lat": null,
      "lng": null,
      "thickness": "250 m",
      "lithology": "Quartzite with subordinate quartz wackes/arenaceous slates, gritty quartzites and slates; often cross-bedded and ripple-marked.",
      "lithologyType": "metamorphic",
      "environment": "shallow marine",
      "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "Asianwala Quartzite",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Taguwali Formation",
      "underlies": "Hadda Quartzite",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 4
    },
    {
      "id": "besham-group",
      "name": "Besham Group",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/besham-group",
      "rank": "",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Archean-Paleoproterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Archean to Paleoproterozoic (>1800 Ma)",
      "introducedBy": "Fletcher et al. (1986)",
      "typeLocality": "Besham, Indus valley (the Besham Nappe)",
      "coordinates": "34.9200, 72.8800",
      "lat": 34.92,
      "lng": 72.88,
      "thickness": "3000+ m",
      "lithology": "Granitic, biotite-rich orthogneiss together with metasedimentary gneiss, schist, metapsammite, marble and amphibolite, with komatiitic metavolcanics.",
      "lithologyType": "metamorphic",
      "environment": "",
      "basin": "",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Hazara Basin; Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "Gemstone potential (emeralds in associated rocks)",
      "economicResources": "Metals & minerals",
      "overlies": "Crystalline basement (deepest exposed)",
      "underlies": "Karora Formation",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 4
    },
    {
      "id": "buland-hill-formation",
      "name": "Buland Hill Formation",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/buland-hill-formation",
      "rank": "formation",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Precambrian",
      "epoch": "Proterozoic",
      "age": "Proterozoic",
      "introducedBy": "Hartsch et al. (2018)",
      "typeLocality": "",
      "coordinates": "",
      "lat": null,
      "lng": null,
      "thickness": "390 m",
      "lithology": "Felsic volcanics and volcanogenic slates, often interbedded with rhyolite, rhyolitic tuff, andesite, dacite and dacitic tuff; intruded by swarms of dolerite sills and dykes.",
      "lithologyType": "volcanic",
      "environment": "volcanic",
      "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Wad Sayyidan Formation",
      "underlies": "Chak 112 Conglomerates",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 3
    },
    {
      "id": "chak-102-conglomerate",
      "name": "Chak 102 Conglomerate",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/chak-102-conglomerate",
      "rank": "formation",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Precambrian",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Neoproterozoic",
      "introducedBy": "Alam et al. (1992)",
      "typeLocality": "Sharban hill, about 18 km SE of Sargodha",
      "coordinates": "31.9369, 72.7781",
      "lat": 31.9369,
      "lng": 72.7781,
      "thickness": "190 m",
      "lithology": "Conglomerate, dull rusty brown, with slate intercalations; pebbles of quartzite, slate and limestone in a calcareous matrix.",
      "lithologyType": "conglomerate",
      "environment": "marginal marine, metamorphic",
      "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "Sharaban Conglomerate; Sharaban Formation; Sharban Formation",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Hadda Quartzite",
      "underlies": "",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 4
    },
    {
      "id": "chak-112-conglomerate",
      "name": "Chak 112 Conglomerates",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/chak-112-conglomerate",
      "rank": "formation",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Precambrian",
      "epoch": "Proterozoic",
      "age": "Proterozoic",
      "introducedBy": "Chaudhry et al. (1999)",
      "typeLocality": "",
      "coordinates": "",
      "lat": null,
      "lng": null,
      "thickness": "2 m",
      "lithology": "Polymictic conglomerate with clasts of dolerite and acid volcanics.",
      "lithologyType": "conglomerate",
      "environment": "continental",
      "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Buland Hill Formation",
      "underlies": "Taguwali Formation",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "chiniot-granite",
      "name": "Chiniot Granite",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/chiniot-granite",
      "rank": "",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Neoproterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Precambrian (850-900 Ma)",
      "introducedBy": "",
      "typeLocality": "Chiniot, Punjab",
      "coordinates": "31.7200, 72.9800",
      "lat": 31.72,
      "lng": 72.98,
      "thickness": "Variable",
      "lithology": "Pink biotite granite, aplite, pegmatite",
      "lithologyType": "igneous",
      "environment": "",
      "basin": "",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Sindh Province; Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Crystalline basement",
      "underlies": "Quaternary alluvium",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 4
    },
    {
      "id": "hachi-group",
      "name": "Hachi Volcanic Group",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/hachi-group",
      "rank": "group",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Neoproterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Neoproterozoic",
      "introducedBy": "Shah (2009) (after the Hachi volcanics, Alam 1987)",
      "typeLocality": "Hachi hill, north of Sikhanwali (Kirana Hills)",
      "coordinates": "31.9025, 72.7000",
      "lat": 31.9025,
      "lng": 72.7,
      "thickness": "",
      "lithology": "Quartzite, slates, phyllite, tuffs and lava flows (the Hachi volcanics).",
      "lithologyType": "metamorphic",
      "environment": "volcanic-arc, metamorphic",
      "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "Hachi Group; Hachi Volcanics",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "",
      "underlies": "",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 6
    },
    {
      "id": "hadda-quartzite",
      "name": "Hadda Quartzite",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/hadda-quartzite",
      "rank": "formation",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Precambrian",
      "epoch": "Proterozoic",
      "age": "Proterozoic",
      "introducedBy": "Heron (1913)",
      "typeLocality": "",
      "coordinates": "",
      "lat": null,
      "lng": null,
      "thickness": "350 m",
      "lithology": "Calcareous quartzite, dull rusty brown, fine-grained (shallow-marine to deltaic), with minor conglomerate beds and rare lava flows.",
      "lithologyType": "metamorphic",
      "environment": "shallow marine, deltaic",
      "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "Hadda Formation",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Asianwala Formation",
      "underlies": "Chak 102 Conglomerate",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 4
    },
    {
      "id": "iskere-gneiss",
      "name": "Iskere Gneiss",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/iskere-gneiss",
      "rank": "",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Paleoproterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Paleoproterozoic (~1850 Ma)",
      "introducedBy": "",
      "typeLocality": "Iskere village, Nanga Parbat, Gilgit-Baltistan",
      "coordinates": "",
      "lat": null,
      "lng": null,
      "thickness": "1500+ m",
      "lithology": "Augen gneiss, biotite-muscovite gneiss, migmatite",
      "lithologyType": "metamorphic",
      "environment": "",
      "basin": "",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Nanga Parbat Massif; Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Shingus Gneiss",
      "underlies": "Nanga Parbat Gneiss",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 2
    },
    {
      "id": "kirana-group",
      "name": "Kirana Group",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/kirana-group",
      "rank": "group",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Neoproterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Precambrian (870 ± 40 Ma)",
      "introducedBy": "",
      "typeLocality": "Kirana Hills, Sargodha District, Punjab",
      "coordinates": "31.9500, 72.7000",
      "lat": 31.95,
      "lng": 72.7,
      "thickness": "Variable (inselberg remnants)",
      "lithology": "Rhyolite, rhyolitic tuff, andesite, granite, diorite, gabbro",
      "lithologyType": "volcanic",
      "environment": "",
      "basin": "",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Sindh Province; Potwar Basin; Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "Source of building stone and aggregate",
      "economicResources": "Building stone",
      "overlies": "Crystalline basement",
      "underlies": "Covered by alluvium",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 8
    },
    {
      "id": "machh-super-group",
      "name": "Machh Super Group",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/machh-super-group",
      "rank": "supergroup",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Precambrian",
      "epoch": "Proterozoic",
      "age": "Proterozoic",
      "introducedBy": "Chaudhry et al. (1999)",
      "typeLocality": "",
      "coordinates": "",
      "lat": null,
      "lng": null,
      "thickness": "",
      "lithology": "Metasedimentary succession (conglomerate, quartzite, phyllite, slate) unconformably overlying the Hachi Volcanic Group.",
      "lithologyType": "conglomerate",
      "environment": "",
      "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Hachi Volcanic Group",
      "underlies": "",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 2
    },
    {
      "id": "mangla-gneiss",
      "name": "Mangla Gneiss",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/mangla-gneiss",
      "rank": "",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Paleoproterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Precambrian (Paleoproterozoic)",
      "introducedBy": "",
      "typeLocality": "Mangla Dam area, Mirpur, Azad Kashmir",
      "coordinates": "33.1400, 73.6400",
      "lat": 33.14,
      "lng": 73.64,
      "thickness": "Unknown (drill core intercepts)",
      "lithology": "Biotite gneiss, quartzofeldspathic gneiss, amphibolite",
      "lithologyType": "metamorphic",
      "environment": "",
      "basin": "",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Azad Kashmir; Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Deep crystalline basement",
      "underlies": "Precambrian-Paleozoic sedimentary cover",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 2
    },
    {
      "id": "nagarparkar-complex",
      "name": "Nagarparkar Igneous Complex",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/nagarparkar-complex",
      "rank": "",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Neoproterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Precambrian (Malani Igneous Suite, ~750-770 Ma)",
      "introducedBy": "",
      "typeLocality": "Karunjhar Hills, Nagarparkar, Sindh",
      "coordinates": "24.3500, 70.7100",
      "lat": 24.35,
      "lng": 70.71,
      "thickness": "Variable (plutonic-volcanic complex)",
      "lithology": "Granite, rhyolite, basalt, granophyre",
      "lithologyType": "igneous",
      "environment": "",
      "basin": "",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Sindh Province; Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "Dimension stone quarrying",
      "economicResources": "Building stone",
      "overlies": "Crystalline basement",
      "underlies": "Quaternary deposits",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 6
    },
    {
      "id": "nanga-parbat-gneiss",
      "name": "Nanga Parbat Gneiss",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/nanga-parbat-gneiss",
      "rank": "",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Mesoproterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic",
      "introducedBy": "",
      "typeLocality": "Nanga Parbat massif, Gilgit-Baltistan",
      "coordinates": "",
      "lat": null,
      "lng": null,
      "thickness": "2000+ m",
      "lithology": "Paragneiss, pelitic schist, calc-silicate, quartzite, marble",
      "lithologyType": "metamorphic",
      "environment": "",
      "basin": "",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Nanga Parbat Massif; Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Iskere Gneiss",
      "underlies": "Kohistan Arc rocks (across MMT)",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 5
    },
    {
      "id": "petaro-ridge-basement",
      "name": "Petaro-Hyderabad Ridge",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/petaro-ridge-basement",
      "rank": "",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Proterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Precambrian",
      "introducedBy": "",
      "typeLocality": "Petaro-Hyderabad area, Sindh (subsurface)",
      "coordinates": "25.5200, 68.3100",
      "lat": 25.52,
      "lng": 68.31,
      "thickness": "Unknown (buried feature)",
      "lithology": "Crystalline basement (granite, gneiss — subsurface)",
      "lithologyType": "igneous",
      "environment": "",
      "basin": "",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Sindh Province; Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "Controls gas field locations in Lower Sindh",
      "economicResources": "Reservoir",
      "overlies": "Deep crystalline basement",
      "underlies": "Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary sequence",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 2
    },
    {
      "id": "sargodha-ridge-basement",
      "name": "Sargodha Ridge Basement",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/sargodha-ridge-basement",
      "rank": "",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Archean-Proterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Precambrian (Archean-Proterozoic)",
      "introducedBy": "",
      "typeLocality": "Sargodha area, Punjab (subsurface)",
      "coordinates": "32.0800, 72.6700",
      "lat": 32.08,
      "lng": 72.67,
      "thickness": "Unknown (buried feature)",
      "lithology": "Granite, gneiss, schist, quartzite (subsurface)",
      "lithologyType": "igneous",
      "environment": "",
      "basin": "",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "Controls petroleum migration pathways in Punjab Platform",
      "economicResources": "Other",
      "overlies": "Deep crystalline basement",
      "underlies": "Paleozoic-Mesozoic sedimentary cover",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 4
    },
    {
      "id": "sharban-group",
      "name": "Sharaban Group",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/sharban-group",
      "rank": "group",
      "status": "under-review",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Neoproterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Neoproterozoic",
      "introducedBy": "Alam et al. (1992)",
      "typeLocality": "Kirana Hills, Punjab platform (Sargodha High region), central Pakistan.",
      "coordinates": "",
      "lat": null,
      "lng": null,
      "thickness": "",
      "lithology": "Quartzites, slates, conglomerates and lava flows (includes the Hadda quartzite and the Sharban Formation).",
      "lithologyType": "metamorphic",
      "environment": "marginal marine, metamorphic",
      "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "Sharban Group",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "",
      "underlies": "",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 4
    },
    {
      "id": "shingus-gneiss",
      "name": "Shingus Gneiss",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/shingus-gneiss",
      "rank": "",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Paleoproterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Early Proterozoic (2600-2200 Ma)",
      "introducedBy": "",
      "typeLocality": "Shingus village, Indus Gorge, Gilgit-Baltistan",
      "coordinates": "",
      "lat": null,
      "lng": null,
      "thickness": "2000+ m",
      "lithology": "Amphibolite-grade biotite gneiss, amphibolite, calc-silicate gneiss, marble",
      "lithologyType": "metamorphic",
      "environment": "",
      "basin": "",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Nanga Parbat Massif; Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Crystalline basement",
      "underlies": "Iskere Gneiss",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 2
    },
    {
      "id": "taguwali-formation",
      "name": "Taguwali Formation",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/taguwali-formation",
      "rank": "formation",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Neoproterozoic",
      "epoch": "",
      "age": "Neoproterozoic",
      "introducedBy": "Alam et al. (1992)",
      "typeLocality": "Taguwali village (Kirana Hills)",
      "coordinates": "31.9333, 72.7000",
      "lat": 31.9333,
      "lng": 72.7,
      "thickness": "1210 m",
      "lithology": "Cross-bedded quartzites, phyllites and slates in the lower part; slates in the middle; phyllites and slates in the upper part. Overlain by the Asianwala quartzite.",
      "lithologyType": "metamorphic",
      "environment": "marine, metamorphic",
      "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "Chak 112 Conglomerates",
      "underlies": "Asianwala Formation",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 6
    },
    {
      "id": "wad-sayyidan-formation",
      "name": "Wad Sayyidan Formation",
      "url": "https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/wad-sayyidan-formation",
      "rank": "formation",
      "status": "published",
      "era": "Precambrian",
      "period": "Precambrian",
      "epoch": "Proterozoic",
      "age": "Proterozoic",
      "introducedBy": "Hartsch et al. (2018)",
      "typeLocality": "",
      "coordinates": "",
      "lat": null,
      "lng": null,
      "thickness": "1054 m",
      "lithology": "Mafic volcanics and volcaniclastics (basalts and basaltic andesite) interbedded with slates, graphitic slates, dolomites and quartzwackes.",
      "lithologyType": "volcanic",
      "environment": "volcanic, marine",
      "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "region": "",
      "provinces": "Indo-Pakistan Shield",
      "fossils": "",
      "synonyms": "",
      "economic": "",
      "economicResources": "",
      "overlies": "",
      "underlies": "Buland Hill Formation",
      "lowerContact": "",
      "upperContact": "",
      "references": 1
    }
  ]
}