{ "dataset": "Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset", "datasetVersion": "4.2.0", "schemaVersion": "stratigraphy.pk/research-export/1.0", "conceptDoi": "10.5281/zenodo.21363991", "citation": "Qudsi, L. (2026). Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset (Version 4.2.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991", "source": "https://stratigraphy.pk", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "gitCommit": "7990a3764ccb331bfb1ca4ee150d20d8ee1078d5", "generated": "2026-10-29", "notes": "Nested research export. Each unit keeps its arrays, its per-field `citations` (field -> source id), its attributed `revisionNotes` and its `sources` ids; resolve any source id against `sources` below. Stratigraphic contacts are in each unit's `stratigraphicPosition`. A blank or absent field means \"not recorded in the compiled sources\", not \"absent in nature\". For the flat one-row-per-unit table use /data/units.json or /data/units.csv.", "counts": { "units": 363, "provinces": 19, "sources": 240, "geosites": 27 }, "units": [ { "id": "salt-range-formation", "name": "Salt Range Formation", "age": "Late Precambrian (Ediacaran)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Ediacaran", "lithology": "Rock salt (Billianwala Salt Member), gypsum (Bandar Kas Gypsum Member), marl (Sahwal Marl Member)", "description": "The oldest exposed formation in the Salt Range, consisting of evaporites deposited in a restricted marine environment. Contains the world-famous Khewra Salt Mine, second largest in the world. Includes Sahwal Marl Member, Bandar Kas Gypsum Member, and Billianwala Salt Member.", "thickness": "800-1500 m", "fossils": [ "Stromatolites", "Algal mats" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A late Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran) evaporite succession deposited under arid, restricted-marine conditions on the northwestern margin of the Indian Plate; geochemistry indicates felsic to intermediate source terrains. It forms the basal detachment of the Salt Range thrust belt and is the region's economic salt source.", "typeLocality": "Khewra, Salt Range, Punjab", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Crystalline basement", "underlies": "Khewra Sandstone" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "economicImportance": "Major source of rock salt (Khewra Salt Mine), gypsum, and potential oil shales", "coordinates": "32.6486, 73.0111", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-1977", "farooqui-salt-range-fm-2019", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "jamil-2012-neoproterozoic", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "underlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "environment": [ "farooqui-salt-range-fm-2019", "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "farooqui-salt-range-fm-2019", "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "environment": [ "restricted marine", "evaporitic" ], "plainSummary": "The oldest rocks exposed in the Salt Range: a thick Ediacaran sequence of rock salt, gypsum and marl formed when a restricted, evaporating sea dried out. It hosts the world-famous Khewra salt mine.", "thicknessM": 1150, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Farooqui, M.A., Umar, M., Sabir, M.A., Pervez, R. & Jalees, T. (2019). Geochemical attributes of late Neoproterozoic Salt Range Formation, Pakistan: constraints on provenance, paleoclimate, depositional and tectonic settings. Geosciences Journal, 23(2), 201-218.", "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12303-018-0022-3", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Jamil, A. & Sheikh, R.A. (2012). An overview of Neoproterozoic reservoirs in Pakistan. In: Bhat, G.M., Craig, J., Thurow, J.W. et al. (eds) Geology and Hydrocarbon Potential of Neoproterozoic–Cambrian Basins in Asia. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 366, 111-121.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP366.2", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Ediacaran", "introducedBy": "Asrarullah (1967)", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): >830 m at Khewra Gorge; >2000 m at Dhariala (drilling). Type locality: Khewra Gorge, Salt Range. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Salt Range Formation is Late Proterozoic (sulphur-isotope data on top gypsum give ~600 Ma) — >800 m (base not exposed; locally >2,000 m in the Kohat-Potwar foredeep by salt migration) of red gypsiferous 'salt marl' claystone with thick salt bodies, a middle gypsum-dolomite-shale-oil-shale interval and a top gypsum with the Khewra Trap; deposited in a restricted shallow-marine evaporitic setting on Indian-shield basement, overlain by the Khewra Sandstone. Type locality Khewra Gorge; devoid of fossils.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Gee (1989): the saliferous Salt Range Formation is of uncertain but probably ~1,000 m thickness. In the Karampur borehole (about 29 deg 59 min N, 72 deg 22 min E; 280 km south of the range) it is ~900 m thick and directly overlies an igneous-metamorphic Precambrian basement at ~2,100 m depth — a sequence comparable to the Salt Range.", "source": "gee-1989-saltrange" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Gee (1989): the Eocambrian Salt Range Formation (formerly the 'Punjab Saline Series') is the incompetent detachment horizon on which the whole overlying pile was thrust southward — a decollement determined by seismic reflection to involve at least 20 km of displacement. Its top gypsiferous stage locally carries the 'Khewra Trap', a much-weathered lava flow, in the eastern part of the range. It correlates with certain Vindhyan formations of NW India (Gee 1945).", "source": "gee-1989-saltrange" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Jamil & Sheikh (2012): beyond its rock-salt and gypsum resources, the Eocambrian/Neoproterozoic Salt Range Formation and correlative Punjab-Platform/Potwar strata are an under-explored hydrocarbon play — Neoproterozoic rocks have been penetrated by ~40 wells in Pakistan and are argued to offer a complete petroleum system (source, reservoir and seal), by analogy with the productive Infracambrian of Oman and the Lena–Tunguska province.", "source": "jamil-2012-neoproterozoic" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Salt Range Formation is a proven 'Infra-Cambrian' source rock. Brown bituminous shales, oil shales and bituminous dolomites near its top (Eastern Salt Range, up to ~5 m thick; Gee 1989) carry Type II kerogen with TOC up to ~30 wt.% (locally up to 47.8 wt.% in the Dulmial-1 core) and HI up to 879 mgHC/gTOC (Ahmad & Alam 2007, 91 outcrop/core samples). The facies are thin and laterally inconsistent and are immature in the Eastern Salt Range, but where deeply buried in the Potwar Basin (generation from ~Late Cretaceous) they charge stacked Cambrian-Eocene fractured-carbonate reservoirs; oil in Karampur-1 is Salt Range-derived and geochemically resembles Baghewala (India) and Oman Infra-Cambrian oils. Jadoon et al. (2015) treat it as a frontier play with ~290 MMBO original recoverable reserves.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Salt Range Formation evaporites (halite, gypsum, marl, dolomite) form the primary regional top-seal and, critically, the basal decollement of the Salt Range-Potwar fold-and-thrust belt, decoupling the Phanerozoic cover from Precambrian basement. The basal detachment steps ~100 km south along the formation, transporting the hangingwall ~20 km south with little internal deformation, and is assumed to pinch out near the northern Potwar boundary - a fundamental control on trap geometry and prospectivity.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Farooqui et al. (2019), full text: geochemistry of the clastic fraction of the late Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran) Salt Range Formation classifies the sandstones/shales as arkose, subarkose and litharenite sourced from felsic and/or intermediate igneous rocks (felsic island arc, with minor andesitic-arc and older passive-margin input). The detritus was deposited in fluvial to restricted-shelf conditions under an arid to semi-arid, oxygenated palaeoclimate — consistent with the recorded arid, restricted-marine evaporite setting.", "source": "farooqui-salt-range-fm-2019" } ], "synonyms": [ "Punjab Saline Series", "Saline Series" ], "lithologyType": "salt", "lat": 32.6486, "lng": 73.0111, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "hazara-formation", "name": "Hazara Formation", "age": "Late Precambrian (Neoproterozoic)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "lithology": "Light-grey, partly phyllitic slate with a flysch-like character, with intercalations of sandstone, limestone, gypsum and graphite.", "description": "Widely exposed metamorphic sequence from east to west in Hazara region. Synonyms include Salkhala Formation, Attock Slates, and Manki Formation. Represents deep marine to slope deposits.", "thickness": "2000-5000 m", "fossils": [ "Stromatolites (rare)" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Precambrian (Neoproterozoic) flysch-type slate sequence forming the core of the Hazara Nappe; first described as the 'Salt Series of Hazara' (Middlemiss, 1896) and correlated with the Salt Range Formation on the basis of its evaporites, but radiometric ages of about 765 and 950 Ma show it to be older than the Salt Range Formation. It is overlain unconformably by the Tanawal Formation.", "typeLocality": "Hazara District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Crystalline basement", "underlies": "Tanawal Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hazara", "azad-kashmir" ], "introducedBy": "Middlemiss (1896)", "synonyms": [ "Salt Series of Hazara" ], "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "The Late Precambrian slate sequence at the heart of the Hazara hills, older than the famous Salt Range salt beds.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "dipietro-pogue-2004", "gsp-shah-2009", "akhtar-2019-dhamtaur", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "calkins-1975-hazara", "jamil-2012-neoproterozoic", "pogue-1999-himalayan-foothills", "butt-1989-hazara-arc", "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "fuchs-1970-hazara", "calkins-1967-westernlimb", "dar-2021-hazara", "qasim-2018-hazara-zircon", "gardezi-1968-nathiagali", "butt-1972-hazara-nomenclature" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (2004). Tectonostratigraphic subdivisions of the Himalaya: A view from the west. Tectonics, 23, TC5001.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/2003TC001554", "year": 2004 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Akhtar, S., Rahim, Y., Hu, B., Tsang, H., Ibrar, K.M., Ullah, M.F. & Bute, S.I. (2019). Stratigraphy and Structure of Dhamtaur Area, District Abbottabad, Eastern Hazara, Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9(1), 57-66.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2019.91005", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Jamil, A. & Sheikh, R.A. (2012). An overview of Neoproterozoic reservoirs in Pakistan. In: Bhat, G.M., Craig, J., Thurow, J.W. et al. (eds) Geology and Hydrocarbon Potential of Neoproterozoic–Cambrian Basins in Asia. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 366, 111-121.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP366.2", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Hylland, M.D., Yeats, R.S., Khattak, W.U. & Hussain, A. (1999). Stratigraphic and structural framework of Himalayan foothills, northern Pakistan. In: Macfarlane, A., Sorkhabi, R.B. & Quade, J. (eds) Himalaya and Tibet: Mountain Roots to Mountain Tops. Geological Society of America Special Paper 328, 257-274.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0-8137-2328-0.257", "year": 1999 }, { "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1989). An Overview of the Hazara Arc Stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 1-11.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Betts, P., Khan, M.M.S., Sabir, M.A., Farooq, M., Zeb, A., Jadoon, U.K. & Ali, S. (2015). Signatures of Late Neoproterozoic Gondwana assembly and Marinoan glaciation in Lesser Himalaya: a palaeogeographical and stratigraphical approach. Acta Geologica Polonica, 65(1), 1-19.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1515/agp-2015-0001", "year": 2015 }, { "citation": "Fuchs, G. (1970). The significance of Hazara to Himalayan geology. Jahrbuch der Geologischen Bundesanstalt (Vienna), Sonderband 15, 21-23.", "year": 1970 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A. (1967). The Geology of the Western Limb of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis, West Pakistan and Kashmir. U.S. Geological Survey, open-file report.", "year": 1967 } ], "thicknessM": 3500, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Corroborated by DiPietro & Pogue (2004, Fig. 3): the Hazara Formation is a Lower Proterozoic argillite/quartzite/siltstone/limestone unit of the Western Lesser Himalaya (below the Murree Formation across the MBT). Consistent with the dataset s Neoproterozoic age.", "source": "dipietro-pogue-2004" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Akhtar et al. (2019): in the Dhamtaur area the Precambrian Hazara Formation (Hazara Slates) is the oldest unit and, with the Permian–Triassic missing, is overlain unconformably by the Jurassic Samana Suk Formation; along the Hazara Thrust the Precambrian Hazara Formation is carried southward over the Samana Suk Formation.", "source": "akhtar-2019-dhamtaur" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): earlier names for this slate–phyllite–graywacke sequence are 'Attock Slates' (Waagen & Wynne 1872), 'Slate Series of Hazara' (Middlemiss 1896) and 'Hazara Slate Formation' (Marks & Ali 1961) — the curated 'Salt Series of Hazara' appears to be a slip for Middlemiss's 'Slate Series of Hazara'. It is equated with the Dogra Slates of Poonch (Kashmir), the Attock Slates and the Simla Slate Series of India.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): mainly dark-grey to black slate, phyllite and unmetamorphosed shale with subordinate graywacke sandstone; two zones between Muzaffarabad and Kohala carry limestone beds totalling up to ~500 ft (150 m) and a calcareous-phyllite-with-gypsum sequence 100–400 ft (30–120 m) thick, integral to the formation. The presence of limestone, graphite and gypsum argues against the earlier turbidite/flysch interpretation, favouring a shallow-water argillaceous origin. No fossils have been found; correlation with the fossiliferous-Cambrian-overlain Dogra Slates suggests a Precambrian age possibly extending into the Cambrian–Ordovician.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Jamil & Sheikh (2012): the Hazara Basin contains glacial Pokhran-type boulder beds recording Cryogenian 'snowball Earth' glaciation, correlated with Neoproterozoic glacial facies across the India–Pakistan border and worldwide. Pogue et al. (1999) treat the Hazara (Dakhner) Formation and its metamorphosed equivalents as the basal unit of the Himalayan-foothills succession south of the MMT.", "source": "jamil-2012-neoproterozoic" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Pogue et al. (1999) use 'Hazara (Dakhner) Formation', i.e. the Dakhner Formation as a local/metamorphosed equivalent name for the Hazara Formation in the Peshawar-basin region. Recorded as an equivalent name (the curated synonyms array is retained).", "source": "pogue-1999-himalayan-foothills" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Butt (1989): the Precambrian Hazara Formation is the oldest exposed unit of the Hazara Arc - a thick turbidite sequence (graded bedding, cross-bedding, ripple marks, slump/ball-and-pillow structures) of alternating argillaceous and arenaceous beds with occasional stromatolitic (algal) limestone bands, notably the Langrial and Miranjani algal limestones. Type section at Baragali (Abbottabad-Nathiagali road); the name (Butt 1972) supersedes the 'Slate Series' of Middlemiss (1896) and 'Hazara Group' of Latif (1970). Its base is faulted (Nathiagali/Panjal thrust) and it is unconformably overlain by the Lower Jurassic.", "source": "butt-1989-hazara-arc" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Umar et al. (2015): facies analysis of six Hazara-Basin sections shows the Hazara Formation (shale, siltstone and sandstone; base not exposed; Rb/Sr 765+/-20 and 950+/-20 Ma, Crawford & Davies 1975) was deposited in a deep-marine turbidite system - complete and incomplete Bouma sequences, with a proximal inner fan and submarine channels in the south passing north-northwest into outer-fan lobes and base-of-slope/basin-floor turbidites; palaeocurrents flow north-northwest, indicating sediment supply from the south-southeast (inferred Aravalli-Bundelkhand craton source).", "source": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Umar et al. (2015): the Hazara Formation correlates with the Chandpur Formation / Shimla Group of the Indian Lesser Himalaya and the Madiyi / Hetong formations of South China (all fine-grained deep-marine Late Neoproterozoic successions), a correlation used to argue that South China lay close to the northwestern margin of India during Rodinia break-up and Gondwana assembly.", "source": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Fuchs (1970): the Hazara Group (former 'Hazara Slates') is a thick slate complex of geosynclinal character that Fuchs correlated with the Dogra Slates and Simla Slates of the Lower Himalayas; through the Palaeozoic, Hazara sedimentation was closely tied to the Lower Himalayan basin.", "source": "fuchs-1970-hazara" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975, USGS PP 716-C): the Hazara Formation is Precambrian(?) and possibly lower Palaeozoic — essentially unaltered shale, siltstone and limestone in the southern part of the area — overlying the Precambrian Salkhala Formation; its unmetamorphosed state there argues against a Precambrian-Palaeozoic metamorphic event.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Calkins (1967): the Hazara Formation is a thick, widespread sequence of black and brown slate, phyllite and graywacke sandstone of Precambrian age underlying large tracts between Kashmir and the Indus River; earlier names include the 'Attock Slates' (Waagen & Wynne 1872) and the 'Slate Series of Hazara' (Middlemiss).", "source": "calkins-1967-westernlimb" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Detailed facies analysis characterizes the Precambrian Hazara Formation as greywacke sandstone, siltstone, shale and argillite arranged in fining-upward turbidite lithofacies with well-developed (complete and incomplete) Bouma sequences, indicating deep-marine turbidite (submarine-fan) deposition (Dar et al. 2021).", "source": "dar-2021-hazara" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Qasim et al. (2018): the youngest detrital zircon in the Hazara Formation (sample 2015A2) gives a maximum depositional age of ~754 ± 10 Ma, consistent with the older Rb-Sr estimates (765 ± 20, 950 ± 20 Ma; Crawford & Davies 1975) and constraining deposition to the Neoproterozoic (deep-marine turbidites with Bouma divisions). A modern U-Pb refinement of the Hazara age.", "source": "qasim-2018-hazara-zircon" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Around Nathiagali the Hazara Slate Formation is flysch-type geosynclinal turbidite (argillites, silty shales, siltstones and subgreywackes) exceeding 10,000 ft, with graded bedding, flute casts and slump structures and a thick psammite (>500 ft) forming Miranjani Peak; it contains the Langrial and Miranjani algal (oncolitic/stromatolitic) limestone bands and is overlain with apparent paraconformity by the Toarcian Maira Formation (Bouleiceras cf. nitescens) (Gardezi, 1968).", "source": "gardezi-1968-nathiagali" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "source": "butt-1972-hazara-nomenclature", "note": "Butt (1972) formalized the Hazara Formation (replacing the 'Slate Series' of Middlemiss 1896 and 'Hazara Slate Formation' of Marks & Ali 1961) and rejected Latif's (1970) fivefold 'Hazara Group' split, since the siliciclastic units lack distinct lithological boundaries; it is a thick flyschoid turbiditic succession of argillites, silty shales and subgreywackes with intercalated algal limestones, with type exposures at Baragali." } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "tanawal-formation", "name": "Tanawal Formation", "age": "Late Proterozoic", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "lithology": "Metaquartzite, metapsammite and garnet-mica schist (quartzite and schist).", "description": "Named after Tanawal (Tanol) village. Thick quartzite sequence intruded by Cambrian Mansehra Granite. Forms prominent ridges in Hazara region.", "thickness": "1000-2000 m", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "The metaquartzite-and-schist unit that makes up much of the Hazara Nappe; it unconformably overlies the Precambrian Hazara Formation, is overlain unconformably by the Cambrian Abbottabad Formation, and is intruded by the Late Cambrian Mansehra Granite, which places it in the Late Proterozoic.", "typeLocality": "Tanawal village, north of Tarbela", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Hazara Formation", "underlies": "Abbottabad Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "introducedBy": "Wynne (1879)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "A Late Proterozoic quartzite-and-schist unit of the Hazara hills, between the Hazara and Abbottabad formations and cut by the Mansehra Granite.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "calkins-1975-hazara", "pogue-1999-himalayan-foothills", "chaudhry-1989-agglomeratic-slate", "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "calkins-1967-westernlimb", "dipietro-pogue-2004", "ghazanfar-chaudhry-1985-kaghan" ], "citations": { "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "calkins-1975-hazara", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Baseline age 'Cambrian' is questionable: Kazmi & Jan (1997), following Williams (1989) and Treloar et al. (1989a), place the Tanawal Formation in the Late Proterozoic, since it is intruded by the Late Cambrian Mansehra Granite and so must predate it. Age needs review.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Precambrian Tanawal Formation is placed in the Late Proterozoic (Williams 1989; Treloar et al. 1989a) — metaquartzites, metapsammites and garnet-mica schists of the Hazara Nappe that unconformably overlie the Hazara Formation, are overlain unconformably by the Cambrian Abbottabad Formation (Tanakki Conglomerate at the base), and are intruded by the Late Cambrian two-mica Mansehra Granite (516 Ma Rb–Sr isochron; Le Fort et al. 1980). Treloar et al. (1991b) correlate the Shingus Gneiss with this Tanawal Formation–Mansehra Granite sequence.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): in Hazara the Tanawal Formation is bracketed only as younger than the Hazara Formation and older than the Kingriali Formation, and is assigned an Ordovician(?)–Devonian(?) age, tentatively correlated with the Muth Quartzite (now regarded as Late Ordovician–Early Silurian). This differs from the curated Neoproterozoic assignment; the curated era/period are retained and the Calkins age recorded as an alternative.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): mainly quartzose schist, quartzite and lenses of quartzose conglomerate (four units near Tarbela: conglomerate, lower quartzite, quartz schist, upper quartzite), grading northward into garnet-, andalusite-, staurolite- and locally sillimanite-bearing schists within and north of the Mansehra Granite. Ubiquitous accessory tourmaline and minor feldspar indicate derivation from a granitic Precambrian source terrane (Indian shield). About 5,000 ft (~1,500 m) thick north of Haripur (Ali 1962).", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Pogue et al. (1999): the Tanawal Formation is a metaclastic unit with a protolith of feldspathic sandstone, siltstone and shale; lithologies range from quartzite and argillite near Tarbela dam to schistose quartzite and quartz-mica schist near Mansehra (increasing metamorphic grade). The Sobrah Formation (arenaceous/dolomitic marble and quartzite) lies between the Manki and Tanawal formations on the NW Gandghar Range.", "source": "pogue-1999-himalayan-foothills" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Chaudhry et al. (1989): in the Kaghan Valley the Tanawal (Tanol) Formation (psammitic-pelitic schists and quartzites) underlies the Agglomeratic Slate (Chushal Formation); their contact is often faulted but is locally gradational (Middlemiss 1911, Wadia 1931).", "source": "chaudhry-1989-agglomeratic-slate" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Pogue, Harris & Hussain (1992): the Tanawal Formation is Cambrian or older - it is intruded by the Mansehra Granite (Rb/Sr whole-rock 516 +/- 16 Ma; Le Fort et al. 1980). About 3,000 m of interbedded quartzite and argillite with rare limestone lenses (cross-bedded quartzite, ripple-marked interfaces); it unconformably overlies graphitic phyllite/marble correlated with the Salkhala Formation and is overlain by the Ambar Formation (or, north of Swabi, directly by the Misri Banda Quartzite). Its high-grade counterpart in Swat is the Manglaur Formation.", "source": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Umar et al. (2015): the Tanawal Formation (sandstone/quartzite and shale) records shallow-marine deposition from deeper-shelf to shoreface - maroon shale and bioturbated/laminated sandstone at the base passing up into hummocky, large-scale planar and trough cross-stratified shoreface sandstones in an overall upward-coarsening (shoaling) succession; facies pass laterally from proximal shoreface (south-southeast) to distal deeper shelf (north-northwest). It is interpreted as a passive-margin deposit.", "source": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Umar et al. (2015): the Tanawal Formation overlies the Hazara Formation across an unconformity marked by a ~15 m conglomerate of Hazara-derived clasts (episodic uplift and erosion in the latest Neoproterozoic). It reaches up to ~900 m in the west but thins eastward to a condensed section of maroon shale, siltstone and thin sandstone (reinterpreted here as sediment-starvation by local subsidence, not the ~80 Myr erosional gap of earlier workers). Correlated with the Nagthat Formation (India) and the Wuqiangxi / Gong Dong formations (South China).", "source": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975, USGS PP 716-C): the Tanawal Formation is a mainly clastic (quartzite and schist) early-to-middle Palaeozoic unit assigned an Upper Ordovician(?) to Devonian(?) age; in the high-grade metamorphic terrane its schists are considered equivalent to the Tanawal Formation.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Calkins (1967): the Tanawal Formation — originally Wynne's (1879) 'Tanol Group', named from the former Tanol (Tanawal) tribal area north of Haripur — is the quartzose-schist sequence overlying the Hazara Formation west of Abbottabad; Calkins assigned it a Silurian-Devonian age.", "source": "calkins-1967-westernlimb" }, { "field": "age", "note": "DiPietro & Pogue (2004): the Tanawal Formation is an Upper Proterozoic-to-Cambrian quartzite, quartz-schist, argillite and garnetiferous schist that unconformably overlies the Gandaf Formation and is correlated with the Haimanta Group of the Lesser Himalaya; it is intimately associated with abundant ~500 Ma (Cambro-Ordovician) augen orthogneiss (the Mansehra granite). Places the unit in the tectonostratigraphy of the NW Indian plate.", "source": "dipietro-pogue-2004" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "In the Kaghan Valley (Bhunja–Batakundi) the Tanol (Tanawal) Formation is represented by the Jared quartzites and quartz-mica schists — a light-brownish-grey arenaceous/psammitic sequence with dolerite sills, at biotite metamorphic grade (Ghazanfar & Chaudhry, 1985).", "source": "ghazanfar-chaudhry-1985-kaghan" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Hylland, M.D., Yeats, R.S., Khattak, W.U. & Hussain, A. (1999). Stratigraphic and structural framework of Himalayan foothills, northern Pakistan. In: Macfarlane, A., Sorkhabi, R.B. & Quade, J. (eds) Himalaya and Tibet: Mountain Roots to Mountain Tops. Geological Society of America Special Paper 328, 257-274.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0-8137-2328-0.257", "year": 1999 }, { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ghazanfar, M. & Hussain, M.S. (1989). Petrography, Metamorphism, Nature and Origin of Agglomeratic Slate in Kaghan Valley, District Mansehra, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 61-70.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0915:PAMSOT>2.3.CO;2", "year": 1992 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Betts, P., Khan, M.M.S., Sabir, M.A., Farooq, M., Zeb, A., Jadoon, U.K. & Ali, S. (2015). Signatures of Late Neoproterozoic Gondwana assembly and Marinoan glaciation in Lesser Himalaya: a palaeogeographical and stratigraphical approach. Acta Geologica Polonica, 65(1), 1-19.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1515/agp-2015-0001", "year": 2015 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A. (1967). The Geology of the Western Limb of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis, West Pakistan and Kashmir. U.S. Geological Survey, open-file report.", "year": 1967 } ], "coordinates": "34.4200, 72.9700", "thicknessM": 1500, "reviewStatus": "published", "synonyms": [ "Tanol Group", "Tanol Quartzites", "Tanol Formation" ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.42, "lng": 72.97, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "tanaki-boulder-bed", "name": "Tanaki Boulder Bed", "age": "Late Neoproterozoic (Marinoan, ~605–595 Ma)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "lithology": "Very poorly sorted, matrix-supported conglomerate (diamictite) with angular to sub-rounded clasts 3–50 cm across — dark-grey siltstone, slate and shale and light-grey to brown quartzite reworked from the Hazara and Tanawal formations — in a matrix of fine pebbles, sand, silt and argillite.", "description": "The Tanaki Boulder Bed is a glaciogenic diamictite of the Hazara Basin (Lesser Himalaya, northern Pakistan), named by Latif (1970), that overlies the Tanawal Formation and underlies the Cambrian Abbottabad Formation. As documented by Umar et al. (2015), its angular clasts, lack of fluvial features and preserved striations indicate a glacial origin, and it is interpreted as part of the terminal-Neoproterozoic Marinoan glaciation (~605–595 Ma). It forms an excellent regional marker horizon.", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "A glaciogenic marker horizon recording the terminal-Proterozoic Marinoan glaciation in the Lesser Himalaya; correlated with the Blaini Formation of the Indian Lesser Himalaya and the Sinian diamictites (Changan/Fulu/Silikou formations) of South China, part of the globally correlative Neoproterozoic 'snowball Earth' glaciation (Umar et al. 2015).", "typeLocality": "Southeastern Hazara, Hazara Fold-and-Thrust Belt, northern Pakistan (named by Latif 1970).", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Tanawal Formation", "underlies": "Abbottabad Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "introducedBy": "Latif (1970)", "environment": [ "glaciogenic", "glaciomarine" ], "plainSummary": "A jumbled glacial boulder bed in the Hazara hills marking a global ice age at the end of the Precambrian — the local record of the Marinoan 'snowball Earth' glaciation.", "synonyms": [ "Tanakki Boulder Bed", "Tanakki Conglomerate" ], "sources": [ "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "qasim-2018-hazara-zircon" ], "citations": { "age": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "era": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "period": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "lithology": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "typeLocality": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "overlies": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "underlies": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "introducedBy": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "geologicalSignificance": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "plainSummary": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 3, "reviewStatus": "published", "references": [ { "citation": "Umar, M., Betts, P., Khan, M.M.S., Sabir, M.A., Farooq, M., Zeb, A., Jadoon, U.K. & Ali, S. (2015). Signatures of Late Neoproterozoic Gondwana assembly and Marinoan glaciation in Lesser Himalaya: a palaeogeographical and stratigraphical approach. Acta Geologica Polonica, 65(1), 1-19.", "year": 2015, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1515/agp-2015-0001" } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Qasim et al. (2018): U-Pb detrital-zircon dating of the Tanaki conglomeratic bed (sample 2015A3) yields grains clustering ~750-950 Ma with an age peak at ~830 Ma, confirming a Precambrian (Neoproterozoic) age; the matrix-supported, lithic-rich bed marks the angular unconformity between the underlying Hazara/Tanawal succession and the Cambrian Abbottabad Formation. Independent corroboration of the Late Neoproterozoic assignment — lifts the unit to two sources.", "source": "qasim-2018-hazara-zircon" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "salkhala-formation", "name": "Salkhala Formation", "age": "Late Precambrian (Neoproterozoic)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "lithology": "Schist, phyllite, quartzite, carbonaceous material, marble", "description": "Named after Salkhala village on Kishanganga River, Kashmir. Equivalent to Hazara Formation. High-grade metamorphic sequence with graphitic horizons.", "thickness": "3000+ m", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "One of the oldest metasedimentary successions of the Kashmir Lesser Himalaya, carrying graphitic (carbonaceous) horizons; regarded as part of the reworked Indian-plate cover and correlated with the Hazara Formation.", "typeLocality": "Salkhala village, Kishanganga River, Kashmir", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Crystalline basement", "underlies": "Dogra Sequence" }, "provinces": [ "azad-kashmir" ], "coordinates": "34.5850, 73.7300", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "calkins-1975-hazara", "dipietro-pogue-2004", "ghazanfar-chaudhry-1985-kaghan" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "calkins-1975-hazara", "synonyms": "calkins-1975-hazara", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "plainSummary": "A thick Late Precambrian (Neoproterozoic) high-grade metamorphic sequence of schist, phyllite, quartzite and marble in the Kashmir Himalaya, named after Salkhala village on the Kishanganga River and broadly equivalent to the Hazara Formation.", "thicknessM": 3000, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Salkhala Formation (the 'Salkhala Series' of Wadia 1930; type locality Salkhala village on the Kishanganga River, Kashmir) is a Proterozoic greenschist-facies sequence of slates, phyllites and schists with intercalated marble, quartzite and graphite, distributed in a band around the Hazara–Kashmir Syntaxis. On the eastern limb of the syntaxis it overlies the Permian Panjal Volcanics along the Panjal Thrust, and in the southern Nanga Parbat Massif it is thrust over the 1,800–2,700 Ma Nanga Parbat Gneisses along the Shontargali Thrust (an MCT analogue); at its type locality it is overlain by the Dogra Slate (correlated with the Hazara Formation). Most workers assign the Kaghan Group to the Salkhala Formation.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): in the Hazara region the Salkhala Formation — the oldest known rocks — consists largely of quartz (mica-chlorite) schist, fine-grained thin-bedded marble (locally graphitic or tremolitic), sooty graphite schist and augen-bearing quartzo-feldspathic gneiss; it crops out around the apex of the Hazara–Kashmir syntaxis and along the Indus from Tarbela to Kandar. Named after Salkhala village on the Kishanganga (Neelum) River; at the type locality it is overlain by the Dogra Slates (equated with the Hazara Formation) and closely resembles the Jutogh Series of Simla.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "age", "note": "DiPietro & Pogue (2004): the Salkhala Formation is Lower Proterozoic, an unknown thickness of chlorite- to garnet-grade pelitic schist, marble and graphitic schist intruded by ~500 Ma pegmatite, correlated with the Lesser Himalayan sequence south of the Batal fault.", "source": "dipietro-pogue-2004" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "In the Kaghan Valley the northernmost (oldest) rocks are correlated with the Sharda Group / Salkhala: Naran garnetiferous calc-pelitic and graphitic gneisses with the sheet-like Saiful Maluk Granite and Dharir migmatites (advanced anatexis) at staurolite–kyanite grade (Ghazanfar & Chaudhry, 1985).", "source": "ghazanfar-chaudhry-1985-kaghan" } ], "introducedBy": "Wadia, in Pascoe (1929), as the 'Salkhala Series'", "synonyms": [ "Salkhala Series" ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.585, "lng": 73.73, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "misgar-slate", "name": "Misgar Slate", "age": "Late Precambrian-Cambrian", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic-Cambrian", "lithology": "Black slate, phyllite, quartzite", "description": "Exposed in Misgar area of upper Hunza. Low-grade metamorphic sequence representing deep marine conditions on the southern margin of the Asian plate.", "thickness": "1500-2000 m", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "A low-grade metamorphic slate-phyllite succession of the upper Hunza (Misgar) area, on the southern margin of the Asian (Karakoram) plate. Baseline age is Late Precambrian-Cambrian; note that some Karakoram literature instead assigns the Misgar Slate a much younger (Paleocene) age, so the age is regionally debated and left at the baseline value here.", "typeLocality": "Misgar, Upper Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Crystalline basement", "underlies": "Gircha Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "coordinates": "36.7875, 74.7682", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "zanchi-gritti-1996" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "plainSummary": "Black slates and phyllites of upper Hunza (Misgar area) representing deep-marine deposition on the southern edge of the Asian plate; its age is debated in the literature.", "thicknessM": 1750, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.", "year": 1984 }, { "citation": "Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Review of stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley (UHV), NW Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.", "year": 1990 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Misgar Slate (Desio 1963/64) is ~3,500 m of monotonous dark grey slate and phyllite with siliceous/calcareous interbeds, intruded by dolerite/gabbro/pegmatite sills and dykes, in the uppermost Hunza Valley (thrust southward over the Sost Unit); unfossiliferous, so only tentatively referred to the Palaeozoic — consistent with the curated Late Precambrian–Cambrian assignment being uncertain.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the Misgar Slate is unfossiliferous and only tentatively referred to the Palaeozoic — differing from the curated 'Late Precambrian–Cambrian'. Both assignments are tentative; recorded as a note pending fossil/isotopic control, curated value retained.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Coward et al. (1984) (after Tahirkheli 1979): the Misgar Slates of the northernmost Hunza Valley are a ~3,500 m monotonous sequence of slates and phyllitic slates with thin carbonaceous and quartzitic bands, intruded by an early phase of gabbros and diorites and a later, more abundant phase of quartz porphyry, granite, aplite and pegmatite - the siliceous intrusions forming a linear belt along the Pakistan-China border in the Khunjerab area - and are assigned a Palaeozoic age.", "source": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Tahirkheli et al. (1990): the Misgar Slate and Passu Slate of Desio & Martina (1972) are shown to be a single lithological unit bifurcated by the Sost Anticline - Passu Slate on the SW flank, Misgar Slate on the NE flank - so the name Misgar Slate is withdrawn in their Upper Hunza scheme in favour of Passu Slate. The slates (light-to-dark grey slaty shale, slate and phyllitic slate with subordinate calcareous/arenaceous partings, so far unfossiliferous) overlie the Pak-China Friendship Formation with a marked unconformity and are intruded by the Karakoram Axial Batholith (S) and the Khunjerab Igneous Complex (N).", "source": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "The Misgar Unit (slates of the Northern Karakorum sedimentary cover) records multistage structural evolution north of the Karakorum batholith in the Hunza region (Zanchi & Gritti 1996).", "source": "zanchi-gritti-1996" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gritti (1996) treat the Misgar Slates as the 'Misgar Unit' — slates of unknown age forming the northern boundary of the Northern Sedimentary Belt, thrust southward against the Sost Unit along a transpressive fault zone. Their 'unknown age' is a structural caution; the Late Precambrian-Cambrian assignment used here rests on the regional lithostratigraphic sources.", "source": "zanchi-gritti-1996" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 36.7875, "lng": 74.7682, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "shingus-gneiss", "name": "Shingus Gneiss", "age": "Early Proterozoic (2600-2200 Ma)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Paleoproterozoic", "lithology": "Amphibolite-grade biotite gneiss, amphibolite, calc-silicate gneiss, marble", "description": "Named after Shingus village in the Indus gorge. Oldest dated rocks in the Nanga Parbat massif representing Indian plate crystalline basement.", "thickness": "2000+ m", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "Reported as among the oldest rocks of the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh massif and interpreted as Indian-plate Precambrian basement; its precise crystallization age is not well constrained and Palaeoproterozoic (Early Proterozoic) assignments remain debated.", "typeLocality": "Shingus village, Indus Gorge, Gilgit-Baltistan", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Crystalline basement", "underlies": "Iskere Gneiss" }, "provinces": [ "nanga-parbat", "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "plainSummary": "An amphibolite-grade biotite gneiss of the Nanga Parbat massif exposed near Shingus village in the Indus gorge, representing Indian-plate crystalline basement.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "thicknessM": 2000, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Corroborating reference: the Shingus Gneiss is also documented in Kazmi & Jan (1997), 'Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan' (reviewer-confirmed), added alongside the GSP lexicon (Malkani & Mahmood 2017) record.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997), after Madin (1986, 1989): the Shingus Gneiss is an amphibolite-grade pelitic and psammitic paragneiss forming the lower part of the Nanga Parbat Group in the Nanga Parbat–Haramosh Massif. It is interlayered by ~500 Ma orthogneisses, and its contact with the overlying Iskere Orthogneiss is sheared and marked by sillimanite-bearing mylonites; the Baroluma Fault separates it from the Haramosh Schist to the south and the Majupah Fault from island-arc gabbro/ultramafics.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): Treloar et al. (1991b) regard the Shingus Gneiss as the metasedimentary cover to the Iskere Orthogneiss and correlate it with the Tanawal Formation–Mansehra Granite sequence of the Hazara region, whereas Madin et al. (1989) place the Shingus Paragneiss as the structurally lowest unit of the massif (below the Iskere Orthogneiss and the Haramosh Schist) — the superposition remains debated owing to pervasive fault contacts.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the curated 'Early Proterozoic (2600–2200 Ma)' age is not directly supported here — as the cover to the ~1850 Ma Iskere Orthogneiss and a proposed correlative of the Late Proterozoic Tanawal Formation, the Shingus Gneiss protolith is more plausibly (Late?) Proterozoic. Flagged for reconciliation.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "khewra-sandstone", "name": "Khewra Sandstone", "age": "Early Cambrian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Cambrian", "epoch": "Terreneuvian", "lithology": "Purple to reddish-brown sandstone with cross-bedding", "description": "Named after Khewra Gorge. Distinctive purple sandstone marking base of Paleozoic sequence. Contains trace fossils interpreted as trilobite trails. Part of the Khewra Group.", "thickness": "100-300 m", "fossils": [ "Trilobite trails (trace fossils)", "Skolithos burrows", "Cruziana traces" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal Cambrian clastic unit of the Salt Range (Jhelum Group), recording fluvial to deltaic deposition under arid to semi-arid conditions; sedimentary-geochemical signatures point to a felsic continental (southern Indian) provenance.", "typeLocality": "Khewra Gorge, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Salt Range Formation", "underlies": "Kussak Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "economicImportance": "Dimension stone, aquifer", "coordinates": "32.6486, 73.0111", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-1977", "qanit-khewra-2025", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "overlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "underlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "environment": "qanit-khewra-2025", "plainSummary": [ "qanit-khewra-2025", "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "geologicalSignificance": "qanit-khewra-2025", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "environment": [ "fluvial", "deltaic" ], "plainSummary": "A distinctive purple-red Cambrian sandstone that marks the base of the Salt Range Paleozoic sequence; it was laid down by rivers and deltas under a dry climate.", "thicknessM": 200, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Qanit, A.B., Iqbal, S., Kamran, A.H., Idrees, M., Sames, B. & Wagreich, M. (2025). Sedimentary Facies and Geochemical Signatures of the Khewra Sandstone: Reconstructing Cambrian Paleoclimates and Paleoweathering in the Salt Range, Pakistan. Minerals, 15(8), 789.", "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/15/8/789", "year": 2025 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Noetling (1894) as 'Khewra group'; Wynne (1878) 'Purple sandstone series'; formalized as Khewra Sandstone by the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan, Fatmi (1973)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Khewra Sandstone (Lower Cambrian; type locality Khewra Gorge) is 150 m (80 m in the Khisor Range) of reddish-brown to purple, cross-bedded thick sandstone with ripple marks and mud cracks, resting on the Salt Range Formation without apparent disconformity and overlain disconformably by the Kussak Formation; devoid of fossils apart from rare trilobite trace fossils.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Lower Cambrian Khewra Sandstone is a producing oil reservoir in the Adhi, Chak Naurang and Rajian fields (Khan et al. 1986) - the oldest (Early Cambrian) of the ~11 clastic/carbonate plays of the Potwar-Kohat Province; charged mainly by Infra-Cambrian (Salt Range Formation) source rocks.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Qanit et al. (2025), full text: facies and geochemistry of the Khewra Sandstone (lowermost unit of the Cambrian Jhelum Group) record deposition in fluvial-deltaic settings with fluvial and tidal processes under an overall arid to semi-arid palaeoclimate with poor-to-moderate chemical weathering (average Chemical Index of Alteration ~62); felsic continental-block provenance. Type locality: Khewra Gorge, eastern Salt Range.", "source": "qanit-khewra-2025" }, { "field": "underlies", "note": "Qanit et al. (2025): the Khewra Sandstone has a disconformable contact with the overlying Kussak Formation. Corroborates the recorded upper contact.", "source": "qanit-khewra-2025" } ], "synonyms": [ "Purple Sandstone" ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 32.6486, "lng": 73.0111, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kussak-formation", "name": "Kussak Formation", "age": "Early to early Middle Cambrian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Cambrian", "epoch": "Series 2", "lithology": "Glauconitic and micaceous sandstone, siltstone, dolomite interbeds", "description": "Named after Kussak Fort in eastern Salt Range. Contains thin lenses of fossil asphalt (gilsonite). Rich in trilobites including Redlichia noetlingi. Part of the Khewra Group.", "thickness": "50-100 m", "fossils": [ "Trilobites (Redlichia noetlingi)", "Brachiopods (Neobolus warthi, Lingulella)", "Hyolithes wynnei" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A glauconitic, trilobite-bearing Cambrian unit whose intense and diverse bioturbation (Cruziana and Skolithos ichnofacies across intertidal to shallow-subtidal settings) records well-established tidal-flat ecosystems during the Cambrian 'agronomic revolution'.", "typeLocality": "Kussak Fort, eastern Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Khewra Sandstone", "underlies": "Jutana Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "environment": [ "tidal flat", "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "A glauconitic, micaceous Cambrian sandstone and dolomite unit deposited on tidal flats and a shallow shelf; it is rich in trilobites and burrows.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "overlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "underlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "thicknessM": 75, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Ahmad, W., Gingras, M.K., Ranger, M.J., MacEachern, J.A. & Zonneveld, J.P. (2024). Depositional setting and trace fossil suites of the early Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 4) Khussak Formation, east-central Salt Range, north-west sub-Himalayas, Pakistan. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 165, 106858.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264817224001703", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Wynne (1878) 'Obolus/Siphonotreta beds'; Waagen & Wynne (1895) 'Neobolus beds'; Noetling (1894) 'Kussak group'; formalized as Kussak Formation, Fatmi (1973)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Kussak Formation (Early Cambrian to early Middle Cambrian; type near Fort Kussak) is ~75 m (30 m Khisor Range) of grey glauconitic silty/sandy shale with a thin basal conglomerate, resting disconformably on the Khewra Sandstone and conformably overlain by the Jutana Formation; a marine unit with brachiopods and trilobites (Neobolus warthi, Redlichia noetlingi).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Lower Cambrian Kussak Formation (glauconitic shoreface sandstones and siltstones) has produced oil in the Misa Kiswal Field (Petroconsultants 1996).", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Citation re-attributed to the baseline compilation after removing an unverifiable source (reviewer had no full-text access); the fact traces to the GSP baseline.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Citation re-attributed to the baseline compilation after removing an unverifiable source (reviewer had no full-text access); the fact traces to the GSP baseline.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (medium confidence) from the published type locality \"Kussak Fort, eastern Salt Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Kussak Fort, eastern Salt Range.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" } ], "synonyms": [ "Neobolus Shales" ], "coordinates": "32.7200, 72.9300", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 32.72, "lng": 72.93, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "jutana-formation", "name": "Jutana Formation", "age": "late Early to early Middle Cambrian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Cambrian", "epoch": "Series 2-Miaolingian", "lithology": "Dolomite, dolomitic limestone, shale", "description": "Named after Jutana village in eastern Salt Range. Carbonate platform deposits with trilobites and brachiopods. Forms resistant ridges. Part of the Khewra Group.", "thickness": "100-150 m", "fossils": [ "Trilobites (Redlichia noetlingi)", "Brachiopods (Lingulella fuchsia, Botsfordia granulata)", "Gastropods" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Cambrian carbonate-platform unit that records multiple phases of dolomitization (from early near-surface to later burial dolomites), documented through field, petrographic and stable-isotope studies.", "typeLocality": "Jutana village, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kussak Formation", "underlies": "Baghanwala Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "environment": [ "shallow marine", "carbonate platform" ], "plainSummary": "A Cambrian dolomite and dolomitic-limestone unit that forms resistant ridges in the Salt Range; it was deposited on a shallow carbonate platform.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977", "khan-shah-jutana-2019", "indplex-geolex", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "overlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "underlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "environment": "khan-shah-jutana-2019", "plainSummary": [ "khan-shah-jutana-2019", "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "geologicalSignificance": "khan-shah-jutana-2019", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "thicknessM": 125, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Khan, S. & Shah, M.M. (2019). Multiphase dolomitization in the Jutana Formation (Cambrian), Salt Range (Pakistan): Evidences from field observations, microscopic studies and isotopic analysis. Geologica Acta, 17(2), 1-18.", "url": "https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/GEOACTA/article/view/GeologicaActa2019.17.2", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Jutana Formation (late Early to early Middle Cambrian; type near Jutana village) is 75–90 m (45 m Khisor Range) of cliff-forming sandy dolomite and dolomitic sandstone, conformable on the Kussak and overlain by the Baghanwala (or the Khisor Formation in the southern Khisor Range); yields brachiopods, gastropods, trilobites (Redlichia noetlingi) and Cruziana.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "members", "note": "Gee (1989): the Jutana Formation (former 'Magnesian Sandstone') is one of the four Cambrian formations of the Jhelum Group (Khewra, Kussak, Jutana, Baghanwala) overlying the Eocambrian Salt Range Formation.", "source": "gee-1989-saltrange" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Lower Cambrian Jutana Formation (sandy carbonates and near-shore sandstones with fair-good reservoir properties) is a producing reservoir in the Kal and Rajian fields, and has produced oil in the Dhurnal Field.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Comprises a lower oolitic-pisolitic dolostone unit (with herringbone and hummocky cross-bedding) and an upper massive dolostone unit, separated by shale; petrography and O/C/Mg isotopes record three dolomitization phases — early-Cambrian mixing-zone, late-Permian burial, and post-Eocene fracture-related (Khan & Shah 2019).", "source": "khan-shah-jutana-2019" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (medium confidence) from the published type locality \"Jutana village, Salt Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Jutana village, Salt Range.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" } ], "synonyms": [ "Magnesian Sandstone" ], "coordinates": "32.7000, 72.8700", "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lat": 32.7, "lng": 72.87, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "baghanwala-formation", "name": "Baghanwala Formation", "age": "early Middle Cambrian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Cambrian", "epoch": "Miaolingian", "lithology": "Red shale alternated with flaggy sandstone", "description": "Named after Baghanwala village in eastern Salt Range. Terrigenous clastic sequence with trace fossils indicating near-shore conditions. Part of the Khewra Group.", "thickness": "50-80 m", "fossils": [ "Trace fossils", "Trilobites (rare)" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The uppermost Cambrian (Jhelum Group) unit of the Salt Range, recording arid, oxidising marginal-marine sedimentation; it is truncated above by a major unconformity beneath the Permian Nilawahan Group.", "typeLocality": "Baghanwala village, eastern Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Jutana Formation", "underlies": "Khisor Formation/Tobra Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "coordinates": "32.6611, 73.2556", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-1977", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "overlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "environment": [ "marginal marine", "arid coastal" ], "plainSummary": "A Cambrian sequence of red shale with flaggy sandstone, the youngest Cambrian unit of the Salt Range; it formed in arid, near-shore conditions and preserves trace fossils and salt-pseudomorph casts.", "thicknessM": 65, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Wynne (1878) 'Pseudomorph Salt Crystal Zone'; Noetling (1894) 'Baghanwala Group'; Holland (1926) 'Salt Pseudomorph beds'; Pascoe (1959) 'Baghanwala Stage'", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Baghanwala Formation (tentatively Middle Cambrian; type near Baghanwala village) is ~100 m of reddish-brown shale and platy/flaggy sandstone characterised by abundant salt pseudomorphs, ripple marks and mud cracks — a lagoonal, arid-climate deposit conformable on the Jutana; largely unfossiliferous.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Upper Cambrian Baghanwala Formation (shales and interbedded sandstones) marks the top of the Cambrian in the Potwar Plateau/Salt Range; its top begins a major regional hiatus that lasts until the Permian. It is regarded as contemporaneous with the Khisor Formation salts south of Kohat.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" } ], "synonyms": [ "Salt Pseudomorph Beds" ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 32.6611, "lng": 73.2556, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "khisor-formation", "name": "Khisor Formation", "age": "early Middle Cambrian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Cambrian", "epoch": "Miaolingian", "lithology": "Thick gypsum at base, shale in upper part", "description": "Named after Khisor Range. Lateral equivalent of Baghanwala Formation with evaporitic facies indicating restricted marine conditions.", "thickness": "50-100 m", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "An evaporite-bearing Cambrian unit of the Khisor and Marwat ranges interpreted as the restricted-marine lateral equivalent of the Baghanwala Formation, recording continued arid, restricted conditions at the top of the Cambrian.", "typeLocality": "Khisor Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Jutana Formation", "underlies": "Tobra Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat" ], "economicImportance": "Gypsum deposits", "environment": [ "restricted marine", "evaporitic" ], "plainSummary": "A Cambrian unit of the Khisor Range with gypsum at its base and shale above; it is regarded as the restricted, evaporitic equivalent of the Baghanwala Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "thicknessM": 75, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Gee (1945) 'Gypsiferous Series'; Hussain (1960) 'Khisor gypsiferous beds'; formalized as Khisor Formation", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Khisor Formation (Middle(?) Cambrian; type west of Saiyeduwala, southern Khisor Range) is 100–135 m of white to grey laminated gypsum with dolomite and dark shale — an evaporitic time-equivalent of the Baghanwala Formation, conformable on the Jutana; barren of fossils.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (low confidence) from the published type locality \"Khisor Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Khisor Range (range-level).", "source": "osm-gazetteer" } ], "coordinates": "32.3500, 71.2500", "lithologyType": "gypsum", "lat": 32.35, "lng": 71.25, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "abbottabad-formation", "name": "Abbottabad Formation", "age": "Cambrian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Cambrian", "lithology": "Dolomite, limestone, sandstone and quartzite (the Sirban dolomite).", "description": "Named after Abbottabad. Well exposed from Tarbela to Kashmir. Includes Tanaki, Sangargali, Mahamdagali and Mirpur members. Contains phosphate horizons.", "thickness": "500-1500 m", "fossils": [ "Stromatolites", "Trace fossils" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Cambrian carbonate succession of the Hazara region (the Sirban dolomite), resting unconformably on the Late Proterozoic Tanawal Formation; phosphatic beds at its base form the Hazara/Kakul phosphate.", "typeLocality": "Sirban Hill near Abbottabad (the Kakul area), Hazara", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Tanawal Formation", "underlies": "Hazira Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hazara", "azad-kashmir" ], "introducedBy": "Marks and Ali (1962)", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "The Cambrian dolomite-and-limestone unit of the Abbottabad area, above the Tanawal quartzites.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "majeed-2025-sirban", "butt-1989-hazara-arc", "bhatti-1989-lesser-greater", "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "fuchs-1970-hazara", "qasim-2014-abbottabad", "calkins-1975-hazara", "calkins-1967-westernlimb", "butt-1968-abbottabad-kihal", "butt-1972-hazara-nomenclature", "latif-1974-abbottabad-cambrian" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Majeed, K.U., Mughal, M.S., Tan, X.-J., Criniti, S., Civitelli, M., Siddique, K., Tirmazi, S.Z.S., Baig, M.S. & Critelli, S. (2025). Petrological and stratigraphical investigations of newly discovered phosphatic microfossils from the Sirban Formation, Hazara Basin, North Pakistan: Unveiling the late Sinian to middle Cambrian ecosystem. Journal of Palaeogeography, 14(4), 100288.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jop.2025.100288", "year": 2025 }, { "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1989). An Overview of the Hazara Arc Stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 1-11.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Bhatti, N.A. (1989). Lesser India Versus Greater India on the Plate Scale. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 71-73.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Betts, P., Khan, M.M.S., Sabir, M.A., Farooq, M., Zeb, A., Jadoon, U.K. & Ali, S. (2015). Signatures of Late Neoproterozoic Gondwana assembly and Marinoan glaciation in Lesser Himalaya: a palaeogeographical and stratigraphical approach. Acta Geologica Polonica, 65(1), 1-19.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1515/agp-2015-0001", "year": 2015 }, { "citation": "Fuchs, G. (1970). The significance of Hazara to Himalayan geology. Jahrbuch der Geologischen Bundesanstalt (Vienna), Sonderband 15, 21-23.", "year": 1970 }, { "citation": "Qasim, M., Khan, M.A. & Haneef, M. (2014). Stratigraphic characterization of the Early Cambrian Abbottabad Formation in the Sherwan area, Hazara region, N. Pakistan: Implications for Early Paleozoic stratigraphic correlation in NW Himalayas, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 47(1), 25-40.", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the Southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and Adjacent Areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A. (1967). The Geology of the Western Limb of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis, West Pakistan and Kashmir. U.S. Geological Survey, open-file report.", "year": 1967 }, { "citation": "Latif, M.A. (1974). A Cambrian age for the Abbottabad Group of Hazara, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 10, 1-20." } ], "coordinates": "34.1450, 73.2450", "thicknessM": 1000, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Majeed et al. (2025), on the Sirban Formation (the Sirban dolomite/limestone of the Abbottabad Group; type area Sirban Hill), ~250 m studied in the Hazara Basin: four lithofacies - fossiliferous limestone, dolomitic limestone, fossiliferous chert, and stromatolitic brecciated/banded chert - with biosparite (bioclast packstone-grainstone), dolostone-to-oomicrite, microcrystalline chert-mudstone and hematite-bearing chert microfacies. These record deposition from high-energy shoreline to stable marine shelf in the Proto-Tethys Ocean following the breakup of Rodinia.", "source": "majeed-2025-sirban" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Majeed et al. (2025) report from the Sirban carbonates Cambrian trilobites (Ptychoparia striata, Olenoides, Asaphiscus, Protolenus, Redlichia) and phosphatic microfossils. The generic 'Stromatolites / Trace fossils' fossil list is retained; these taxa are recorded here as newly reported by a single study.", "source": "majeed-2025-sirban" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Majeed et al. (2025) interpret the Sirban Formation as spanning the late Sinian (Ediacaran) to the Middle Cambrian - extending the curated 'Cambrian' age downward into the Ediacaran - and argue that earlier blanket assignment 'to the Cambrian' lacked sufficient stratigraphic or taxonomic justification. Recorded as this study's interpretation; the curated Cambrian age is retained pending corroboration.", "source": "majeed-2025-sirban" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "EXTRAORDINARY CLAIM, recorded but NOT adopted: Majeed et al. (2025) report Ediacaran-type soft-bodied taxa - Dickinsonia, Kimberella and Hallucigenia - which they say mark the Precambrian-Cambrian paraconformity in the Hazara area for the first time. Ediacaran body fossils in Pakistan would be a highly significant, singular claim; it is noted here as attributed to this study only and is not entered into the unit's fossil list pending independent confirmation.", "source": "majeed-2025-sirban" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Majeed et al. (2025): diverse porosity in the dolomitic limestone of the Sirban Formation indicates a potential hydrocarbon reservoir, and the unit carries phosphatic intervals/microfossils - consistent with the phosphate horizons already noted for the Abbottabad Formation.", "source": "majeed-2025-sirban" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Butt (1989) subdivides the Cambrian Abbottabad Formation into five members (ascending): the basal Tanakki Conglomerate, the Sangargali red cross-bedded sandstone and shale, the Mahmdagali (Mehrdagali) pink dolomite, the Mirpur red sandstone and shale, and the topmost Sirban off-white cherty dolomite. It is correlated with the Salt Range Cambrian via the trilobite Redlichia (Kussak Formation) and the pteropod Hyolithes (Hazira Formation).", "source": "butt-1989-hazara-arc" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Bhatti (1989): the basal Tanakki Conglomerate member of the Abbottabad Formation is reinterpreted as Late Precambrian to Cambrian in age and of glacial (tillite) origin - not the Permo-Carboniferous once inferred by lithological correlation with the Salt Range Talchir - with overlying beds yielding Cambrian fossils (Latif 1972; Rushton 1973). Recorded as an age/origin interpretation for the Tanakki member.", "source": "bhatti-1989-lesser-greater" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Umar et al. (2015): the Cambrian Abbottabad Formation (sandstone, dolomite, shale, phosphate and chert nodules) overlies the glaciogenic Tanaki Boulder Bed and is correlated - across a shared basal unconformity - with the Krol Group of the Indian Lesser Himalaya and the Doushantuo Formation of South China, which share its mudstone-sandstone-dolomite-phosphate-chert lithofacies and Neoproterozoic-Cambrian biota.", "source": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Fuchs (1970): the Abbottabad Group (Middlemiss's 1896 'Infra Trias') closely resembles the Nagthat–Blaini–Krol (Shali) succession of the Lower Himalayas, which Fuchs regarded as its equivalent; on that correlation he favoured an Upper Palaeozoic age for the group, while stressing that the age of these successions remained disputed. The break between the underlying Hazara Group and the Abbottabad Group corresponds to Palaeozoic unconformities of Kashmir and the Salt Range.", "source": "fuchs-1970-hazara" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Fuchs (1970): the Tanakki Boulder Bed at the base of the Abbottabad Group — earlier argued by Marks & Muhamad Ali (1961) not to be a tillite — yielded striated and faceted boulders on a joint Latif–Fuchs excursion, which Fuchs took as confirming a glacial origin.", "source": "fuchs-1970-hazara" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Qasim et al. (2014), Sherwan area west of Abbottabad: they subdivided the Early Cambrian Abbottabad Formation into three members — a lower arenaceous unit (dominantly quartzite with subordinate pebbly conglomerate, sandstone and siltstone; composite ~600 m), a middle dolomitic unit (dominantly dolomite ~400-500 m, with ~200-300 m of quartzite, siltstone and conglomerate), and an upper quartzite unit (minimum ~550 m, the 'Upper Quartzite' of Calkins et al.). All three occur only at Sherwan; only the lower two are present at Soban Gali and Sirban Hill, and only the upper two at Swabi in the Peshawar basin.", "source": "qasim-2014-abbottabad" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Qasim et al. (2014): they correlated the Abbottabad Formation's dolomite member with Latif's (1972) Sirban Formation (~600 m) and with the Jutana Formation of the Salt Range, and suggested that the upper quartzite member may equate to the Misri Banda Quartzite of the Peshawar basin — Ordovician by palaeontology but ~525 Ma by youngest detrital zircon — implying diachronous Cambrian-Ordovician quartzite deposition across the NW Himalaya.", "source": "qasim-2014-abbottabad" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975, USGS Professional Paper 716-C): the name 'Abbottabad Formation' was proposed by Marks & Ali (1962) for the regionally extensive dolomite sequence of the Hazara area and adopted by the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Calkins (1967, western limb of the Hazara-Kashmir syntaxis): Marks & Ali (1962) named the Abbottabad Formation from the dolomite-and-sandstone sequence on Sirban Hill (~1 mile SE of Abbottabad), superseding Middlemiss's (1896) 'Infratrias'; Calkins then assigned it a Carboniferous-Permian age — a historical assignment now revised, the formation being regarded as Early Cambrian.", "source": "calkins-1967-westernlimb" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Butt (1968) rejected the proposed \"Abbottabad Group\" (the name being preoccupied by the Abbottabad Formation of Marks & Muhammad Ali, 1962) and treated the overlying Hazira and Hematite formations as lateral facies of a single unit — proposed as the Kihal Formation — conformably above the cherty dolomites of the Abbottabad Formation.", "source": "butt-1968-abbottabad-kihal" }, { "field": "lithology", "source": "butt-1972-hazara-nomenclature", "note": "Butt (1972) treated the Abbottabad Formation (replacing the old 'Infra-Trias') as a single cyclical sedimentary rhythm - rejecting Latif's (1970) Kakul/Sirban two-formation split - divided into five members: Tanakki (basal conglomerate), Sangargali (lower shale and sandstone), Mahmdagali (lower dolomite), Mirpur (upper shale and sandstone) and Sirban (upper dolomite, ~1600 ft)." }, { "field": "age", "source": "latif-1974-abbottabad-cambrian", "note": "Latif (1974) established a Cambrian age for the Abbottabad succession of Hazara (which he had mapped in 1970 as the 'Abbottabad Group'), on Hyolithes (Circotheca, Linevitus?) and the heteractinellid sponge Chancelloria from the glauconitic Hazira Member of the overlying Tarnawai Formation at Salhad (identifications confirmed by A. Seilacher, H. Gocht and A.W.A. Rushton). This placed the whole sequence — Tanakki Conglomerate through the cherty, phosphatic Sirban dolomite — as pre-Upper Carboniferous (Cambrian), overturning the earlier post-Carboniferous age inferred from the glaciogenic Tanakki Conglomerate." }, { "field": "members", "source": "latif-1974-abbottabad-cambrian", "note": "In Latif's (1974) scheme the unit comprises the Kakul Formation (Tanakki Conglomerate tillite, Sangargali, Mahmdagali and Mirpur members) overlain by the Sirban cherty/phosphatic dolomite, resting on the Tanol Formation (Eo-Cambrian) and succeeded by the Tarnawai Formation (Galdanian + Hazira members). He used 'Group' rank; modern usage (Butt 1972) treats the succession as the Abbottabad Formation — the note is retained for the age and fossil evidence, not the rank." }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "source": "latif-1974-abbottabad-cambrian", "note": "Latif (1974) correlated the Sangargali Member with the Lower Cambrian Khewra (Purple) Sandstone of the Salt Range and the Lalun Sandstone of Iran, and the post-Tanakki sequence with the Mila/Kalshaneh formations of Iran and the Krol-Shali succession of the Simla-Garhwal-Kumaon Himalaya and western Nepal." } ], "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lat": 34.145, "lng": 73.245, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "hazira-formation", "name": "Hazira Formation", "age": "Cambrian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Cambrian", "lithology": "Phosphatic shale and siltstone with phosphorite beds.", "description": "Named after Hazira village. Overlies Abbottabad Formation with glauconitic facies near base indicating marine transgression. Contains Hyolithids.", "thickness": "100-200 m", "fossils": [ "Hyolithids" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Cambrian phosphatic unit at the base of the Hazara–Abbottabad carbonate succession, economically important for its phosphorite.", "typeLocality": "Hazira, Hazara", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Abbottabad Formation", "underlies": "Mesozoic formations" }, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "introducedBy": "Gardezi and Ghazanfar (1965)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "economicImportance": "Phosphorite (rock phosphate) of the basal Cambrian beds of the Hazara–Abbottabad area; the Kakul/Hazira phosphate is one of Pakistan's principal phosphate sources.", "plainSummary": "A Cambrian phosphate-bearing shale of the Hazara area — a key Pakistani rock-phosphate source.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "butt-1989-hazara-arc", "fuchs-1970-hazara", "butt-1968-abbottabad-kihal" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Baseline age 'Cambrian–Triassic' is over-broad; Kazmi & Jan (1997) treat the Hazira Formation as Cambrian (a basal phosphatic member associated with the Abbottabad Formation). Age needs review.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Butt (1989): the Cambrian Hazira Formation is glauconitic and carries the pteropod genus Hyolithes (Latif 1974) as an index fossil used for Salt Range correlation. It was the 'Hazira Member' of Gardezi and Ghazanfar (1965), later raised to formational rank; it overlies the Sirban Dolomite and is overlain by the Shekhan Bandi Formation (= Galdanian Formation of Latif 1970).", "source": "butt-1989-hazara-arc" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Fuchs (1970): Fuchs distinguished the flysch-like Hazira Formation from the orthoquartzite–carbonate association of the underlying Abbottabad Group and, with Latif, suggested the Galdanian and Hazira formations might form a separate Tarnawai Group; comparing the Hazira shales to the Upper Triassic (Norian) Kuti and Tarap Shales of the Tibetan Zone, and noting the formation occurs only in northern Hazara, he raised the possibility of an Upper Triassic age reached by an early northern transgression.", "source": "fuchs-1970-hazara" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Butt (1968) grouped the Hazira Formation with the Hematite Formation as lateral facies of a single unit (proposed Kihal Formation, type near Kihal, Abbottabad): a Hazira Member (~192 ft of buff/brown siltstones with two calcareous bands and basal glauconitic layers) and a Shekhan Bandi Member (~268 ft of red quartzitic limestones, repetitive quartzite breccias, sandstones and a massive hematitic sandstone), capped by a persistent white quartz sandstone directly below fossiliferous Jurassic marine limestone.", "source": "butt-1968-abbottabad-kihal" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1989). An Overview of the Hazara Arc Stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 1-11.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Fuchs, G. (1970). The significance of Hazara to Himalayan geology. Jahrbuch der Geologischen Bundesanstalt (Vienna), Sonderband 15, 21-23.", "year": 1970 } ], "coordinates": "34.1700, 73.2100", "thicknessM": 150, "reviewStatus": "published", "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 34.17, "lng": 73.21, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "tobra-formation", "name": "Tobra Formation", "age": "Early Permian (Asselian-Sakmarian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "epoch": "Cisuralian", "lithology": "Tillite, diamictite, boulder beds with striated clasts", "description": "Named after Tobra Nala in Salt Range. Glaciogenic deposits from the Late Paleozoic (Gondwanan) glaciation. Contains striated boulders and dropstones. Part of the Nilawahan Group.", "thickness": "30-150 m", "fossils": [ "Glossopteris", "Gangamopteris", "Rare marine fauna in interbeds" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A glaciogenic diamictite recording the late Paleozoic Gondwanan glaciation on the northern margin of Gondwana; it rests with marked unconformity on the Cambrian and yields a Gangamopteris-Glossopteris flora consistent with an Asselian age.", "typeLocality": "Tobra Nala, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Baghanwala Formation", "underlies": "Dandot Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "environment": [ "glacial", "glaciofluvial" ], "plainSummary": "The lowest unit of the Permian Nilawahan Group: a glacial tillite and diamictite with striated boulders and dropstones left by the great late-Paleozoic (Gondwanan) ice age.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977", "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "indplex-geolex", "kadri-1995", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "malik-1989-coal", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "underlies": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "environment": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "plainSummary": [ "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "geologicalSignificance": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "kadri-1995", "fossils": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "synonyms": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "thicknessM": 90, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Ghazi, S., Mountney, N.P., Butt, A.A. & Sharif, S. (2012). Stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework of the Early Permian sequence in the Salt Range, Pakistan. Journal of Earth System Science, 121(5), 1239-1255.", "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12040-012-0225-3", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kadri, I.B. (1995). Petroleum Geology of Pakistan. Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Karachi.", "year": 1995 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Malik, I.A. (1989). Geodynamics and Coal Deposits of Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 12-43.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Hussain (1967)", "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Local reservoir (primary + dissolution porosity; fractured sandstones); flowed oil in the Adhi field. Typical Rw ~0.04 ohm-m, salinity ~85,000 ppm NaCl. Top Tobra is a strong, laterally continuous seismic reflector in East Potwar.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): >133 m at Zaluch Nala (western Salt Range, max); ~33 m eastern Salt Range; 0–25 m central Salt Range. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Ghazi et al. (2012), full text: the Tobra Formation is largely Asselian, fixed by the Glossopteris-Gangamopteris floral assemblage (Balme in Teichert 1967; Gee 1989). Tillite, diamictite and freshwater facies recording late-glacial to post-glacial Gondwana deposition; correlates with the Dwyka Group (Karoo, S Africa) and the Talchir Formation (India). Type locality: Tobra village, eastern Salt Range (formalized by the SCP, Fatmi 1973).", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Ghazi et al. (2012): the Tobra Formation was previously known as the Talchir Boulder Bed (Noetling 1901) in Pakistan.", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Tobra Formation (Early Permian, on Striatopodocarpites/Protohaploxypinus palynology; type Tobra village) is 20 m (to 120–130 m in Zaluch Nala) of polymict conglomerate/tillite in the east and diamictic fluvioglacial mudstone in the west, resting unconformably on Cambrian units or the Salt Range Formation and conformably overlain by the Dandot Formation; glacial to fluvioglacial, with Glossopteris/Gangamopteris flora.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Gee (1989): the Early Permian Tobra Formation (former 'Talchir Conglomerates') is a fluvio-glacial conglomerate marking the base-of-Permian major unconformity — it oversteps the Cambrian westward and northward to rest directly on the Salt Range Formation in the western range. Overlying clastics carry a Gangamopteris–Glossopteris (Gondwana) flora, recording the range's connection with the Gondwana continent; boulders are mainly igneous or metamorphic.", "source": "gee-1989-saltrange" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Malik (1989): the Permian Tobra Formation hosts the earliest coal in Pakistan, at Buri Khel at the top of the formation (Asselian) - a detrital, sub-vitreous coal with a maximum seam ~162 cm (and ~3 m at Sarai Sindhu near Multan, in the subsurface). Permian coal is regarded as of theoretical interest only, essentially sub-economic (an alternative placement by Raza et al. 1977 put this coal in the Warcha Sandstone).", "source": "malik-1989-coal" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B): in the Khisor Range the Tobra Formation is the basal unit of the Early Permian Nilawahan Group (~822 ft SE of Paniala) - a lower conglomerate of striated ellipsoidal boulders (quartzite, granite, gneiss, mafics) grading up into siltstone and sandstone; its basal 'Talchir boulder bed' was argued to be of glacial origin (Gee 1945; B. Sahni 1939).", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Lower Permian Tobra Formation is a producing reservoir with fair-good properties in the Kal, Rajian and Dhurnal fields (SE Potwar Plateau); its oil is generally attributed to Infra-Cambrian source rocks.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (low confidence) from the published type locality \"Tobra Nala, Salt Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Tobra Nala, central Salt Range.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" } ], "synonyms": [ "Talchir Boulder Bed" ], "coordinates": "32.6300, 72.3500", "lat": 32.63, "lng": 72.35, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "warcha-formation", "name": "Warchha Sandstone", "age": "Early Permian (Artinskian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "epoch": "Cisuralian", "lithology": "Sandstone, shale with speckled appearance", "description": "Named after Warcha in Salt Range. Post-glacial marine transgressive sequence. Speckled sandstone is distinctive marker horizon. Dandot Formation is a junior synonym. Part of the Nilawahan Group.", "thickness": "30 m (eastern Salt Range) to 155 m (western Salt Range)", "fossils": [ "Brachiopods", "Bryozoans" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A fluvial sandstone deposited by meandering, avulsion-prone rivers on the northern margin of Gondwana; detailed facies-architecture and provenance studies make it one of the best-documented Permian fluvial successions of the Salt Range.", "typeLocality": "Warcha, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Dandot Formation", "underlies": "Sardhai Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "coordinates": "32.6628, 72.6939", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-1977", "ghazi-warchha-2009", "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "indplex-geolex", "drewes-2078h", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "coordinates": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "age": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "overlies": [ "ghazi-warchha-2009", "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" ], "underlies": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "environment": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "plainSummary": "ghazi-warchha-2009", "geologicalSignificance": "ghazi-warchha-2009", "thicknessM": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "economicImportance": "drewes-2078h", "synonyms": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "thickness": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "environment": [ "fluvial", "coastal", "estuarine" ], "plainSummary": "A Permian red-bed sandstone deposited by high-sinuosity meandering rivers with broad floodplains; its speckled sandstone is a distinctive marker in the Nilawahan Group.", "thicknessM": 92, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Ghazi, S. & Mountney, N.P. (2009). Facies and architectural element analysis of a meandering fluvial succession: The Permian Warchha Sandstone, Salt Range, Pakistan. Sedimentary Geology, 221(1-4), 99-126.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0037073809001961", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Ghazi, S., Mountney, N.P., Butt, A.A. & Sharif, S. (2012). Stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework of the Early Permian sequence in the Salt Range, Pakistan. Journal of Earth System Science, 121(5), 1239-1255.", "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12040-012-0225-3", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Drewes, H., Ahmad, Z. & Khan, R. (2007). Resource Evaluation of Selected Minerals and Industrial Commodities of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan. Chapter H of Regional Studies of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan (P.D. Warwick & B.R. Wardlaw, eds.), U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2078-H, 22 p.", "year": 2007 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "The arkosic 'speckled sandstone' hosts sub-economic sedimentary copper, lead and tin shows northeast of Mianwali and north of Nilawahan Gorge — copper as chalcopyrite and malachite, tin as stannite, cassiterite and native tin — and carries local poor-quality coal seams. Preliminary trench sampling (~300 samples in 15 trenches; Gilani 1981) was not encouraging and base-metal potential is rated low.", "synonyms": [ "Speckled Sandstone", "Warchha Group (part)", "Warcha Formation" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "CORRECTION — Ghazi et al. (2012), full text: the Warchha Sandstone is ARTINSKIAN (Balme 1970; Wardlaw & Pogue 1995, on pollen-spores), not Sakmarian as previously recorded. It unconformably overlies the Sakmarian Dandot Formation and is unconformably overlain by the Kungurian Sardhai Formation (or, in the eastern Salt Range, by Palaeocene strata).", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Ghazi et al. (2012): the Warchha Sandstone thickens systematically from 30 m in the east to 155 m in the west of the Salt Range outcrop belt. A high-sinuosity meandering-fluvial to coastal/estuarine sandstone (former 'speckled sandstone', Waagen 1878); correlates with the Barakar Formation (India).", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Type section relocated to Matan (72°41'38\"E, 32°39'46\"N = 32.6628, 72.6939) with a reference section at Karuli (72°41'32\"E, 32°37'40\"N), as proposed by Ghazi et al. (2012) — the historical 'Warchha Gorge' type locality (Fatmi 1973; Shah 1977) was given without coordinates. Supersedes the earlier Warcha-village point.", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Warchha Sandstone (Early Permian, by position between the Dandot and Sardhai formations; type Warchha Nala) is 150–165 m (120 m Khisor Range) of thick-bedded reddish-brown cross-bedded arkosic sandstone with purple/grey shale — a fluviatile alluvial-flat deposit, conformable on the Dandot and transitional up into the Sardhai; unfossiliferous.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Ghazi & Mountney (2009) documented the Warchha Sandstone (30–155 m) as a high-sinuosity meandering fluvial system: channel bodies accreted laterally as point bars, with arkosic sandstones and floodplain fines, draining the northern Gondwana margin in the Early Permian.", "source": "ghazi-warchha-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 32.6628, "lng": 72.6939, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "dandot-formation", "name": "Dandot Formation", "age": "Early Permian (Sakmarian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "epoch": "Cisuralian", "lithology": "Sandstone, shale with speckled appearance", "description": "Named after Dandot in Salt Range. Post-glacial marine transgressive sequence. Speckled sandstone is distinctive marker horizon. Now considered junior synonym of Warcha Formation.", "thickness": "50 m (type locality, Dandot area)", "fossils": [ "Eurydesma", "Conularia", "Discina", "Martiniopsis", "Chonetes", "Neochonetes" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A post-glacial marginal-marine unit of the lower Nilawahan Group marking the first marine influence after Tobra glaciation; several workers (including Malkani, 2017) regard it as a junior synonym of the Warcha Formation.", "typeLocality": "Dandot, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Tobra Formation", "underlies": "Warchha Sandstone" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range" ], "coordinates": "32.6584, 72.9549", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-1977", "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "indplex-geolex", "kadri-1995", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "overlies": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "underlies": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "environment": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "plainSummary": [ "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" ], "thicknessM": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "kadri-1995", "fossils": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "synonyms": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "thickness": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "environment": [ "marginal marine" ], "plainSummary": "A Permian marginal-marine sandstone and shale of the Nilawahan Group, deposited during a post-glacial marine incursion; some workers treat it as a junior synonym of the Warcha Formation.", "thicknessM": 50, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Ghazi, S., Mountney, N.P., Butt, A.A. & Sharif, S. (2012). Stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework of the Early Permian sequence in the Salt Range, Pakistan. Journal of Earth System Science, 121(5), 1239-1255.", "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12040-012-0225-3", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kadri, I.B. (1995). Petroleum Geology of Pakistan. Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Karachi.", "year": 1995 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Noetling (1901)", "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Good source rock (dark-grey shales with coaly partings); well-sorted siltstone/sandstone may form local reservoirs; flowed oil (Tobra–Dandot/Warcha) in the Adhi field.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): max ~50 m in Makrach Valley; well developed eastern Salt Range, thins westward; absent western Salt Range & Khisor Range. Type locality: near Dandot Village, eastern Salt Range. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Ghazi et al. (2012), full text: the Dandot Formation is Sakmarian, marginal-marine, gradational above the Tobra Formation and unconformable below the Warchha Sandstone. ~50 m thick at its type locality in the Dandot area, eastern Salt Range (Fatmi 1973; Shah 1977). Correlates with the Pebbley Beach Formation (Sydney Basin, Australia).", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Ghazi et al. (2012): documented Dandot fauna — Eurydesma, Conularia, Discina, Martiniopsis, Chonetes, Neochonetes (Waagen 1883; Reed 1944; Waterhouse 1970; Fatmi 1973). Replaces the generic 'Brachiopods/Bryozoans' placeholder.", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Ghazi et al. (2012), full text: 50 m thick at the type locality in the Dandot area, eastern Salt Range (Fatmi 1973; Shah 1977). Updates the earlier 35 m mid-range estimate to the cited type-locality value.", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Dandot Formation (Early Permian; type Dandot village) is 45–50 m of greenish-grey splintery shale/siltstone with sandstone, conformable (gradational) on the Tobra and overlain by the Warchha Sandstone; marine in the east shallowing westward, with brachiopods (Discina, Chonetes), bivalves (Eurydesma) and Conularia.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): black shales of the Lower Permian Dandot Formation are listed (with the Sardhai and Chhidru formations) among the potential Permian source rocks of the Upper Indus Basin (Quadri & Quadri 1996; Wandrey et al. 2004).", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" } ], "synonyms": [ "Conularia Beds", "Conularia-Eurydesma Beds", "Dandot Group" ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 32.6584, "lng": 72.9549, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "sardhi-formation", "name": "Sardhai Formation", "age": "Early Permian (Kungurian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "epoch": "Cisuralian", "lithology": "Sandstone, siltstone, shale with marine fauna", "description": "Named after Sardhi in Salt Range. Post-glacial marine sequence with increasing marine influence. Upper unit of the Nilawahan Group. Transitional to overlying Zaluch Group.", "thickness": "50-100 m", "fossils": [ "Brachiopods", "Bryozoans", "Crinoids" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A shallow- to marginal-marine clastic unit capping the Nilawahan Group and marking the transition to the fully marine Zaluch Group carbonate deposition.", "typeLocality": "Sardhai Gorge, central Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Warchha Sandstone", "underlies": "Amb Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "environment": [ "shallow marine", "marginal marine" ], "plainSummary": "The uppermost unit of the Permian Nilawahan Group: sandstone, siltstone and shale recording a return to shallow-marine conditions before the overlying Zaluch Group carbonates.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977", "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "indplex-geolex", "drewes-2078h", "gsp-shah-2009", "kadri-1995", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "age": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "overlies": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "underlies": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "environment": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "plainSummary": [ "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "geologicalSignificance": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "gsp-shah-2009", "economicImportance": "drewes-2078h", "fossils": "gsp-shah-2009", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "thicknessM": 75, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Ghazi, S., Mountney, N.P., Butt, A.A. & Sharif, S. (2012). Stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework of the Early Permian sequence in the Salt Range, Pakistan. Journal of Earth System Science, 121(5), 1239-1255.", "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12040-012-0225-3", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Drewes, H., Ahmad, Z. & Khan, R. (2007). Resource Evaluation of Selected Minerals and Industrial Commodities of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan. Chapter H of Regional Studies of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan (P.D. Warwick & B.R. Wardlaw, eds.), U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2078-H, 22 p.", "year": 2007 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kadri, I.B. (1995). Petroleum Geology of Pakistan. Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Karachi.", "year": 1995 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "synonyms": [ "Sardhai", "Sardhi Formation (OCR/alternative spelling)" ], "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Gypsum-bearing (worked locally, chiefly for agricultural use) and — with the Warchha Sandstone — a sedimentary host of the sub-economic 'speckled sandstone' base-metal shows near Sanwans and Ghundi in the Mianwali area, where copper and tin minerals occur in sandy shale beds. Concentrations are low and erratically distributed; potential rated low.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "name", "note": "Name corrected from 'Sardhi Formation' (an OCR truncation in the baseline) to 'Sardhai Formation', the spelling used by both Shah (2009) GSP Memoir 22 and Kadri (1995). Same unit: Early Permian Nilawahan Group clay unit, transitional on the Warcha Sandstone and conformable below the Amb Formation / Zaluch Group.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Shah (2009) and Kadri (1995) describe the Sardhai as bluish/greenish-grey (lavender) clays with minor sand and siltstone, passing laterally in the Khisor Range into black shale and brownish argillaceous limestone; largely unfossiliferous. Recorded for review against the existing 'sandstone, siltstone, shale with marine fauna' characterisation.", "source": "kadri-1995" }, { "field": "age", "note": "CORRECTION — Ghazi et al. (2012), full text: the Sardhai Formation is KUNGURIAN, the uppermost unit of the Nilawahan Group, not Sakmarian-Artinskian as previously recorded. Shallow-marine grey/greenish-grey/lavender shale with thin siltstone and glauconitic sandstone. Unconformably overlies the Warchha Sandstone and is unconformably overlain by the Amb Formation (Zaluch Group). Correlates with the Barren Measures and Motur formations (India).", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "typeLocality", "note": "Ghazi et al. (2012): type section at Sardhai Gorge, central Salt Range (name proposed by Hussain 1967; accepted as the SCP type section, Fatmi 1973).", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Sardhai Formation (Early Permian; type Sardhai/Sohal Nala) is 40–60 m of bluish-grey to reddish claystone (dark-violet/black westward), with fossiliferous limestone in the Khisor Range — mainly terrestrial/lagoonal with westward marine incursions, transitional on the Warchha and disconformably overlain by the Amb Formation; plant remains, fish scales and Khisor-Range brachiopods/bryozoans.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Gee (1989): the Sardhai Formation was formerly the 'Lavender Clays' — dark purple and lavender clays with subordinate sandstones, the uppermost formation of the Early Permian Nilawahan Group.", "source": "gee-1989-saltrange" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (low confidence) from the published type locality \"Sardhai Gorge, central Salt Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Sardhai Gorge, central Salt Range.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" } ], "coordinates": "32.6500, 72.4500", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 32.65, "lng": 72.45, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "amb-formation", "name": "Amb Formation", "age": "Middle Permian (Wordian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "epoch": "Guadalupian", "lithology": "Dark grey to black shale with thin limestone interbeds", "description": "Marine shale sequence deposited during Early Permian transgression. Rich in cold-water Gondwanan fauna. Part of the Zaluch Group.", "thickness": "50-150 m", "fossils": [ "Brachiopods (Productus)", "Crinoids", "Bryozoans", "Foraminifera" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Permian mixed siliciclastic-carbonate unit at the base of the Zaluch Group whose fusulinid-rich limestones record the initial flooding of a Neo-Tethyan carbonate platform on the northwestern margin of the Indian Plate.", "typeLocality": "Amb, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Sardhai Formation", "underlies": "Wargal Limestone" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "coordinates": "32.5084, 71.9365", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-1977", "wadood-amb-2022", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003", "indplex-geolex", "kadri-1995", "waterhouse-2010-lopingian", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003", "wadood-amb-2022" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "overlies": [ "gsp-shah-1977", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" ], "underlies": [ "wadood-amb-2022", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" ], "environment": [ "wadood-amb-2022", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" ], "plainSummary": "wadood-amb-2022", "geologicalSignificance": [ "wadood-amb-2022", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "kadri-1995", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "epoch": [ "mertmann-permian-platform-2003", "wadood-amb-2022" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "carbonate platform" ], "plainSummary": "The basal unit of the Permian Zaluch Group: interbedded sandstone, limestone and shale rich in fusulinid foraminifera, deposited on a mixed clastic-carbonate shelf.", "thicknessM": 100, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Wadood, B., Khan, S. & Li, H. (2022). Middle Permian Mixed Siliciclastic-Carbonate System on the Northwestern Margin of the Indian Plate, Pakistan: Implications for Paleoclimate and Carbonate Platform Evolution. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition).", "url": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1755-6724.14737", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Mertmann, D. (2003). Evolution of the marine Permian carbonate platform in the Salt Range (Pakistan). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 191(3-4), 373-384.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018202006727", "year": 2003 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kadri, I.B. (1995). Petroleum Geology of Pakistan. Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Karachi.", "year": 1995 }, { "citation": "Waterhouse, J.B. (2010). Lopingian (Late Permian) stratigraphy of the Salt Range, Pakistan and Himalayan region. Geological Journal, 45, 264-284.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.1235", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Teichert (1966)", "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Produces (with the Wargal Limestone) in the Dhurnal field.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Waterhouse (2010), citing Mei & Henderson (2002): the Amb Formation (below the Wargal Formation) was assigned a lower Capitanian (Guadalupian) age — considerably younger than the curated Early Permian (Sakmarian–Artinskian) assignment; this discrepancy is flagged for reviewer reconciliation, not applied. The upper Amb includes the Katta Member plant beds with Glossopteris leaves, apparently older than Glossopteris occurrences known elsewhere in the Himalayan ranges.", "source": "waterhouse-2010-lopingian" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Amb Formation (type ~5 km SW of Amb village) is up to 80 m of fossiliferous calcareous sandstone, sandy limestone and carbonaceous shale (with thin coals), disconformable on the Sardhai and below the Wargal Limestone; the fusulinids Monodiexodina kattaensis and Codonofusiella laxa are cited for an Early Permian (Late Artinskian) age — OLDER than the curated Middle Permian (Guadalupian), so recorded here as a note rather than an overwrite (the 1997 assignment predates the modern usage).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORROBORATES the curated Early Permian age: the fusulinids Monodiexodina kattaensis and Codonofusiella laxa indicate an Early Permian (Late Artinskian) age; the Amb Formation is the lower part of the Zaluch Group (highly fossiliferous calcareous sandstone/sandy limestone with dark carbonaceous shale, thin coal near Amb Village, Glossopteris/Gangamopteris flora; up to 80 m). Resolves the earlier Early-vs-Middle Permian flag in favour of Early Permian.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B), Paniala area (Zaluch Group): the Early Permian (Artinskian) Amb Formation is grey/brown thick-bedded calcareous micaceous sandstone with calcareous shale and subordinate argillaceous limestone, carrying fusulinids, bryozoans, brachiopods (athyrids/productids/spiriferids) and crinoids; ~170 ft SE of Paniala, conformable on the Nilawahan Group (= the old 'Lower Productus beds').", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Permian Amb Formation (Zaluch Group limestones with thin carbonaceous-shale interbeds) is among the Permian (Tobra-Amb-Wargal) reservoir horizons that have yielded oil and gas in the Potwar Basin.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Corrected from \"Early Permian (Sakmarian-Artinskian)\" (epoch \"Cisuralian\") to Middle Permian (Wordian, Guadalupian). Both full-text sources assign a Wordian age to the Amb Formation (Mertmann 2003: \"A Wordian age is assigned to the Amb Formation\"; Wadood et al. 2022). The prior Cisuralian assignment conflated it with the underlying Nilawahan Group.", "source": "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" }, { "field": "overlies", "note": "Amb Formation overlies the Sardhai Formation (with a thin basal sandstone) at the base of the Zaluch Group (Mertmann 2003).", "source": "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Detailed microfacies (seven types) and outcrop analysis show the Amb Formation as a tide-influenced, subaqueous-delta to middle-shelf mixed siliciclastic-carbonate system deposited under fluctuating sea level, recording two transgressive and two regressive systems tracts across five parasequences; the carbonate platform became established with major rifting on the northern Indian-plate margin (Wadood et al. 2022).", "source": "wadood-amb-2022" } ], "synonyms": [ "Lower Productus Limestone" ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 32.5084, "lng": 71.9365, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "wargal-limestone", "name": "Wargal Limestone", "age": "Middle–Late Permian (Capitanian–Wuchiapingian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "epoch": "Guadalupian–Lopingian", "lithology": "Light grey to cream fossiliferous limestone", "description": "Major Permian carbonate platform forming prominent cliffs in Salt Range. Rich in productid brachiopods and fusulinid foraminifera. Part of the Zaluch Group.", "thickness": "150-300 m", "fossils": [ "Productid brachiopods", "Fusulinid foraminifera", "Corals", "Gastropods", "Cephalopods" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The principal Middle-Late Permian carbonate-platform unit of the Salt Range (Zaluch Group), recording maximum marine flooding of the Neo-Tethyan shelf; its abundant productid brachiopods and fusulinid foraminifera underpin regional Permian biostratigraphy.", "typeLocality": "Wargal, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Amb Formation", "underlies": "Chhidru Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "economicImportance": "Cement raw material, building stone", "environment": [ "carbonate platform", "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "A thick, fossil-rich Permian limestone forming prominent cliffs in the Salt Range; it is the main carbonate platform of the Zaluch Group, packed with brachiopods and fusulinids.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003", "indplex-geolex", "waterhouse-2010-lopingian", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "rafi-2016-wargal", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "overlies": [ "gsp-shah-1977", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" ], "underlies": "mertmann-permian-platform-2003", "environment": "mertmann-permian-platform-2003", "plainSummary": [ "mertmann-permian-platform-2003", "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "geologicalSignificance": "mertmann-permian-platform-2003", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "epoch": "mertmann-permian-platform-2003", "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "thicknessM": 225, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Mertmann, D. (2003). Evolution of the marine Permian carbonate platform in the Salt Range (Pakistan). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 191(3-4), 373-384.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018202006727", "year": 2003 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Waterhouse, J.B. (2010). Lopingian (Late Permian) stratigraphy of the Salt Range, Pakistan and Himalayan region. Geological Journal, 45, 264-284.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.1235", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Rafi, M., Sameeni, S.J. & Lodhi, K.K. (2016). Industrial Utilization of Permian Wargal Limestone of Dhokri Area, Central Salt Range, Pakistan. Science International (Lahore), 28(5), 4413-4418.", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Teichert (1966)", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Waterhouse (2010): the Wargal Limestone ranges from the Capitanian (Guadalupian) in its lower part up into the Wuchiapingian (Lopingian) in its upper part, so its top is Late Permian rather than only Middle Permian. Lower Wargal is Capitanian (conodonts Clarkina asymmetrica, C. dukouensis above Jinogondolella granti; fusulinid Neoschwagerina margaritae), while the topmost Kalabagh Member is higher Wuchiapingian (conodonts Clarkina liangshanensis then C. transcaucasica; ammonoid Xenaspis carbonarius in the upper Wargal; a very large, warm-water brachiopod fauna, ~230 species listed by Waterhouse 1983b).", "source": "waterhouse-2010-lopingian" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Wargal Limestone (the 'Middle Productus Limestone'; 180–200 m in the Salt Range, 150 m Khisor) is grey medium-to-massive partly sandy limestone and dolomite, disconformable on the Amb and transitional up into the Chhidru; richly fossiliferous (brachiopods Enteletes/Richthofenia/Oldhamina, trilobites, ammonoids Xenodiscus, corals, fusulinids, conodonts Iranognathus/Gondolella) — assigned a Late Permian (late Murgabian–early Dzhulfian) age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the book dates the Wargal Limestone Late Permian (Late Murgabian to Early Dzhulfian), with the Kalabagh Member forming its top ~30 m — extending into the Late Permian beyond the curated 'Middle Permian (Wordian–Capitanian)'. The unit is best regarded as spanning the Middle–Late Permian; recorded as a note.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Rafi, Sameeni & Lodhi (2016), Wargal Limestone at Dhokri (central/western Salt Range): the unit (predominantly limestone with dolomite) yields good-quality lime - CaO ~43% when calcined at 1100 C (versus ~38% at 900 C) - and is judged suitable for a range of industrial uses including cement, glass, food, pharmaceuticals, putty, dentifrices and cosmetics. Adds an industrial-lime dimension to the recorded cement/building-stone use.", "source": "rafi-2016-wargal" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B), Paniala area: the Wargal Limestone is brown/grey limestone (sandy/argillaceous/cherty and thin-bedded at top, massive nodular in the middle, sandy at base) with grey calcareous shale, its rich upper fauna including algae, corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, gastropods, cephalopods and crinoids; ~640 ft SE of Paniala (the old 'Middle Productus limestone').", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Late Permian Wargal Formation acts as both source and reservoir - its carbonaceous shale interbeds are a source rock with average TOC ~1.0 wt.% (Jaswal et al. 1997) and vitrinite reflectance Ro 0.65-0.95% (Tobin & Claxton 2000), and oil has been produced from the Wargal Formation in the Dhurnal Field.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Refined from \"Middle Permian (Wordian-Capitanian)\" to Capitanian–Wuchiapingian: the lower Wargal is Capitanian and the upper part Wuchiapingian, extending into the Lopingian (Late Permian) with coral patch reefs and echinodermal-debris bars (Mertmann 2003).", "source": "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (medium confidence) from the published type locality \"Wargal, Salt Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Wargal village, western Salt Range.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" } ], "synonyms": [ "Middle Productus Limestone" ], "coordinates": "32.6600, 71.8200", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 32.66, "lng": 71.82, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chhidru-formation", "name": "Chhidru Formation", "age": "Late Permian (Changhsingian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "epoch": "Lopingian", "lithology": "Grey to greenish sandstone, siltstone, limestone", "description": "Terminal Permian sequence containing the Permian-Triassic boundary. Records the greatest mass extinction in Earth history. Alternative spelling of Chidru Formation.", "thickness": "60-120 m", "fossils": [ "Last Paleozoic brachiopods", "Ammonoids", "Diminished fauna near top", "Acritarchs", "Tasmanitids" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A latest Permian (Lopingian) shallow-marine clastic-carbonate unit; its upper contact with the Triassic Mianwali Formation holds the Permian-Triassic boundary, marking Earth's largest mass extinction.", "typeLocality": "Chhidru, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Wargal Limestone", "underlies": "Mianwali Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "coordinates": "32.5433, 71.7736", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-1977", "ali-chhidru-2021", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003", "indplex-geolex", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "waterhouse-2010-lopingian", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "overlies": [ "ali-chhidru-2021", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" ], "underlies": "ali-chhidru-2021", "environment": [ "ali-chhidru-2021", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" ], "plainSummary": [ "ali-chhidru-2021", "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "ali-chhidru-2021", "mertmann-permian-platform-2003" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "fossils": "ali-chhidru-2021", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "middle to inner shelf", "subtidal-intertidal" ], "plainSummary": "The topmost Permian unit of the Salt Range (alternative spelling of Chidru) - sandy limestone, siltstone and sandstone of a shallow sea; its top records the end-Permian mass extinction and the Permian-Triassic boundary.", "thicknessM": 90, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Ali, S.K., Janjuhah, H.T., Shahzad, S.M., Kontakiotis, G., Saleem, M.H., Khan, U., Zarkogiannis, S.D., Makri, P. & Antonarakou, A. (2021). Depositional Sedimentary Facies, Stratigraphic Control, Paleoecological Constraints, and Paleogeographic Reconstruction of Late Permian Chhidru Formation (Western Salt Range, Pakistan). Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 9(12), 1372.", "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/9/12/1372", "year": 2021 }, { "citation": "Mertmann, D. (2003). Evolution of the marine Permian carbonate platform in the Salt Range (Pakistan). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 191(3-4), 373-384.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018202006727", "year": 2003 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Waterhouse, J.B. (2010). Lopingian (Late Permian) stratigraphy of the Salt Range, Pakistan and Himalayan region. Geological Journal, 45, 264-284.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.1235", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Teichert (1966)", "synonyms": [ "Chidru Formation" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "name", "note": "Merged duplicate unit \"Chidru Formation\" (chidru-formation) into this record. Sources, provinces and any missing fields were carried over; the old name is retained as a synonym.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Waterhouse (2010): the Chhidru Formation straddles the Wuchiapingian–Changhsingian boundary. Its lower and middle beds (Kufri Member) are late Wuchiapingian — the conodont Clarkina longicuspidata occurs very low (near the basal Changhsingian per Wardlaw & Mei 1999) and the ammonoid Cyclolobus is typical of late Wuchiapingian faunas — while the higher beds (Ganjaroh 'bivalve beds' and the capping Khisor Sandstone Member) are provisionally basal-to-mid Changhsingian, the Khisor palynomorphs (Cancellosa Zone: Triplexisporites playfordii, Playfordiaspora cancellosa) indicating a mid-Changhsingian age. Correlation with the Chhidru is what yields an unusually high four biozones in the Changhsingian Stage; a carbon-isotope decline accelerates to ~−2‰ at the top of the formation.", "source": "waterhouse-2010-lopingian" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Waterhouse (2010): three members are recognised — the Kufri Member (lower–middle beds), the Ganjaroh Member (Waagen's 1891 'bivalve beds'), and the Khisor Sandstone Member (the topmost 'white sandstone', shallow subtidal–intertidal with freshwater influence). About 140 brachiopod species have been described from the formation.", "source": "waterhouse-2010-lopingian" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Chhidru Formation (type Chhidru Nala) is 75–85 m of basal dark sandy shale passing up to calcareous/sandy sandstone and limestone, capped by a distinctive white sandstone (≤5 m); Late Permian (most probably Late Dzhulfian), the uppermost Permian being missing. Conformable/transitional on the Wargal and overlain by the Mianwali Formation across a palaeontologically-indicated para-unconformity; abundant brachiopods and ammonoids (Cyclolobus).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Gee (1989): the Chhidru Formation was the 'Upper Productus Limestone' of earlier usage — the uppermost formation of the Late Permian Zaluch Group (Amb–Wargal–Chhidru).", "source": "gee-1989-saltrange" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Ali et al. (2021), facies analysis at Zaluch Gorge (western Salt Range): the Late Permian Chhidru Formation comprises three lithofacies - a limestone facies (CF1), a limestone-with-clay-interbeds facies (CF2) and a sandy-limestone facies (CF3) - and five carbonate microfacies spanning mudstone-biomicrite (MF-1) to packstone-biosparite (MF-5). The assemblage indicates a shallow-marine, middle- to outer-shelf setting deposited within a highstand systems tract (HST). Adds a facies/sequence-stratigraphic characterization of the depositional environment.", "source": "ali-chhidru-2021" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B), Paniala area: the Chhidru Formation is mostly grey/brown friable calcareous micaceous sandstone with thin argillaceous limestone, carrying Bellerophon and abundant productid brachiopods; ~130 ft south of Paniala, disconformably overlain by the Triassic Mianwali Formation (the old 'Bellerophon / Upper Productus beds').", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the uppermost-Permian Chhidru Formation is listed among the potential Permian source rocks of the Upper Indus Basin (with the Dandot and Sardhai formations; Quadri & Quadri 1996; Wandrey et al. 2004).", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Ali et al. (2021), full text: the Chhidru Formation was deposited on a middle-to-inner shelf in a shallow-marine (subtidal-intertidal) setting, at the top of a highstand systems tract (HST). Three lithofacies (CF1 limestone, CF2 limestone with clay interbeds, CF3 sandy limestone) and five microfacies (MF1 mudstone-biomicrite to MF5 packstone-biosparite) were recognised at Zaluch Gorge.", "source": "ali-chhidru-2021" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Ali et al. (2021): measured Chhidru thicknesses vary across the western Salt Range — Zaluch Nala 58.4 m, Zaluch Gorge 63.63 m, Chhidru Nala 81.81 m (compiled after Mertmann 2003; Jan & Stephenson; Hussain et al.). The dataset's ~90 m (60-120 m) is retained as a regional representative; the Chhidru Nala type section is ~82 m.", "source": "ali-chhidru-2021" }, { "field": "underlies", "note": "Ali et al. (2021): the top of the Chhidru Formation marks the Permian-Triassic boundary — a paraconformity of undetermined magnitude beneath the Triassic Mianwali Formation; the lower contact with the Wargal Limestone is conformable (the Wargal/Chhidru boundary approximates the Wuchiapingian/Changhsingian boundary). Uppermost formation of the Tethyan Zaluch Group.", "source": "ali-chhidru-2021" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 32.5433, "lng": 71.7736, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "mianwali-formation", "name": "Mianwali Formation", "age": "Early Triassic (Induan-Olenekian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "epoch": "Early Triassic", "lithology": "Grey limestone, dolomite, shale with thin-bedded appearance", "description": "Post-extinction marine sequence showing gradual faunal recovery. Contains earliest Triassic index fossils and excellent ammonoid succession. Part of the Musakhel Group.", "thickness": "100-200 m", "fossils": [ "Claraia bivalves", "Ophiceras ammonoids", "Conodonts", "Fish remains", "Gyronites", "Ambites", "Proptychites", "Koninckites", "Vavilovites", "Kingites" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The lowest unit of the Triassic (Musa Khel Group) in the Salt Range and Trans-Indus Ranges, resting on the Permian Chhidru Formation and passing up into the Tredian Formation. Its mixed carbonate-clastic succession preserves one of the world's better Early Triassic ammonoid records, documenting the post-extinction recovery of marine faunas.", "typeLocality": "Mianwali District, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chhidru Formation", "underlies": "Tredian Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "The oldest Triassic rock unit of the Salt Range, famous for its 'ceratite' ammonite beds that record life recovering after the greatest mass extinction.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "gsp-shah-2009", "ware-2018-triassic-ammonoids", "waterhouse-2010-lopingian", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "members": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "fossils": "ware-2018-triassic-ammonoids", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "thicknessM": 150, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Ware, D., Bucher, H., Brühwiler, T., Schneebeli-Hermann, E., Hochuli, P.A., Roohi, G., Ur-Rehman, K. & Yaseen, A. (2018). Griesbachian and Dienerian (Early Triassic) ammonoids from the Salt Range, Pakistan. Fossils and Strata, no. 63. Lethaia Foundation / Wiley.", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Waterhouse, J.B. (2010). Lopingian (Late Permian) stratigraphy of the Salt Range, Pakistan and Himalayan region. Geological Journal, 45, 264-284.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.1235", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Kummel & Teichert (1966)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Divided into three members (Kummel & Teichert 1966; Kummel 1966): the basal Kathwai Member (dolomite/limestone, ~10 ft, disconformable on the Zaluch Group), the Mittiwali Member (ammonite-bearing limestone/sandstone/shale, ~239 ft) and the Narmia Member (limestone/sandstone, ~249 ft) — measured at Spinnagara Nala.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Ware et al. (2018) document a rich Griesbachian–Dienerian (Early Triassic, Induan) ammonoid fauna from the Mianwali Formation (Kathwai Member, Lower Ceratite Limestone and Ceratite Marls) at Nammal, Wargal, Amb and Chhidru, defining a succession of regional zones (Ophiceras → Gyronites dubius/plicosus/frequens → Ambites → Koninckites/Vavilovites/Kingites). Key index genera added: Gyronites, Ambites, Proptychites, Koninckites, Vavilovites and Kingites.", "source": "ware-2018-triassic-ammonoids" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Waterhouse (2010): the basal Kathwai Member of the Mianwali Formation records severe condensation and faunal mixing across the Permian–Triassic boundary — the basal dolostone carries the very-late-Changhsingian conodont Clarkina meishanensis alongside the basal-Triassic Hindeodus parvus (with Isarcicella and Neogondolella carinata higher) and a few reworked Permian brachiopods, indicating deposition in very shallow, repeatedly reworked waters. A middle–upper Kathwai carbon-isotope excursion corresponds to an upper Gangetian (Early Induan) age, with the overlying Ophiceras tibeticum ammonoid Zone above.", "source": "waterhouse-2010-lopingian" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (low confidence) from the published type locality \"Mianwali District, Salt Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Mianwali area, western Salt Range (district-level).", "source": "osm-gazetteer" } ], "members": [ "kathwai-member", "mittiwali-member", "narmia-member" ], "synonyms": [ "Ceratite Beds" ], "coordinates": "32.6300, 71.5500", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 32.63, "lng": 71.55, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "tredian-formation", "name": "Tredian Formation", "age": "Middle Triassic (Anisian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "epoch": "Middle Triassic", "lithology": "Red and purple sandstone with green mottling", "description": "Continental red bed sequence indicating arid to semi-arid conditions. Forms colorful outcrops throughout the Salt Range. Part of the Musakhel Group.", "thickness": "50-100 m", "fossils": [ "Plant fragments", "Vertebrate bones (rare)" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A sandstone-dominated unit of the Triassic Musa Khel Group between the marine Mianwali and Kingriali carbonates, representing a progradational deltaic to fluvial clastic system; it is a producing reservoir interval in the Kohat-Potwar region.", "typeLocality": "Tredian, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Mianwali Formation", "underlies": "Kingriali Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "environment": [ "deltaic", "continental", "marginal marine" ], "plainSummary": "A colourful Middle Triassic sandstone unit deposited by rivers and deltas, sandwiched between two marine limestone/dolomite formations of the Salt Range.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "members": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "thicknessM": 75, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Kummel (1966), after E.R. Gee", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Divided into the lower Landa Member (sandstone/siltstone/shale with plant fossils, ~115 ft) and the upper Khatkiara Sandstone Member (sandstone, ~150 ft, disconformable base); measured at Spinnagara Nala, south of Paniala.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 38–59 m (Tapan Wahan / Zaluch Nala sections). Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (low confidence) from the published type locality \"Tredian, Salt Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Tredian, western Salt Range.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" } ], "members": [ "landa-member", "khatkiara-sandstone" ], "synonyms": [ "Kingriali Sandstone" ], "coordinates": "32.6600, 71.8300", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 32.66, "lng": 71.83, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kingriali-formation", "name": "Kingriali Formation", "age": "Late Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "epoch": "Late Triassic", "lithology": "Dolomite, dolomitic limestone with cellular (honeycomb) weathering", "description": "Marine carbonate sequence with characteristic honeycomb weathering. Represents shallow marine platform. Synonym: Chak Jabbi Limestone in Hazara. Part of the Musakhel Group.", "thickness": "100-150 m", "fossils": [ "Megalodont bivalves", "Gastropods", "Foraminifera" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The uppermost Triassic unit of the Musa Khel Group, a shallow-marine platform dolomite with characteristic cellular (honeycomb) weathering that caps the Triassic and is overlain by the Early Jurassic Datta Formation across the Triassic-Jurassic transition; known as the Chak Jabbi Limestone in the Hazara area and a reservoir target in the Kohat-Potwar region.", "typeLocality": "Kingriali, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Tredian Formation", "underlies": "Datta Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "hazara", "kohat", "potwar" ], "synonyms": [ "Chak Jabbi Limestone" ], "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "The youngest Triassic formation of the Salt Range, a honeycomb-weathering dolomite marking the top of the Triassic just below the Jurassic Datta Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "calkins-1975-hazara", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "mensink-1985-kingriali", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "coordinates": "mensink-1985-kingriali" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "thicknessM": 125, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Gee (1945); revised by Danilchik & Shah (1973)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "typeLocality", "note": "Type locality is the Kingriali hills of the Khisor Range (Trans-Indus), not the Salt Range. ~465 ft thick at Paniala; upper contact with the Datta Formation disconformable (laterized top), lower contact with the Tredian Formation transitional.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 76–106 m; 91 m in the Kala Chitta Range. Type locality: Kingriali Peak, Khisor Range (good sections at Zaluch Nala, Landa Nala, Tapan Wahan, Gori Tang Nala). Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): in the Hazara area this cherty dolomite sequence was earlier called 'Below the Trias' (Waagen & Wynne 1872), 'Infra Trias' (Middlemiss 1896) and — for the Sirban Hill outcrops east of Abbottabad — the 'Abbottabad Formation' (Marks & Ali 1962), before the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan adopted the name Kingriali Formation (Gee's 1945 'Kingriali dolomites' of the Kingriali Hills). NOTE: this historical usage predates the modern separation of the Cambrian Abbottabad Formation as a distinct unit — the two should not be conflated.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): the Kingriali Formation is ~2,000 ft (610 m) at its Hazara type section on Sirban Hill (Marks & Ali 1961), 2,700 ft in the Tanal area, 2,500 ft NE of Muzaffarabad and only 300–400 ft along the east flank of the Garhi Habibullah syncline — dolomite, quartzite and basal conglomerate/phyllite with abrupt facies changes. Assigned a Carboniferous–Triassic age (it overlies the Tanawal and underlies the Early Jurassic Datta Formation; conodonts west of the Indus are no younger than Late Devonian — Teichert).", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B), Paniala area: the Kingriali Dolomite is ~465 ft of hard brown/grey fine-crystalline thin-to-massive dolomite (weathering tan), its upper part alternating soft green calcareous dolomitic shale and argillaceous dolomite, with pelecypods, gastropods and crinoid stems in the lower part; type in the Kingriali hills of the Khisor Range, disconformably overlain by the Datta Formation.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): shelf carbonates of the Late Triassic Kingriali Formation are a producing reservoir in the Chanda Deep Field (Kohat Basin) and produce (with the Jurassic Datta and Cretaceous Lumshiwal) in the Chanda Field. The deepest well in the Kohat-Potwar Basin bottomed in the 'Kingriali Dolomite', with no direct evidence of Palaeozoic reservoir within the basin.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (low confidence) from the published type locality \"Kingriali, Salt Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Kingriali, western Salt Range / Surghar.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Type-locality coordinate corrected from the low-confidence Salt Range gazetteer point (32.72, 71.45) to the published type locality Kingriali Peak (32°14′N, 71°02′E = 32.2333, 71.0333) in the Khisor Range, District Dera Ismail Khan (Mensink et al., 1985), consistent with the Khisor Range type-locality correction already recorded from Hemphill & Kidwai (1973) and Shah (2009). Measured study sections lie at Nammal Gorge (32.6667, 71.8000) and Gulakhel (32.9667, 71.2000).", "source": "mensink-1985-kingriali" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Microfacies reconnaissance (Mensink et al., 1985): 11 microfacies (dolosparites, dolomicrites and calcitic onco-/oo-/bio-sparites) in four facies units record a shallow-marine carbonate platform passing upward to intertidal/tidal-flat conditions with restricted, occasionally hypersaline bays (birds-eye structures, mudcracks, pseudomorphs after gypsum, algal laminations); clastic input is confined to the basal meters near a nearby shoreline.", "source": "mensink-1985-kingriali" } ], "coordinates": "32.2333, 71.0333", "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lat": 32.2333, "lng": 71.0333, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "borom-formation", "name": "Borom Formation", "age": "Early to Middle Triassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "lithology": "Limestone and chert.", "description": "Named after Borom valley in Chapursan valley, Upper Hunza. Marine carbonate sequence on southern Asian plate margin.", "thickness": "about 300 m", "fossils": [ "Conodonts", "Foraminifera", "Neospathodus dieneri", "Triassospathodus homeri" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early to Middle Triassic limestone–chert unit of the Chapursan area that conformably overlies the Wirokhun Formation.", "typeLocality": "Borom valley, about 3.5 km NW of Sost, Chapursan valley, Upper Hunza", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Wirokhun Formation", "underlies": "Aghil Limestone" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "epoch": "Early–Middle Triassic", "introducedBy": "Gaetani (1990a)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "An Early–Middle Triassic limestone-and-chert unit above the Wirokhun Formation in upper Hunza.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Nicora, A., Henderson, C., Cirilli, S., Gale, L., Rettori, R., Vuolo, I. & Atudorei, V. (2013). Refinements in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic stratigraphy of Karakorum, Pakistan. Facies, 59, 915-948.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0346-9", "year": 2013 } ], "coordinates": "36.6900, 74.8200", "thicknessM": 300, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2013): conodonts extend the Borom Formation from the late Induan (Dienerian; Neospathodus dieneri) through the late Olenekian (Triassospathodus homeri), earliest Anisian/Aegean (Neogondolella regale), late Ladinian (Budurovignathus diebeli–mostleri; Daonella cf. indica) into the early Carnian (first Paragondolella polygnathiformis) — i.e. reaching the Late Triassic, beyond the curated Early–Middle Triassic span. The unit accumulated <200 m over ~25 Myr (<8 m/Myr, an underfed slope basin), thinner than the ~300 m curated thickness; CAI 5.", "source": "gaetani-2012-karakorum" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 36.69, "lng": 74.82, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "aghil-limestone", "name": "Aghil Limestone", "age": "Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic–Jurassic", "lithology": "Grey and white limestone and dolomite.", "description": "Named after Aghil Pass. Forms highest peaks in Karakoram including Hidden Peak (8068m) and Gasherbrum peaks. Massive carbonate platform.", "thickness": "1000+ m", "fossils": [ "Foraminifera", "Algae", "Megalodontidae (bivalves)", "Benthic foraminifera (Aulotortus friedli, Agathammina)" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thick carbonate succession of the eastern Karakoram (Shaksgam–Baltoro and Aghil ranges) that builds some of the highest summits of the range, including Hidden Peak (Gasherbrum I, 8068 m) and the Gasherbrum peaks.", "typeLocality": "Aghil pass, Shaksgam–Baltoro region, eastern Karakoram", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Borom Formation", "underlies": "Reshit Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "epoch": "Middle Triassic–Early Jurassic", "introducedBy": "Desio (1964)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "A thick Triassic–Jurassic limestone of the eastern Karakoram that forms peaks like Gasherbrum and Hidden Peak.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "rolfo-2014", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "fossils": [ "rolfo-2014" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Rolfo, F., Groppo, C. & Gaetani, M. (2014). A geological cross-section north of Karakorum, from Yarkand to K2. Journal of the Virtual Explorer, 47, Paper 1. https://doi.org/10.3809/jvirtex.2014.00336", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3809/jvirtex.2014.00336", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Nicora, A., Henderson, C., Cirilli, S., Gale, L., Rettori, R., Vuolo, I. & Atudorei, V. (2013). Refinements in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic stratigraphy of Karakorum, Pakistan. Facies, 59, 915-948.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0346-9", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 } ], "thicknessM": 1000, "reviewStatus": "published", "coordinates": "36.18, 76.62", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2013): the Aghil carbonate platform began prograding over the basinal Borom Formation in the early Carnian; benthic foraminifera date Member B (Aulotortus friedli, Agathammina austroalpina, Miliolipora cuvillieri) as Norian–Rhaetian and Member C (Trocholina crassa, Duotaxis birmanica) as Norian, with the topmost part drowned in the latest Triassic — a Late Triassic (Carnian–Rhaetian) platform rather than the curated 'Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic'. Studied in the Ashtigar gully as three informal members: A (~150–200 m recrystallized dolostone), B (~150 m megalodontid-rich dolostone/limestone) and C (~60 m nodular limestone to radiolarian wackestone).", "source": "gaetani-2012-karakorum" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Aghil Formation is Late Triassic — deformed megalodontids and dasycladacean fragments indicate a Late Triassic age, and at the top (south of Reshit, Chapursan) reworked scleractinian corals and ammonoids suggest a latest Triassic age. Total thickness may exceed 1500 m of massive peritidal-to-subtidal carbonate. Name from the 'Aghil Limestone' of Auden (1938), resumed by Desio (1963) and adopted as a formation by Gaetani et al. (1990a); unconformably covered by the Cretaceous Tupop Formation.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 36.18, "lng": 76.62, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "datta-formation", "name": "Datta Formation", "age": "Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Pliensbachian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "Early Jurassic", "lithology": "Variegated shale, sandstone, laterite, fire clay", "description": "Continental to marginal marine sequence with lateritic horizons. Contains important fire clay deposits. Terrestrial in upper Indus, marine in uppermost Indus basin. Part of the Surghar Group.", "thickness": "50-150 m", "fossils": [ "Plant fossils", "Coal traces", "Freshwater bivalves" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal Jurassic unit of the Surghar Group, a variegated clastic succession (sandstone, shale, laterite and fire clay) deposited in continental to marginal-marine settings that marks the Triassic-Jurassic transition above the Kingriali dolomite; terrestrial in the Upper Indus and increasingly marine north-westward.", "typeLocality": "Datta Nala, Surghar Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kingriali Formation", "underlies": "Shinawari Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "hazara", "kohat", "potwar" ], "economicImportance": "Source of refractory fire clay and coal; the 'Datta Sands' are an important gas/condensate reservoir in the Upper Indus Basin.", "introducedBy": "Danilchik (1961), renaming the 'Variegated Stage' of Gee (1945)", "environment": [ "continental", "fluvial", "marginal marine" ], "plainSummary": "The oldest Jurassic formation of northern Pakistan: colourful river and coastal-plain sandstones and clays that carry coal and fire clay and act as an important gas reservoir.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-1977", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "malkani-2016-indus-sealevel", "gsp-shah-2009", "jamil-2024-jurassic", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "asim-2014-drigri", "calkins-1975-hazara", "gee-1989-saltrange", "butt-1989-hazara-arc", "ahmed-1997-surghar-jurassic", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "qureshi-2006-datta" ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-shah-1977", "indplex-geolex" ], "introducedBy": [ "gsp-shah-1977", "indplex-geolex" ], "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex" ], "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "thicknessM": 100, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2016). Revised stratigraphy of Indus Basin (Pakistan): Sea level changes. In: Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific — Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608, Novosibirsk 2016, Abstract Volume, pp. 97-99.", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Jamil, M., Ullah, I., Rahim, H.U., Khan, I., Abbas, W., Rehman, M.U., Rashid, A., Umar, M., Ali, A. & Siddiqui, N.A. (2024). Tracking Depositional Architecture and Diagenetic Evolution in the Jurassic Carbonates, Trans Indus Ranges, NW Himalayas. Minerals, 14, 1170.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/min14111170", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Asim, S., Qureshi, S.N., Asif, S.K., Abbasi, S.A., Solangi, S. & Mirza, M.Q. (2014). Structural and Stratigraphical Correlation of Seismic Profiles between Drigri Anticline and Bahawalpur High in Central Indus Basin of Pakistan. International Journal of Geosciences, 5(11), 1231-1240.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2014.511102", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1989). An Overview of the Hazara Arc Stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 1-11.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Ahmed, S., Mertmann, D. & Manutsoglu, E. (1997). Jurassic shelf sedimentation and sequence stratigraphy of the Surghar Range, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 15, 15-22.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "coordinates": "33.0000, 71.3167", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Published type section: Datta Nala, Surghar Range (lat 33 deg 00' N, long 71 deg 19' E) — Danilchik & Shah (1973), in Hemphill & Kidwai (1973).", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Malkani (2016) notes that the Datta Formation is a lateral facies substitution: deposited in terrestrial (fluvial) environments in the upper Indus (Kohat-Potwar) Basin and in marine environments down-slope in the uppermost Indus (Khyber-Hazara-Kashmir) Basin. Curated environment (continental/fluvial/marginal marine) retained.", "source": "malkani-2016-indus-sealevel" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 212 m at type locality; 230 m Punnu Nala; >400 m Sheikh Badin Hills; 150 m Nammal Gorge; 272 m western Samana; 6 m Kala Chitta; 0–10 m Hazara. Type locality: Datta Nala, District Mianwali (principal reference of the Surghar/Broach Group). Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Jamil et al. (2024) place the Datta Formation as the Early Jurassic base of the Trans Indus Jurassic succession (Datta → Shinawari → Samana Suk).", "source": "jamil-2024-jurassic" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Asim et al. (2014): the (Early Jurassic) Datta Formation is among the proven Mesozoic RESERVOIR rocks in the Central Indus Basin (Drigri Anticline–Bahawalpur High seismic correlation).", "source": "asim-2014-drigri" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): in the Kakul–Galdanian–Chure Gali belt northeast of Abbottabad the middle unit of the Datta Formation carries low-grade sedimentary iron ore — red hematitic claystone/siltstone with layers and lenses of black massive hematite and manganese-oxide (some Mn lenses up to ~1,200 ft long), with oolitic, pelletal and nodular fabrics; it was mapped in detail for economic appraisal.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): in Hazara the Datta Formation is a thin but persistent red/brown shale and quartzose-sandstone sequence (upper sandstone, middle shale/iron unit, lower sandstone), ~90–160 ft in the Galdanian and Chure Gali areas but exceeding 500 ft westward near the Panjal fault; disconformable on the Kingriali Formation and below the Samana Suk Limestone. Early Jurassic (ammonites; Fatmi).", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Butt (1989): in the Hazara Arc the Lower Jurassic Datta/Shinawari transgressive sediments were deposited only in a narrow subsiding mid-portion of the arc (around Baragali), resting on the Hazara Formation and marking a major Precambrian-to-Lower-Jurassic stratigraphic break; the ammonite genus Bouleiceras (Davies and Gardezi 1965) dates them.", "source": "butt-1989-hazara-arc" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Ahmed et al. (1997), Surghar Range: the Datta Formation is dated by palynology as early Jurassic (Masood & Bhutta 1985) and represents a delta-plain that was drowned by a lower-Toarcian marine transgression at the base of the overlying Jurassic shelf carbonates.", "source": "ahmed-1997-surghar-jurassic" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B): the Datta Formation is as old as Early Jurassic (late Lias) from an ammonite fauna (L.F. Spath in Heron 1937) ~1 mi SSE of Paniala; varicolored friable micaceous sandstone with subordinate siltstone/claystone and a distinctive pure-white basal sand near Paniala, ~1,470 ft SE of Shaikh Budin (thinning to ~263 ft). The name was introduced by Danilchik & Shah (1973), type section Datta Nala, Surghar Range.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Early Jurassic Datta Formation is a proven sandstone reservoir, producing oil and gas in the Dhulian, Toot and Meyal fields (Potwar Plateau) and the Chanda and Mela fields (Kohat Basin). It also has source potential in the NW Potwar Basin - Type II and mixed Type II/III kerogen, TOC 1-7.5 wt.%, HI mostly 340-500 mgHC/gTOC (Fazeelat et al. 2010). Notably, Tmax 424-436 deg C indicates it is only marginally mature despite burial >5,000 m, attributed to low heat flow and convective cooling by meteoric waters.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "In the Kala Chitta Range the Datta Formation is a continental low-stand succession — ironstone/laterite, ferruginous and quartzose sandstone, bauxite and fireclay — filling karstic pouches on the Kingriali surface (Qureshi et al., 2006). The aluminous clays are dominated by kaolinite and diaspore (± gibbsite, hematite, goethite) with Al2O3 up to ~79%; the high-temperature diaspore/hematite assemblage reflects deeper burial and dynamic metamorphism during Himalayan deformation, and sediment was sourced from weathered Indian-shield (Kirana/Sargodha) basement.", "source": "qureshi-2006-datta" } ], "synonyms": [ "Variegated Beds" ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 33, "lng": 71.3167, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "shinawari-formation", "name": "Shinawari Formation", "age": "Middle Jurassic (Aalenian-Bajocian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "Middle Jurassic", "lithology": "Marine shale with sandstone", "description": "Marine shale sequence representing transgression after Datta continental conditions. Transitional between Datta and Samana Suk. Part of the Surghar Group.", "thickness": "20-50 m", "fossils": [ "Ammonites", "Bivalves", "Foraminifera" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thin marine shale-limestone-sandstone unit of the Surghar Group recording the transgression that followed the largely continental Datta Formation; it forms the transition upward into the thick Samana Suk carbonate platform.", "typeLocality": "Shinawari area, western Samana Range, Kohat District", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Datta Formation", "underlies": "Samana Suk Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "hazara", "kohat", "potwar" ], "introducedBy": "Fatmi (1977)", "environment": [ "marine", "lagoon", "marginal marine" ], "plainSummary": "A thin Jurassic marine shale-and-limestone unit marking the return of the sea over the coastal Datta beds, just below the massive Samana Suk limestone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-1977", "indplex-geolex", "kadri-1995", "jamil-2024-jurassic", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "asim-2014-drigri", "ahmed-1997-surghar-jurassic", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-shah-1977", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-1977", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "kadri-1995", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "thicknessM": 35, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kadri, I.B. (1995). Petroleum Geology of Pakistan. Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Karachi.", "year": 1995 }, { "citation": "Jamil, M., Ullah, I., Rahim, H.U., Khan, I., Abbas, W., Rehman, M.U., Rashid, A., Umar, M., Ali, A. & Siddiqui, N.A. (2024). Tracking Depositional Architecture and Diagenetic Evolution in the Jurassic Carbonates, Trans Indus Ranges, NW Himalayas. Minerals, 14, 1170.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/min14111170", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Asim, S., Qureshi, S.N., Asif, S.K., Abbasi, S.A., Solangi, S. & Mirza, M.Q. (2014). Structural and Stratigraphical Correlation of Seismic Profiles between Drigri Anticline and Bahawalpur High in Central Indus Basin of Pakistan. International Journal of Geosciences, 5(11), 1231-1240.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2014.511102", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Ahmed, S., Mertmann, D. & Manutsoglu, E. (1997). Jurassic shelf sedimentation and sequence stratigraphy of the Surghar Range, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 15, 15-22.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Basal beds and part of the Shinawari are believed to be fair source rocks of the Jurassic in the Upper Indus Basin.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Jamil et al. (2024): Early–Middle Jurassic; the base of the overlying Samana Suk Formation lies conformably upon it.", "source": "jamil-2024-jurassic" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Asim et al. (2014): in the Central Indus Basin (Drigri Anticline–Bahawalpur High) the shales of the Shinawari Formation act as a hydrocarbon SOURCE rock on the Punjab Platform and in the Sulaiman Depression (sufficiently mature to generate large gas volumes); the Shinawari sandstones are also cited among the proven Mesozoic RESERVOIR rocks.", "source": "asim-2014-drigri" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Ahmed, Mertmann & Manutsoglu (1997), Surghar Range: the Shinawari Formation is shallow-marine to intertidal, deposited (with the Samana Suk) from the Toarcian to the middle Callovian; its basal part carries the ammonite Bouleiceras cf. nitecens (Fatmi et al. 1990), and it belongs to the Baroch Group.", "source": "ahmed-1997-surghar-jurassic" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Middle Jurassic Shinawari Formation carries gas-prone kerogen and has poor conventional reservoir characteristics (Zaidi et al. 2013), though it is listed among the main Kohat Plateau reservoir units alongside the Datta and Samana Suk formations.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "samana-suk-formation", "name": "Samana Suk Formation", "age": "Middle Jurassic (Bajocian-Bathonian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "Middle Jurassic", "lithology": "Massive grey limestone", "description": "Named after Samana Range. Thick carbonate platform forming prominent cliffs. One of most widely distributed Jurassic formations in northern Pakistan. Part of the Surghar Group.", "thickness": "200-400 m", "fossils": [ "Corals", "Brachiopods", "Echinoids", "Foraminifera", "Algae" ], "geologicalSignificance": "One of the most widely distributed Jurassic formations of northern Pakistan: a thick shallow-marine carbonate-platform limestone of the Surghar Group forming prominent cliffs, deposited above the Shinawari Formation and overlain (with a break) by the Cretaceous Chichali Formation.", "typeLocality": "Samana Suk peak, Samana Range, Kohat", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Shinawari Formation", "underlies": "Chichali Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "hazara", "kohat", "potwar" ], "economicImportance": "A widespread Jurassic carbonate reservoir target in the Upper Indus Basin; also quarried for aggregate and cement raw material.", "introducedBy": "Fatmi (1977)", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "A thick, cliff-forming Middle Jurassic grey limestone laid down on a shallow tropical carbonate platform - one of the most widespread Jurassic units in northern Pakistan.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-1977", "jamil-2024-jurassic", "akhtar-2019-dhamtaur", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "asim-2014-drigri", "calkins-1975-hazara", "gee-1989-saltrange", "ali-2013-samanasuk", "butt-1989-hazara-arc", "hayat-2016-samanasuk", "ahmed-1997-surghar-jurassic", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "nizami-sheikh-2007-samanasuk" ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-shah-1977", "indplex-geolex" ], "introducedBy": [ "gsp-shah-1977", "indplex-geolex" ], "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex" ], "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "thicknessM": 300, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Jamil, M., Ullah, I., Rahim, H.U., Khan, I., Abbas, W., Rehman, M.U., Rashid, A., Umar, M., Ali, A. & Siddiqui, N.A. (2024). Tracking Depositional Architecture and Diagenetic Evolution in the Jurassic Carbonates, Trans Indus Ranges, NW Himalayas. Minerals, 14, 1170.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/min14111170", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Akhtar, S., Rahim, Y., Hu, B., Tsang, H., Ibrar, K.M., Ullah, M.F. & Bute, S.I. (2019). Stratigraphy and Structure of Dhamtaur Area, District Abbottabad, Eastern Hazara, Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9(1), 57-66.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2019.91005", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Asim, S., Qureshi, S.N., Asif, S.K., Abbasi, S.A., Solangi, S. & Mirza, M.Q. (2014). Structural and Stratigraphical Correlation of Seismic Profiles between Drigri Anticline and Bahawalpur High in Central Indus Basin of Pakistan. International Journal of Geosciences, 5(11), 1231-1240.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2014.511102", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Ali, F., Haneef, M., Anjum, M.N., Hanif, M. & Khan, S. (2013). Microfacies analysis and sequence stratigraphic modeling of the Samana Suk Formation, Chichali Nala, Trans Indus Ranges, Punjab, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 46(1), 41-53.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1989). An Overview of the Hazara Arc Stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 1-11.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Hayat, M., Rahman, M.U., Khan, N.A., Abdullah & Ali, F. (2016). Sedimentology, Sequence Stratigraphy and Reservoir Characterization of Samana Suk Formation Exposed in Namal Gorge Section, Salt Range, Mianwali, Punjab, Pakistan. International Journal of Economic and Environmental Geology, 7(1), 1-15.", "url": "https://www.econ-environ-geol.org", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Ahmed, S., Mertmann, D. & Manutsoglu, E. (1997). Jurassic shelf sedimentation and sequence stratigraphy of the Surghar Range, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 15, 15-22.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Nizami, A.R. & Sheikh, R.A. (2007). Microfacies analysis and diagenetic settings of the Samana Suk Formation, Chichali Nala section, Surghar Range, Trans Indus Ranges, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 42, 37-52.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "environment", "note": "Jamil et al. (2024): a shallow-marine carbonate ramp — wackestone and packstone microfacies dominate, with occasional grainstone and mudstone; the Chichali (Surghar) section spans supratidal to outer-ramp settings, the Paniala (Khisor) section intertidal to middle ramp.", "source": "jamil-2024-jurassic" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Jamil et al. (2024): measured outcrop thickness 88 m in the Paniala section (Khisor Range) and 98 m in the Chichali section (Surghar Range) — thinner than the regional 200–400 m; the existing figure is retained.", "source": "jamil-2024-jurassic" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Jamil et al. (2024): extensive diagenetic calcite cementation, micritization and dolomitization (including baroque dolomite) pervasively reduced the pore network, making these Jurassic carbonates a tight reservoir; carbon and oxygen isotopes track the depositional and diagenetic variation.", "source": "jamil-2024-jurassic" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Akhtar et al. (2019), Dhamtaur area (Eastern Hazara): the Permian and Triassic sequences are missing here, so the Middle Jurassic Samana Suk Formation rests, across a major unconformity, above the Precambrian Hazara Formation, and is overlain by the Cretaceous Chichali, Lumshiwal and Kawagarh formations — a condensed Precambrian-to-Eocene succession (~1.5 km) of the Hazara fold-and-thrust belt.", "source": "akhtar-2019-dhamtaur" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Asim et al. (2014): the (Middle Jurassic) Samana Suk Formation is among the proven Mesozoic RESERVOIR rocks in the Central Indus Basin (Drigri Anticline–Bahawalpur High).", "source": "asim-2014-drigri" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): in Hazara the Samana Suk Limestone is a black to dark-grey, thick-bedded, commonly cross-bedded, pelletal-to-oolitic biogenic limestone at least ~1,100 ft (335 m) thick (Fatmi, 2 mi N of Kalapani), disconformable on the Datta Formation and sheared against the overlying Chichali shale. Dasycladacean algae close to Neogyroporella indicate a Late Jurassic to earliest (pre-Aptian) Cretaceous age; correlatives include the Sulaiman Limestone Group, the Takatu Limestone and the Chiltan Limestone.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Ali et al. (2013), Chichali Nala (Trans-Indus Ranges): the Callovian-Bathonian Samana Suk Formation (limestone with subordinate reddish-brown quartzose bioturbated sandstone and marl; nodular with thin conglomerate intervals) yields four carbonate microfacies (laminated lime mudstone; bioclastic lime mud-wackestone; bioclastic wacke-packstone; bioclastic grainstone, with peloidal and ooidal grainstone sub-microfacies) plus a calcareous-sandstone lithofacies, indicating inner-ramp deposition across near-shore/beach, lagoon, barrier-shoal and deeper sub-tidal settings. Corroborates and refines the curated shallow-marine environment.", "source": "ali-2013-samanasuk" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Ali et al. (2013): the ~50 m Samana Suk succession at Chichali Nala records two second-order and four third-order transgressive-regressive sequences (fluctuating sea level), with hardgrounds/condensed sections at seven vertical levels marking transgressive events - a sequence-stratigraphic framework for the formation.", "source": "ali-2013-samanasuk" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Butt (1989): in the Hazara Arc the Upper Jurassic Samana Suk Limestone is a shallow-shelf carbonate blanket with oolitic texture, secondary yellow dolomite patches and shelly layers of oysters, gastropods and bivalves; its Upper Jurassic age is fixed by the gastropod genera Nerinea and Cossmanea (Butt 1962).", "source": "butt-1989-hazara-arc" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Hayat et al. (2016): microfacies and sequence-stratigraphic study of the Bathonian-Callovian Samana Suk Formation at Nammal (Namal) Gorge, Salt Range - mainly grey/yellowish/purple, fine-grained, thin-to-medium-bedded limestone with algal laminations and minor calcareous quartzose sandstone (yellowish-brown to brick-red) and marl; carbonate reservoir characterization. Corroborates the shallow-marine carbonate-platform setting with a Salt Range section.", "source": "hayat-2016-samanasuk" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Ahmed et al. (1997), Surghar Range: the Samana Suk Formation is a shallow-marine shelf carbonate deposited to the middle Callovian, with shallowing-upward cycles and relative sea-level lowstands in the Bajocian, Bathonian and Callovian; a lower-Callovian hardground is overlain by transgressive middle-Callovian open-marine limestone and the platform closes with another hardground.", "source": "ahmed-1997-surghar-jurassic" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B): in the Khisor-Bhittanni-Marwat ranges the Samana Suk Limestone ranges as young as Late Jurassic (late Callovian) on a cephalopod fauna (Spath 1939) and rhynchonellid/terebratulid brachiopods (Sahni 1939); brown/grey crystalline limestone (oolitic, pyrite-coated near the top) with abundant ammonites, ~1,030 ft east of Shaikh Budin and absent in the Khisor Range south of Budh Banda.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): platform carbonates of the Middle Jurassic Samana Suk Formation are a producing reservoir in the Manzalai, Makori, Mela and Chanda fields (Kohat Basin), and the 2016 Halini-Deep-1 well made an oil-and-gas discovery in the Jurassic Samana Suk.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "lithology", "source": "nizami-sheikh-2007-samanasuk", "note": "Nizami & Sheikh (2007) logged 43.27 m of the Samana Suk Formation at Chichali Nala (Surghar Range) and recognised oolitic, peloidal, intraclastic and grapestone grainstones, skeletal wackestones/packstones and carbonate mudstones, recording shallowing-upward shallow-shelf carbonate-platform cycles on the northern Indian-plate Tethyan margin." }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "source": "nizami-sheikh-2007-samanasuk", "note": "Diagenesis spans the marine-phreatic (dog-tooth and acicular rim cements), meteoric-phreatic (drusy equant spar, syntaxial overgrowths) and deep-burial realms (poikilotopic calcite, stylolite-associated ferroan dolomite), with fabric-selective to pervasive dolomitisation and later dedolomitisation (Nizami & Sheikh 2007)." }, { "field": "stratigraphicPosition", "source": "nizami-sheikh-2007-samanasuk", "note": "At Chichali Nala the formation rests conformably on the Shinawari Formation and is disconformably overlain by the Chichali Formation across a lateritic/ferruginous hardground encrustation (Nizami & Sheikh 2007)." } ], "synonyms": [ "Baroch Limestone" ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "loralai-formation", "nomenclaturalStatus": "superseded", "supersededBy": "Shirinab Formation", "name": "Loralai Formation", "age": "Early to Middle Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "lithology": "Limestone, shale, marl", "description": "Named after Loralai. Marine sequence in Sulaiman basin representing open marine shelf conditions. Important for petroleum exploration.", "thickness": "300-500 m", "fossils": [ "Ammonites", "Belemnites", "Bivalves", "Foraminifera" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Jurassic limestone of the Loralai–Zhob area; the name 'Loralai Limestone' was an early Hunting Survey Corporation mapping unit now largely subsumed into the Jurassic Shirinab Formation.", "typeLocality": "Loralai, Balochistan", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Triassic formations", "underlies": "Chiltan Limestone" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "A Jurassic limestone of the Loralai area whose old name has mostly been replaced by the Shirinab Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "razzaq-2024-tj", "nizami-2010-loralai-zhob" ], "citations": { "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "name", "note": "'Loralai Limestone' (HSC 1960) has largely been replaced by the Shirinab Formation (Fatmi 1977).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "USGS OFR 94-689 records that the Loralai Formation, formerly a member of the Shirinab Formation (Williams 1959; Fatmi 1977), was elevated to formational status as the upper formation of the Alozai Group (Loralai over Spingwar) by Fatmi (in press).", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 250 m Zamari Tangi; 360 m Mara Tangi; 150 m Tazi Kach. Type locality: Zamari Tangi (proposed type locality). Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Razzaq Manan et al. (2024): the Jurassic Loralai Limestone, together with the Chiltan Limestone, is part of the frontier Triassic–Jurassic carbonate petroleum play of the Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt; several fracturing phases and mesogenetic (burial) alteration have enhanced effective secondary porosity, improving reservoir quality.", "source": "razzaq-2024-tj" }, { "field": "lithology", "source": "nizami-2010-loralai-zhob", "note": "Nizami, Ashraf, Ata Razi & Hamid (2010), Khidirzai Nala section (Bargha Shirani, Western Sulaiman Range, District Zhob): the Middle Jurassic Loralai Formation carbonates comprise intraclastic rudstones and grainstones, skeletal/ooidal/pisoidal/peloidal grainstones and skeletal to unfossiliferous mudstones, cut by a range of early-to-late diagenetic cements." }, { "field": "economicImportance", "source": "nizami-2010-loralai-zhob", "note": "Nizami et al. (2010): the Loralai Formation has oil-and-gas reservoir potential in the Western Sulaiman Range - well-developed grainstone microfacies with secondary dissolution, moldic and vuggy porosity." } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Razzaq Abdul Manan, Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Kasi, A.K., Ali, S.H., Farooqui, M.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2024). Deposition and diagenesis of the Triassic-Jurassic limestone successions of the northwestern passive margin of the Indian plate, Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt, Pakistan. Carbonates and Evaporites, 39, 104.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-024-01019-3", "year": 2024 } ], "coordinates": "30.3669, 68.6001", "thicknessM": 400, "synonyms": [ "Loralai Limestone (HSC 1960; largely replaced by the Shirinab Formation, Fatmi 1977)" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Triassic, may extend up to Middle Jurassic (Bajocian)", "introducedBy": "Hunting Survey Corporation (1960)", "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "The Jurassic Loralai Limestone hosts fluorite veins (Gadebar and Daman Ghar ranges, Loralai district) along faults and fractures; a building-limestone source.", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 30.3669, "lng": 68.6001, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chiltan-limestone", "name": "Chiltan Limestone", "age": "Middle to Late Jurassic (Bathonian-Oxfordian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "Middle Jurassic", "lithology": "Thick shelf carbonate — pisolitic to oolitic limestone with reefal development in the upper part.", "description": "Named after Chiltan Peak near Quetta. Thick carbonate platform sequence forming prominent mountains. Major petroleum reservoir in Sulaiman basin.", "thickness": "≈750–1,800 m in the Sulaiman Fold Belt, increasing westward", "fossils": [ "Corals" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thick Middle Jurassic oolitic shelf-carbonate platform sequence (equivalent to the Samana Suk / Takatu / Zidi limestones), the principal Jurassic carbonate of the Kirthar–Sulaiman region and a deep gas reservoir.", "typeLocality": "Chiltan Peak, near Quetta", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Shirinab Formation", "underlies": "Sembar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "economicImportance": "A significant Middle Jurassic hydrocarbon reservoir of the Indus Basin (e.g. Zarghun South gas); its top unconformity hosts the Dilband oolitic iron ore.", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "carbonate platform" ], "plainSummary": "A thick Middle Jurassic oolitic shelf limestone — the main Jurassic carbonate of the region, a gas reservoir, and the floor beneath the Dilband iron ore.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "chiltan-mdpi-2023", "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "razzaq-2024-tj", "umar-2024-cretaceous" ], "citations": { "epoch": [ "chiltan-mdpi-2023", "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017" ], "thickness": "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "overlies": "razzaq-2024-tj", "underlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": [ "chiltan-mdpi-2023", "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017" ], "environment": "chiltan-mdpi-2023", "economicImportance": [ "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "chiltan-mdpi-2023", "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017" ], "plainSummary": "chiltan-mdpi-2023", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Diagenetic and mineralogical impact on the carbonate (Chiltan) Formation of the Indus Basin, Pakistan. Minerals (MDPI), 13(12), 1474 (2023).", "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/13/12/1474", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Iqbal, M. et al. (2017). Hydrocarbon exploration perspective in Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous reservoirs in the Sulaiman Foldbelt, Pakistan. (ResearchGate).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321161788", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Razzaq Abdul Manan, Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Kasi, A.K., Ali, S.H., Farooqui, M.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2024). Deposition and diagenesis of the Triassic-Jurassic limestone successions of the northwestern passive margin of the Indian plate, Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt, Pakistan. Carbonates and Evaporites, 39, 104.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-024-01019-3", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 } ], "coordinates": "30.1523, 66.9318", "thicknessM": 701.5, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "typeLocality", "note": "Corroborated by USGS OFR 94-689: the Middle Jurassic Chiltan Limestone is mapped in the Chiltan Range southwest of Quetta and southeast of Kach and Gogai.", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) DUPLICATE FLAG: the book treats the Chiltan Limestone and the Takatu Limestone as the SAME unit (the 'Takatu (Chiltan) Limestone', Middle Jurassic), with the Mazar Drik as its upper member. This record and 'takatu-limestone' are therefore likely duplicates to merge; the book gives Middle Jurassic (no Oxfordian extension).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Razzaq Manan et al. (2024): the Chiltan Limestone spans deep-marine, lower-slope pelagic calcisphere wackestone/packstone (SMF-3) up to high-energy ooidal grainstone and peloidal packstone of the agitated inner shelf (SMF-15/16) — a shallowing carbonate ramp. Fracturing, dolomitization and de-dolomitization have locally enhanced secondary porosity, giving reservoir potential in this frontier petroleum belt.", "source": "razzaq-2024-tj" }, { "field": "underlies", "note": "Umar et al. (2024): the Chiltan Limestone (and equivalent Jurassic carbonates) is overlain disconformably by the Cretaceous Sembar Formation, the contact marked by a lateritic interval; it overlies the Jurassic Shirinab Formation (Razzaq Manan et al. 2024).", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Corrected from \"420 m (Nabisar well) to over 983 m (Digh well)\" (Nabisar/Digh wells, Lower Indus — not supported by the cited source) to the thickness reported by the cited source: \"Reported thickness ranges from 750 to 1800 m in the Sulaiman Fold Belt\" (map shows westward increase).", "source": "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Composed of thick, massive-bedded, shoaling-upward carbonate cycles dominated by grainstone (locally oolitic); microfacies range from lime mudstone (MF1) through bioclastic peloidal packstone (MF2) to bioclastic ooidal grainstone (MF3). Laterite and karstification at the top record paleo-exposure that enhances reservoir quality (Iqbal et al. 2012; Memon et al. 2023).", "source": "chiltan-mdpi-2023" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 30.1523, "lng": 66.9318, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "reshit-formation", "name": "Reshit Formation", "age": "late Middle Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "late Middle Jurassic", "lithology": "A monotonous sequence (about 300 m) of dark grey, cherty mudstone and wackestone.", "description": "Named after Reshit village in Chapursan valley. Marine carbonates on southern Asian plate margin.", "thickness": "about 300 m", "fossils": [ "Foraminifera", "Ostracods", "Crinoids", "Corals", "Echinoids", "Brachiopods", "Ammonites" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A late Middle Jurassic cherty carbonate unit overlying the Yashkuk Formation in the intensely faulted Chapursan valley succession.", "typeLocality": "Reshit village, Chapursan valley, upper Hunza", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Yashkuk Formation", "underlies": "Darband Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1990a)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "A late Middle Jurassic cherty mudstone-and-wackestone unit above the Yashkuk Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 } ], "thicknessM": 300, "reviewStatus": "published", "coordinates": "36.824066, 74.512372", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Type-locality coordinate set from reviewer-supplied GPS (36.824067 N, 74.512372 E), Chapursan valley, upper Hunza; supersedes an approximate fleet estimate.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Reshit Formation yields Aalenian–Bajocian nannofossils (Gaetani et al. 1993); introduced by Gaetani et al. (1990a). About 300 m of dark grey oncolitic–oolitic packstone and mudstone/wackestone of an open carbonate shelf with evaporitic episodes and restricted lagoons (gypsum and thin coal seams occur in the Chapursan Valley); it aggraded onto the previously emerged area during the Aalenian.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "lithologyType": "chert", "lat": 36.824066, "lng": 74.512372, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chichali-formation", "name": "Chichali Formation", "age": "Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic-Cretaceous", "epoch": "Tithonian-Berriasian", "lithology": "Dark greenish grey glauconitic sandstone, glauconitic shale", "description": "Named after Chichali Pass in Surghar Range. Marks Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary. Rich in belemnites. Correlated with Spiti Shale of Hazara. Part of the Chichali Group.", "thickness": "12-70 m", "fossils": [ "Ammonites" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A glauconitic marine sandstone-and-shale unit straddling the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary in the Kohat–Potwar region; its glauconite and condensed character record slow marine sedimentation, and it underlies the Cretaceous Lumshiwal Formation.", "typeLocality": "Chichali Pass in Surghar", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Samana Suk Formation", "underlies": "Lumshiwal Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "hazara", "kohat", "potwar" ], "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2019-cretaceous", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "asim-2014-drigri", "umar-2024-cretaceous", "calkins-1975-hazara", "butt-1989-hazara-arc", "ahmed-1997-surghar-jurassic", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "qureshi-2007-chichali" ], "citations": { "fossils": "malkani-2019-cretaceous", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "underlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": "gsp-shah-2009", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "synonyms": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "introducedBy": "Danilchik (1961)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "economicImportance": "Phosphorite (rock phosphate) has been reported from the Chichali Formation near Kohat, but low phosphate content makes it of little economic value.", "plainSummary": "A greenish, glauconite-rich marine sandstone and shale marking the Jurassic-to-Cretaceous transition in the Upper Indus Basin.", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Microfacies and biostratigraphy of the Chichali, Lumshiwal and Kawagarh formations, Upper Indus and Hazara basins, Pakistan (2024).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381066012", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2019). Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9, 671-673.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2019.910071", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Asim, S., Qureshi, S.N., Asif, S.K., Abbasi, S.A., Solangi, S. & Mirza, M.Q. (2014). Structural and Stratigraphical Correlation of Seismic Profiles between Drigri Anticline and Bahawalpur High in Central Indus Basin of Pakistan. International Journal of Geosciences, 5(11), 1231-1240.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2014.511102", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1989). An Overview of the Hazara Arc Stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 1-11.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Ahmed, S., Mertmann, D. & Manutsoglu, E. (1997). Jurassic shelf sedimentation and sequence stratigraphy of the Surghar Range, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 15, 15-22.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Qureshi, M.K.A., Ghazi, S., Butt, A.A., Ahmad, N. & Masood, K.R. (2007). Microfacies analysis and the environmental pattern of the Chichali Formation, Kala Chitta Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 42, 53-59.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "coordinates": "33.0031, 71.4042", "tier": 1, "thicknessM": 41, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "fossils", "note": "Gap-fill (fossils field was empty). Malkani (2019) describes the Chichali Formation as an ammonite-bearing marine glauconitic shale and sandstone that, in the Upper Indus (Kohat-Potwar) Basin, forms one of the Cretaceous formations at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary.", "source": "malkani-2019-cretaceous" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Reviewer confirmed the Chichali Pass type-section coordinate as 33 deg 00' 11\" N, 71 deg 24' 15\" E (33.0031, 71.4042), superseding the approximate osm-gazetteer value (33.008, 71.407). This resolves the reconciliation cross-check flag: Shah (2009) prints the type section as 33 deg 01' N, 70 deg 25' E, but the longitude is an OCR misread of 71 deg 24' E — the ~1 deg discrepancy was in the OCR, not the dataset. A separate Wikipedia value (33 deg 49' N, 72 deg 04' E, near Attock/Kala Chitta) was reviewed and rejected as a non-type exposure ~110 km north of the type section. The corresponding author independently re-confirmed the 71.4042 longitude against Google Maps (2026-07-17), definitively closing the reconciliation cross-check flag.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Asim et al. (2014): the shales of the (Late Jurassic–Neocomian) Chichali Formation are a hydrocarbon SOURCE rock in the Central Indus Basin (Punjab Platform / Sulaiman Depression), mature enough to have generated large volumes of gas.", "source": "asim-2014-drigri" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Umar et al. (2024, after Hallam & Maynard 1987; Pandey & Pathak 2017): the Chichali Formation is Late Oxfordian–Berriasian to Aptian and is the northern lateral equivalent of the Sembar Formation. Its glauconitic, phosphate-nodule-bearing, belemnite-rich shales record middle-to-outer ramp, transgressive, anoxic deposition; it is 12–70 m thick across the Surghar, Kohat, Kala Chitta and Hazara basins and rests disconformably on the Samana Suk Formation.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): in Hazara the Chichali Formation is a soft, thinly laminated, highly organic black shale (Spiti-Shale facies), a few feet to ~300 ft thick with sheared contacts, and is Late Jurassic here (Perisphinctes frequens, Belemnopsis canaliculatus, ammonites near Abbottabad) — younging westward to Early Cretaceous. Formerly the 'Belemnite Beds' (Oldham 1892); the name 'Spiti Shale' was dropped by the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan and these outcrops assigned to the Chichali Formation.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Butt (1989): the Chichali Formation is a black-shale facies deposited in a restricted, oxygen-deficient (anoxic) marine trough, with pyrite concretions, the belemnite Belemnopsis and the ammonite Perisphinctes indicating reducing conditions. Butt notes source-bed deposition occurred but the formation lacks a proper burial history and cannot be ranked as a source rock (his interpretation).", "source": "butt-1989-hazara-arc" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Ahmed et al. (1997), Surghar Range: the Oxfordian-Neocomian Chichali Formation (glauconitic deeper-shelf deposits; part of the Surghar Group with the overlying Lumshiwal) records the drowning of the Jurassic carbonate platform whose top is marked by a hardground.", "source": "ahmed-1997-surghar-jurassic" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Lower Cretaceous Chichali Formation (glauconitic sandstones and basinal shales) is listed with the Lumshiwal among the youngest mature Mesozoic source rocks; its algal/microbial organic matter (anoxic marine) gives fair generation potential, best developed on the Punjab Platform and toward Hazara (Gakkhar et al. 2012).", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "fossils", "source": "qureshi-2007-chichali", "note": "Qureshi et al. (2007), from nine sections in the Kala Chitta Range, report a Late Oxfordian-Neocomian fauna from the glauconitic Chichali Formation: belemnites (Belemnopsis gerardi, Hibolithes sp.), ammonites (Perisphinctes, Neocosmoceras, Aulacosphinctes, Himalayites) and Gryphaea, plus a palynoflora (Indotriletes korbaensis, Alisporites grandis/bilateralis, Minutosaccus crenulatus and others), confirming an Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous age." }, { "field": "environment", "source": "qureshi-2007-chichali", "note": "The sequence records an epicontinental marine transgression across a weathered platform: robust belemnites in the basal glauconitic sandstones are storm-winnowed lag concentrates, while thick pyritic black shales in the western sections (Bata, Sujhanda) mark restricted, oxygen-deficient basinal troughs (Qureshi et al. 2007)." }, { "field": "thickness", "source": "qureshi-2007-chichali", "note": "Thickness ranges from 6-13.5 m across the central-eastern Kala Chitta Range (e.g. Jhalar 12.5 m, Surg 6 m) and expands westward to 30 m at Bata and 60 m at Sujhanda near the Indus (Qureshi et al. 2007)." }, { "field": "lithology", "source": "qureshi-2007-chichali", "note": "Four microfacies were identified — clay/iron-oxide-, calcite/flint-, clay/silica- and clay/glauconite-cemented glauconitic to quartzose sandstones — with early diagenetic glauconite and flint (from biogenic silica) and late fracture-filling calcite spar (Qureshi et al. 2007)." } ], "synonyms": [ "Belemnite Beds", "Spiti Shale" ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 33.0031, "lng": 71.4042, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "lumshiwal-sandstone", "name": "Lumshiwal Formation", "age": "Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Early Cretaceous", "lithology": "White to grey quartzose sandstone", "description": "Named after Lumshiwal in Salt Range. Clean quartzose sandstone representing coastal to shallow marine conditions. Forms prominent white cliffs. Part of the Chichali Group.", "thickness": "~64-150 m (Surghar Range)", "fossils": [ "oysters" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Cretaceous marine sandstone of the Kohat–Potwar foreland, overlain by the Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh limestone and capped, across a major disconformity (Cenomanian–Maastrichtian strata missing), by the Paleocene Hangu Formation.", "typeLocality": "Lumshiwal Nala in the Surghar Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chichali Formation", "underlies": "Kawagarh Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "economicImportance": "The unconformity at the top of the Lumshiwal Formation (beneath the Paleocene Hangu Formation) hosts the Chhoi–Akhori laterite–bauxite deposits of the Kalachitta Hills.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "khan-lumshiwal-samana-2020", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "asim-2014-drigri", "umar-2024-cretaceous", "calkins-1975-hazara", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "qureshi-2006-lumshiwal", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "fossils": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "underlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "introducedBy": "Gee (1945)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "A Cretaceous marine sandstone whose eroded top, beneath the Paleocene, hosts the Kalachitta bauxite deposits.", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Petrography of the sandstone of the Lumshiwal Formation, Samana Range, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal (PJHR).", "url": "https://www.pjhr.org.pk/index.php/pjhr/article/download/173/161", "year": 2020 }, { "citation": "Microfacies and biostratigraphy of the Chichali, Lumshiwal and Kawagarh formations, Upper Indus and Hazara basins, Pakistan (2024).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381066012", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Asim, S., Qureshi, S.N., Asif, S.K., Abbasi, S.A., Solangi, S. & Mirza, M.Q. (2014). Structural and Stratigraphical Correlation of Seismic Profiles between Drigri Anticline and Bahawalpur High in Central Indus Basin of Pakistan. International Journal of Geosciences, 5(11), 1231-1240.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2014.511102", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "thicknessM": 107, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Asim et al. (2014): the Lumshiwal Formation is one of the proven Mesozoic RESERVOIR rocks in the Central Indus Basin (Drigri Anticline–Bahawalpur High seismic correlation).", "source": "asim-2014-drigri" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Umar et al. (2024, after Kennedy & Fatmi 2014): the Lumshiwal Formation is Aptian–Turonian — a prograding, texturally mature, felsic-sourced deltaic sandstone (foreshore–inner-shelf to prodelta facies) sourced from the Indian Craton. It is transitional above the Chichali Formation and is overlain by the Kawagarh Formation in the Kala Chitta and Hazara ranges (where Kawagarh is developed); it thins out and disappears in the Salt Range.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): in Hazara the Lumshiwal Sandstone is a 10–50 ft, soft, very calcareous glauconitic quartz sandstone (weathering brownish-orange) with a belemnite-rich 3–5 ft basal interval, grading up (4-ft transition) into the Kawagarh Limestone. Ammonites give a Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age — Virgatosphinctoides and Aulacosphinctoides (Late Jurassic) and Brancoceras, Subthurmannia and Lyelliceras (Early Cretaceous); the Indian equivalent is the Giumal Sandstone.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Cretaceous Lumshiwal Formation is a producing reservoir in the Manzalai, Makori, Mela and Chanda fields (Kohat); the 2016 Tolanj West-1 well (TD 4941 m) flowed 14.51 MMSCFD gas plus 34 bbls condensate from the Lumshiwal. It is also listed (with the Chichali) among the youngest mature Mesozoic source rocks.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Sandstone petrography of the Lumshiwal Formation (Samana Range, Hangu) indicates a quartz-rich, recycled-orogen/craton provenance with diagenetic modification, deposited in a shallow-marine to shoreface environment (Khan et al. 2009).", "source": "khan-lumshiwal-samana-2020" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Citation re-attributed to the baseline compilation after removing an unverifiable source (reviewer had no full-text access); the fact traces to the GSP baseline.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Citation re-attributed to the baseline compilation after removing an unverifiable source (reviewer had no full-text access); the fact traces to the GSP baseline.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (low confidence) from the published type locality \"Lumshiwal Nala in the Surghar Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Lumshiwal Nala, Surghar Range.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Lithofacies/microfacies analysis in the Kala Chitta Range (Qureshi et al., 2006): eight microfacies — glauconitic sandstone, lime mudstone, bioclastic wackestone–packstone, grainstone and floatstone — record shallow-marine to outer-shelf carbonate deposition with intermittent subaerial exposure and condensation; the lower contact with the Chichali Formation is gradational and the upper contact unconformable (Kawagarh Formation in the northern, Lockhart Limestone in the southern Kala Chitta). The formation thins westward (~61.5 m at Dourdad to ~8 m at Chapra) in a wedge-on-wedge relationship with the Chichali Formation; Lower Cretaceous age on ammonite and palynological control.", "source": "qureshi-2006-lumshiwal" } ], "coordinates": "32.8500, 71.3000", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 32.85, "lng": 71.3, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kawagarh-formation", "name": "Kawagarh Formation", "age": "Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "lithology": "Light grey to white limestone, marl, shale", "description": "Named after Kawagarh hills north of Kala Chitta Range. Major Late Cretaceous carbonate representing final marine transgression before K-Pg events. Part of the Chichali Group.", "thickness": "~123 m (Jabri reference section, Hazara)", "fossils": [ "Globotruncana lapparenti", "Globotruncana linneiana", "Dicarinella carinata", "Rugoglobigerina rugosa", "Heterohelix globulosa", "Globotruncanita stuartiformis" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Upper Cretaceous marine limestone of the Kohat–Potwar region; the youngest Cretaceous unit before a major disconformity, it is overlain unconformably by the Paleocene Makarwal Group.", "typeLocality": "Kawagarh hills north of Kala Chitta", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Lumshiwal Formation", "underlies": "Hangu Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "hazara", "kohat", "potwar" ], "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "rehman-2023-kawagarh", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "umar-2024-cretaceous", "calkins-1975-hazara", "sameeni-2007-kawagarh", "butt-1989-hazara-arc", "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir" ], "citations": { "fossils": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "introducedBy": "Fatmi (1977)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "economicImportance": "Phosphorite occurs in the Kawagarh Formation near Chhoi in the Kalachitta Range, but is of little economic value owing to its low phosphate content.", "plainSummary": "An Upper Cretaceous marine limestone forming the top of the Cretaceous sequence in the Kalachitta–Kohat area.", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Microfacies and biostratigraphy of the Chichali, Lumshiwal and Kawagarh formations, Upper Indus and Hazara basins, Pakistan (2024).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381066012", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Rehman, S.U., Munawar, M.J., Shah, M.M., Ahsan, N., Kashif, M., Janjuhah, H.T., Lianou, V. & Kontakiotis, G. (2023). Diagenetic Evolution of Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh Carbonates from Attock Hazara Fold and Thrust Belt, Pakistan. Minerals, 13, 1438.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/min13111438", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Sameeni, S.J., Mirza, K. & Naz, H. (2007). Planktonic Foraminifera from Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh Formation, Jabri area, Lora-Maqsood Road, Hazara, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 42, 61-68.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2007 }, { "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1989). An Overview of the Hazara Arc Stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 1-11.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Munir, M.-H., Baig, M.S. & Mirza, K. (2005-2006). Upper Cretaceous of Hazara and Paleogene Biostratigraphy of Azad Kashmir, North West Himalayas, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 69-87.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2006 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "thicknessM": 123, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Rehman et al. (2023): a 2021 hydrocarbon discovery in the Kawagarh Formation established it as a carbonate reservoir target in the Attock-Hazara Fold-Thrust Belt and motivated a detailed diagenetic-reservoir study. Reservoir quality is controlled by a diagenetic paragenesis of early calcite cementation (predating mechanical compaction, as shown by uncompacted wackestone/mudstone versus late-compacted lithified packstone), aragonite dissolution reprecipitated as microspar, fault-related hydrothermal dolomitization (with strongly negative δ18O values) forming dolomitization fronts, stylolitisation, and uplift-related fracturing with fracture calcite.", "source": "rehman-2023-kawagarh" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Rehman et al. (2023): faunal content and microfacies indicate the Kawagarh Formation was deposited in the Neo-Tethys under shallow, open-marine, well-oxygenated conditions on a carbonate ramp — a limestone-and-marl succession with subordinate dolomite, passing from inner-ramp through mid-ramp to outer-ramp microfacies, with lateritisation developed at the top of the formation in the Attock-Hazara Fold-Thrust Belt.", "source": "rehman-2023-kawagarh" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the book gives the Kawagarh Formation a Coniacian to Campanian age (no Maastrichtian), slightly older than the curated 'Campanian–Maastrichtian'. Recorded as a note; the age is debated, curated value retained.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Umar et al. (2024, after Munir & Baig 2006; Rehman et al. 2021): the diverse planktonic-foraminifera assemblage affirms a Coniacian–Campanian age. The Kawagarh Formation was deposited only in the Kala Chitta and Hazara ranges (absent in the Surghar, Salt Range and eastern Kohat) as inner–outer-ramp argillaceous/dolomitic limestone during a transgressive open-marine phase; an unconformity at its top records uplift from the India–Kohistan Island Arc collision. It is laterally equivalent to the Parh and Mughal Kot formations.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975, after Latif 1962): in Hazara the Kawagarh Limestone is a light-grey, fine, nearly lithographic limestone ~350 ft thick, resting conformably on the Lumshiwal Sandstone and disconformably beneath the Kala Chitta Group (a lateritic contact). It carries Late Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera — Globotruncana (visible in hand specimen), Heterohelix, Rugoglobigerina and Pseudotextularia — and is correlated with the Chikkim Limestone (Spiti), the Parh Limestone (Balochistan) and the Darsamand Limestone (Kohat).", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Sameeni, Mirza & Naz (2007), Kawagarh Formation at Jabri (Lora-Maqsood road, north bank of the Haro river, Hazara), 123 m thick: planktonic foraminifera include five Globotruncana species plus Planoglobulina sp., Heterohelix reussi and Textularia baudouiniana. Globotruncana arca in the upper part indicates deposition extended into the Lower Maastrichtian; the assemblage gives a Middle Coniacian to Lower Maastrichtian age for the formation at Jabri (consistent with the curated Campanian-Maastrichtian, extended down to the Coniacian locally).", "source": "sameeni-2007-kawagarh" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Butt (1989): the Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh Formation is a micritic, outer-neritic deposit (~100-200 m water depth) - the only record of deeper-water facies in the entire history of the Hazara Arc. Type locality Kawa Village in the Kawagarh Range (northern Kala Chitta); after a Maastrichtian non-deposition gap it is overlain by residual K-T laterite/pisolite and then the Upper Paleocene Lockhart Limestone.", "source": "butt-1989-hazara-arc" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Munir, Baig & Mirza (2005-06): planktonic foraminifera (Globotruncana, Dicarinella, Rugoglobigerina, Heterohelix) with benthics (Planularia, Lenticulina) date the Kawagarh Formation of Hazara as Coniacian-Campanian, extending into the Maastrichtian to Lower Danian in its upper part; it was deposited under outer-neritic shelf conditions on the north-subducting Neotethyan shelf below the Kohistan Island Arc, turning regressive toward the Maastrichtian.", "source": "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh Formation (Late Cretaceous low-stand siliciclastics; present in the SE Salt Range and Kohat Plateau but not reported within the Potwar Basin) is listed among Cretaceous horizons (with the Lumshiwal and Moghal Kot) showing oil production and shows/seeps.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Citation re-attributed to the baseline compilation after removing an unverifiable source (reviewer had no full-text access); the fact traces to the GSP baseline.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Citation re-attributed to the baseline compilation after removing an unverifiable source (reviewer had no full-text access); the fact traces to the GSP baseline.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Planktonic-foraminiferal biostratigraphy in Hazara (Munir et al., 2006): Dicarinella carinata, Globotruncana linneiana / elevata–calcarata / fornicata / concavata, Rugoglobigerina rugosa and Heterohelix spp. indicate a Coniacian–Campanian age; deposited on an outer-neritic open-marine shelf (sublithographic, chopboard-weathering limestone).", "source": "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "indus-formation", "name": "Indus Formation", "age": "Latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "lithology": "Continental laterite, bauxite and pisolitic ironstone beds (best developed in the Kotli area of Azad Kashmir); partly marine northward near Muzaffarabad.", "description": "Infra-Tertiary boundary unit representing continental to marginal marine conditions at K-Pg boundary. Contains laterite and bauxite deposits indicating sub-aerial exposure.", "thickness": "10-50 m", "fossils": [ "Rare plant fossils", "Trace fossils" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An unusual continental, unconformity-bounded unit spanning the Ordovician to Latest Cretaceous on the eastern (Azad Kashmir) margin of the basin; its laterite, bauxite and pisolitic ironstone record prolonged subaerial weathering and non-deposition on the Indian-shield margin, with marine influence only in the north near Muzaffarabad.", "typeLocality": "Kotli area, southern Azad Kashmir", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kawagarh Formation", "underlies": "Hangu Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hazara", "kohat", "potwar", "azad-kashmir" ], "economicImportance": "Source of bauxite and laterite in the Kotli area of Azad Kashmir.", "environment": [ "continental", "marine" ], "plainSummary": "A long-lived continental weathering crust (laterite and bauxite) of Azad Kashmir, standing in for an enormous gap in the rock record on the edge of the Indian shield.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "malkani-2019-cretaceous" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2019). Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9, 671-673.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2019.910071", "year": 2019 } ], "coordinates": "33.5156, 73.9019", "thicknessM": 30, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Malkani (2019) correlates the latest-Cretaceous Indus Formation of the Upper Indus (Kohat-Potwar) Basin (coal, laterite, carbonaceous shale) with the Vitakri Lameta sediments of the Sulaiman/Kirthar basins and with the lower Hangu Formation, treating it as a terrestrial-to-deltaic unit spanning the K/Pg boundary. Correlation attributed to this author's framework.", "source": "malkani-2019-cretaceous" } ], "lat": 33.5156, "lng": 73.9019, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "sembar-formation", "name": "Sembar Formation", "age": "Early Cretaceous (Berriasian-Barremian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Early Cretaceous (Neocomian)", "lithology": "Black, carbonaceous, pyritic shale with subordinate siltstone, sandstone and thin limestone; thins westward.", "description": "Major source rock for hydrocarbons in Indus Basin. Deposited in anoxic marine conditions. Equivalent to Chichali in upper Indus.", "thickness": "100-300 m", "fossils": [ "Ammonites", "Belemnites", "Foraminifera" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early Cretaceous organic-rich marine shale that is the main petroleum source rock of the Indus Basin, deposited during Gondwana rifting as the Indian plate began to separate.", "typeLocality": "Sembar Pass, Sulaiman Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chiltan Limestone", "underlies": "Goru Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman", "kirthar-range", "sindh" ], "economicImportance": "The principal hydrocarbon SOURCE ROCK of the Lower and Central Indus Basin (Sui, Mari and other gas fields); the Sembar–Lower Goru is an active petroleum system.", "environment": [ "marine", "outer shelf" ], "plainSummary": "An Early Cretaceous black shale — the main source rock that generated the gas in Pakistan's Indus Basin fields.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "indplex-geolex", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "gsp-shah-2009", "khalid-qayyum-yasin-2014", "malkani-2022-nsulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "umar-2024-cretaceous", "mehfooz-2022-sembar-shalegas" ], "citations": { "epoch": "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "overlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "underlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "lithology": [ "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "economicImportance": "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "plainSummary": "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "introducedBy": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Iqbal, M. et al. (2017). Hydrocarbon exploration perspective in Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous reservoirs in the Sulaiman Foldbelt, Pakistan. (ResearchGate).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321161788", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Khalid, P., Qayyum, F. & Yasin, Q. (2014). Data-Driven Sequence Stratigraphy of the Cretaceous Depositional System, Punjab Platform, Pakistan. Surveys in Geophysics (Springer).", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Ilyas, M., Yasin, R., Abbas, A., Samiullah, K., Raza, T., Hassan, S.S.E., Fazal, R.M., Noor, A. & Malik, A. (2022). Geology of Northern Sulaiman Foldbelt, Shirani and Waziristan Regions (South Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa): New Tomistominae (Miocene False Gharial) from Sakhi Sarwar Area of Dera Ghazi Khan (South Punjab), Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 12(6), 521-564.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2022.126025", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 } ], "thicknessM": 200, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "coordinates": "29.9181, 68.5800", "introducedBy": "Williams (1959)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Published type section near Sembar Pass, eastern Quetta Division (lat 29 deg 55' 05\" N, long 68 deg 34' 48\" E) — Williams (1959).", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "USGS OFR 94-689 (after Fatmi 1977) gives the Sembar Formation a type-section thickness of ~135 m in the Marri-Bugti area (~30 km east of the map area), thinning near Quetta and Ziarat; the black silty shale is glauconitic and pyritic with phosphatic nodules in the basal part and commonly bears belemnites.", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 133 m at type section; 262 m in the Moghal Kot section; reduced to a few m near Quetta/Ziarat; absent in parts of the Axial Belt and Kirthar Province. Type locality: ~2 km SE of Sembar Pass, Mari-Bugti area, Sulaiman Province. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Khalid et al. (2014): the Lower Cretaceous Sembar Formation black shales are the principal hydrocarbon source rock of the Sembar–Goru petroleum system in the Indus Basin, charging the overlying Goru shoreface-sand reservoirs.", "source": "khalid-qayyum-yasin-2014" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Malkani et al. (2022): in North and South Waziristan the Early-Cretaceous Sembar-equivalent is named the Ahni Tangi Formation — green and red shales carrying large olistostrome blocks (olistoliths). Recorded as a Waziristan local-name equivalent (Malkani corpus); not adopted as a separate unit here.", "source": "malkani-2022-nsulaiman" }, { "field": "underlies", "note": "Umar et al. (2024): the Sembar Formation lies disconformably on Jurassic carbonates (Chiltan Limestone), marked by a lateritic interval, and passes transitionally upward into the Goru Formation. It is the lateral equivalent of the Chichali Formation of the Salt–Surghar–Kala Chitta–Hazara region.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Umar et al. (2024): the Sembar Formation is thin in the Quetta–Ziarat areas but reaches ~900 m in the Pab Range (Fatmi & Zeiss 1994), 877 m in the Sann well (Lower Indus Basin) and 262 m at Mughal Kot — the main depocentres. The curated thickness is retained; these figures are noted as regional maxima.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B): the Early Cretaceous (Neocomian) Sembar Formation (named by Williams 1959, type near Sembar Pass) is soft black claystone with dark limestone concretions and ferruginous calcareous sandstone near the base, resting on a ~4-ft basal conglomerate of belemnitic-limestone clasts derived from the Sulaiman Limestone Group; ~931 ft in the gorge west of Mughal Kot; the western equivalent of the Chichali Formation.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "source": "mehfooz-2022-sembar-shalegas", "note": "Mehfooz, Javaid & Hamza (2022), Lower Indus Basin: a petrophysical and geochemical gas-shale evaluation of the Cretaceous Sembar Formation - isopach-average thickness ~600 m, average TOC >2 wt.% with Type II-III kerogen, ~4% gas-filled porosity, water saturation <70%, and maturity in the condensate/wet-gas window in the study wells." } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 29.9181, "lng": 68.58, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "goru-formation", "name": "Goru Formation", "age": "Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Early–Late Cretaceous", "lithology": "Interbedded limestone, shale and siltstone; lower part shalier (thin-bedded light limestone with splintery grey-olive shale), upper part thin-bedded porcellaneous limestone; grades up into the Parh Limestone.", "description": "Marine sequence with excellent petroleum reservoir characteristics. Shows transition from restricted to open marine conditions.", "thickness": "536 m (type locality)", "fossils": [ "Foraminifera", "Ammonites", "Bivalves" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thick Cretaceous limestone-shale-siltstone unit (Lower and Upper Goru) overlying the Sembar source rock; the Lower Goru is among Pakistan's most important gas reservoirs.", "typeLocality": "Goru village", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Sembar Formation", "underlies": "Parh Limestone" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman", "kirthar-range", "sindh" ], "economicImportance": "The Lower Goru sands are a major gas reservoir of the Lower and Central Indus Basin (e.g. Sui, Mari, Sawan, Miano).", "introducedBy": "Williams (1959)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "A thick Cretaceous limestone-and-shale; its Lower Goru sands are one of Pakistan's top gas reservoirs.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "gsp-shah-2009", "khalid-qayyum-yasin-2014", "munir-2011-goru", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "umar-2024-cretaceous", "ahmad-2022-lowergoru" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "underlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017" ], "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": "gsp-shah-2009", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Iqbal, M. et al. (2017). Hydrocarbon exploration perspective in Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous reservoirs in the Sulaiman Foldbelt, Pakistan. (ResearchGate).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321161788", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Khalid, P., Qayyum, F. & Yasin, Q. (2014). Data-Driven Sequence Stratigraphy of the Cretaceous Depositional System, Punjab Platform, Pakistan. Surveys in Geophysics (Springer).", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Munir, K., Iqbal, M.A., Farid, A. & Shabih, S.M. (2011). Mapping the productive sands of Lower Goru Formation by using seismic stratigraphy and rock physical studies in Sawan area, southern Pakistan: a case study. Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, 1, 33-42.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13202-011-0003-9", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Ahmad, S. & Ghazi, S. (2022). Depositional trends and reservoir geometries of the Early Cretaceous Lower Goru Formation in Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan: evidence from sequence stratigraphy. Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, 12, 2377-2399.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13202-022-01489-y", "year": 2022 } ], "thicknessM": 536, "reviewStatus": "published", "coordinates": "27.802397, 66.831371", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Reviewer-confirmed coordinate (27.802397, 66.831371) for the Goru Formation type section near Goru Village on the Nar River, southern Kirthar Range; refines Shah's (2009) published type section (27 deg 50' N, 66 deg 54' E).", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Khalid et al. (2014): on the Punjab Platform (eastern Central Indus Basin) the Cretaceous Sembar–Goru interval forms a prograding deltaic mega-sequence, subdivided into three depositional sequences; the Lower Goru comprises shoreface sands laterally sealed by shales and claystones, forming a stratigraphic play charged by underlying Lower Cretaceous (Sembar) black shales.", "source": "khalid-qayyum-yasin-2014" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Munir et al. (2011): the sands of the Lower Goru Formation are the principal reservoir of the Sawan gas field in the Lower Indus Basin, mapped by seismic stratigraphy and rock-physics (productive zones marked by high reflection strength and low shear strain). Khalid et al. (2014) additionally identify Lower Goru shoreface-sand stratigraphic plays on the Punjab Platform.", "source": "munir-2011-goru" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Umar et al. (2024): the Goru Formation is dated Albian–Cenomanian at its type section and in NW Pakistan (Shafique 2001) but Aptian–Coniacian in the southern Kirthar Fold-Thrust Belt (Smewing et al. 2002), on planktonic/benthic foraminifera and nannofossils. Deposition was open-marine, deeper-shelf/ramp; it is much thicker in the south (~536 m) than the north (50–100 m).", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Munir et al. (2011): at the Sawan gas field (southern/Lower Indus Basin) the productive Lower Goru sands are mapped by seismic stratigraphy and rock-physics attributes (bulk modulus, Poisson's ratio), which together identify gas saturation within the sand-shale system - documenting the Lower Goru as a proven gas reservoir.", "source": "munir-2011-goru" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Ahmad & Ghazi (2022): the Early Cretaceous Lower Goru Formation of the Lower Indus Platform was deposited in a westerly-prograding, river-dominated delta; a third-order sequence-stratigraphic correlation of ten wells and 2D seismic defines its reservoir sand geometries and the stratigraphic/combination traps they form.", "source": "ahmad-2022-lowergoru" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 27.802397, "lng": 66.831371, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "parh-limestone", "name": "Parh Limestone", "age": "Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous (Barremian–Maastrichtian)", "lithology": "Very uniform, persistent, thin-bedded light-grey, white or cream porcellaneous limestone with a characteristic pink-purple-maroon band and interbeds of variegated shale and marl.", "description": "Pelagic limestone deposited during global sea level highstand. Contains Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) markers.", "thickness": "100-300 m", "fossils": [ "Planktonic foraminifera (Globotruncana spp.)" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A very persistent Late Cretaceous pelagic limestone of the Kirthar–Sulaiman region and a key regional marker bed, deposited in deep, open-marine conditions.", "typeLocality": "Parh, Sulaiman Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Goru Formation", "underlies": "Mughal Kot Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman", "kirthar-range" ], "introducedBy": "Blanford (1879)", "environment": [ "pelagic marine" ], "plainSummary": "A distinctive, very persistent Late Cretaceous deep-sea limestone with a pink-to-maroon band — a regional marker.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "umar-2024-cretaceous" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "underlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "coordinates": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 } ], "thicknessM": 200, "reviewStatus": "published", "economicImportance": "Building-limestone source; the Ziarat laterite (ochre pigment) forms on its weathered contact with the Dungan Limestone (Kach-Sanjawi).", "tier": 1, "coordinates": "26.9125, 67.0958", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Published type section, upper Gaj River area (lat 26 deg 54' 45\" N, long 67 deg 05' 45\" E) — Williams (1959), in Hemphill & Kidwai (1973).", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "underlies", "note": "Umar et al. (2024): the Parh Limestone rests conformably on the Goru Formation and is conformably overlain by the Mughal Kot Formation (SKFTB) and the Bibai Formation, but is disconformably overlain by the Fort Munro Formation or the Hanna Lake Limestone in other sections; a thin red gypsiferous shale marks an uplift-induced unconformity at its top in some sections. It is laterally equivalent to the Kawagarh Formation of the northern basins.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 26.9125, "lng": 67.0958, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "mughal-kot-formation", "name": "Mughal Kot Formation", "age": "Late Cretaceous (Campanian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous (Campanian–Maastrichtian)", "lithology": "Grey calcareous shale and mudstone with intercalations of arkosic sandstone and grey argillaceous limestone; sandier in the Sulaiman area, shalier in the Kirthar area.", "description": "Marine clastic sequence deposited during Late Cretaceous regression. Contains significant volcanic component in western sections (Bibai volcanics).", "thickness": "200-500 m", "fossils": [ "Ammonites", "Foraminifera", "Bivalves" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Cretaceous shale-sandstone-limestone unit of the Sulaiman and Kirthar belts, lying between the Parh Limestone below and the Fort Munro Limestone above.", "typeLocality": "Mughal Kot, Sulaiman Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Parh Limestone", "underlies": "Fort Munro Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "introducedBy": "Williams (1959)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "A Late Cretaceous marine shale-and-sandstone sitting between the Parh and Fort Munro limestones.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "gsp-shah-2009", "malkani-2022-nsulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "umar-2024-cretaceous", "hemphill-kidwai-1973" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "overlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "underlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Ilyas, M., Yasin, R., Abbas, A., Samiullah, K., Raza, T., Hassan, S.S.E., Fazal, R.M., Noor, A. & Malik, A. (2022). Geology of Northern Sulaiman Foldbelt, Shirani and Waziristan Regions (South Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa): New Tomistominae (Miocene False Gharial) from Sakhi Sarwar Area of Dera Ghazi Khan (South Punjab), Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 12(6), 521-564.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2022.126025", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 } ], "coordinates": "31.8669, 69.7214", "thicknessM": 350, "reviewStatus": "published", "synonyms": [ "Moghal Kot" ], "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Petroleum seeps (Mughal Kot); prospective for uranium; a building-sandstone source.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Malkani et al. (2022): in North and South Waziristan the Late-Cretaceous Mughal Kot-equivalent is named the Shinkai Post Formation — red and green shale with lithographic limestone and marl. Recorded as a Waziristan local-name equivalent (Malkani corpus); not adopted as a separate unit here.", "source": "malkani-2022-nsulaiman" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Umar et al. (2024): the Mughal Kot Formation is up to ~1000 m at its type locality but thins markedly (600 m Siazgai, 360 m Dabbo Creek, ~200 m Urghargai–Mazu Ghar) and pinches out towards Kach, being absent at Murree Brewery and Duki — tectonically induced bathymetric change through the Coniacian–Santonian. Distal sections (Pab Range, Urghargai) are turbiditic (Bouma Tabc/Tde, sole marks; WNW palaeoflow). Campanian–Maastrichtian on benthic/planktonic foraminifera.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B): the Late Cretaceous (mainly Maastrichtian) Mughal Kot Formation (type section 1-3 mi west of Mughal Kot Post, Williams 1959) is ~3,722 ft of calcareous argillaceous sandstone and claystone with oil seeps on joints, over shaly limestone with a basal conglomerate of Parh clasts; corals, orbitoids, mollusks and echinoids throughout (Keizer). Its top ~160 ft may be the Fort Munro Limestone Member.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 31.8669, "lng": 69.7214, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "pab-sandstone", "name": "Pab Sandstone", "age": "Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)", "lithology": "White, cream or brown, thick-bedded to massive, cross-bedded, medium- to coarse-grained quartzose sandstone with subordinate argillaceous limestone and shale.", "description": "Major sandstone unit in Sulaiman and Kirthar basins. Represents coastal to shallow marine conditions. Good petroleum reservoir.", "thickness": "240–1,000 m (490 m at the Pab Range type section)", "fossils": [ "Bivalves", "Gastropods", "Trace fossils" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A widespread Maastrichtian quartzose sandstone resting on the Fort Munro Formation (locally on the Parh Limestone); its clean, cross-bedded sands form a major regional petroleum reservoir and mark the terminal Cretaceous clastic influx into the Indus shelf.", "typeLocality": "West of Wirahab Nai, Pab Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Fort Munro Formation", "underlies": "Moro Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman", "kirthar-range", "bela-khuzdar" ], "economicImportance": "A major quartzose-sandstone hydrocarbon reservoir in the Lower Indus Basin.", "introducedBy": "Vredenburg (1909)", "environment": [ "marginal marine", "deltaic" ], "plainSummary": "A thick, clean Maastrichtian sandstone of the Pab Range — one of the main oil-and-gas reservoir rocks of the Indus Basin.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2016-indus-sealevel", "gsp-shah-2009", "malkani-kirthar-2017", "malkani-2022-nsulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "asim-2014-drigri", "malkani-gsp-ir-2017", "umar-2024-cretaceous", "thebo-2023-pab-laki", "hemphill-kidwai-1973" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "underlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2016). Revised stratigraphy of Indus Basin (Pakistan): Sea level changes. In: Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific — Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608, Novosibirsk 2016, Abstract Volume, pp. 97-99.", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Khosa, M.H., Alyani, M.I., Somro, N., Zafar, T., Arif, J. & Aleem, M.Z. (2017). Revised Stratigraphic Setup and Mineral Deposits of Kirthar Basin (Lower Indus Basin), Pakistan. Lasbela University Journal of Science and Technology, VI, 54-84.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Ilyas, M., Yasin, R., Abbas, A., Samiullah, K., Raza, T., Hassan, S.S.E., Fazal, R.M., Noor, A. & Malik, A. (2022). Geology of Northern Sulaiman Foldbelt, Shirani and Waziristan Regions (South Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa): New Tomistominae (Miocene False Gharial) from Sakhi Sarwar Area of Dera Ghazi Khan (South Punjab), Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 12(6), 521-564.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2022.126025", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Asim, S., Qureshi, S.N., Asif, S.K., Abbasi, S.A., Solangi, S. & Mirza, M.Q. (2014). Structural and Stratigraphical Correlation of Seismic Profiles between Drigri Anticline and Bahawalpur High in Central Indus Basin of Pakistan. International Journal of Geosciences, 5(11), 1231-1240.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2014.511102", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Mahmood, Z., Somro, N. & Shaikh, S.I. (2017). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Kirthar Basin, Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Information Release No. 1010.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Thebo, G.M., Solangi, S.H., Agheem, M.H., Solangi, M.A., Markhand, A.H. & Memon, K.A. (2023). Petrography and Geochemistry of late Cretaceous Pab Sandstone, Laki Range, Southern Indus Basin, Pakistan: implications for Provenance and Paleoclimate. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 56(1), 65-78.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 } ], "coordinates": "25.5200, 67.0053", "thicknessM": 490, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Malkani (2016) reports evidence of Deccan volcanism within the Maastrichtian Pab Formation of the Sulaiman/Kirthar (middle-lower Indus) basins, consistent with the Deccan volcanic dust recorded in the overlying earliest-Paleocene Sangiali and Rakhi Gaj / Khadro formations near the K/Pg boundary.", "source": "malkani-2016-indus-sealevel" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 490 m at type section; >600 m S/W of Khuzdar; 450 m Fort Munro anticline; ~240 m W of Mughal Kot; pinches out in Marri-Bugti hills. Type locality: 'Somalji trail' west of Wirahab Nai, across the Pab Range, Kirthar Province. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Malkani et al. (2017, 2022): the Pab Sandstone (Middle–Late Maastrichtian; ~500–600 m; Fort Munro Group) is subdivided into a lower Dhaola Member (white quartzose sandstone), a middle Kali Member (shale + black-weathering sandstone) and a Sor Member (dominantly maroon shale and sandstone; type Sor Muzghai; extending Qila Saifullah → Shirani → Waziristan). The Sor Member is reported to carry Maastrichtian archosaur trackways (ichnotaxa Pashtosauroperus zhobi 'Ornithopaonia' and the pterosaur track Anmolpakhiperus alleni 'Pteropaonia'), the Dhaola Member the fish Kahamachli harrandlundi, and the unit conifer wood Baradarakht goeswangai. In North/South Waziristan the Pab equivalent is named the Khajuri Post Formation (thick-bedded cherty faintly cross-bedded sandstone). Attributed Malkani-corpus ichno/taxa.", "source": "malkani-kirthar-2017" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Asim et al. (2014): in the Drigri and Kotrum anticlines (Central Indus Basin) the Late Cretaceous Pab Sandstone forms a RESERVOIR sealed by the overlying Paleocene Ranikot shales — a structural (gentle-anticline) trap of the Safed Koh Trend.", "source": "asim-2014-drigri" }, { "field": "overlies", "note": "Umar et al. (2024): the Pab Formation conformably overlies the Fort Munro, Mughal Kot and/or Bibai formations (SFTB, KFTB and IESZ respectively) and is conformably overlain by the Moro Formation in the Spera Ragha–Chinjun area. It is 490 m thick at its type locality (SKFTB) but as thin as 2–7 m in the Quetta Syntaxis and is entirely absent between Khuzdar and Quetta.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Umar et al. (2024, after Vredenburg 1908; Malkani 2006): the Pab Formation carries the foraminifer Lepidorbitoides and a Maastrichtian vertebrate fauna including mesoeucrocodylian baurusuchids, abelisaurian theropods and titanosaurian sauropods; deposited in fluvio-deltaic (proximal) to submarine-slope/turbidite (distal) settings.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Thebo et al. (2023), petrography and major-element geochemistry of the Pab Sandstone at the Laki Range (Southern Indus Basin): the sandstone (with subordinate conglomeratic-sandstone and mudstone beds) is dominated by monocrystalline, non-undulatory quartz with minor feldspar and lithics, cemented mainly by iron oxide with some calcareous cement. QFL and QmFLt modal plots indicate a craton-interior / continental-block provenance, with detritus derived from a granite-dominated cratonic landmass (the Indian Shield) - the exposed Nagar Parkar Igneous Complex (SE Pakistan) and the Malani Igneous Suite (India) - plus a minor mafic input. Adds an explicit provenance signal for the Pab clastics.", "source": "thebo-2023-pab-laki" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Thebo et al. (2023): Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA 61-84) and Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA 60-89) for the Laki-Range Pab Sandstone indicate moderate-to-intense chemical weathering in the source area under a warm, humid palaeoclimate. Records a palaeoweathering/palaeoclimate constraint (the curated marginal-marine/deltaic depositional environment is retained).", "source": "thebo-2023-pab-laki" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B): the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Pab Sandstone in the Sulaiman Range is quartzitic, commonly crossbedded sandstone (conglomeratic near the base) with burrows and plant roots and oil seeps ~125 ft below the top; crossbedding indicates westerly sediment transport; ~776 ft west of Mughal Kot, thickening southward. Keizer suggested its upper part may range up into the late Paleocene.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 25.52, "lng": 67.0053, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "vitakri-formation", "name": "Vitakri Formation", "age": "Late Cretaceous (latest Maastrichtian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "lithology": "Variegated sandstone, mudstone, conglomerate", "description": "Continental formation hosting Pakistani dinosaurs and associated vertebrates. Deposited by paleo-Vitakri River in meandering fluvial and floodplain environments.", "thickness": "50-200 m", "fossils": [ "Titanosaurian sauropods", "Theropod dinosaurs", "Mesoeucrocodylians", "Pterosaurs" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A latest Maastrichtian (~66 Ma) continental red-bed unit of the Vitakri Dome (Barkhan, Balochistan) and one of the few dinosaur-bearing formations of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent; it has yielded abundant Late Cretaceous titanosaurian sauropods, theropods, mesoeucrocodylians and pterosaurs, making it a key Gondwanan terrestrial vertebrate site.", "typeLocality": "Vitakri Dome, Barkhan District, Balochistan", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Pab Sandstone", "underlies": "Sangiali Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "economicImportance": "Hosts the Kingri coalfield (latest Cretaceous / K-T-boundary lignite, ~2 million tons, Musa Khel district); a source of building sandstone; prospective for uranium and aluminous (bauxitic) rocks.", "environment": [ "continental", "terrestrial" ], "plainSummary": "Pakistan's main dinosaur-bearing rock — a latest-Cretaceous land deposit in Balochistan rich in titanosaur and other dinosaur bones.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "malkani-2019-cretaceous", "malkani-kirthar-2017", "malkani-2022-nsulaiman", "malkani-gsp-ir-2017" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "fossils": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Record listed Jurassic–Cretaceous; the Vitakri Formation is latest Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous, ~66 Ma), constrained between the Maastrichtian Pab Formation below and Paleocene formations above (Malkani).", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Malkani (2019) defines the Vitakri Lameta Formation as the upper part (up to ~35 m thick) of the former Pab Formation (formerly up to ~800 m), a latest-Cretaceous fluvial meandering-river / overbank red-bed unit (15-35 m, thickening WSW) hosting titanosaurian sauropods, abelisauroid theropods, mesoeucrocodylians and pterosaurs, capped by the K/Pg boundary. This Vitakri/Pab-top usage is the author's own nomenclature and is contested; recorded here for provenance, not adopted over the dataset's separate Vitakri and Pab units.", "source": "malkani-2019-cretaceous" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Malkani et al. (2017, 2022): the latest-Maastrichtian Vitakri Formation (terrestrial red/maroon mudstone with quartzose sandstone; ~15–35 m; Fort Munro Group) is the type unit for an extensive Malkani-corpus vertebrate assemblage — 'pakisaurid'/'balochisaurid'/'gspsaurid' titanosaurian sauropods (e.g. Khetranisaurus, Sulaimanisaurus, Pakisaurus, Balochisaurus, Marisaurus, Nicksaurus, Gspsaurus, Saraikimasoom), theropods (Vitakridrinda, Vitakrisaurus), mesoeucrocodiles (Pabwehshi, Sulaimanisuchus, Induszalim), a pterosaur (Saraikisaurus), a bird (Wasaibpanchi) and a snake (Wadanaang). DATA-QUALITY CAVEAT: nearly all of these genera/families were erected within the single-author Malkani corpus and many are regarded as nomina dubia or diagnostically inadequate in the wider literature (only Pabwehshi pakistanensis is broadly accepted); recorded as attributed notes, and the curated fossil list is deliberately kept at the higher-taxon level.", "source": "malkani-kirthar-2017" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2019). Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9, 671-673.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2019.910071", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Khosa, M.H., Alyani, M.I., Somro, N., Zafar, T., Arif, J. & Aleem, M.Z. (2017). Revised Stratigraphic Setup and Mineral Deposits of Kirthar Basin (Lower Indus Basin), Pakistan. Lasbela University Journal of Science and Technology, VI, 54-84.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Ilyas, M., Yasin, R., Abbas, A., Samiullah, K., Raza, T., Hassan, S.S.E., Fazal, R.M., Noor, A. & Malik, A. (2022). Geology of Northern Sulaiman Foldbelt, Shirani and Waziristan Regions (South Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa): New Tomistominae (Miocene False Gharial) from Sakhi Sarwar Area of Dera Ghazi Khan (South Punjab), Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 12(6), 521-564.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2022.126025", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Mahmood, Z., Somro, N. & Shaikh, S.I. (2017). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Kirthar Basin, Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Information Release No. 1010.", "year": 2017 } ], "tier": 1, "coordinates": "29.6981, 69.3988", "thicknessM": 125, "reviewStatus": "published", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 29.6981, "lng": 69.3988, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "sinjrani-volcanic-group", "name": "Sinjrani Volcanic Group", "age": "Middle to Late Cretaceous (Aptian-Santonian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Agglomerate, volcanic conglomerate, tuff and basaltic-andesitic lava with subordinate shale, sandstone and limestone.", "description": "Named after Sinjrani tribe of Chagai. Volcaniclastic sequence with minor sedimentary interbeds. Invaded by Chagai intrusions.", "thickness": "900-1200 m", "fossils": [ "Algae", "Foraminifera", "Corals (in limestone interbeds)" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal Cretaceous volcanic pile of the Chagai–Raskoh magmatic arc, recording the early (tholeiitic) stage of subduction-related volcanism; intruded by the Chagai batholiths.", "typeLocality": "Chagai (after the Sinjrani tribe)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Basement", "underlies": "Humai Formation" }, "provinces": [ "chagai-hills" ], "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "submarine" ], "economicImportance": "One of the sedimentary/volcanic wall-rock units that host the Chagai porphyry copper deposits (Saindak, Reko Diq).", "plainSummary": "The oldest volcanic pile of the Chagai arc — Cretaceous lavas and tuffs that also host part of the region's copper mineralisation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "chagai-porphyry-2008", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "economicImportance": "chagai-porphyry-2008", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "chagai-porphyry-2008" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Perelló, J., Razique, A., Schloderer, J. et al. (2008). The Chagai Porphyry Copper Belt, Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. Economic Geology, 103(8), 1583-1612.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2113/gsecongeo.103.8.1583", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 1050, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "humai-formation", "name": "Humai Formation", "age": "Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian; ~72.2-66.0 Ma)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "lithology": "Variable: shale with calcareous sandstone, siltstone, thin-bedded limestone and volcanic conglomerate (lower); massive reefoid limestone (upper).", "description": "Named after Koh Humai. Contains Hippuritic (rudist) limestone at top. Overlies Sinjrani volcanics unconformably.", "thickness": "91-306 m", "fossils": [ "Hippurites loftusi", "Lepidorbitoides socialis", "Orbitoides sp.", "Omphalocyclus sp." ], "geologicalSignificance": "An early, Cretaceous volcaniclastic unit of the Chagai–Raskoh magmatic arc, recording the initial (tholeiitic) phase of subduction-related volcanism along Pakistan's western margin.", "typeLocality": "Koh Humai, North Chagai (Chagai-Raskoh Magmatic Province)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Sinjrani Volcanic Group", "underlies": "Rakhshani Formation" }, "provinces": [ "chagai-hills" ], "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "environment": [ "marine", "volcanic-arc" ], "plainSummary": "A Cretaceous volcanic-and-sedimentary unit of the Chagai arc, including reefal 'Hippuritic' limestone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "chagai-porphyry-2008", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "chagai-porphyry-2008" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "age": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Perelló, J., Razique, A., Schloderer, J. et al. (2008). The Chagai Porphyry Copper Belt, Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. Economic Geology, 103(8), 1583-1612.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2113/gsecongeo.103.8.1583", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "coordinates": "29.1000, 62.8000", "thicknessM": 200, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Humai Formation (Maastrichtian; Chagai–Ras Koh) is variable grey-purple shale, sandstone, siltstone, thin-bedded limestone, volcanic conglomerate and massive reefoid limestone, unconformably/disconformably overlying the Sinjrani Volcanic Group and conformably overlain by the Paleocene Rakhshani Formation; rich rudist/foram fauna (Hippurites, Lepidorbitoides socialis, Omphalocyclus).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 29.1, "lng": 62.8, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "muslim-bagh-ophiolite", "name": "Muslim Bagh Ophiolite", "age": "Late Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "lithology": "Ultramafic rocks (peridotite, dunite), gabbro, sheeted dykes, pillow lavas, chromite", "description": "Best preserved ophiolite in Pakistan representing obducted Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere. Major chromite deposits. Complete Penrose-type ophiolite sequence.", "thickness": "5000+ m (complete sequence)", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "The best-preserved Penrose-type ophiolite in Pakistan, representing obducted Neo-Tethyan (supra-subduction-zone) oceanic lithosphere. Its mantle section is foliated harzburgite and dunite hosting podiform chromite, overlain by a crustal sequence of gabbro, sheeted dykes and pillow lavas. Obducted onto the Indian passive margin in the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene.", "typeLocality": "Muslim Bagh, Balochistan", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Indian plate margin sediments", "underlies": "Post-obduction sediments" }, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "economicImportance": "Major chromite deposits, nickel potential, asbestos", "coordinates": "30.7519, 67.8206", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kakar-mahmood-muslimbagh-2013", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "yaseen-2019-shaigalu", "waliullah-gsp-pishin", "kasi-2012-pishin", "maldonado-2011-quetta-mb-sibi", "ashraf-1972-tleri-serpentinite", "siddiqui-1974-muslimbagh-serpentinite" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kakar-mahmood-muslimbagh-2013" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kakar-mahmood-muslimbagh-2013" ], "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kakar-mahmood-muslimbagh-2013" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kakar-mahmood-muslimbagh-2013" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "introducedBy": "kasi-2012-pishin", "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "plainSummary": "A Late Cretaceous supra-subduction-zone ophiolite obducted onto the Indian margin at Muslim Bagh, with podiform chromite in mantle harzburgite and a complete oceanic-crust sequence above.", "thicknessM": 5000, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kakar, M.I., Mahmood, K., Kerr, A.C. & Khan, M. (2013). Petrology of the mantle rocks from the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite, Balochistan, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 46, 101-112.", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269628837", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Yaseen, W., Khan, A.S., Sohail, K., Farooq, U., Usman, M. & Ghani, M. (2019). Modal composition and provenance of Shaigalu Sandstones, Pishin-Katawaz Basin, northern Balochistan, Pakistan. Bahria University Research Journal of Earth Sciences (BURJES), 4(2), 70-77.", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Waliullah, Khan, J.A. & Akhtar, W. Preliminary geology and mineral potential of the Karezat and Barshor quadrangles (toposheets 34 N/6 and 5), district Pishin, Balochistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta (abstract)." }, { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Mengal, J.M., Khan, S.H. & Warwick, P.D. (2011). Summary of the Stratigraphy and Structural Elements Related to Plate Convergence of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi Region, Balochistan, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1224.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20111224", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Siddiqui, F.A., Ashraf, M. & Qureshi, M.W. (1974). Geology of the serpentinite belt and associated rocks north of Hindubagh (Muslimbagh), Zhob Valley, Baluchistan, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 10, 21-42." } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "environment": [ "oceanic lithosphere" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "USGS OFR 94-689 gives the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite Complex a Late Cretaceous age based on K-Ar ages of 82-67 Ma (Sawada et al. 1992); emplacement onto the continental margin of the Indo-Pakistan block is now placed in the Late Cretaceous to early Paleocene (Kojima et al. 1994), revising the earlier middle Paleocene-early Eocene emplacement estimate (Allemann 1979; Otsuki et al. 1989). The complex hosts chromite, magnesite and magnetite deposits.", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Muslimbagh (Zhob Valley) Ophiolite comprises ultramafic tectonites (~70% lherzolite/harzburgite peridotite + dunite), ultramafic-mafic cumulates, a 1,000 m sheeted-dyke complex, a dolerite dyke swarm and pillow lavas, with a ~300 m metamorphic sole (hornblendite, garnet schists, marble) and an associated mélange. Formed ~81–82 Ma (K-Ar) and obducted during the Paleocene (emplacement ~65–70 Ma; Ar-Ar), it tectonically overlies Maastrichtian and older rocks and is unconformably overlain by Eocene shallow-marine limestone; origin debated (spreading centre / back-arc / slow-spreading Neo-Tethys branch). Corroborates the curated Late Cretaceous age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Yaseen et al. (2019) and Waliullah et al. (GSP): the Muslim Bagh–Zhob ophiolite forms the base of the Pishin–Katawaz sedimentary succession — a Neo-Tethyan remnant obducted onto the western passive margin of the Indian plate in the Late Cretaceous, unconformably overlain by the Eocene Nisai Formation. Its podiform chromite is actively mined around Khanozai and Muslim Bagh (Karezat quadrangle), where it makes up roughly a third of the Khanozai–Torkhula ophiolite segment.", "source": "waliullah-gsp-pishin" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kasi et al. (2012): the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite forms the base (Zone I) of the Pishin Belt and is part of the Bela–Muslim Bagh–Zhob–Waziristan ophiolite belt along the NW margin of the Indian Plate — a relic of Neo-Tethyan oceanic floor obducted at/after the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary, emplaced at ~65–70 Ma (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar; Mahmood et al. 1995). It consists of an upper nappe of ultramafic rocks intruded by gabbro plutons and dolerite dykes over a lower nappe of pillow basalts and sediments underlain by ophiolitic mélange, and is non-conformably overlain by the Eocene Nisai Formation.", "source": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Maldonado et al. (2011, USGS): the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite Complex (Late Cretaceous), together with the associated Bagh Ophiolite Complex (Late Cretaceous to Late Triassic) and Late Cretaceous dolerite dikes, is a central element of the plate-convergence assemblage of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi region.", "source": "maldonado-2011-quetta-mb-sibi" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Petrology of the mantle section: foliated peridotite (mainly harzburgite with minor dunite) passing up through a transition zone of residual dunite with wehrlite/pyroxenite impregnations into layered/cumulate ultramafics — a supra-subduction-zone ophiolite (Kakar et al. 2013).", "source": "kakar-mahmood-muslimbagh-2013" }, { "field": "lithology", "source": "ashraf-1972-tleri-serpentinite", "note": "Ashraf, Qureshi & Faruqi (1972): serpentinite of the Tleri Muhammad Jan area (north of Hindubagh/Muslim Bagh, Zhob) - part of the Muslim Bagh ophiolite - consists of chrysotile, antigorite and lizardite with accessory chromite, carbonates, talc and magnetite (chemical, optical, DTA and XRD analysis)." }, { "field": "lithology", "source": "siddiqui-1974-muslimbagh-serpentinite", "note": "Siddiqui, Ashraf & Qureshi (1974) mapped ~120 sq mi of the serpentinite belt north of Hindubagh (Muslimbagh), Zhob Valley: serpentinized dunite (dominant) with concordant layered harzburgite (bastite after bronzite) and minor relict peridotite, cut by pyroxenite dykes; dolerite blocks caught in the serpentinite are metasomatised to rodingite (grossular, idocrase/vesuvianite, prehnite, prochlorite)." }, { "field": "economicImportance", "source": "siddiqui-1974-muslimbagh-serpentinite", "note": "Chromite in the belt is largely refractory grade (Cr2O3 ~50-55%, Cr/Fe 2.3-2.7 at Tor Tangi) with metallurgical-grade occurrences in the east (Surghund, Gat: Cr2O3 ~58%, Cr/Fe >3.4) (Siddiqui et al. 1974). Weathering of the serpentinite produced a silica-rich 'birbirite' residual cap (up to 79.8% SiO2), previously mis-identified as laterite." }, { "field": "stratigraphicPosition", "source": "siddiqui-1974-muslimbagh-serpentinite", "note": "The serpentinite was emplaced tectonically along two sub-parallel E-W thrusts ~2.5 mi apart, with Palaeocene-Eocene strata thrust over Siwalik/Oligo-Miocene clastics; no contact metamorphism accompanies the serpentinites, and the Nisai-Shaigalu contact was found to be conformable rather than a thrust (Siddiqui et al. 1974)." } ], "introducedBy": "Vredenburg (1901); reconnaissance-mapped by the Hunting Survey Corporation (1960)", "lithologyType": "igneous", "lat": 30.7519, "lng": 67.8206, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "bela-ophiolite", "name": "Bela Ophiolite", "age": "Late Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "lithology": "Ultrabasic, basic and intermediate rocks — altered pyroxenite and serpentinized peridotite — with rare granite (only as conglomerate pebbles).", "description": "Southern ophiolite belt marking Western Indus Suture. Less complete than Muslim Bagh but similar origin.", "thickness": "3000+ m", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "A major obducted Neotethyan ophiolite of the Bela–Zhob–Waziristan suture in Lasbela, marking the Cretaceous boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates along the western Indus suture.", "typeLocality": "Bela ophiolite-and-thrust belt, Lasbela", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Indian plate margin", "underlies": "Tertiary sediments" }, "provinces": [ "bela-khuzdar" ], "economicImportance": "The serpentinized ultramafics host chromite (with associated manganese), in the Bela ophiolite belt.", "environment": [ "ophiolite", "oceanic" ], "plainSummary": "The Bela ophiolite of Lasbela — a large obducted slice of ocean floor marking the India–Eurasia suture, and a chromite host.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "ullah-2026-bela-ophiolite", "xiong-2011-bela-rs", "rashid-2022-bela-mn" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-06", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Ullah, Z., Khan, A., Li, H., Khedr, M.Z., Shah, M.T., Khan, A., Ibrar, M., Idrees, M., Ahmad, I., Wang, H., Farhan, M. & Algeo, T.J. (2026). Petrogenesis of peridotites and chromitites in the Bela Ophiolite Complex, western Pakistan: Implications for abyssal and forearc features. Solid Earth Sciences, 11, 100329.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sesci.2026.100329", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Xiong, Y., Khan, S.D., Mahmood, K. & Sisson, V.B. (2011). Lithological mapping of Bela ophiolite with remote-sensing data. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 32(16), 4641-4658.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2010.489069", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Rashid, M.U., Ahmed, W., Waseem, M., Zamin, B., Ahmad, M. & Sabri, M.M.S. (2022). Metallic-Mineral Prospecting Using Integrated Geophysical and Geochemical Techniques: A Case Study from the Bela Ophiolitic Complex, Baluchistan, Pakistan. Minerals, 12(7), 825.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/min12070825", "year": 2022 } ], "coordinates": "26.2268, 66.3113", "thicknessM": 3000, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Bela volcanic group'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Ullah et al. (2026): the upper-mantle section of the Bela Ophiolite Complex comprises depleted harzburgites and dunites with associated podiform chromitites, recording a two-stage petrogenesis. Stage 1 - harzburgites formed as a residual mantle product after low-degree (~15.7%) partial melting at a mid-ocean ridge (MOR). Stage 2 - dunites and chromitites formed after high-degree (~20.5%) melting and refertilization in a forearc / supra-subduction-zone (SSZ) mantle wedge, crystallizing through interaction between boninitic melts and residual peridotite. Cr-spinel Cr# increases from harzburgites (42.7-44.6) through dunites (69.3-71.7) to chromitites (79.1-79.9), and Re-Os isotope data (187Os/188Os ~0.114-0.144) show marked heterogeneity in this part of the Neo-Tethyan upper mantle. The complex thus records a MOR-to-SSZ tectonic transition.", "source": "ullah-2026-bela-ophiolite" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Ullah et al. (2026): the Bela chromitites are podiform bodies hosted in the harzburgite-dunite upper mantle, with high-Cr Cr-spinel (Cr# 79.1-79.9) typical of supra-subduction-zone chromitites - the mineralogical basis of the belt's chromite mineralization.", "source": "ullah-2026-bela-ophiolite" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Xiong et al. (2011), remote-sensing (Landsat ETM+ and ASTER) lithological mapping: the Bela Ophiolite is the largest ophiolite in Pakistan and formed in two episodes - a lower unit at ~110 Ma and an upper unit (a classic ophiolite sequence) at ~66 Ma. The upper unit was obducted onto the lower unit, and the two were then obducted together onto the Indian continental edge, with Nal Limestone deposited over the complex in Neogene times. Their mapping differentiates two basalt types and recognises, for the first time, an ultramafic body (~66 deg 15' E, 26 deg 39' N) in the lower unit. Consistent with (and predating) the MOR-to-SSZ two-stage model of Ullah et al. (2026).", "source": "xiong-2011-bela-rs" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Rashid et al. (2022), integrated magnetic + Induced-Polarization/resistivity + geochemical survey of the Bela Ophiolitic Complex: a high-magnetic anomaly (A2; residual 310-550 nT, IP 3.5-15.1 mV/V) over the ultramafic sequence is interpreted and geochemically confirmed as manganese mineralization (36.5% Mn in rock samples; ~48,400 ppm in stream sediment), at ~100 m depth within the anticlinal, NW-thrust complex. A separate negative anomaly (A1) is a barren, alluvium-covered shear zone. Quantifies the belt's manganese mineralization noted in the curated economic summary.", "source": "rashid-2022-bela-mn" } ], "lithologyType": "igneous", "lat": 26.2268, "lng": 66.3113, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chilas-complex", "name": "Chilas Complex", "age": "Cretaceous (102-85 Ma)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Large mafic–ultramafic body — gabbronorite with serpentinized ultramafic rocks (dunite, harzburgite, pyroxenite), dolerite and gabbro; associated with the Babusar Pass mélange.", "description": "Largest mafic-ultramafic plutonic body in Kohistan arc. Represents deep-level arc crust. Contains platinum group elements.", "thickness": "8-10 km thick", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "The Chilas Complex — a huge mafic–ultramafic layered intrusion forming the mid-crustal level of the Kohistan arc, interpreted as a sub-arc magma-chamber complex; one of the world's classic exposures of arc mid-crust.", "typeLocality": "Chilas, Gilgit-Baltistan", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kamila Amphibolite", "underlies": "Kohistan Batholith" }, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "economicImportance": "Platinum group element potential", "epoch": "mid-Cretaceous", "introducedBy": "Jan et al.", "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "plutonic" ], "plainSummary": "The Chilas Complex — a giant layered gabbro body that was the mid-crustal magma chamber of the Kohistan arc.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "treloar-1996-kohistan", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "khan-1989-chilas", "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya: implications for magmatic and tectonic arc-building processes. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Khan, M.A., Jan, M.Q., Windley, B.F., Tarney, J. & Thirlwall, M.F. (1989). The Chilas mafic-ultramafic igneous complex; the root of the Kohistan island arc in the Himalaya of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 75-94.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p75", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.", "year": 1984 } ], "coordinates": "35.4200, 74.1000", "thicknessM": 9000, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Treloar et al. (1996): the Chilas Complex — a massive calc-alkaline gabbronorite body up to ~50 km wide and ~300 km long (with high-Mg ultramafic–mafic cumulates) — was emplaced at c. 85 Ma (U–Pb zircon 84 ± 0.5 Ma, Zeitler et al. 1981) by intra-arc rifting. Its largely undeformed state, intruding the already-deformed Jaglot Group, indicates emplacement after the main late-Cretaceous suturing deformation; heat from its emplacement drove amphibolite-facies metamorphism, lower-arc melting and Stage-2 batholith plutonism.", "source": "treloar-1996-kohistan" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Khan et al. (1989): the Chilas Complex is the root (deepest exposed level) of the Kohistan island arc — a mafic-ultramafic body >300 km long and up to 40 km wide at the base of the arc. It is dominantly massive to locally layered gabbro-norite, with a central near-base association of layered dunite-peridotite-troctolite-gabbronorite-pyroxenite-anorthosite (graded bedding, slump breccias, syn-depositional faults) representing a more primitive magma batch. It is NOT an ophiolite: trace-element patterns (marked negative Nb, positive Sr-Ba-P, high K/Rb) indicate melting of a hornblende-bearing sub-arc mantle, and the complex is interpreted as the arc root-zone magma chamber or a diapir formed during early intra-arc (back-arc) rifting.", "source": "khan-1989-chilas" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Coward et al. (1984): the Chilas Complex is a vast stratiform cumulate body over 300 km long and up to 8 km thick, with an upward sequence of hypersthene gabbro, major chromite-layered dunite, norite, gabbro, minor troctolite/harzburgite/dunite and norite at the top; rhythmically phase-graded cumulate layers up to 10 cm thick, slump folds, syn-sedimentation faults and sedimentary breccias occur, with near-pure anorthosite layers and 3 m compact chromitite seams in the basal dunites.", "source": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Coward et al. (1984): the Chilas Complex is folded by an F2 isoclinal anticline and interpreted as the lowermost crustal unit of the Kohistan arc sequence - a granulite-grade layered complex forming the base of the crustal section, compared to the Ivrea Zone of the Italian Alps; its intact cumulate stratigraphy would have blocked the passage of the arc's granitic magmas, implying it was one of the latest pre-first-deformation intrusions.", "source": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" } ], "lithologyType": "igneous", "lat": 35.42, "lng": 74.1, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "jijal-complex", "name": "Jijal Complex", "age": "Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Early–mid Cretaceous", "lithology": "Garnet-clinopyroxene-plagioclase granulites with relics of norite, passing southward through increasing clinopyroxene and hornblendites into a main ultramafic body of clinopyroxenites and dunites with lenses of layered chromitite up to 5 m thick.", "description": "The Jijal Complex is a roughly 200 km² tectonic wedge of high-pressure mafic granulites and chromite-layered ultramafics forming the deepest exposed level of the Kohistan island-arc, between Patan and Jijal in the Indus valley against the Main Mantle Thrust (southern suture). As described by Coward et al. (1984), its garnet-granulites (with norite relics) are the high-pressure metamorphic equivalents of the Chilas Complex, so the Jijal Complex is probably a tectonic fragment of the base of the Chilas Complex that was subducted or downthrust to great depth against the MMT.", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "The high-pressure (arc-root) equivalent of the Chilas Complex and the structurally lowest unit of the Kohistan sequence against the MMT. Jan & Howie (1981), cited by Coward et al. (1984), found the granulites equilibrated at 690–770 °C and 12–14 kbar and the associated dunites at 800–850 °C and 8–11 kbar, recording metamorphism/crystallisation at lower-crustal to uppermost-mantle depths of the island arc.", "typeLocality": "Between Patan and Jijal, Indus valley, Kohistan (~200 km²).", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Kamila Amphibolite" }, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "introducedBy": "Characterised by Coward et al. (1984); high-pressure petrology by Jan & Howie (1981)", "environment": [ "magmatic arc (lower crust to uppermost mantle)" ], "plainSummary": "The deep root of the Kohistan volcanic arc — garnet granulites and layered ultramafic rocks squeezed up along the Main Mantle Thrust — representing the high-pressure equivalent of the Chilas Complex.", "sources": [ "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "garrido-2006-jijal", "jan-howie-1981-jijal", "yamamoto-yoshino-1998-jijal" ], "citations": { "age": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "era": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "period": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "lithology": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "typeLocality": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "underlies": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "introducedBy": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "geologicalSignificance": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "plainSummary": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 2, "reviewStatus": "published", "references": [ { "citation": "Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.", "year": 1984 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "The Jijal complex comprises basal peridotite (dunite-wehrlite-pyroxenite) overlain by a gabbroic section of mafic garnet granulite with minor garnet hornblendite — the exhumed lower-crustal root of the Kohistan paleo-island arc, recording intra-crustal differentiation (Garrido et al. 2006).", "source": "garrido-2006-jijal" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Jan & Howie (1981): the Jijal Complex is a tectonic wedge of garnet granulites in the north intruded to the south by a ~10x4 km ultramafic slab (diopsidites with subordinate dunites, peridotites and harzburgites; olivine Fo92-89). The granulites divide into plagioclase-bearing (basic-intermediate) and plagioclase-free (ultrabasic-basic) types, with garnetites, hornblende-rocks and garnet pyroxenites. The foundational mineralogical/geochemical description of the complex.", "source": "jan-howie-1981-jijal" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Yamamoto & Yoshino (1998): geothermobarometry of the Jijal mafic granulites yields 10.2 kbar/735C to 17.0 kbar/949C, recording high-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism of the deep Kohistan arc crust during intra-oceanic subduction and the subsequent Kohistan-Asia collision, followed by local post-collision amphibolitization — confirming Jijal as an exposed arc-root section.", "source": "yamamoto-yoshino-1998-jijal" } ], "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "hangu-formation", "name": "Hangu Formation", "age": "Latest Cretaceous to Early Paleocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Early Paleocene", "lithology": "Sandstone, grey shale, coal, laterite", "description": "Named after section south of Fort Lockhart. Contains coal seams. Patala Formation is considered lateral equivalent/synonym. Correlated with Vitakri coal of Sulaiman. Part of the Hangu Group.", "thickness": "15–150 m", "fossils": [ "Miscellanea miscella", "Lockhartia haimei", "Lockhartia conditi", "Lepidocyclina punjabensis", "Operculina canalifera", "Daviesina longhami" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal terrestrial sandstone of the Paleocene Makarwal Group, deposited on the deeply eroded, unconformable surface of Cretaceous-to-Cambrian rocks; it marks the return of deposition after the end-Cretaceous emergence of the Indus foreland and is conformably overlain by the marine Lockhart Limestone.", "typeLocality": "South of Fort Lockhart, Samana Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Indus Formation", "underlies": "Lockhart Limestone" }, "provinces": [ "hazara", "kohat", "potwar", "salt-range" ], "economicImportance": "Hosts the economically important Makarwal coal seams in its lower part; laterite–bauxite also occurs at its basal unconformity (Chhoi–Akhori).", "introducedBy": "Davies (1930)", "environment": [ "terrestrial", "marginal marine" ], "plainSummary": "A Paleocene coal-bearing sandstone laid on a deeply eroded surface — the first deposits after the region rose above the sea at the end of the Cretaceous.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "butt-1989-hazara-arc", "malik-1989-coal", "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir" ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Ali, S.K. et al. (2026). Paleocene stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture in the Sub-Himalayan Fold and Thrust Belt. Journal of Sedimentary Environments, 11, 22.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s43217-026-00283-8", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1989). An Overview of the Hazara Arc Stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 1-11.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Malik, I.A. (1989). Geodynamics and Coal Deposits of Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 12-43.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Munir, M.-H., Baig, M.S. & Mirza, K. (2005-2006). Upper Cretaceous of Hazara and Paleogene Biostratigraphy of Azad Kashmir, North West Himalayas, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 69-87.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2006 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "thicknessM": 82.5, "tier": 1, "reviewStatus": "published", "coordinates": "33.55, 70.92", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) treat the Hangu Formation as the basal Cenozoic (Early Paleocene) unit of the Greater Indus Basin. It is unfossiliferous in the Kohat area, Kala Chitta and Hazara ranges, where its chronostratigraphic position rests on regional context; only upper parts in the Salt Range yield age-diagnostic foraminifera, with a biota identical to the overlying basal Lockhart Formation. Curated age (Latest Cretaceous to Early Paleocene) retained.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): average ~50 m. Type locality: Fort Lockhart (type section); principal reference at Dhak Pass, Salt Range. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Butt (1989): the basal-Paleocene (Danian) Hangu Formation is a shallow-shelf clastic (sandstone) unit deposited normally only in the Samana Range (type locality near Hangu town); in the Kala Chitta and Hazara ranges it was not deposited, residual laterite forming there instead - a paleogeographic contrast at the Cretaceous-Tertiary transition.", "source": "butt-1989-hazara-arc" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Malik (1989): the Early Paleocene Hangu Formation hosts the Makerwal coalfield of the Surghar Range (Trans-Indus) - one fairly consistent seam ~2-3 m thick over ~50 km of strike (~20 Mt; 9,000-12,206 BTU/lb), deposited under lagoonal conditions and unusually rich in inertinite (fusinite/semi-fusinite) for a Tertiary coal.", "source": "malik-1989-coal" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Munir, Baig & Mirza (2005-06): in Hazara/Azad Kashmir the Paleocene Hangu Formation rests unconformably on the Kawagarh Formation and records partially transgressive, restricted shallow-marine to lagoonal (carbonaceous-shale) deposition, carrying a mixed Maastrichtian-Danian fauna.", "source": "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Palaeocene Hangu Formation (basal transgressive sandstone over the eroded top of the Cretaceous Lumshiwal) is a main reservoir in the Kohat Basin (with the Lockhart Limestone); the correlative Dhak Pass Formation is identified as a potential reservoir in the central Potwar Basin (Wandrey et al. 2004).", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Munir et al. (2006): a lower residual facies (laterite, pisolitic bauxite, flint clay, brecciated quartzite) rests unconformably on the Kawagarh Formation in Hazara or on the Cambrian Abbottabad Formation in Azad Kashmir, overlain by lagoonal-to-estuarine sandstone, carbonaceous shale and thin coal (1–26 m); the unit spans the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) boundary interval.", "source": "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir" } ], "synonyms": [ "Dhak Pass Beds" ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 33.55, "lng": 70.92, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "lockhart-limestone", "name": "Lockhart Limestone", "age": "Middle to Late Paleocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Paleocene", "lithology": "Dark grey nodular (rubbly) limestone", "description": "Named after Fort Lockhart in Samana Range. Distinctive nodular limestone rich in larger foraminifera including type genus Lockhartia. Part of the Hangu Group.", "thickness": "30–240 m", "fossils": [ "Operculina subsalsa", "Miscellanea miscella", "Miscellanea stampi", "Lockhartia haimei", "Lockhartia newboldi", "Lepidocyclina punjabensis", "Discocyclina ranikotensis" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A widespread Paleocene shallow-marine limestone — the middle, fully marine unit of the Makarwal Group; its larger-foraminiferal assemblage records the Paleocene marine transgression across the Kohat–Potwar–Hazara platform.", "typeLocality": "Near Fort Lockhart, Samana Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Hangu Formation", "underlies": "Patala Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "hazara", "kohat", "potwar" ], "introducedBy": "Davies (1930)", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "economicImportance": "Quarried as cement rock in the shingled-thrust zone north of the Potwar Plateau; the formation also carries some coal seams, bauxite and clays.", "plainSummary": "A grey Paleocene sea-floor limestone full of larger foraminifera, recording a marine flooding of the region above the Hangu sandstone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "drewes-2078h", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "sameeni-1989-eoannularia", "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir", "munawar-2022-lockhart-pail" ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "drewes-2078h", "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Drewes, H., Ahmad, Z. & Khan, R. (2007). Resource Evaluation of Selected Minerals and Industrial Commodities of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan. Chapter H of Regional Studies of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan (P.D. Warwick & B.R. Wardlaw, eds.), U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2078-H, 22 p.", "year": 2007 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Ali, S.K. et al. (2026). Paleocene stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture in the Sub-Himalayan Fold and Thrust Belt. Journal of Sedimentary Environments, 11, 22.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s43217-026-00283-8", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Sameeni, S.J. (1989). A Note on the Stratigraphic Distribution of Eoannularia eocenica Cole & Bermudez. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 77-79.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Munir, M.-H., Baig, M.S. & Mirza, K. (2005-2006). Upper Cretaceous of Hazara and Paleogene Biostratigraphy of Azad Kashmir, North West Himalayas, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 69-87.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2006 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "thicknessM": 135, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) assign the Lockhart Formation to shallow benthonic Zones SBZ3-SBZ4 (Thanetian, Late Paleocene), correlated with calcareous nannofossil Zones NP6-NP8 and planktonic foraminiferal Zones through the Kohat area. Key larger benthonic foraminifera: Miscellanea miscella, Ranikothalia sindensis, Lockhartia conditi, Lockhartia haimei and Operculina jiwani (Kotal Pass, Kohat). Represents widespread carbonate-platform deposition. Consistent with the curated Middle-Late Paleocene age.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): ~66 m. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Sameeni (1989): the Upper Paleocene Lockhart Limestone (Hazara, Kala Chitta Range and Salt Range / Nammal Gorge) carries the benthonic foraminifer Eoannularia eocenica (its range in northern Pakistan is Upper Paleocene to Middle Eocene) together with Lockhartia haimei, Miscellanea miscella and Ranikothalia sindensis - a diagnostic Upper Paleocene assemblage.", "source": "sameeni-1989-eoannularia" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Munir, Baig & Mirza (2005-06): in Azad Kashmir the Paleocene-Early Eocene Lockhart Limestone carries larger benthic foraminifera (Lockhartia, Operculina, Miscellanea, Ranikothalia, Assilina, Nummulites, Alveolina) together with smaller benthics (Clavulina, Quinqueloculina, Spiroloculina) in a shallow-marine limestone.", "source": "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Palaeocene Lockhart Limestone is a main fractured-carbonate reservoir in the Kohat Basin (with the Hangu Formation); the 2016 Makori-Deep-1 well (TD 5,067 m) flowed 2,202 BOPD plus 5.4 MMSCFD gas from the Lockhart, rising to 3,790 bbls oil plus 10.9 MMSCFD after acid stimulation. In the Dhurnal Field, where the overlying Patala has low TOC, the Lockhart (average TOC ~1.4 wt.%; Jaswal et al. 1997) is the effective source rock.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Munir et al. (2006): massive nodular dark-grey fetid limestone with flaser bedding and marly partings; microfauna Lockhartia haimei/tipperi/conditi, Miscellanea miscella, Daviesina langhami, Ranikothalia sindensis, Actinosiphon tibetica and Operculina salsa indicate a Late Paleocene warm shallow (inner-neritic) carbonate platform.", "source": "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir" }, { "field": "environment", "source": "munawar-2022-lockhart-pail", "note": "Munawar, Ahsan, Anjum, Sameeni, Rehman & Zahid (2022), Pail area (Central Salt Range): three Dunham microfacies in the Lockhart Limestone - Nummulitidae mudstone, wackestone and packstone; abundant benthic and scarce planktonic foraminifera indicate a shallow, inner-neritic, open-marine environment." }, { "field": "age", "source": "munawar-2022-lockhart-pail", "note": "Munawar et al. (2022): larger benthic foraminifera Lockhartia haimei and L. conditi in the Pail-area Lockhart Limestone indicate a Late (Upper) Paleocene age, consistent with the curated age." } ], "synonyms": [ "Khairabad Limestone" ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "patala-formation", "name": "Patala Formation", "age": "Late Paleocene (Thanetian)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Paleocene", "lithology": "Shale, marl, limestone and sandstone, with coal in the lower part.", "description": "Named after Patala Nala in Salt Range. Now considered lateral equivalent of Hangu Formation. Important source rock for hydrocarbons.", "thickness": "50-200 m", "fossils": [ "Planktonic foraminifera", "Calcareous nannofossils", "Dinoflagellates" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Paleocene shale-dominated unit of the Makarwal Group, conformably overlying the Lockhart Limestone and passing up into the Early Eocene Nammal Formation; it carries a rich larger-foraminiferal fauna and coal, and is a significant petroleum source rock.", "typeLocality": "Patala Nala, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Lockhart Limestone", "underlies": "Nammal Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat" ], "economicImportance": "Coal-bearing in the Salt Range (Patala coal) and an important hydrocarbon source rock of the Upper Indus Basin.", "introducedBy": "Davies and Pinfold (1937)", "environment": [ "marginal marine", "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "A Late Paleocene shale-and-limestone unit with coal, above the Lockhart Limestone — an important oil source rock.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "hanif-2012-dungan-pe", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "malik-1989-coal", "sameeni-1989-eoannularia", "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Baseline age 'Cretaceous–Paleocene' over-extends the formation: the Patala Formation is Late Paleocene (Thanetian). The 'Cretaceous' component reflects bundling with underlying units. Age needs review.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) show the Patala Formation spans the Paleocene-Eocene boundary: shallow benthonic Zones SBZ4-SBZ6, planktonic Zones P4c-P6b, nannofossil NP8-NP12, giving a late Thanetian to early Ypresian range (maximum age late Thanetian-early Ypresian). It represents deep-marine clastics that buried the underlying Lockhart carbonate platform. This extends the curated Late Paleocene (Thanetian) assignment slightly into the earliest Eocene; curated age retained pending review.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): ~150 m at type locality. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Hanif et al. (2012): the dinocyst zones Pak-DV and Pak-DVI (late to latest Thanetian) and Pak-DVII (early Ypresian) recognised at Rakhi Nala correlate directly with the Pak-DV to Pak-DVII zones of Köthe et al. (1988) from the Patala Formation of the Upper Indus Basin, tying the top of the Dungan Formation to the Patala Formation across the basin. Apectodinium augustum (the PETM marker) is reported from the Patala at Nammal Gorge (Edwards 2007), though absent at Rakhi Nala.", "source": "hanif-2012-dungan-pe" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Malik (1989): coal in the shaly middle of the Late Paleocene Patala Formation is worked across the Salt Range (~80 km E-W; Dandot, Ara, Diljaba, Dalwal, Padrar, Katha-Pail; combined ~87 Mt), Cherat, the Kala Chitta Hills and Kotli (Azad Kashmir) - one to two workable seams up to ~1.5 m. The Kotli coal is exceptionally matured to bituminous/anthracite rank by severe tectonism at the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis.", "source": "malik-1989-coal" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Sameeni (1989): the Upper Paleocene Patala Formation, overlying the Lockhart Limestone in Hazara, the Kala Chitta Range and the Salt Range, carries the same Upper Paleocene foraminiferal assemblage, including Eoannularia eocenica (at the upper end of its range) with Lockhartia haimei, Miscellanea miscella and Ranikothalia sindensis.", "source": "sameeni-1989-eoannularia" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Munir, Baig & Mirza (2005-06): in Azad Kashmir the Paleocene-Eocene boundary lies within the upper Patala Formation, marked by the extinction of Lockhartia haimei and Miscellanea miscella and the first appearance of Nummulites atacicus and N. mammillatus (which continue into the basal Margala Hill Limestone).", "source": "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Palaeocene Patala Formation ('Patala Shale') is regarded as the primary source rock of the Potwar Basin - average TOC ~1.4 wt.%, Type II and Type III kerogen (Fazeelat et al. 2010; OGDC 1996), reaching maximum burial into the oil window at ~2 Ma (Law et al. 1998); in the Meyal area its thermally mature interval is a shale-gas prospect (Ali et al. 2017). This 'primary' status is qualified, however: oils from the Dhurnal, Pindori, Bhangali and Adhi fields contain <0.2% sulphur and differ in biomarkers from Patala-sourced oils, indicating more than one active source system in the basin (Khan et al. 1986; Malik et al. 1988; Fazeelat et al. 2010).", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (low confidence) from the published type locality \"Patala Nala, Salt Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Patala Nala, Salt Range.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Munir et al. (2006): Late Paleocene khaki-to-dark-grey splintery shales with nodular limestone, marl and workable coal; fauna Lockhartia haimei/conditi, Miscellanea miscella, Ranikothalia nuttalli, Operculina patalensis and Discocyclina ranikotensis; cyclic sedimentation in oscillating shelf lagoons and delta-swamps. The Paleocene–Eocene boundary is placed at the Patala/Margala Hill contact.", "source": "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Ali, S.K. et al. (2026). Paleocene stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture in the Sub-Himalayan Fold and Thrust Belt. Journal of Sedimentary Environments, 11, 22.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s43217-026-00283-8", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Hanif, M., Hart, M.B., Grimes, S.T. & Leng, M.J. (2012). Integrated stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of the P/E boundary interval, Rakhi Nala section, Indus Basin (Pakistan). Arabian Journal of Geosciences.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-012-0800-6", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Malik, I.A. (1989). Geodynamics and Coal Deposits of Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 12-43.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Sameeni, S.J. (1989). A Note on the Stratigraphic Distribution of Eoannularia eocenica Cole & Bermudez. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 77-79.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Munir, M.-H., Baig, M.S. & Mirza, K. (2005-2006). Upper Cretaceous of Hazara and Paleogene Biostratigraphy of Azad Kashmir, North West Himalayas, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 69-87.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2006 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "thicknessM": 125, "reviewStatus": "published", "coordinates": "32.6700, 71.8500", "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 32.67, "lng": 71.85, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "sangiali-formation", "name": "Sangiali Formation", "age": "Paleocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Paleocene", "lithology": "Limestone, shale, marl", "description": "Marine limestone sequence in Sulaiman basin. Part of Rakhi Gaj Group. Represents transgression after end-Cretaceous events.", "thickness": "100-200 m", "fossils": [ "Larger foraminifera", "Gastropods" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal unit of the Paleocene Sangiali Group (Sangiali–Rakhi Gaj–Dungan) of the western Sulaiman–Kirthar region.", "typeLocality": "Sangiali, Sulaiman Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Vitakri Formation", "underlies": "Rakhi Gaj Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "The base of the Paleocene Sangiali succession of the western fold belt.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "malkani-2019-cretaceous" ], "citations": { "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2019). Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9, 671-673.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2019.910071", "year": 2019 } ], "coordinates": "30.0000, 69.9583", "thicknessM": 150, "reviewStatus": "published", "economicImportance": "Building limestone and sandstone; prospective for uranium.", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Malkani (2019) records the Early Paleocene Sangiali Formation as a bivalve-, nautiloid- and gastropod-bearing limestone and shale carrying Deccan volcanic dust, deposited during the earliest Paleocene marine transgression as the basal unit of his Sangiali Group (Sangiali-Rakhi Gaj-Dungan). The Deccan-dust association is a distinctive K/Pg-boundary marker in the western Sulaiman/Kirthar basins.", "source": "malkani-2019-cretaceous" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 30, "lng": 69.9583, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "dungan-formation", "name": "Dungan Formation", "age": "Late Paleocene to Early Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Paleocene–Eocene", "lithology": "Limestone with shale interbeds", "description": "Marine carbonate sequence in Sulaiman basin. Contains diverse larger foraminifera fauna. Important petroleum reservoir.", "thickness": "30–610 m", "fossils": [ "Larger benthic foraminifera (Alveolina, Nummulites, Discocyclina, Assilina, Ranikothalia, Miscellanea, Lockhartia)", "Planktonic foraminifera (Morozovella)", "Red algae", "Bryozoans", "Corals" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A widespread Paleocene–earliest Eocene shallow-marine limestone of the Sulaiman and Kirthar belts; where the Sangiali Group is absent it rests unconformably on the eroded Parh Limestone, and it is an important petroleum reservoir.", "typeLocality": "Dungan, Sulaiman Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Rakhi Gaj Formation", "underlies": "Shaheed Ghat Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "economicImportance": "The Paleocene Dungan Limestone is a regional hydrocarbon reservoir in the Sulaiman fields.", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "carbonate ramp" ], "plainSummary": "A widespread Paleocene sea-floor limestone of the Sulaiman area and a notable oil-and-gas reservoir.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "khan-clyde-2013", "gsp-shah-2009", "jones-1997-sulaiman", "hanif-2012-dungan-pe", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "ahmad-2020-dungan", "alam-2023-dungan-kohlu", "hemphill-kidwai-1973" ], "citations": { "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "ahmad-2020-dungan", "fossils": "ahmad-2020-dungan", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "age": "ahmad-2020-dungan", "epoch": "ahmad-2020-dungan", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Khan, I.H. & Clyde, W.C. (2013). Lower Paleogene Tectonostratigraphy of Balochistan: Evidence for Time-Transgressive Late Paleocene-Early Eocene Uplift. Geosciences, 3(3), 466-501.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences3030466", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Jones, R.W. (1997). Aspects of the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Northern Sulaiman Ranges, Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 16(1), 51-58.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.16.1.51", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Hanif, M., Hart, M.B., Grimes, S.T. & Leng, M.J. (2012). Integrated stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of the P/E boundary interval, Rakhi Nala section, Indus Basin (Pakistan). Arabian Journal of Geosciences.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-012-0800-6", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Ahmad, S., Wadood, B., Khan, S., Ullah, A., Mustafa, G., Hanif, M. & Ullah, H. (2020). The sedimentological and stratigraphical analysis of the Paleocene to Early Eocene Dungan Formation, Kirthar Fold and Thrust Belt, Pakistan: implications for reservoir potential. Journal of Sedimentary Environments, 5, 477-503.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s43217-020-00027-2", "year": 2020 }, { "citation": "Alam, S.U., Mohibullah, M., Kasi, A.K., Abdullah, A., Hussain, T.M. & Thebo, G.M. (2023). Microfacies analysis, Depositional Environment and Biostratigraphy of the Early Eocene Dungan Formation, Kohlu area Balochistan, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 56(2), 89-104.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 } ], "coordinates": "30.1439, 67.9925", "thicknessM": 320, "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Williams (1959)", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) recognise a broad Dungan Formation (Kazmi 1995) that includes the Khadro, Bara and Lakhra formations of Shah (1977). Its upper limestone-shale part yields larger benthonic foraminifera of late Thanetian-early Ilerdian age, nannofossil Zones NP4/NP7/NP9 and planktonic Zones P3-P7 (Kothe et al. 1988; Afzal 1996; Jones 1997; Warraich et al. 2000), giving a Middle Paleocene to Early Eocene range. Extends the curated Late Paleocene age into the Early Eocene.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "underlies", "note": "Khan & Clyde (2013): the Dungan Group/Formation is overlain by the synorogenic Ghazij Formation along a diachronous contact, its members locally correlating with parts of the Ghazij.", "source": "khan-clyde-2013" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Jones (1997), Northern Sulaiman Ranges: a Late Paleocene to Early Eocene age is indicated by planktonic foraminifera Globorotalia (Morozovella) ex gr. angulata/conicotruncata (Zones P3–P5 of Blow 1979) and G. (M.) ex gr. subbotinae (P6–P8).", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Hanif et al. (2012), Rakhi Nala (Lower Indus Basin): four dinoflagellate-cyst zones (Pak-DV to Pak-DVII of Köthe et al. 1988) span the P/E interval of the upper Dungan Formation; the Paleocene/Eocene boundary lies within Zone Pak-DVI, defined by the onset of the carbon-isotope excursion (CIE magnitude −1.7‰) of the PETM — recorded here for the first time in the Indus Basin. The Apectodinium acme (Zone Pak-DV) correlates globally with the PETM Apectodinium acme Zone.", "source": "hanif-2012-dungan-pe" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Jones (1997): micropalaeontology of the Dungan (Dunghan) bioclastic limestone points to a warm, shallow carbonate platform within the euphotic zone (no deeper than ~5–15 m; codiacean, dasycladacean and rhodophyte algae). At Rakhi Nala, however, Hanif et al. (2012) infer an uppermost-bathyal setting (≥200 m; Velasco-type benthonic fauna, planktonic p-ratio >90%) with a water column well connected to the wider Tethys, becoming suboxic near the CIE onset — recording strong lateral bathymetric variation within the formation.", "source": "hanif-2012-dungan-pe" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2020), microfacies study in the Kirthar Fold-and-Thrust Belt (Khuzdar/Sibi/Kalat): the Paleocene–Early Eocene Dungan Formation carbonates (thick-bedded grey argillaceous limestone with larger + planktonic foraminifera, red algae and bryozoans) record four microfacies — Discocyclina–Nummulites–red-algal packstone (shallow lagoon/inner ramp), Miliolid–Alveolina–red-algal packstone (restricted lagoon), planktonic-benthic foraminiferal packstone, and planktonic foraminiferal wackestone-packstone (open-marine/outer ramp) — i.e. a carbonate-ramp system spanning restricted lagoon to open marine.", "source": "ahmad-2020-dungan" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2020): reservoir characterisation of the Dungan Formation carbonates — marine and burial cementation reduce primary porosity while dissolution and fracturing enhance porosity/permeability; plug-porosity/permeability data indicate an overall POOR-to-MODERATE reservoir potential.", "source": "ahmad-2020-dungan" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2020): the Dungan Formation is Late Paleocene to Early Eocene (Latif 1964), spanning a second-order sea-level rise from the Middle Danian to the Ypresian — a Transgressive Systems Tract (Danian–Selandian) and a Regressive Systems Tract (Thanetian–Early Ypresian) of third-order cyclicity. Age extended from the previously recorded 'Late Paleocene' into the Early Eocene (consistent with Kazmi & Abbasi 2008, who note a local Early-Eocene extension).", "source": "ahmad-2020-dungan" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2020): the Dungan Formation is 460 m thick in the Kirthar Fold-and-Thrust Belt study area (within the ~30–610 m regional range already recorded).", "source": "ahmad-2020-dungan" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2020): the fauna comprises abundant larger benthic foraminifera (Alveolina, Nummulites, Discocyclina, Assilina, Ranikothalia, Miscellanea, Lockhartia), planktonic foraminifera (Morozovella — the basis for the Paleocene–Eocene dating), red (coralline) algae and bryozoans. Surfaced from the generic 'Larger foraminifera, Corals' into the specific taxa.", "source": "ahmad-2020-dungan" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Alam et al. (2023), Kohlu section (Mazar Drik Nappe, Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt): age-diagnostic larger benthic foraminifera - Nummulites fraasi, N. minervensis, Alveolina vredenburgi, A. ellipsoidalis, A. pasticillata, A. pisiformis, A. minervensis, A. aramaea aramaea, Discocyclina ranikotensis and Orbitolites biplanus - date the Dungan Formation here as Early Eocene (Ypresian), shallow-benthic zones SBZ 5 to SBZ 7 (Serra-Kiel et al. 1998). A precise SBZ biozonation consistent with the curated Late Paleocene-Early Eocene range.", "source": "alam-2023-dungan-kohlu" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Alam et al. (2023): at the previously unstudied Kohlu section the Dungan Formation is thick-to-medium-bedded limestone yielding six microfacies rich in LBF with algae, echinoids, gastropods, bivalves and rare corals, indicating deposition on an inner-to-mid carbonate ramp (gradual facies change, in-situ fauna, mud-prevalent microfacies, no organic build-ups, slumps or calciturbidites). Corroborates the curated shallow-marine carbonate-ramp environment with a new locality.", "source": "alam-2023-dungan-kohlu" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B): the Paleocene Dunghan Formation (type near Harnai, Williams 1959) is ~625 ft of grey hard finely crystalline thick-bedded limestone (algae, foraminifera, corals, gastropods) becoming sandy/argillaceous downward, over basal dark micaceous silty claystone; its lower part may be Late Cretaceous. It wedges out ~2 mi south of the Zao River and is absent in Waziristan and the Shaikh Budin-Khisor area.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 30.1439, "lng": 67.9925, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "ranikot-group", "name": "Ranikot Group", "age": "Paleocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Paleocene", "lithology": "Sandstone, shale and limestone with coal, carbonaceous beds and basaltic lava flows.", "description": "Major Paleocene sequence in lower Indus basin. Includes marine, deltaic, and continental facies. Important for petroleum exploration.", "thickness": "300-600 m", "fossils": [ "Larger foraminifera", "Gastropods", "Plant fossils in upper part" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Paleocene marine-to-paralic succession of the Kirthar/Sindh region, comprising in ascending order the Khadro, Bara and Lakhra formations; records the Early Paleocene transgression with Deccan-related volcanism (Khadro) and the main Sindh coal horizon (Bara).", "typeLocality": "Ranikot, Sindh (approx. 25°54'N, 67°54'E)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Pab Sandstone", "underlies": "Laki Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range", "sindh", "sulaiman" ], "introducedBy": "Blanford (1876); Vredenburg (1909)", "environment": [ "marine", "paralic" ], "economicImportance": "Includes the coal-bearing Bara Formation — the principal Sindh (Lower Indus) coalfields.", "plainSummary": "The Paleocene Ranikot Group of Sindh — the Khadro, Bara and Lakhra formations — spanning early-Paleocene lava flows, the Sindh coal beds and shallow-marine limestone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "asim-2014-drigri" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "members": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Asim, S., Qureshi, S.N., Asif, S.K., Abbasi, S.A., Solangi, S. & Mirza, M.Q. (2014). Structural and Stratigraphical Correlation of Seismic Profiles between Drigri Anticline and Bahawalpur High in Central Indus Basin of Pakistan. International Journal of Geosciences, 5(11), 1231-1240.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2014.511102", "year": 2014 } ], "coordinates": "25.9000, 67.9000", "thicknessM": 450, "reviewStatus": "published", "members": [ "khadro-formation", "bara-formation", "lakhra-formation" ], "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Three-fold Ranikot Group (Khadro-Bara-Lakhra) per the Cenozoic-of-Pakistan correlation chart; the Dunghan Formation is its Sulaiman-region equivalent.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "name", "note": "Merged the redundant \"Ranikot Formation\" (ranikot-formation) into this record; old name kept as a synonym.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Asim et al. (2014): the Paleocene Ranikot (shale) provides the top SEAL over the Late Cretaceous Pab Sandstone reservoir in the Drigri/Kotrum anticlines of the Central Indus Basin.", "source": "asim-2014-drigri" } ], "synonyms": [ "Ranikot Formation" ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 25.9, "lng": 67.9, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "nisai-limestone", "name": "Nisai Limestone", "age": "Eocene to Oligocene (locally down to Paleocene)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Cretaceous–Paleocene", "lithology": "Black nummulitic limestone with conglomerate and subordinate clastics (includes the Nimargh, Wad, Wakabi and Wakai limestones of later workers).", "description": "Named after Nisai village near Qila Saif Ullah. Synonyms include Kharan Limestone and Robat Limestone. Contains Paleocene foraminifera.", "thickness": "100-300 m", "fossils": [ "Miscellanea miscella", "Other larger foraminifera", "Algae" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Cretaceous–Paleocene foraminiferal limestone succession of the Axial Belt and Balochistan basins; the namesake of the Nisai Group.", "typeLocality": "Nisai, near Qila Saifullah", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Humai Formation", "underlies": "Saindak Formation" }, "provinces": [ "chagai-hills", "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "introducedBy": "HSC (1961); redefined Cheema et al. (1977)", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "reef" ], "plainSummary": "A Cretaceous–Paleocene nummulitic limestone of the Axial Belt, the namesake of the Nisai Group.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2020-balochistan", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "yaseen-2019-shaigalu", "waliullah-gsp-pishin", "zulfiqar-ali-2021-zhob", "kasi-2012-pishin", "nizami-2008-nisai", "ashraf-2010-multanai", "abdullah-2023-nisai", "maldonado-2011-quetta-mb-sibi", "kakar-nisai-group" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "synonyms": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Yaseen, W., Khan, A.S., Sohail, K., Farooq, U., Usman, M. & Ghani, M. (2019). Modal composition and provenance of Shaigalu Sandstones, Pishin-Katawaz Basin, northern Balochistan, Pakistan. Bahria University Research Journal of Earth Sciences (BURJES), 4(2), 70-77.", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Waliullah, Khan, J.A. & Akhtar, W. Preliminary geology and mineral potential of the Karezat and Barshor quadrangles (toposheets 34 N/6 and 5), district Pishin, Balochistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta (abstract)." }, { "citation": "Ali, H.M.Z., Zubair, M.I., Ali, H., Akbar, G. & Awan, A.A. (2021). Geology, geochemistry and petrographic studies of exposed rock units from Zhob and Qila Saifullah districts of Balochistan. Pakistan Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, Series A: Physical Sciences, 64A(3), 240-246.", "year": 2021 }, { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Nizami, A.R., Ashraf, M., Mahmood, M.N., Imran, M., Randhawa, A.S. & Rafique, M.I. (2008). Diagenetic sequence and microfacies assemblages of the Upper Eocene Nisai Formation, Pishin Basin, Balochistan, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 43, 35-48.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Ashraf, M., Nizami, A.R. & Butt, A.A. (2010). Petrographic and biostratigraphic studies on sedimentary sequences of Multanai area, Pishin Basin, Balochistan, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 45, 25-36.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Abdullah, A., Mohibullah, M., Kasi, A.K., Alam, S.U. & Haq, E.U. (2023). Microfacies and Depositional Settings of the Eocene Nisai Formation, Pishin Belt, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 56(1), 11-32.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Mengal, J.M., Khan, S.H. & Warwick, P.D. (2011). Summary of the Stratigraphy and Structural Elements Related to Plate Convergence of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi Region, Balochistan, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1224.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20111224", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Kakar, A., Kasi, A.M., Benedetti, A. & Kasi, A.K. Stratigraphy and depositional environment of a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate platform and slope succession of the Paleogene Nisai Group, Pakistan. (Venue per supplied manuscript.)" } ], "thicknessM": 200, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Malkani (2020) reorganizes the northern-Balochistan Cretaceous-Paleocene succession, but inconsistently between his own texts: one places the Akhtar Nika and Jabrai formations in a new 'Sharan Jogezai Group' beneath a restricted Nisai Group, while the companion abstract places all three (Akhtar Nika, Jabrai, Nisai) within a single 'Nisai Group' (~2000 m). He also synonymizes Nisai Limestone with the Robat, Kharan and Wakai limestones, and Murgha Faqirzai Shale with the Siahan, Zurati and Hoshab shales. Recorded for review; NOT adopted, pending a settled scheme.", "source": "malkani-2020-balochistan" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Nisai formation'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Nisai Formation/Limestone is Eocene to Early Oligocene (30–1,200 m of grey massive brecciated reefoid and shelly limestone with marl, shale and conglomerate, locally oolitic), along the eastern margin of the Kakar Khorasan-Makran flysch belt — unconformable on Mesozoic/Permian rocks (conformable on the Ghazij eastward) and conformably overlain by the Khojak Formation; abundant larger forams (Assilina, Nummulites, Pellatispira). The book age (Eocene–Early Oligocene) is younger than the curated Paleocene — recorded as a note.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) + Kazmi & Jan (1997) RESOLVE the age flag: the Nisai Formation yields abundant larger foraminifera indicating an Eocene to Oligocene age, locally extending down to the Paleocene (Miscellanea miscella at Wakabi; Cheema et al. 1977); ~1,200 m at the type section 12 km N of Nisai railway station, unconformable on Cretaceous and older strata, conformably overlain by the Khojak and Nari formations. Age refined from the curated 'Paleocene' to Eocene–Oligocene (locally Paleocene); the anomalous 'Mesozoic–Cenozoic' era badge corrected to Cenozoic.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Yaseen et al. (2019) and Waliullah et al. (GSP): in the Pishin–Katawaz succession the Nisai Formation is Eocene — a shallow-marine fossiliferous limestone (with shale) that unconformably overlies the Muslim Bagh–Zhob ophiolite at the base of the basin fill, and is in turn overlain by the Oligocene–Early Miocene Khojak Formation. Clarifies the local Eocene age and the basal-ophiolite relationship (an alternative to the curated 'overlies Humai Formation').", "source": "yaseen-2019-shaigalu" }, { "field": "typeLocality", "note": "Kasi et al. (2012): the Nisai Formation ('Nisai Group' of the Hunting Survey Corporation 1960, after Nisai village, for the 'black nummulitic limestone' of Vredenburg 1904 and 'older nummulitic beds' of Davies 1930; redefined as a formation by Cheema et al. 1977) has its type section ~12 km north of Nisai railway station, where it is ~1,200 m thick. It is ~1,027 m in the Nisai–Murgha Faqirzai Rud section (Nizami et al. 2008; Ashraf et al. 2010).", "source": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, { "field": "underlies", "note": "Kasi et al. (2012): in the Pishin Belt the Nisai Formation non-conformably overlies the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite (base, Zone I) and is conformably overlain by the Oligocene–Early Miocene Khojak Formation — an alternative to the curated Humai/Saindak (Chagai–Kharan) contacts. It divides into lower, middle and upper parts (Kazmi & Abbasi 2008).", "source": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Age estimates range from Late Palaeocene–Early Oligocene (Qayyum 1997: Assilina dandotica, Discocyclina ranikotensis, Miscellanea stampi; Nummulites atacicus, Assilina granulosa; N. fichteli) through Early–Middle Eocene (Allemann 1979) to Upper Eocene at the Nisai–Murgha Faqirzai Rud section (Nizami et al. 2008, on Nummulites perforatus). Deposited on a shallow-water carbonate platform passing into deep-water slope/basin turbidites (Qayyum 1997); eight bioclastic microfacies rich in larger benthic foraminifera (Nizami et al. 2008).", "source": "nizami-2008-nisai" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Abdullah et al. (2023), Nisai Formation type section (Pishin Belt): ~930 m of thick-to-thin-bedded and nodular limestone with olive-greenish-grey shale, divided into eight carbonate microfacies (KMF-1 planktonic mudstone; KMF-2 planktonic wackestone; KMF-3 bioclastic LBF-Discocyclina wackestone; KMF-4 siliciclastic bioclastic LBF packstone; KMF-5 bioclastic LBF packstone; KMF-6 bioclastic planktonic-BF wackestone-packstone; KMF-7 bioclastic SBF-LBF wackestone-packstone; KMF-8 bioclastic miliolid grainstone). These indicate deposition across an inner-ramp to outer-ramp (to basinal) profile; the mid-ramp facies are linked to episodic relative sea-level fall, enhanced continental weathering and tectonic uplift. A second independent microfacies study corroborating Nizami et al. (2008).", "source": "abdullah-2023-nisai" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Abdullah et al. (2023): the type-section Nisai Formation carries rich larger benthic foraminifera (Nummulites, Assilina, Discocyclina, Operculina, Alveolina, milliolids) together with smaller benthic and planktonic foraminifera, red algae, bryozoans, molluscs and brachiopods, supporting an Eocene age. Expands the recorded fauna beyond the generic 'Miscellanea miscella, other larger foraminifera, algae'.", "source": "abdullah-2023-nisai" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Maldonado et al. (2011, USGS) map the Nisai Formation as Eocene to lower Oligocene in the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi region, consistent with the curated Eocene-Oligocene age.", "source": "maldonado-2011-quetta-mb-sibi" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kakar et al. rename the Paleogene (lower Eocene-lower Oligocene) succession the Nisai Group and divide it, bottom to top, into the Jabrai, Torkhezhe Tsah and Nisai formations - a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate platform-and-slope succession, its clastic detritus derived from the Zhob Valley Ophiolites. Recorded as a proposed three-formation subdivision of the Nisai Group (venue/year to be confirmed).", "source": "kakar-nisai-group" } ], "synonyms": [ "Nisai Group", "Black Nummulitic Limestone" ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "nammal-formation", "name": "Nammal Formation", "age": "Early Eocene (Ypresian)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Early Eocene", "lithology": "Shale, marl and limestone.", "description": "Named after Nammal Gorge in western Salt Range. Early Eocene marine sequence following Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Part of the Nammal Group.", "thickness": "50-100 m", "fossils": [ "Planktonic foraminifera", "Nannofossils" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early Eocene marl-shale-limestone unit of the Salt Range and Trans-Indus foreland that conformably overlies the Patala Formation and grades up into the Sakesar Limestone.", "typeLocality": "Nammal Gorge, western Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Patala Formation", "underlies": "Sakesar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar", "hazara" ], "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "An Early Eocene shale-and-limestone unit of the Salt Range, between the Patala and Sakesar formations.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "thicknessM": 75, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) assign the Nammal Formation to planktonic foraminiferal Zones P7-P9, with nannofossil Zones NP11-NP12 and equivalent dinoflagellate zones (Weiss 1993; Afzal & Butt 2000; Sameeni & Butt 2004; Kothe et al. 1988), i.e. Ypresian (Early Eocene). Consistent with the curated Early Eocene (Ypresian) age.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Lower Eocene Nammal Formation (shallow-marine to lagoonal calcareous claystones and limestones) is, together with the coeval Patala shales, among the main source rocks of the Potwar Basin (Type II/III), and is listed among the Palaeocene-Eocene producing reservoir formations (Lockhart-Patala-Nammal-Bhadrar-Chorgali).", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (medium confidence) from the published type locality \"Nammal Gorge, western Salt Range\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Nammal Gorge, western Salt Range.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" } ], "coordinates": "32.6700, 71.8000", "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 32.67, "lng": 71.8, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "sakesar-formation", "name": "Sakesar Formation", "age": "Early Eocene (Ypresian)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Eocene", "lithology": "Light grey to off-white, thin- to thick-bedded, nodular to massive limestone with subordinate marl and shale, and chert nodules common in the upper part.", "description": "Named after Sakesar Peak in the western Salt Range (Gee in Fermor, 1935), the Sakesar Limestone is a Lower Eocene (Ypresian) shallow-marine carbonate of nodular to massive limestone with subordinate marl, shale and chert. It rests conformably on the Nammal Formation and passes up conformably into the Chorgali Formation, together forming the Early Eocene carbonate succession of the Salt Range. Microfacies range from bioclastic mudstone through Lockhartia-nummulitic and Assilina-Alveolina packstones to nummulitic and Alveolina grainstones, indicating an inner-to-middle carbonate ramp. Thickness varies strongly along strike. The Margala Hill Limestone of the Potwar and Hazara areas is its lateral facies equivalent (and is treated as a synonym in GSP Memoir Vol. 24). Part of the Nammal Group.", "thickness": "~30 to 150 m across the Salt Range (locally as thin as ~18 m at Nammal Gorge); up to ~220 m at Chichali Pass and over 300 m in parts of the Surghar Range", "fossils": [ "Nummulites mamillatus", "Nummulites atacicus", "Assilina spinosa", "Assilina granulosa", "Assilina laminosa", "Alveolina", "Lockhartia tipperi", "Lockhartia conditi", "Discocyclina", "Gastropods", "Echinoids" ], "geologicalSignificance": "One of the principal Early Eocene shallow-marine carbonate platforms of the Upper Indus Basin; forms the highest Salt Range topography and is an excellent larger-foraminifera (Nummulites-Assilina-Alveolina) locality recording the terminal Tethyan marine phase.", "typeLocality": "Sakesar Peak, Salt Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Nammal Formation", "underlies": "Chorgali Formation", "lowerContact": "conformable", "upperContact": "conformable" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar", "hazara" ], "economicImportance": "Cement raw material and construction aggregate; fractured carbonate reservoir and outcrop analogue in the Potwar-Salt Range petroleum system.", "introducedBy": "Gee in Fermor (1935); age-diagnostic larger foraminifera established by Davies and Pinfold (1937)", "environment": [ "Shallow marine", "Subtidal", "Inner to middle carbonate ramp" ], "plainSummary": "A thick Early Eocene sea-floor limestone packed with coin-shaped Nummulites, forming the prominent Sakesar Peak; in places it grades into gypsum and hosts the strontium mineral celestite.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "sameeni-1997-sakesar", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "era": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "period": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Sameeni, S.J. & Butt, A.A. (1997). Foraminifera from the lower Eocene Sakesar Limestone at Nammal, western Salt Range, northern Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 15, 9-14.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Davies, L. M. & Pinfold, E. S. (1937). The Eocene beds of the Punjab Salt Range. Mem. Geol. Surv. India, Palaeontologia Indica, 24(1).", "year": 1937 }, { "citation": "Sedimentary facies and depositional environment of the Lower Eocene shallow-shelf carbonate, the Sakesar Limestone, Salt Range, Pakistan (Ypresian; 30-35 m; nine microfacies).", "year": 2014, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266699810" }, { "citation": "Microfacies analysis and reservoir potential of Sakesar Limestone, Nammal Gorge, Western Salt Range, Upper Indus Basin. Pakistan Journal of Geology, 1(1).", "year": 2017, "url": "https://pakjgeology.com/archives/1pjg2017/1pjg2017-12-17.pdf" }, { "citation": "Resource assessment of Sakesar limestone as aggregate from the Salt Range based on geotechnical properties. International Journal of Hydrology (MedCrave). Thickness 70-150 m Salt Range, 220 m Chichali Pass, >300 m Surghar Range.", "year": 2020, "url": "https://medcraveonline.com/IJH/resource-assessment-of-sakesar-limestone-as-aggregate-from-salt-range-pakistan-based-on-geotechnical-properties.html" }, { "citation": "Effect of diagenetic processes and depositional facies on reservoir quality of the Eocene Sakesar Limestone, Central Salt Range. Journal of Earth Science (Springer).", "year": 2024, "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12583-024-0105-1" } ], "thicknessM": 185, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) regard the Sakesar Formation (limestone and marl) as the marine correlative of the Kuldana Formation in the western Salt Range and Surghar Range; it conformably overlies the Nammal Formation and marks the end of marine deposition there, being overlain unconformably by Miocene molasse. Supports the curated Early Eocene (Ypresian) age with an Early-Middle Eocene marine top.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Reviewer-confirmed Shah (2009) type locality, Sakesar Peak, Salt Range (32 deg 31' N, 71 deg 56' E) = 32.5167, 71.9333.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Sameeni & Butt (1997), lower Eocene Sakesar Limestone at Nammal Gorge (western Salt Range; ~80 ft studied; type locality Mount Sakesar, Gee 1935; typically nodular off-white with frequent chert nodules): larger foraminifera include Alveolina globula, A. pasticillata, A. ellipsoidalis, Nummulites mamillatus, N. atacicus, Assilina spinosa, A. laminosa, A. granulosa, Ranikothalia sindensis, Discocyclina dispansa, D. ranikotensis, Lockhartia tipperi and L. conditi. Corroborates the Early Eocene age and expands the recorded fauna.", "source": "sameeni-1997-sakesar" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Lower Eocene Sakesar Limestone is a producing reservoir - Pakistan's first commercial oil discovery, at Khaur in 1914, produced from Sakesar and Murree reservoirs. Its uppermost ~100 m also carries abundant Type III gas-prone organic matter with TOC up to 13 wt.% (unusually high for an outer-shelf carbonate), Tmax 440-448 deg C (mature, onset of generation, mainly gas); the ultimate source of many Potwar oil seeps is assumed to be Sakesar organic-rich shales and/or Patala coals/carbonaceous shales. The lower Sakesar is immature relative to the Patala in the Meyal area (Ali et al. 2017).", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" } ], "coordinates": "32.53, 71.93", "region": "Salt Range and Surghar Range (Upper Indus Basin)", "synonyms": [ "Margala Hill Limestone (lateral facies equivalent; treated as a synonym in GSP Memoir Vol. 24)" ], "lat": 32.53, "lng": 71.93, "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "panoba-formation", "name": "Panoba Formation", "age": "Early Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Early Eocene", "lithology": "Shale, marl with gypsum interbeds", "description": "Named after Panoba area. Represents restricted marine conditions in Kohat Basin. Part of the Panoba Group.", "thickness": "40 m", "fossils": [ "Globorotalia aequa", "Globorotalia quadrata", "Assilina pustulosa", "Orbitolites complanatus", "Nummulites sp.", "Operculina sp." ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early Eocene shale of the Kohat sub-basin deposited in a restricted, partly desiccated, gypsum-precipitating basin; it grades laterally into the Bahadur Khel Salt and records hypersaline conditions on the Eocene Kohat platform.", "typeLocality": "South of Panoba village, Kohat", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Patala Formation", "underlies": "Shekhan Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "introducedBy": "Eames (1952)", "environment": [ "restricted marine", "evaporitic" ], "economicImportance": "Part of the salt-and-gypsum-bearing Eocene succession of the Kohat Plateau; it grades southward into the Bahadur Khel Salt and is itself gypsiferous.", "plainSummary": "A burrowed, gypsum-bearing Eocene shale of the Kohat area that grades sideways into rock salt — a record of a shrinking, salty sea.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "ahmad-2016-nummulitid-kohat" ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "ahmad-2016-nummulitid-kohat" ], "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "coordinates": "gsp-shah-2009" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 40, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) assign the Panoba Formation to shallow benthonic Zone SBZ10 (Ypresian, Early Eocene) on larger benthonic foraminifera (Meissner et al. 1968, in Shah 1977). It conformably overlies the Patala Formation in most of the Kohat area and is overlain by the Shekhan Formation or the Jatta Gypsum / Bahadur Khel Salt. Consistent with the curated Early Eocene age.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Reviewer-confirmed coordinate (33.6050, 71.9000) for the Panoba Shale, south of Panoba Village, Kohat. This overrides the gazetteer conversion of Shah's (2009) type-section longitude (Shah DMS 33 deg 37' N, 71 deg 35' E); the reviewer places it ~0.3 deg east.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Reviewer chose Shah's (2009) published type locality for the Panoba Shale, south of Panoba Village, Kohat (33 deg 37' N, 71 deg 35' E) = 33.6167, 71.5833, superseding the earlier reviewer value of 33.6050, 71.9000.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Ahmad, Kroon, Rigby & Khan (2016, Stratigraphy 13(4)) place the Panoba Formation in the Panoba Nala section within their BFZ 3 Zone (FO Nummulites atacicus/N. globulus and Orbitolites complanatus; ~40 m thick), correlated to SBZ 8-11 of Serra-Kiel et al. (1998) and the Laki Stage - i.e. early Eocene (Middle Ilerdian 2-Middle Cuisian). The associated LBF include O. complanatus, R. sahini, N. pinfoldi, A. spinosa, A. laminosa, Alveolina elliptica, Lockhartia conica and Operculina sp. They date the regional cessation of marine sedimentation at this level to ~50-49.5 Ma. Corroborates the curated Early Eocene age.", "source": "ahmad-2016-nummulitid-kohat" } ], "coordinates": "33.6167, 71.5833", "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 33.6167, "lng": 71.5833, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chashmai-formation", "name": "Chashmai Formation", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Early–Middle Eocene", "lithology": "Clastic facies — sandstone and shale — of the Eocene Kohat succession.", "description": "Named after Chashmai area in Kohat. Marginal marine to continental sequence. Part of the Panoba Group.", "thickness": "50-150 m", "fossils": [ "Sparse fauna" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The western clastic (siliciclastic) lateral facies of the Eocene Kohat succession, equivalent eastward to the carbonate Shekhan Formation and, in the centre and south, to the Bahadar Khel Salt–Jatta Gypsum evaporites.", "typeLocality": "Chashmai, Kohat", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Panoba Formation", "underlies": "Gurguri Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "The sandy-and-shaly western version of the Eocene Kohat rocks — the same age as the Shekhan limestone but made of clastic sediment.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "khan-2019-shekhan", "indplex-geolex", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "citations": { "age": "khan-2019-shekhan", "era": "khan-2019-shekhan", "period": "khan-2019-shekhan", "epoch": "khan-2019-shekhan", "lithology": "khan-2019-shekhan", "environment": "khan-2019-shekhan", "geologicalSignificance": "khan-2019-shekhan", "plainSummary": "khan-2019-shekhan", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "name", "note": "Distinct from the separate Cretaceous 'Chashmai Kharsai Formation' of the Kurram/Waziristan area; this Kohat-Potwar entry is the Eocene clastic facies.", "source": "khan-2019-shekhan" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Removed the stray synonym 'Chashmai Kharsai': that is a separate Early Cretaceous belemnite shale of North Waziristan (Ahmed et al. 2000), now recorded as the distinct Chashmai Kharsai Formation. The Eocene Chashmai Formation is unrelated.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Khan et al. (2019). Foraminiferal studies of the Eocene Shekhan Formation, Panoba section, Kohat, northern Pakistan: implications for biostratigraphy and palaeoenvironments. International Journal of Hydrology (MedCrave).", "url": "https://medcraveonline.com/IJH/foraminiferal-studies-of-eocen-shekhan-formation-panoba-section-kohat-northern-pakistan-implication-for-biostratgraphy-and-paleoenvirnments.html", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 100, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "gurguri-formation", "name": "Gurguri Formation", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Early–Middle Eocene", "lithology": "Shale, sandstone, minor limestone", "description": "Named after Gurguri area. Represents return to more marine conditions. Part of the Panoba Group.", "thickness": "100-200 m", "fossils": [ "Foraminifera", "Mollusks" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The 'Gurguri Sandstone' — the basal, conglomeratic-sandstone facies of the lower Kuldana Formation in the Kohat area, marking the influx of continental clastics during Early–Middle Eocene uplift of the Kohat shelf.", "typeLocality": "Gurguri, Kohat", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chorgali Formation", "underlies": "Shekhan Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "environment": [ "continental", "paralic" ], "economicImportance": "Forms part of the productive Eocene clastic reservoir intervals of the Kohat sub-basin.", "plainSummary": "The coarse sandy base of the Kuldana Formation in Kohat — the first continental sediment shed in as the Eocene sea withdrew.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "khan-clyde-2013", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "khan-clyde-2013", "era": "khan-clyde-2013", "period": "khan-clyde-2013", "epoch": "khan-clyde-2013", "overlies": "khan-clyde-2013", "environment": "khan-clyde-2013", "geologicalSignificance": "khan-clyde-2013", "economicImportance": "khan-clyde-2013", "plainSummary": "khan-clyde-2013", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Lower Paleogene Tectonostratigraphy of Balochistan: Evidence for Time-Transgressive Late Paleocene-Early Eocene Uplift. Geosciences (MDPI), 3(3), 466 (2013).", "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/3/3/466", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 150, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Gurguri sandstone'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "The Gurguri Sandstone is the proximal, coarse conglomeratic-sandstone facies of the lower Kuldana Formation deposited to the west-northwest close to the uplifting collision belt; it passes basin-ward (eastward) into the finer Mami Khel Clay facies of the upper Kuldana Formation, marking late-early to early-middle Eocene continental sedimentation during time-transgressive uplift (Khan & Clyde 2013).", "source": "khan-clyde-2013" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "shekhan-formation", "name": "Shekhan Formation", "age": "Early Eocene (Ypresian)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Eocene", "lithology": "Compacted, yellowish-grey, medium- to thin-bedded fossiliferous limestone with shale partings, plus subordinate shale and sandstone; micrite-dominated.", "description": "The Shekhan Formation (also spelled Sheikhan Limestone) was named after Sheikhan Nala by Davies (1926b) and formalised as a formation by Cheema et al. (1977). It is an Early Eocene (Ypresian) unit of the Kohat sub-basin: compacted, yellowish-grey, medium- to thin-bedded fossiliferous limestone with shale partings and subordinate shale and sandstone, about 32 to 44 m thick at its main sections. Its larger foraminifera (Orbitolites complanatus, Alveolina, Assilina and Nummulites atacicus) indicate shallow-benthic zones SBZ 5-7 and an Early Eocene age. It is the lateral equivalent of the Sakesar/Margala Hill Limestone of the Potwar and Hazara basins and of the Drug Formation of the Sulaiman Basin. Part of the Panoba Group.", "thickness": "~32 to 44 m (Sheikhan Nala and Panoba sections); age-diagnostic foraminiferal zone ~9 to 30 m", "fossils": [ "Orbitolites complanatus", "Alveolina oblonga", "Alveolina vredenburgi", "Assilina daviesi", "Assilina laminosa", "Assilina dandotica", "Nummulites atacicus", "Corals", "Gastropods", "Echinoids", "Discocyclina dispensa", "Discocyclina fortsi", "Assilina exponens", "Nummulites" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Kohat-basin representative of the Early Eocene shallow-marine carbonate that is elsewhere the Sakesar/Margala Hill Limestone; its larger foraminifera place it in shallow-benthic zones SBZ 5-7, constraining the late marine phase of eastern Tethys in northwest Pakistan.", "typeLocality": "Shekhan, Kohat", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Gurguri Formation", "underlies": "Bahadurkhel Salt", "lowerContact": "conformable" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "introducedBy": "Davies (1926b); raised to formation rank by Cheema et al. (1977)", "environment": [ "Shallow marine carbonate shelf", "Inner ramp" ], "economicImportance": "Studied as a fractured carbonate reservoir target in the Kohat Basin; spatially associated with the Bahadurkhel (Kohat) evaporite system.", "plainSummary": "A yellow-grey nodular Eocene limestone of the Kohat area, lying just above the Panoba shale.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "khan-2019-shekhan", "gsp-shah-1977", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "ahmad-2016-nummulitid-kohat", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "khan-2019-shekhan" ], "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "khan-2019-shekhan", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "underlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Khan et al. (2019). Foraminiferal studies of the Eocene Shekhan Formation, Panoba section, Kohat, northern Pakistan: implications for biostratigraphy and palaeoenvironments. International Journal of Hydrology (MedCrave).", "url": "https://medcraveonline.com/IJH/foraminiferal-studies-of-eocen-shekhan-formation-panoba-section-kohat-northern-pakistan-implication-for-biostratgraphy-and-paleoenvirnments.html", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Salim, A., Kashif, M., Dou, B., et al. (2022). Sedimentology and diagenesis control on reservoir quality of Sheikhan Limestone (Eocene) at the Panoba and Sheikhan Nala sections, Kohat Basin. Carbonates and Evaporites, 37(4). Thickness 32-44 m.", "year": 2022, "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13146-022-00809-x" }, { "citation": "Ahmad, S., Kroon, D., Rigby, S. & Khan, S. (2016). Paleogene Nummulitid biostratigraphy of the Kohat and Potwar Basins in north-western Pakistan with implications for the timing of the closure of eastern Tethys and uplift of the western Himalayas. Stratigraphy, 13(4), 277-301.", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Foraminiferal biostratigraphy of Eocene Sheikhan Limestone, Panoba section, Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330242777" } ], "thicknessM": 38, "tier": 1, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) assign the Shekhan Formation a late Ypresian age: shallow benthonic Zone SBZ11 (Nagappa 1959; Pascoe 1963; Shah 1977; Weiss 1993), with Assilina laxispira and the planktonic foraminifera Morozovella aragonensis indicating planktonic Zones P8-P9 (Meissner et al. 1974). It is barren of nannofossils and dinoflagellates. Refines the curated Early Eocene age to late Ypresian.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Ahmad, Kroon, Rigby & Khan (2016, Stratigraphy 13(4)) record the Sheikhan Formation (Sheikhan Nala, Kohat Basin) within their BFZ 3 Zone (~22 m thick), with figured Orbitolites complanatus and flosculinized Alveolina pasticillata - an early Eocene (Middle Ilerdian 2-Middle Cuisian, SBZ 8-11) assemblage that conformably overlies the Panoba Shale. Corroborates the curated Early Eocene age.", "source": "ahmad-2016-nummulitid-kohat" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Larger benthic foraminifera identified at the Panoba section: Discocyclina dispensa, D. fortsi, Assilina dandotica, A. exponens, Alveolina vredenburgi and Nummulites, with three planktonic-foraminiferal biozones and Alveolina/Assilina zones (Hottinger) indicating an Early–Middle Eocene, inner-shelf setting (Khan et al. 2019).", "source": "khan-2019-shekhan" } ], "region": "Kohat sub-basin, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", "synonyms": [ "Sheikhan Limestone (alternative spelling)", "Drug Formation (Sulaiman Basin), lateral equivalent", "Sakesar / Margala Hill Limestone (Potwar and Hazara), lateral equivalent" ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "bahadurkhel-salt", "name": "Bahadurkhel Salt", "age": "Early Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Eocene", "lithology": "Rock salt, gypsum, shale", "description": "Named after Bahadurkhel village in Kohat. Major evaporite deposit unique to Kohat Basin. Economically important salt deposit.", "thickness": "50-300 m", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "The main Early Eocene evaporite of the Kohat Basin and the thickest member of the Kohat Saline Series; halite is the dominant mineral with subordinate gypsum, anhydrite, polyhalite and dolomite. It precipitated in a restricted-marine to sabkha basin as the Tethys closed during early India-Asia collision (~50 Ma); subsurface data indicate thicknesses up to about 700 m.", "typeLocality": "Bahadurkhel, Kohat", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Shekhan Formation", "underlies": "Jatta Gypsum" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "economicImportance": "The largest rock-salt (halite) resource of the Kohat Basin and a principal salt-mining source in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Bahadur Khel-Karak salt mines).", "coordinates": "33.1762, 70.9525", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-1977", "eocene-rocksalt-frontiers-2021", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "environment": "eocene-rocksalt-frontiers-2021", "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "eocene-rocksalt-frontiers-2021" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "eocene-rocksalt-frontiers-2021" ], "plainSummary": "eocene-rocksalt-frontiers-2021", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "environment": [ "restricted marine", "evaporitic", "sabkha" ], "plainSummary": "A thick Early Eocene rock-salt body in the Kohat area - the biggest salt deposit of the region - laid down when the shrinking Tethys sea dried into a salty, restricted basin. It is the main source of mined salt in the district.", "thicknessM": 175, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Hussain, S.A., Han, F.Q., Ma, Z., Hussain, A., Mughal, M.S., Han, J., Alhassan, A. & Widory, D. (2021). Origin and Evolution of Eocene Rock Salts in Pakistan and Implications for Paleoclimate Studies: Insights From Chemistry and Cl Stable Isotopes. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, 644485.", "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.644485/full", "year": 2021 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "synonyms": [ "Bahadur Khel Salt" ], "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009): the Bahadur Khel Salt is an unfossiliferous evaporitic deposit overlying the late Ypresian (SBZ11) Shekhan Formation in the southwest Kohat area, laterally equivalent to the Jatta Gypsum; overlain by the mammal-bearing Kuldana Formation. Supports the curated Early Eocene age (post-Shekhan, late Ypresian).", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Eocene Bahadur Khel Salt is the rock-salt facies of an isolated, desiccated evaporite basin restricted to the southern Kohat Plateau (Jatta–Bahadur Khel–Karak region, ~5,000 km²), the lateral/facies equivalent of the Panoba Shale into which it grades; exposed in anticlinal cores, a 1,500 m borehole did not reach its base.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Early Eocene Bahadur Khel Salt of the Kohat Plateau (with the associated Jatta Gypsum) greatly increases structural complexity where present and forms a shallow detachment in the southern Kohat, giving the Kohat shortening two detachment levels (deep within the Salt Range Formation, shallow within the Palaeogene evaporites). Oil and gas have been produced from three Potwar Plateau fields associated with it.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" } ], "introducedBy": "Meissner et al. (1968), for the 'Kohat Saline Series' of Gee (1945)", "lithologyType": "salt", "lat": 33.1762, "lng": 70.9525, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "jatta-gypsum", "name": "Jatta Gypsum", "age": "Early to Middle Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Eocene", "lithology": "Gypsum, anhydrite, shale", "description": "Named after Jatta area in Kohat. Major gypsum deposit unique to Kohat Basin. Associated with Bahadurkhel Salt.", "thickness": "50-200 m", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early to Middle Eocene gypsum-anhydrite unit of the Kohat Saline Series that conformably overlies the Bahadur Khel Salt; its selenitic, laminated and nodular gypsum facies record deposition in restricted sabkha-lagoonal settings during a short late-Early-Eocene evaporitic regression following salt deposition.", "typeLocality": "Jatta, Kohat", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Bahadurkhel Salt", "underlies": "Kahan Group" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "economicImportance": "A major gypsum/anhydrite resource of the Kohat Basin, quarried for cement and plaster.", "coordinates": "33.3333, 71.2833", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-1977", "eocene-rocksalt-frontiers-2021", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-1977" ], "overlies": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "eocene-rocksalt-frontiers-2021" ], "environment": "eocene-rocksalt-frontiers-2021", "economicImportance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "eocene-rocksalt-frontiers-2021" ], "plainSummary": "eocene-rocksalt-frontiers-2021", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "environment": [ "restricted marine", "evaporitic", "sabkha" ], "plainSummary": "A thick Eocene gypsum deposit sitting on top of the Bahadur Khel salt in the Kohat area, formed as the salty basin shallowed into sabkha (coastal salt-flat) conditions. It is widely quarried for gypsum.", "thicknessM": 125, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Hussain, S.A., Han, F.Q., Ma, Z., Hussain, A., Mughal, M.S., Han, J., Alhassan, A. & Widory, D. (2021). Origin and Evolution of Eocene Rock Salts in Pakistan and Implications for Paleoclimate Studies: Insights From Chemistry and Cl Stable Isotopes. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, 644485.", "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.644485/full", "year": 2021 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Meissner et al. (1968), for the upper 'Kohat Series' of Gee (1945)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Eocene Jatta Gypsum is a desiccated-basin evaporite of the SE Kohat Plateau — the Early Eocene Shekhan Formation grades southward into it in the Jatta area, and it is conformably overlain by the Kuldana Formation; commonly imbricated and folded with slivers of Panoba Shale.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Eocene Jatta Gypsum, where present in the Kohat Plateau (with the Bahadur Khel Salt), adds much structural complexity and contributes to the shallow Palaeogene detachment level of the Kohat fold-and-thrust belt.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" } ], "lithologyType": "gypsum", "lat": 33.3333, "lng": 71.2833, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "habib-rahi-formation", "name": "Habib Rahi Formation", "age": "Middle Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Middle Eocene", "lithology": "Greyish-brown, thin- to thick-bedded or massive, hard argillaceous fossiliferous limestone with nodules and cherty beds.", "description": "Named after Habib Rahi area. Includes Kohat Formation and related members. Marine limestone sequence in Kohat Sub-Basin. Part of the Kahan Group.", "thickness": "15–150 m", "fossils": [ "Larger foraminifera (Nummulites, Assilina)", "Gastropods", "Echinoids" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal limestone of the Kirthar Group in the Sulaiman Range, conformably overlying the Ghazij Group and forming a regional Eocene marker and gas reservoir.", "typeLocality": "North of Zampost, Zhob–Dera Ismail Khan road", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Baska Formation", "underlies": "Domanda Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "introducedBy": "Tainsh (1959)", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "economicImportance": "An Eocene limestone reservoir unit of the Sulaiman gas province.", "plainSummary": "A hard Middle Eocene limestone, the base of the Kirthar Group, and a gas reservoir in the Sulaiman fields.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "jones-1997-sulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Jones, R.W. (1997). Aspects of the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Northern Sulaiman Ranges, Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 16(1), 51-58.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.16.1.51", "year": 1997 } ], "thicknessM": 82.5, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 15–60 m. Type locality: reference section: Fort Sandeman–D.I. Khan road, N of Zam Post. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Jones (1997), Habib Rahi Limestone (Kirthar Formation member): early Middle Eocene, from the larger benthonic nummulitid Assilina maior punctulata (Cuisian Supérieur–Lutetian Basal of Schaub 1981; NP14–NP15) and calcareous nannofossils Discoaster saipanensis, Nannotetrina spp. and Sphenolithus pseudoradians.", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Jones (1997): the Habib Rahi Member is associated with the transgressive third-order sequences TA3.2–TA3.3 of Haq et al. (1987); its nummulitic/nummulithoclastic grainstones (Rotaliida) grade to laminated basinal shales, and A-form-dominated nummulitid populations plot in the 'toe of slope' field.", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "domanda-formation", "name": "Domanda Formation", "age": "Middle Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Middle Eocene", "lithology": "Dark-brown to greenish-grey claystone with limestone intercalations and subordinate calcareous sandstone in the upper part.", "description": "Named after Domanda area. Marine shale sequence representing deeper water conditions. Part of the Kahan Group.", "thickness": "130–330 m", "fossils": [ "Nummulites beaumonti", "Nummulites subbeaumonti", "Alveolina elliptica", "Dictyoconoides cooki" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Middle Eocene claystone-and-limestone unit of the Kirthar Group, between the Habib Rahi and Pirkoh limestones.", "typeLocality": "West of Domanda", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Habib Rahi Formation", "underlies": "Pirkoh Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "introducedBy": "Hemphill et al. (1973)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "A Middle Eocene clay-rich unit of the Kirthar Group, between the Habib Rahi and Pirkoh limestones.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "gsp-shah-2009", "jones-1997-sulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "hemphill-kidwai-1973" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Jones, R.W. (1997). Aspects of the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Northern Sulaiman Ranges, Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 16(1), 51-58.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.16.1.51", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 } ], "thicknessM": 230, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Hosts Late Eocene coal (Rakhni, Nisau, Mahoi, Zain and Rakhi Munh areas) and a laterally extensive gypsum bed; celestite occurs just below the Domanda gypsum in the southern Sulaiman Foldbelt.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 130 m near Domanda; 220 m N of Nili Kach; 150 m NW of Jandola; 180–330 m Safed Koh; 300 m Drug/Mughal Kot. Type locality: near Domanda, Sulaiman Province. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Jones (1997), Domanda Shale (Kirthar Formation member): 'mid' Middle Eocene, from the larger benthonic alveolinid Alveolina elliptica (Lutetian Basal–Moyen(?) of Schaub 1981; NP15–NP16/17).", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Jones (1997): a low-energy back-bank lagoon characterised by Miliolida (with soritids and alveolinids), deposited during the regressive third-order sequence TA3.4 of Haq et al. (1987); photosymbiont-controlled depth ~30–50 m.", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B) NAMED the Domanda Shale Member of the Kirthar Formation (replacing 'lower chocolate clays' of Eames 1952), type section just west of Domanda Post on the Fort Sandeman-D.I. Khan road. Middle Eocene; dark-brown to greenish-grey foraminiferal claystone with upper gastropod/lamellibranch sandstones and (southward) gypsiferous marls; ~1,020 ft north of Domanda, wedging out along the Spina Ghora ridge.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" } ], "lithologyType": "claystone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "pirkoh-formation", "name": "Pirkoh Formation", "age": "Middle Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Middle Eocene", "lithology": "Brown, grey to white, thin-bedded limestone with subordinate argillaceous limestone and dark-grey calcareous claystone.", "description": "Named after Pirkoh area. Marine sequence in southernmost Kohat region. Part of the Kahan Group.", "thickness": "10–175 m", "fossils": [ "Foraminifera", "Gastropods", "Bivalves", "Echinoids" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A highly fossiliferous Middle Eocene limestone of the Kirthar Group and a major gas reservoir in the Sulaiman province.", "typeLocality": "Pirkoh anticline", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Domanda Formation", "underlies": "Drazinda Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "introducedBy": "Hemphill et al. (1973)", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "economicImportance": "The Pirkoh Limestone is a significant gas reservoir (Pirkoh gas field).", "plainSummary": "A fossil-rich Middle Eocene limestone of the Kirthar Group and a key gas reservoir (Pirkoh field).", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "jones-1997-sulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Jones, R.W. (1997). Aspects of the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Northern Sulaiman Ranges, Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 16(1), 51-58.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.16.1.51", "year": 1997 } ], "thicknessM": 92.5, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Jones (1997), Pir Koh Limestone (Kirthar Formation member): 'mid' Middle Eocene, from the nummulitids Assilina exponens and Nummulites beaumonti (Lutetian Moyen–Biarritzian of Schaub 1981; NP15–NP18), planktonic foraminifera Globorotalia (Acarinina) ex gr. bullbrooki (P8b–P12) and Orbulinoides beckmanni (P13), and nannofossils Chiasmolithus grandis and Sphenolithus predistensus.", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Jones (1997): the Pir Koh Member is associated with the transgressive third-order sequence TA3.5 of Haq et al. (1987), spanning laminated shale through mudstone to limestone across carbonate-platform and basinal sub-environments.", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "drazinda-formation", "name": "Drazinda Formation", "age": "Middle to Late Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Middle Eocene", "lithology": "Brown to grey clay with subordinate fossiliferous marl and limestone interbeds and, in the middle part, grey calcareous sandstone; locally with celestite nodules in the north.", "description": "Named after Drazinda area. Upper unit of Kahan Group in southernmost Kohat. Records regression from marine conditions. Part of the Kahan Group.", "thickness": "15–500 m", "fossils": [ "Foraminifera", "Bivalves", "Bryozoans", "Echinoids" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The youngest unit of the Eocene Kirthar Group in the Sulaiman Range; its clays and marls are unconformably overlain by the Oligocene molasse, marking the end of marine deposition.", "typeLocality": "Northeast of Drazinda", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Pirkoh Formation", "underlies": "Chitarwatta Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "introducedBy": "Hemphill et al. (1973)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "economicImportance": "Hosts celestite (strontium sulphate) nodules in the northern Sulaiman Range.", "plainSummary": "The topmost Eocene marine clay of the Kirthar Group, capped by the unconformity beneath the continental molasse.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "jones-1997-sulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "hemphill-kidwai-1973" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": "gsp-shah-2009", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Jones, R.W. (1997). Aspects of the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Northern Sulaiman Ranges, Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 16(1), 51-58.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.16.1.51", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 } ], "thicknessM": 257.5, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "coordinates": "31.7667, 70.1500", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Reviewer-confirmed Shah (2009) type locality near Drazinda village, Dera Ismail Khan / Sulaiman foothills (31 deg 46' N, 70 deg 09' E) = 31.7667, 70.1500.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Jones (1997), Drazinda Shale (Kirthar Formation member): late Middle Eocene, from the nummulitid Nummulites beaumonti (Schaub 1981; NP15–NP18) and planktonic foraminifera Globigerina praebulloides (no older than P14) and Truncorotaloides libyaensis (P11–P14).", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Jones (1997): the Drazinda Member is associated with the regressive third-order sequence TA3.6 of Haq et al. (1987); a prevalence of the dinocysts Selenopemphix and Wetzeliella points to a proximal/regressive environment.", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the Drazinda Formation (a former member of the Kirthar Formation) extends from the late-middle to the upper/late Eocene (zones P14–P17, NP17), so it is not restricted to the Middle Eocene; age extended to Middle–Late Eocene.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B) NAMED the Drazinda Shale Member of the Kirthar Formation (replacing 'upper chocolate clays' of Eames 1952), type locality east and NE of Drazinda. Middle to late? Eocene; dark claystone with fossiliferous marl (larger foraminifera, lamellibranchs, bryozoans, echinoids), a mid-unit crossbedded-sandstone marker, celestite nodules and a coaly zone near the top; up to ~1,250-1,837 ft.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" } ], "lithologyType": "marl", "lat": 31.7667, "lng": 70.15, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chorgali-formation", "name": "Chorgali Formation", "age": "late Early to Middle Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Eocene", "lithology": "Shale, limestone, gypsum", "description": "Named after Chorgali Pass. Evaporitic sequence indicating restricted marine conditions. Transition from open marine to restricted basin. Part of the Kuldana Group.", "thickness": "30–140 m", "fossils": [ "Rotalia crookshankiana" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Eocene shallowing-upward unit (dolomitic limestone passing up into calcareous shale) resting conformably on the Sakesar Limestone; its dolomitisation and bituminous character mark restricted, periodically hypersaline conditions at the close of Early Eocene marine deposition in the Salt Range and Potwar.", "typeLocality": "Chor Gali Pass", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Sakesar Formation", "underlies": "Kuldana Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "hazara", "kohat", "potwar" ], "introducedBy": "Pascoe (1920)", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "restricted" ], "economicImportance": "One of the main dolomite-bearing units of the foreland fold-and-thrust belt; its partly dolomitised limestone carries a bituminous (hydrocarbon) odour and the unit is significant in Potwar petroleum geology.", "plainSummary": "An Eocene dolomitic limestone-and-shale with a tar-like smell, sitting on top of the Sakesar limestone — a sign of a shrinking, restricted Eocene sea.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-1977", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "rehman-2024-chorgali", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange", "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir", "ghazi-2010-chorgali-lbf" ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "synonyms": "gee-1989-saltrange" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Rehman, S.U., Ahmed, M., Munawar, M.J., Rehman, F., Anjum, M.N. & Ullah, M.F. (2024). Outcrop geology, microfacies analysis and depositional environments of Chorgali Formation from Bhattian and Gharaga, Southern Hazara Basin, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Science, 76(1), 106-121.", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Munir, M.-H., Baig, M.S. & Mirza, K. (2005-2006). Upper Cretaceous of Hazara and Paleogene Biostratigraphy of Azad Kashmir, North West Himalayas, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 69-87.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2006 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "thicknessM": 85, "tier": 1, "reviewStatus": "published", "coordinates": "33.439322, 72.683902", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Type-locality coordinate set from reviewer-supplied GPS (33.439322 N, 72.683902 E), Chorgali Pass, Khair-e-Murat Range.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) assign the Chorgali Formation to shallow benthonic Zones SBZ11-SBZ12 (late Ypresian to earliest Lutetian) on age-diagnostic larger benthonic foraminifera from the Kala Chitta, Hazara and eastern Salt ranges (Latif 1970, 1976; Shah 1977; Sameeni & Butt 2004). Consistent with the curated late Early to Middle Eocene age.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Rehman et al. (2024), Gharaga and Bhattian sections (Southern Hazara Basin): five microfacies of the Chorgali Formation — Nummulites–Lockhartia wackestone-to-packstone (MF-1), Nummulites–Assilina wackestone-to-packstone (MF-2), Ostracod–Miliolid packstone (MF-3), marls (MF-4) and calcareous shale (MF-5) — indicate deposition on a carbonate mid-ramp, with some accumulation in a partially restricted inner-ramp lagoon and in the proximal outer ramp, during the Late Paleocene–Early Eocene transgressive cycles of the Neo-Tethys.", "source": "rehman-2024-chorgali" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Rehman et al. (2024): the Chorgali Formation at these Hazara sections yields abundant Eocene larger benthic foraminifera — Nummulites, Assilina and Lockhartia — together with miliolids and ostracods (and their broken shells), consistent with a shallow carbonate-ramp fauna.", "source": "rehman-2024-chorgali" }, { "field": "overlies", "note": "Rehman et al. (2024): in the Southern Hazara Basin the Chorgali Formation has a well-preserved lower contact with the Early Eocene Margalla Hill Limestone and an upper gradational (intercalated) contact with the Middle Eocene Kuldana Formation — a regional relationship distinct from the Salt Range, where the Chorgali overlies the Sakesar Limestone. Lithologically it is a predominantly marly and argillaceous limestone with marls and calcareous shale.", "source": "rehman-2024-chorgali" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Munir, Baig & Mirza (2005-06): the Chorgali Formation forms the top of the Paleocene-Early Eocene shallow-marine carbonate succession of Azad Kashmir (above the Lockhart Limestone, Patala Formation and Margala Hill Limestone), carrying larger benthic foraminifera.", "source": "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Lower Eocene Chorgali Formation (dolomitic limestones and calcareous claystones above the Sakesar) is named among the Eocene-age reservoirs producing oil and gas in the Potwar Basin (Khan et al. 1986).", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Munir et al. (2006): Early Eocene thin-bedded flaggy argillaceous limestone, marl and greenish-grey shale with pressure-dissolution (fitted) fabrics; Assilina granulosa/spinosa, Nummulites atacicus, Orbitolites complanatus, Dictyoconus indicus and Coskinolina balsillei indicate a restricted shallow shelf with tidal flats and coastal shoals.", "source": "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir" }, { "field": "fossils", "source": "ghazi-2010-chorgali-lbf", "note": "Ghazi, Ali, Hanif, Sharif & Arif (2010), four Salt Range sections (Karuli, Badshah Pur, Tatral, Khajula): the Early Eocene Chorgali Formation yields a larger-benthic-foraminiferal assemblage - Nummulites mamillatus, N. atacicus, Assilina spinosa, A. subspinosa, A. laminosa, A. granulosa, A. placentula, Lockhartia tipperi, L. conditi and Alveolina sp." }, { "field": "environment", "source": "ghazi-2010-chorgali-lbf", "note": "Ghazi et al. (2010): the shallow-water larger-benthic-foram assemblage in the thin- to well-bedded limestone, shale and marl of the Chorgali Formation indicates an inner-shelf environment; it is the uppermost of the three Early Eocene Salt Range carbonate units (Nammal Formation, Sakesar Limestone, Chorgali Formation)." } ], "synonyms": [ "Bhadrar Beds" ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 33.439322, "lng": 72.683902, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kuldana-formation", "name": "Kuldana Formation", "age": "Early to Middle Eocene (late Ypresian-Lutetian; shallow benthonic Zone SBZ13 or older)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Early–Middle Eocene", "lithology": "Shale, marl, sandstone, limestone, conglomerate, dolomite", "description": "Named after Kuldana village north of Murree. Shows alternating marine and continental environments. Contains early whale fossils. Part of the Kuldana Group.", "thickness": "up to ~300 m", "fossils": [ "Pakicetus", "Gandakasia", "Ichthyolestes" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Internationally significant for its vertebrate fauna: the Kuldana Formation yields Pakicetus — regarded as the oldest and most primitive known cetacean (whale) — together with Gandakasia and Ichthyolestes, key fossils documenting the land-to-sea transition of early whales.", "typeLocality": "Kuldana", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chorgali Formation", "underlies": "Murree Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hazara", "kohat", "potwar", "salt-range" ], "environment": [ "marginal marine", "continental" ], "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "osm-gazetteer", "drewes-2078h", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "butt-1989-hazara-arc", "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir" ], "citations": { "age": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "indplex-geolex" ], "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "economicImportance": "drewes-2078h" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "RESOLVED: the earlier 'Miocene' label was an error. The Kuldana Formation is Early–Middle Eocene (Ypresian–Lutetian), confirmed by GSP Malkani (2017), the Indian Plate Lexicon, and its Pakicetus/Ambulocetus whale fauna.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Current record lists Miocene, but Kazmi & Jan (1997) place the Kuldana Formation in the Paleogene, and its Pakicetus-bearing fauna is Early–Middle Eocene. Age needs review.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Superseded the vague curated value 'Eocene' with Early to Middle Eocene (late Ypresian-Lutetian). Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) assign the Kuldana Formation to shallow benthonic Zone SBZ13 or older, on larger benthonic foraminifera (Latif 1970, 1976) and mammal faunas (Raza 2001a; Gingerich 2003). It is a continental red-bed / shale succession stratigraphically coeval with the upper Subathu Formation / Kalakot Zone of India. Prior epoch field (Early-Middle Eocene) was already consistent.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Butt (1989): the Middle Eocene Kuldana Formation is a red-bed facies of shallow-water origin whose distribution records a Middle Eocene southward shift of the Hazara trough toward the Potwar Basin; type locality Kuldana near Murree, with a good section at Daryagali.", "source": "butt-1989-hazara-arc" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Munir et al. (2006): Middle Eocene (Lutetian) variegated shales, gypsiferous clays, calcareous paleosols, oyster lumachelles and cross-bedded sandstone; Assilina dandotica/granulosa, Nummulites atacicus/mamillatus, oyster beds and terrestrial/aquatic mammal remains indicate brackish bays, coastal lagoons and floodplains recording the final closure of the Neotethys, overlain diachronously by Murree molasse.", "source": "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir" } ], "introducedBy": "Wynne (1874)", "economicImportance": "A local source of gypsum on the Potwar Plateau, mainly satisfying nearby agricultural needs rather than yielding the large, pure bodies of the Salt Range Formation.", "plainSummary": "Famous worldwide for Pakicetus, the oldest known whale — a fossil capturing whales' evolution from land animals.", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Drewes, H., Ahmad, Z. & Khan, R. (2007). Resource Evaluation of Selected Minerals and Industrial Commodities of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan. Chapter H of Regional Studies of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan (P.D. Warwick & B.R. Wardlaw, eds.), U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2078-H, 22 p.", "year": 2007 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1989). An Overview of the Hazara Arc Stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 1-11.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 } ], "thicknessM": 300, "tier": 1, "reviewStatus": "published", "coordinates": "33.92, 73.39", "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 33.92, "lng": 73.39, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "ghazij-group", "name": "Ghazij Group", "age": "Early Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Eocene", "lithology": "Shale, sandstone, coal, gypsum (deltaic to evaporitic)", "description": "Deposited under deltaic, evaporitic and terrestrial environments by paleo-Indus River system. Contains significant coal deposits. Also called Chamalang Group.", "thickness": "500-1500 m", "fossils": [ "Plant fossils", "Freshwater fauna", "Marginal marine fauna" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The coal-bearing lower Eocene Ghazij Formation (Group) is exposed intermittently for about 750 km along the western margin of the Axial Belt; its thick lower part (>1000 m) of gray calcareous mudrock and sandstone, passing up into reddish alluvial-plain deposits, records deltaic to fluvial and locally evaporitic sedimentation by an early Indus-derived river system. It is the main Eocene coal-bearing unit of Balochistan.", "typeLocality": "Ghazij, Balochistan", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Dungan Formation", "underlies": "Kahan Group" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "economicImportance": "Hosts the principal Eocene coal deposits of Pakistan, worked in the Mach, Sor Range, Sharigh, Pir Ismail Ziarat and Johan coal fields of Balochistan.", "environment": [ "deltaic", "fluvial", "marginal marine", "evaporitic" ], "plainSummary": "A thick Early Eocene pile of shale, sandstone and coal in Balochistan, laid down by deltas and rivers along the western edge of the mountains. It holds Pakistan's most important Eocene coal.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "jones-1997-sulaiman", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "malik-1989-coal", "maldonado-2011-quetta-mb-sibi", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "kassi-ghazij-1987" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999" ], "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999" ], "economicImportance": "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999" ], "plainSummary": "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "thicknessM": 1000, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Johnson, E.A., Warwick, P.D., Roberts, S.B. & Khan, I.H. (1999). Lithofacies, depositional environments, and regional stratigraphy of the lower Eocene Ghazij Formation, Balochistan, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1599, 76 p.", "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/pp1599", "year": 1999 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Jones, R.W. (1997). Aspects of the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Northern Sulaiman Ranges, Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 16(1), 51-58.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.16.1.51", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Malik, I.A. (1989). Geodynamics and Coal Deposits of Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 12-43.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Mengal, J.M., Khan, S.H. & Warwick, P.D. (2011). Summary of the Stratigraphy and Structural Elements Related to Plate Convergence of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi Region, Balochistan, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1224.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20111224", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Kassi, A.M., Qureshi, A.R. & Kakar, D.M. (1987). Sedimentology of the Ghazij Formation, Kach Area, Baluchistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 20, 53-62.", "year": 1987 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "members": [ "shaheed-ghat-formation", "toi-formation", "drug-formation", "baska-formation" ], "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) recognise a Ghazij Formation (incorporating the Laki Formation of Shah 1977) dated by larger benthonic foraminifera (Assilina leymeriei, A. pustulosa, Orbitolites complanatus, Nummulites globulus) to shallow benthonic Zones SBZ8-SBZ13 and by planktonic foraminifera to Zones P7-P10 (Eames 1952; Nagappa 1959; Weiss 1993; Afzal 1996; Wakefield & Monteil 2002; Warraich & Nishi 2003), i.e. late Ypresian to early Lutetian. Extends the curated Early Eocene age into the early Middle Eocene.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Jones (1997): the Ghazij (reported as the Ghazij Formation) yielded only an impoverished, largely non-marine palynoflora (rare angiosperm/Gramineae pollen and spores, with reworked Early Cretaceous dinocysts); the absence of marine palynomorphs gives negative evidence for a non-marine palaeoenvironment. No age could be drawn from this study — the Early Eocene age rests on previously published work.", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Ghazij Group (Early Eocene; type section Spintangi) is dominantly shale with claystone, mudstone, sandstone, limestone, conglomerate and alabaster (Kazmi 1962) and mined coal, subdivided into the Marap Conglomerate, Shaheed Ghat, Drug, Toi and Baska formations; ~160 m (Kirthar) to ~1,300 m (Moghal Kot), conformable between the Dungan and Kirthar formations, with a foraminifer/gastropod/echinoid fauna.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Malik (1989): the Early Eocene Ghazij Formation/Group is the principal Baluchistan coal basin - coal in a mid sandstone facies capped by a conglomeratic marker bed, fragmented by severe Eocene tectonism (along the Ghazaband Fault) into many fields: Mach-Abigum, Degari, Sinjidi, Sor Range, Pir Ismail Ziarat, Sharigh, Harnai-Khost, Duki and Chamalang. Coal is high-sulphur; Harnai-Khost and Sor Range are the highest-rank (to ~11,480 BTU/lb), the Duki field the lowest.", "source": "malik-1989-coal" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Maldonado et al. (2011, USGS): in the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi region the lower-Eocene Ghazij Formation is >1,600 m thick and predominantly a siliciclastic marine-shelf succession, conformably overlain by middle-Eocene strata as the area returned to marine-shelf conditions.", "source": "maldonado-2011-quetta-mb-sibi" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B): the early Eocene Ghazij Shale is up to ~9,000 ft thick in the Mughal Kot area - an upper half of soft red/maroon-weathering claystone (more calcareous, with larger foraminifera, eastward) over a lower half of green/grey to black fissile claystone with ripple-marked quartzitic sandstone; it is contiguous northward with the Panoba Shale.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Corroborated by Kassi et al. (1987): the Ghazij succession in the Kach area, Baluchistan, has a deltaic origin — rhythmic/graded turbidite sandstones in the lower shale-dominant part, a coarsening-up middle and a fining-up, shale-dominant transgressive top; palaeocurrents generally east-to-west. Consistent with the existing 'deltaic' interpretation.", "source": "kassi-ghazij-1987" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Kassi et al. (1987): the Ghazij is worked for coal (Sor Range, Degari, Duki, Mach, Sharigh) and alabaster (gypsum). Corroborates the existing coal note.", "source": "kassi-ghazij-1987" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Kassi et al. (1987): 590 m at the Spintangi type section, Baluchistan. The dataset's ~1000 m (500-1500 m) reflects the broader group across regions; the Baluchistan Ghazij type section is ~590 m. Value retained.", "source": "kassi-ghazij-1987" }, { "field": "underlies", "note": "DISCREPANCY for review — Kassi et al. (1987): the Ghazij conformably overlies the Dungan/Laki formations and Ranikot Group (Paleocene) and UNDERLIES THE KIRTHAR FORMATION (Upper Eocene). The dataset currently records underlies = 'Kahan Group'. Kassi's Ghazij->Kirthar superposition also supports treating the Kirthar succession (Habib Rahi/Domanda/Pirkoh/Drazinda) as a separate unit above Ghazij, not as Ghazij members (see the taxonomy proposal).", "source": "kassi-ghazij-1987" }, { "field": "members", "note": "RANK note for the taxonomy review — Kassi et al. (1987) and earlier workers (Oldham 1890; Williams 1959; HSC 1961) treat Ghazij as a FORMATION subdivided into the Baska Shales (Alabaster Member) and Matap Conglomerate Member, whereas this dataset carries it as a 'Ghazij Group'. The Formation-vs-Group rank for Ghazij is exactly the kind of inconsistency flagged in the taxonomy proposal; left as-is pending GSP/SCP + reviewer decision.", "source": "kassi-ghazij-1987" }, { "field": "members", "note": "RANK/MEMBER finding for the taxonomy review — USGS Professional Paper 1599 (the authoritative USGS-GSP monograph) treats Ghazij as a FORMATION throughout ('Ghazij Formation' 183x vs 'Ghazij Group' 1x), subdivided into three informal vertical parts (Lower, Middle, Upper) proposed for formal member status, plus the named Marap Conglomerate Member (Shah 1977) and Meting Limestone Member. This Balochistan/Kirthar 'Formation' usage differs from the Sulaiman 'Ghazij Group' scheme (Shaheed Ghat/Toi/Drug/Baska). Under NEITHER scheme are the Kirthar-Group units (Habib Rahi/Domanda/Pirkoh/Drazinda) Ghazij members. Left as-is pending the reviewer/GSP rank + membership decision.", "source": "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Corroborated by USGS PP 1599: deltaic to alluvial-plain depositional environments, with mapped conglomerate and evaporite facies; exposed ~750 km along the western margin of the Axial Belt. Consistent with the existing deltaic/marginal-marine/evaporitic interpretation.", "source": "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Corroborated by USGS PP 1599: the Ghazij hosts the principal Eocene coal fields of Pakistan (Mach, Sor Range, Pir Ismail Ziarat, Johan). Consistent with the existing coal note.", "source": "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Corroborated by USGS PP 1599: the Ghazij Formation is lower Eocene (Early Eocene), consistent with the dataset's assignment.", "source": "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "drug-formation", "name": "Drug Formation", "age": "Early Eocene (Ypresian)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Early Eocene", "lithology": "Largely orange, pale-olive to greenish-grey limestone interbedded with subordinate shale.", "description": "Part of Kahan Group. Marine limestone sequence representing Middle Eocene transgression. Contains walking whale fossils.", "thickness": "40–340 m", "fossils": [ "Walking whales (Ambulocetus)", "Basilosaurids", "Larger foraminifera" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early Eocene limestone within the Ghazij Group of the Sulaiman Range, between the Shaheed Ghat and Toi formations.", "typeLocality": "Drug Tangi, 3 km northeast of Drug village", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Shaheed Ghat Formation", "underlies": "Toi Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "economicImportance": "Paleontological heritage - whale evolution", "introducedBy": "Shah (1987)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "An Early Eocene limestone of the Ghazij Group, lying between the Shaheed Ghat shale and the Toi sandstone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "30.8208, 70.2083", "thicknessM": 190, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORRECTION: the Drug Formation is early Eocene — one of the formations of the (early Eocene) Ghazij Group — not Middle Eocene as previously recorded (unsourced). Age corrected.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 30.8208, "lng": 70.2083, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "laki-formation", "name": "Laki Formation", "age": "Early Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Early Eocene", "lithology": "Cream to grey limestone with subordinate marl, calcareous shale, sandstone and lateritic clay.", "description": "Named after Lakhi Hills. Shallow marine limestone rich in larger foraminifera. Important petroleum reservoir.", "thickness": "200-400 m", "fossils": [ "Foraminifera", "Gastropods", "Bivalves", "Echinoids", "Algae" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A widespread Early Eocene shallow-marine limestone (Laki/Meting Limestone) of the Kirthar and southern Sulaiman ranges, resting unconformably on the Ranikot Group.", "typeLocality": "Near Meting and Mari Nai, northern Lakhi Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Lakhra Formation", "underlies": "Kirthar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range", "sindh" ], "economicImportance": "Petroleum reservoir, cement raw material", "introducedBy": "Noetling (1903)", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "A widespread Early Eocene limestone of Sindh and the Kirthar Range, packed with marine fossils.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "brohi-2012-dimension-stone", "brohi-2009-surjan", "malik-1989-coal" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Brohi, I.A., Solangi, S.H., Bablani, S.A., Agheem, M.H., Sahito, A.G. & Brohi, A.U. (2012). Geological and Stratigraphical Studies of Dimension and Cut Stone Deposits Around Khanu Brohi and Khadhar Areas, District Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 44(4), 623-628.", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Brohi, I.A., Bablani, S.A. & Solangi, S.H. (2009). Geology and Economic Significance of Tertiary Rocks, Khorwari Section, Surjan Anticline, Thano Bula Khan, Sindh. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 41(1), 95-106.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Malik, I.A. (1989). Geodynamics and Coal Deposits of Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 12-43.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 } ], "coordinates": "25.7300, 67.9400", "thicknessM": 300, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) subsume the Laki Formation (Shah 1977; Wakefield & Monteil 2002) into their Ghazij Formation, dated to shallow benthonic Zones SBZ8-SBZ13 and planktonic Zones P7-P10 (late Ypresian to early Lutetian). Consistent with the curated Early Eocene age; nomenclatural equivalence noted (not a duplicate of ghazij-group).", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): ~240 m at Bara Nai and type locality; >600 m at Tatti; 468 m subsurface at Sui. Type locality: Mari Nai (type locality). Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Brohi et al. (2012): in the Laki Range (Jamshoro) the Early–Middle Eocene Laki Formation (with its Sohnari and Meting limestone members) unconformably overlies the Paleocene Lakhra Formation; studied here for dimension/cut-stone potential. Corroborates the Early–Middle Eocene age.", "source": "brohi-2012-dimension-stone" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Brohi et al. (2009): at the Surjan Anticline the Lower Eocene Laki Formation is the oldest exposed unit of the measured Khorwari section and is overlain by the Middle Eocene 'Tiyon Formation' — a Kirthar-equivalent Middle-Eocene unit that is NOT yet in this dataset (flag: consider adding/reconciling with the Kirthar Formation in Sindh usage).", "source": "brohi-2009-surjan" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Malik (1989): the Early Eocene Laki Formation hosts the Meting-Jhimpir lignite field of the Lower Indus Basin - a basal lateritic 'Sonhari Member' (lateritic clay/shale with arenaceous limestone, lignite and ferruginous sandstone) carrying one workable seam ~1 m thick (~40 Mt); a high-moisture (12-23%) lignitic coal.", "source": "malik-1989-coal" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 25.73, "lng": 67.94, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kirthar-formation", "name": "Kirthar Formation", "age": "Middle to Late Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Middle Eocene", "lithology": "Thick grey, massive to thick-bedded, fossiliferous nummulitic limestone.", "description": "Type formation of Kirthar Range. Thick carbonate sequence forming backbone of the range. Richest larger foraminifera fauna in Pakistan.", "thickness": "500-800 m", "fossils": [ "Nummulites", "Larger foraminifera" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The thick Middle Eocene nummulitic limestone of the Kirthar Range that gives the basin its name; in the Sulaiman and Kohat areas it is divided into the Habib Rahi, Domanda, Pirkoh and Drazinda formations.", "typeLocality": "Kirthar Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Laki Formation", "underlies": "Nari Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range" ], "economicImportance": "A major Eocene limestone, used locally as building and cement stone and forming reservoir intervals.", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "The thick Middle Eocene nummulitic limestone of the Kirthar Range — the basin's namesake unit.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "khan-clyde-2013", "gsp-shah-2009", "jones-1997-sulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "khan-1968-nari-gaj" ], "citations": { "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Khan, I.H. & Clyde, W.C. (2013). Lower Paleogene Tectonostratigraphy of Balochistan: Evidence for Time-Transgressive Late Paleocene-Early Eocene Uplift. Geosciences, 3(3), 466-501.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences3030466", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Jones, R.W. (1997). Aspects of the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Northern Sulaiman Ranges, Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 16(1), 51-58.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.16.1.51", "year": 1997 } ], "thicknessM": 650, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) date the Kirthar Formation to planktonic foraminiferal Zones P12-P15? (late Lutetian to early Priabonian) and shallow benthonic Zones SBZ13-SBZ18 on Assilina spinosa, A. exponens, A. cancellata, Nummulites beaumonti and Discocyclina sowerbyi (Eames 1952; Nagappa 1959; Weiss 1993; Wakefield & Monteil 2002; Warraich & Nishi 2003), superseding the older broad Ypresian-Priabonian assignment of Shah (1977). Consistent with the curated Middle to Late Eocene age.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Corroborated by USGS OFR 94-689: the middle-and-lower Eocene Kirthar Formation is light-gray to pale-brown, thick-bedded to massive, highly fossiliferous limestone interbedded with marl and shale (~50% marl/shale) of the marine-shelf sequence.", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "overlies", "note": "Khan & Clyde (2013): the middle Eocene Kirthar/Spintangi limestone overlies the Ghazij Formation along a time-transgressive contact that youngs away from the Axial Belt (Ghazij thins, the overlying limestone thickens, toward the Marri-Bugti Hills).", "source": "khan-clyde-2013" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Jones (1997): larger benthonic nummulitids, planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils indicate an essentially Middle–?Late Eocene age, resolved through the Kirthar Formation's four members — Habib Rahi (early Middle Eocene), Domanda ('mid' Middle Eocene), Pir Koh ('mid' Middle Eocene) and Drazinda (late Middle Eocene).", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Jones (1997): the Kirthar records a range of carbonate-platform and associated basinal sub-environments — back-bank lagoon (Miliolida), proximal high-energy bank/fore-bank (nummulitid–discocyclinid grainstone) and distal basinal (stress-tolerant Buliminida) — its members tracking successive Haq et al. (1987) third-order sequences TA3.2–TA3.6.", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Khan (1968) places the Khirthar (Kirthar) Formation as Lutetian to Rupelian, with a regional hiatus spanning the late Auversian and Bartonian; the upper Khirthar Limestone (Gorag Member) yields a Lattorfian assemblage (Nummulites intermedius/fichteli, Austrotrillina paucialveolata, devoid of Eulepidina).", "source": "khan-1968-nari-gaj" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "saindak-formation", "name": "Saindak Formation", "age": "Eocene (Ypresian-Priabonian; ~56-33.9 Ma)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Eocene", "lithology": "Interbedded shale, sandstone, limestone and minor volcanic conglomerate; fossiliferous; local pure gypsum beds in red shale.", "description": "Named after Saindak Fort. Contains volcaniclastics indicating continued arc activity. Host rock for Saindak copper-gold deposit.", "thickness": "60-1500 m", "fossils": [ "Assilina dandotica", "Assilina exponens", "Fasciolites oblonga", "Linderina brugesi", "Opertorbitolites douvillei", "Echinolampas nummulitica", "Velates perversus" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Eocene volcano-sedimentary unit of the Chagai magmatic arc; quartz-diorite to tonalite stocks intruding it and the adjacent Amalaf Formation host the Saindak porphyry copper–gold orebodies, part of the ~300 km Chagai porphyry copper belt on the Tethyan metallogenic belt.", "typeLocality": "Mirjawa synclinorium near Saindak, Chagai-Raskoh Magmatic Province", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Rakhshani Formation", "underlies": "Amlaf Volcanics" }, "provinces": [ "chagai-hills" ], "economicImportance": "A wall-rock unit of the Saindak porphyry copper–gold deposit; the surrounding Chagai magmatic arc hosts world-class porphyry Cu–Au–(Mo) systems including the giant Reko Diq deposit (~5.9 Gt at ~0.41% Cu plus gold) and the Saindak mine.", "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "synonyms": [ "Washap Formation", "Amalaf Formation (in part)" ], "environment": [ "marine", "volcanic-arc" ], "plainSummary": "An Eocene volcanic-and-sedimentary unit of the Chagai arc — the host rocks of the Saindak copper–gold mine, in the same belt as the giant Reko Diq deposit.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "chagai-porphyry-2008", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "chagai-porphyry-2008" ], "economicImportance": "chagai-porphyry-2008", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "chagai-porphyry-2008" ], "plainSummary": "chagai-porphyry-2008", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "age": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Perelló, J., Razique, A., Schloderer, J. et al. (2008). The Chagai Porphyry Copper Belt, Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. Economic Geology, 103(8), 1583-1612.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2113/gsecongeo.103.8.1583", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "coordinates": "29.2777, 61.5662", "thicknessM": 1500, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Saindak Formation (Eocene; Chagai–Ras Koh) is 60–1,500 m of interbedded shale, calcareous sandstone, fossiliferous limestone and volcanic rocks (agglomerate/conglomerate), resting conformably on the Rakhshani Formation and overlain transitionally by the (?Oligocene) Amalaf Formation; forams Assilina exponens, Opertorbitolites douvillei and the echinoid Echinolampas nummulitica.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "The Chagai magmatic arc that the Saindak volcano-sedimentary unit belongs to hosts porphyry Cu–Au mineralization generated in successive events — 43–37 Ma (middle–late Eocene) and, principally, the early–middle Miocene at 24–22 and 18–16 Ma — including the Saindak and Tanjeel deposits (early-Miocene uplift) and the world-class Reko Diq (H14–H15) system dated ~13 Ma (Perelló et al. 2008).", "source": "chagai-porphyry-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 29.2777, "lng": 61.5662, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "nari-formation", "name": "Nari Formation", "age": "Oligocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Oligocene", "lithology": "Brown, fine- to coarse-grained sandstone in the upper part with shale and subordinate limestone below.", "description": "Named after Nari River. Clastic sequence marking transition from open marine to restricted conditions. Records Tethys closure in lower Indus.", "thickness": "300-500 m", "fossils": [ "Foraminifera", "Molluscs", "Shark teeth" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A widespread Oligocene sandstone-shale unit conformably overlying the Kirthar Formation; marks the onset of clastic, marginal-marine deposition before the Miocene Gaj Formation.", "typeLocality": "Gaj River gorge, Kirthar Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kirthar Formation", "underlies": "Gaj Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range", "sindh" ], "introducedBy": "Blanford (1876)", "environment": [ "marginal marine", "deltaic" ], "economicImportance": "Contains workable coal seams (Nari coal) and forms reservoir intervals.", "plainSummary": "A widespread Oligocene sandstone-and-shale above the Kirthar limestone — coal-bearing and a reservoir.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "ahmedani-2025-nari", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "brohi-2009-surjan", "ahmedani-2024-nari-diagenesis", "khan-1968-nari-gaj" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-04", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Ahmedani, S.B., Hakro, A.A.A.D., Mastoi, A.S., Halepoto, A.A., Sahito, A.G., Akhtar, S. & Lashari, R.A. (2025). Clastic Source and Depositional Environment of Mixed Carbonate-Clastic Sequences in the Oligocene Nari Formation from the Hundi Anticline, Karachi Embayment, Indus Basin, Pakistan. Earth Sciences Research Journal, 29(2), 149-167.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.15446/esrj.v29n2.116089", "year": 2025 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Brohi, I.A., Bablani, S.A. & Solangi, S.H. (2009). Geology and Economic Significance of Tertiary Rocks, Khorwari Section, Surjan Anticline, Thano Bula Khan, Sindh. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 41(1), 95-106.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Ahmedani, S.B., Agheem, M.H., Hakro, A.A.A.D., Halepoto, A.A., Lashari, R.A. & Thebo, G.M. (2024). Integrated Petrographical, Mineralogical, and Geochemical Investigation to Evaluate Diagenesis of Sandstone: A Case Study of the Oligocene Nari Formation from Southern Kirthar Range, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 57(1), 1-22.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2024 } ], "coordinates": "26.8750, 67.3200", "thicknessM": 400, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): Gaj Group: ~660 m type locality; 1700 m Gaj River; 1200–2400 m Mazarani-Miangun; 90–450 m Sulaiman. Type locality: Gaj River area (Gaj Group type locality ~660 m). Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Ahmedani et al. (2025), Hundi Anticline (Karachi Embayment): outcrop facies analysis of the mixed carbonate-clastic Nari Formation recognises six facies (arenaceous limestone, calcareous sandstone, argillaceous sandstone, laterite/oxidised sandstone, arenaceous shale, calcareous mudstone) and indicates deposition across a range of environments from outer ramp to fluvio-deltaic, in an overall progradational succession interpreted as a response to regional regression during the Himalayan orogeny.", "source": "ahmedani-2025-nari" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Ahmedani et al. (2025): petrography distinguishes five limestone-dominated microfacies and two sandstone petrofacies (sub-arkose and quartz arenite), the quartz-rich clastics indicating a granitic source most likely derived from the Indian Craton to the east — tying the Oligocene Nari clastic supply of the Karachi Embayment to eastern cratonic provenance.", "source": "ahmedani-2025-nari" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Brohi et al. (2009): the Oligocene Nari Formation is part of the measured Khorwari/Surjan Anticline Tertiary succession (Laki → Tiyon → Nari → Gaj → Manchar → Dada), studied for economic potential. Corroborates the Oligocene age.", "source": "brohi-2009-surjan" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Ahmedani et al. (2024), diagenesis of the Nari Formation sandstone at the Nari (Nari Nai) River section, Southern Kirthar Range (petrography, XRD, SEM, EDX): three diagenetic stages are recognised - eogenesis (syn-depositional cementation with minor compaction), mesogenesis (Pliocene compaction, dissolution, alteration and quartz overgrowth) and telogenesis (Pliocene-Pleistocene uplift, grain fracturing and oxidation). Iron oxide is the dominant cement (then calcite and dolomite) and cementation has largely destroyed primary porosity (residual 1-18%), so reservoir quality is diagenetically degraded and controlled by the Oligocene-Pleistocene tectonic evolution of the NW Indian-plate margin.", "source": "ahmedani-2024-nari-diagenesis" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Larger-foraminiferal biozonation near Karachi (Khan, 1968): the Upper Nari Formation ranges Rupelian to Early Aquitanian; its upper part carries fossiliferous marine limestone bands of the Spiroclypeus blanckenhorni ornata Zone (Aquitanian) — Spiroclypeus blanckenhorni ornata, S. ranjae, S. margaritatus, Eulepidina dilatata/formosa, Nephrolepidina cf. angulosa and early Miogypsinoides — whereas the arenaceous fluvio-deltaic facies of northern Sind is Chattian.", "source": "khan-1968-nari-gaj" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 26.875, "lng": 67.32, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chitarwata-formation", "name": "Chitarwatta Formation", "age": "Oligocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Late Oligocene–Early Miocene", "lithology": "Red, grey and green claystone and siltstone with a sandstone-rich, ripple-marked lower part.", "description": "Continental molasse deposits in Sulaiman basin. Records final Tethys closure and onset of continental conditions in middle Indus.", "thickness": "200-500 m", "fossils": [ "Mammal fossils", "Plant fossils" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal unit of the Siwalik-equivalent molasse (Vihowa Group), marking the change from marine Eocene deposition to the continental foreland succession of the Sulaiman Range.", "typeLocality": "Chitarwata Pass", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Drazinda Formation", "underlies": "Vihowa Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "introducedBy": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973)", "environment": [ "marginal marine", "fluvial" ], "plainSummary": "The reddish base of the Sulaiman molasse, where the Eocene sea finally gave way to rivers and floodplains.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "malkani-2022-nsulaiman", "malkani-kirthar-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "malkani-gsp-ir-2017", "hemphill-kidwai-1973" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "epoch": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005", "environment": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "name", "note": "Formerly mapped as the Nari Formation in the Sulaiman Range; renamed Chitarwata Formation (Hemphill & Kidwai 1973).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Malkani et al. (2022): the Oligocene Chitarwata Formation of the Sulaiman/Vihowa Group is reported to yield the large land rhinocerotoid Buzdartherium gulkirao ('largest land rhinoceros') and, from the Gulki area, the eusuchian crocodile Asifcroco retrai. Attributed Malkani-corpus taxa (the earlier 'largest land mammal' phrasing conflated this with Baluchitherium, which these papers do not name); recorded as notes, not added to the curated fossil list.", "source": "malkani-2022-nsulaiman" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B) NAMED the Chitarwata Formation (for rocks previously questionably assigned to the Nari Formation), type section at Chitarwata Post. Late Oligocene to late Miocene (flora Croftiella escheri; Eames 1952 preferred early Miocene); red/grey/green claystone with variegated ferruginous siltstone and sandstone, carbonaceous beds and root fragments (fluvial/lacustrine), ~500-1,260 ft; disconformable on the Drazinda Shale Member. Possibly equivalent to the Mitha Khatak Formation and laterally to the Nari/Gaj.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Near-shore to terrestrial sedimentation began by the late Oligocene to basal Miocene at the base of the ~4-km, coarsening-upward Sulaiman Neogene succession (Chitarwatta -> Vihowa -> Litra -> Chaudhwan), an almost continuous terrestrial record deposited by a southerly-flowing (proto-Indus) river system (Raza et al. 2002).", "source": "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Lindsay, E.H., Flynn, L.J. et al. (2005). Miocene stratigraphy and mammal fauna from the Sulaiman Range, Southwestern Himalayas, Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018202004431", "year": 2005 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Ilyas, M., Yasin, R., Abbas, A., Samiullah, K., Raza, T., Hassan, S.S.E., Fazal, R.M., Noor, A. & Malik, A. (2022). Geology of Northern Sulaiman Foldbelt, Shirani and Waziristan Regions (South Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa): New Tomistominae (Miocene False Gharial) from Sakhi Sarwar Area of Dera Ghazi Khan (South Punjab), Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 12(6), 521-564.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2022.126025", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Khosa, M.H., Alyani, M.I., Somro, N., Zafar, T., Arif, J. & Aleem, M.Z. (2017). Revised Stratigraphic Setup and Mineral Deposits of Kirthar Basin (Lower Indus Basin), Pakistan. Lasbela University Journal of Science and Technology, VI, 54-84.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Mahmood, Z., Somro, N. & Shaikh, S.I. (2017). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Kirthar Basin, Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Information Release No. 1010.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 } ], "coordinates": "31.0561, 70.2456", "thicknessM": 350, "reviewStatus": "published", "synonyms": [ "Chitarwatta", "Chitarwata Formation" ], "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Oligocene-Miocene coal lenses and showings (Khandor, Vihowa Rud); prospective for ochre / iron.", "lithologyType": "claystone", "lat": 31.0561, "lng": 70.2456, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "murree-formation", "name": "Murree Formation", "age": "Early Miocene (Aquitanian-Burdigalian)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Miocene", "lithology": "Red to purple sandstone and shale (molasse)", "description": "Continental molasse derived from rising Himalaya. First major phase of Himalayan denudation. Synonym/correlative of Kamlial Formation.", "thickness": "2000-3000 m", "fossils": [ "Mammal bones", "Freshwater molluscs", "Plant fossils" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal unit of the Miocene Rawalpindi Group, named after the Murree Hills; a thick continental molasse of purple to reddish and grey sandstone, siltstone and shale shed from the rising Himalaya. It records the first major phase of Himalayan denudation into the foreland basin and passes up conformably into the Kamlial Formation.", "typeLocality": "Dhok Maiki, Murree Hills, Rawalpindi District", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kuldana Formation", "underlies": "Kamlial Formation" }, "provinces": [ "potwar", "kohat", "hazara", "azad-kashmir" ], "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "plainSummary": "A thick Early Miocene pile of red and grey river sandstones and mudstones - the oldest of the 'molasse' deposits dumped in front of the newly rising Himalaya.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "calkins-1975-hazara", "munthe-1979-daud-khel", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "yasin-2017-sudhnoti" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009", "coordinates": "gsp-shah-2009", "synonyms": "calkins-1975-hazara", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "thicknessM": 2500, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Munthe, J., Hussain, S.T., Lukacs, J.R., West, R.M. & Shah, S.M.I. (1979). Neogene Stratigraphy of the Daud Khel Area, Mianwali District, Pakistan. Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology, 23, 1-18.", "year": 1979 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Yasin, M., Ali, S.M.K., Munir, M.H. & Ishfaque, M. (2017). The sedimentary geology, remote sensing, geomorphology and petrology of Miocene to Late Pliocene sediments in District Sudhunhoti and Poonch, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. Earth Science Malaysia, 1(1), 8-14.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.26480/esmy.01.2017.08.14", "year": 2017 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Wynne (1874) 'Mari Group' / Lydekker (1876) 'Murree Beds' / Pilgrim (1910) 'Murree Series'; formalized by the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan, from the Murree hills, Rawalpindi", "coordinates": "33.417255, 72.569802", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Reviewer-confirmed coordinate (33.417255, 72.569802) for the Murree Formation type section north of Dhok Maiki, Attock District; refines Shah's (2009) published type section (33 deg 25' N, 72 deg 35' E).", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): in the axial zone of the Hazara–Kashmir syntaxis the Murree Formation is a thick (≈5,000 to >8,000 ft) red siltstone–shale–mudstone sequence with subordinate cross-bedded graywacke and calcareous mud-pebble conglomerate. Its angular, chert- and feldspar-rich sand indicates short transport from the rising Himalaya to the north (not the Indian Peninsula). Generally early–middle Miocene (leaf impressions; Pilgrim 1910), but the gradational contact with the underlying Eocene Kala Chitta Group implies its base may be Oligocene; it is overlain conformably by the Siwaliks. Earlier names: 'Mari Group' (Wynne 1874), 'Murree Beds' (Lydekker 1876), 'Murree Series' (Pilgrim 1910).", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Munthe et al. (1979), Daud Khel (Trans-Indus, Mianwali District): a thin (~80 m) 'Murree(?)' unit - about 30% well-indurated conglomerate (small pebbles of reworked Tertiary sediment, with reworked Eocene foraminifera) and 70% dusky-red gypsum-veined claystone - rests with marked angular unconformity on subaerially weathered Eocene and is overlain (a possible paraconformity) by the Kamlial Formation. Tentatively lower Murree, but differing markedly in thickness and lithology from typical Potwar Murree.", "source": "munthe-1979-daud-khel" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Lower Miocene Murree Formation is the youngest oil-producing horizon in the Potwar Basin, producing at Khaur (with the Sakesar) - Khaur being the first commercial Potwar oil discovery (1914, Attock Oil Co., a 65 m well on a thrust-faulted anticline, on production from 1922). Interbedded Murree shales, with the overlying Kamlial and Siwalik strata, provided the thick (6-7 km in the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis) molasse overburden that matured the Palaeocene source shales and act as seals/detachment horizons.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Murree Formation is a heavily oxidised red-and-green fluvial molasse (continental to tidal-flat, with pervasive ~20 m fining-upward cycles of meandering tidal channels and pedogenic/gypsiferous horizons), sourced from the Himalayan thrust stack. Craig et al. explicitly state it was 'wrongly interpreted as a flysch deposit by Wandrey et al. (2004)' - it is fluvial, not flysch.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Yasin et al. (2017), Sudhnoti–Poonch (Azad Kashmir, eastern limb of the Hazara–Kashmir Syntaxis): the Murree Formation is a fluvial succession of sandstone, mudstone, claystone and conglomerate — medium- to coarse-grained, thick-bedded dark-grey to weathered-black sandstone carrying wood fossils (Maidan area), with thinly-bedded calcareous shale, red-to-maroon clays, and conglomerate clasts of quartzite plus shale rip-ups; locally it has a faulted contact with the overlying Nagri Formation.", "source": "yasin-2017-sudhnoti" } ], "synonyms": [ "Mari Group", "Murree Beds", "Murree Series" ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 33.417255, "lng": 72.569802, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kamlial-formation", "name": "Kamlial Formation", "age": "Middle to Late Miocene (Burdigalian-Tortonian; ~18.2-9.4 Ma)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Middle to Late Miocene", "lithology": "Purple-grey and dark brick-red, medium- to coarse-grained sandstone with hard purple shale interbeds and yellow/purple intraformational conglomerate; spheroidal weathering; heavy-mineral suite tourmaline-dominant (distinguishing it from the epidote-dominant Murree Formation).", "description": "Fluvial sequence with coarsening upward cycles. Increasing proximity to Himalayan source area. Part of Siwalik Group.", "thickness": "90 m at type locality (range 50-580 m; 68-718 m in subsurface)", "fossils": [ "Trilophodon cf. angustidens", "Dinotherium indicum", "Amphicyon cf. shahbazi", "Hyaenaelurus lahirii", "Anthracotherium sp.", "Hemimeryx blanfordi", "Listriodon cf. guptai", "Listriodon pentapotomiae", "Conohyus cf. sindiensis" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal formation of the Siwalik Group (top of the Rawalpindi Group) in the Potwar Plateau; grey to reddish-brown sandstone with intraformational conglomerate and reddish clay, deposited by Miocene braided rivers. Its coarsening character records increasing proximity to the rising Himalayan source area.", "typeLocality": "Southwest of Kamlial, Attock District", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Murree Formation", "underlies": "Chinji Formation" }, "provinces": [ "potwar", "salt-range" ], "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "plainSummary": "The lowest of the 'Siwalik' river deposits on the Potwar Plateau - grey and reddish sandstones with pebbly lenses marking the Miocene rivers that drained the growing Himalaya.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "johnson-1982-siwalik", "iqbal-2018-kashmir", "gill-1951-siwalik", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "flynn-2016-siwalik", "munthe-1979-daud-khel", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "thicknessM": 90, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Johnson, N.M., Opdyke, N.D., Johnson, G.D., Lindsay, E.H. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1982). Magnetic polarity stratigraphy and ages of Siwalik Group rocks of the Potwar Plateau, Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 37, 17-42.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(82)90056-6", "year": 1982 }, { "citation": "Iqbal, O., Baig, M.S., Pervez, S. & Siddiqi, M.I. (2018). Structure and Stratigraphy of Rumbli and Panjar Areas of Kashmir and Pakistan with the Aid of GIS. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 91, 57-66.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-018-0820-2", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Gill, W.D. (1951). The stratigraphy of the Siwalik Series in the Northern Potwar, Punjab, Pakistan. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 107, 375-394.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.JGS.1951.107.01-04.16", "year": 1951 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Flynn, L.J., Pilbeam, D., Barry, J.C., Morgan, M.E. & Raza, S.M. (2016). Siwalik synopsis: a long stratigraphic sequence for the Later Cenozoic of South Asia. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 15(7), 877-887.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2015.09.015", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Munthe, J., Hussain, S.T., Lukacs, J.R., West, R.M. & Shah, S.M.I. (1979). Neogene Stratigraphy of the Daud Khel Area, Mianwali District, Pakistan. Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology, 23, 1-18.", "year": 1979 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Pinfold (1918)", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Age extended from 'Middle Miocene' to Middle-Late Miocene (Burdigalian-Tortonian) per the Indian Plate Lexicon (compiler N.K. Siddiqui).", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Thickness reset to the 90 m type-section value (Kamlial, Attock; full range 50-580 m, 68-718 m subsurface), superseding a prior 750 m estimate.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "overlies", "note": "Upper formation of the Rawalpindi Group; conformable/transitional on the Murree Formation, but at places overlies the Sakesar Formation (and, at Kundal in the Khisor Range, probably Triassic) unconformably.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Johnson et al. (1982), magnetic-polarity stratigraphy of the Potwar Plateau stratotypes: the Kamlial–Chinji boundary (top of the Kamlial Formation) lies within Chron 14 at about 13.1 Ma in the Khaur (Kamlial stratotype) area. The stratotype samples only the upper Kamlial; its lowermost part is not resolved by that section, consistent with the curated older bound (~18 Ma) derived elsewhere.", "source": "johnson-1982-siwalik" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Iqbal et al. (2018), Rumbli–Panjar area (southern Hazara–Kashmir syntaxis): the Kamlial Formation is sandstone, siltstone and subordinate clays with intraformational conglomerates, exposed at Panjar, Kaloian and Barathian. It is distinguished from the overlying Chinji Formation by dominant tourmaline and from the Nagri Formation by the absence of volcanic clasts; wood fossils, petrified wood and leaf impressions are recorded. Local section thickness ~933 m (Kashmir Basin, after Islam 2006).", "source": "iqbal-2018-kashmir" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Gill (1951), Northern Potwar type area: the Kamlial Stage is characterised as hard red and brown ridge-forming sandstone — the basal stage of Gill's Siwalik succession, above the Murree Formation.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Flynn et al. (2016): the late Early Miocene Kamlial Formation contains >50% sand, distinguishing it from the overlying finer-grained red silt of the Chinji Formation; it is the basal Siwalik formation of the Potwar above the Murree Formation.", "source": "flynn-2016-siwalik" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Munthe et al. (1979): at Daud Khel the Kamlial Formation is 648 m thick and 83% sandstone - distinctive dull-greenish-gray, very-fine to fine, moderately-to-well-sorted sandstone ('gray schist arenite') with interbedded clay-pebble pseudoconglomerate and grayish-red-purple siltstone. It is far sandier than its Khaur-Dome stratotype (~20% sandstone) and possibly the thickest Kamlial section exposed anywhere; the authors retain it in the Siwalik Group (not the Rawalpindi Group of Fatmi 1974).", "source": "munthe-1979-daud-khel" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Middle-Late Miocene Kamlial Formation (alluvial large-river sandstones, mudstones and caliche; >400 m thick, deposited 18-14 Ma per Johnson et al. 1985) forms, with the Murree, the overburden/seal component of the Rawalpindi Group - though seals in the Rawalpindi and Siwalik groups are not laterally extensive. Its base records a major provenance change from diversion of the palaeo-Indus (Nanga Parbat-Haramosh detritus).", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Gill (1951): in the northern Potwar the Kamlial Stage is separated from the underlying Murree Series by its spheroidal weathering, the colour of weathered surfaces and its finer sandstone grain, and throughout the region yields heavy-mineral residues with a flood of tourmaline and a paucity of epidote — the reverse of the epidote-rich, tourmaline-poor Chinji and Murree beds.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chinji-formation", "name": "Chinji Formation", "age": "Middle to Late Miocene (Serravallian-Tortonian)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Miocene", "lithology": "Red clay and sandstone", "description": "Fine-grained floodplain deposits. World-famous for Miocene mammal fauna including Deinotherium, Hipparion, and Sivapithecus.", "thickness": "500-800 m", "fossils": [ "Sivapithecus", "Giraffokeryx", "Lower Siwalik ('Chinji') mammal fauna" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Middle-Miocene, dominantly red-clay floodplain unit of the Lower Siwalik, defined by Lewis (1937) at Chinji village. Its fine-grained overbank deposits are world-famous for a rich Lower Siwalik mammal fauna, including the hominoid Sivapithecus and the giraffid Giraffokeryx, making it a key locality for Neogene mammalian evolution.", "typeLocality": "Chinji village, Potwar Plateau", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kamlial Formation", "underlies": "Nagri Formation" }, "provinces": [ "potwar", "kohat", "salt-range" ], "coordinates": "32.6604, 72.3755", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-jan-1997", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "johnson-1982-siwalik", "badgley-tauxe-1990", "iqbal-2018-kashmir", "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "gill-1951-siwalik", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "flynn-2016-siwalik", "munthe-1979-daud-khel" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "introducedBy": "Lewis (1937)", "environment": [ "fluvial", "floodplain" ], "plainSummary": "A Middle-Miocene red-clay floodplain deposit of the Potwar, celebrated worldwide for its Siwalik mammal fossils - including the ape Sivapithecus.", "thicknessM": 650, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Lindsay, E.H., Flynn, L.J. et al. (2005). Miocene stratigraphy and mammal fauna from the Sulaiman Range, Southwestern Himalayas, Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018202004431", "year": 2005 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Johnson, N.M., Opdyke, N.D., Johnson, G.D., Lindsay, E.H. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1982). Magnetic polarity stratigraphy and ages of Siwalik Group rocks of the Potwar Plateau, Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 37, 17-42.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(82)90056-6", "year": 1982 }, { "citation": "Badgley, C. & Tauxe, L. (1990). Paleomagnetic stratigraphy and time in sediments: studies in alluvial Siwalik rocks of Pakistan. Journal of Geology, 98, 457-477.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1086/629419", "year": 1990 }, { "citation": "Iqbal, O., Baig, M.S., Pervez, S. & Siddiqi, M.I. (2018). Structure and Stratigraphy of Rumbli and Panjar Areas of Kashmir and Pakistan with the Aid of GIS. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 91, 57-66.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-018-0820-2", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Khan, M.J., Opdyke, N.D. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1988). Magnetic stratigraphy of the Siwalik Group, Bhittani, Marwat and Khasor Ranges, northwestern Pakistan, and the timing of Neogene tectonics of the Trans Indus. Journal of Geophysical Research, 93(B10), 11773-11790.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/JB093iB10p11773", "year": 1988 }, { "citation": "Gill, W.D. (1951). The stratigraphy of the Siwalik Series in the Northern Potwar, Punjab, Pakistan. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 107, 375-394.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.JGS.1951.107.01-04.16", "year": 1951 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Flynn, L.J., Pilbeam, D., Barry, J.C., Morgan, M.E. & Raza, S.M. (2016). Siwalik synopsis: a long stratigraphic sequence for the Later Cenozoic of South Asia. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 15(7), 877-887.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2015.09.015", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Munthe, J., Hussain, S.T., Lukacs, J.R., West, R.M. & Shah, S.M.I. (1979). Neogene Stratigraphy of the Daud Khel Area, Mianwali District, Pakistan. Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology, 23, 1-18.", "year": 1979 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Johnson et al. (1982): based exclusively on stratotype data, the Chinji Formation has a nominal magnetostratigraphic age range of 13.1–10.1 Ma (Kamlial–Chinji boundary within Chron 14 at ~13.1 Ma; Chinji–Nagri boundary near the top of Chron 10 at ~10.1 Ma). Formational boundaries may vary in age by ~10^5 yr within ~20 km of the stratotype.", "source": "johnson-1982-siwalik" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Badgley & Tauxe (1990): lateral tracing of reversal boundaries in the Chinji Formation shows secular change in sediment-accumulation rate and time-transgressive sandstone units, so the Chinji–Nagri lithofacies boundary is diachronous — individual strata span more time laterally than in a single vertical transect.", "source": "badgley-tauxe-1990" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Iqbal et al. (2018): in the Rumbli–Panjar area the Chinji Formation is clays, ash-grey sandstone and siltstone with a clay:sandstone ratio of about 70:30 and an absence of Punjal volcanic clasts; contacts with the Kamlial and Nagri formations are gradational.", "source": "iqbal-2018-kashmir" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Nomenclature (Khan et al. 1988; Javed Khan & Opdyke 1981): Hemphill & Kidwai (1973) proposed extending the name 'Chinji Formation' to the Trans-Indus (Bhittani–Marwat–Khasor) red-bed unit (the Kargocha Formation of Morris 1938 / Munthe 1981), but both magnetostratigraphic studies reject this — the Trans-Indus Kargocha is Plio-Pleistocene (magnetostratigraphically ~3.2 Ma and younger), not the middle–late Miocene of the Chinji type section on the Potwar Plateau, and cannot be physically traced between the two areas. The curated Miocene age of the Chinji type section is unaffected.", "source": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Gill (1951): the Chinji Stage of the Northern Potwar is subdivided into a Lower Chinji Stage (bright-red shales) and an Upper Chinji Stage (brick-red shales with grey sandstone); Gill's stages, originally the palaeontological zones of the Siwalik Series, are the historical basis for the modern Chinji Formation.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Flynn et al. (2016): the Chinji Formation is dominated by fine-grained red silt with abundant paleosols and evidence of ponding, contrasting with the sandier Kamlial below and Nagri above.", "source": "flynn-2016-siwalik" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Munthe et al. (1979): at Daud Khel the Chinji Formation is 881 m thick and 73% mudstone - moderate-red (not 'brick-red') silty mudstone with subordinate pale-yellowish-brown cross-bedded very-fine sandstone in fining-upward fluvial cycles, and hematitic fossiliferous 'pellet-rock' beds (fossil locality H-GSP 18). It is the most readily identified Siwalik unit here and closely matches its stratotype.", "source": "munthe-1979-daud-khel" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Gill (1951): in the eastern Soan syncline the lowest ~1500 ft (~460 m) of the Chinji Stage develops a sandy 'Kamlial' facies — the Riwat Beds — with ridge-forming sandstones up to 200 ft (~60 m) thick that pass eastward into Chinji beds of type lithology near Riwat village; this local sandy development is matched by a corresponding reduction in the Chinji's normal clay-shale thickness.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 32.6604, "lng": 72.3755, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "nagri-formation", "name": "Nagri Formation", "age": "Late Miocene (Tortonian-Messinian)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Miocene", "lithology": "Grey sandstone with red clay interbeds", "description": "Coarse-grained fluvial sequence indicating renewed Himalayan uplift and erosion.", "thickness": "500-700 m", "fossils": [ "Middle Siwalik mammal fauna", "Hipparionine (three-toed) horses" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thick, sandstone-dominated Late-Miocene unit of the Middle Siwalik, defined by Lewis (1937), whose type area at Sethi Nagri yields Pilgrim's classic 'Nagri' mammal fauna. Its coarse channel sandstones record renewed Himalayan uplift and erosion; the appearance of three-toed hipparionine horses marks its ~10-8 Ma age.", "typeLocality": "Nagri (Sethi Nagri), Potwar Plateau", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chinji Formation", "underlies": "Dhok Pathan Formation" }, "provinces": [ "potwar", "kohat", "salt-range" ], "introducedBy": "Lewis (1937)", "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "plainSummary": "A thick Late-Miocene river-sandstone of the Potwar recording a fresh pulse of Himalayan uplift; its fossils include the first three-toed Hipparion horses.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "johnson-1982-siwalik", "barndt-1978-siwalik", "iqbal-2018-kashmir", "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "gill-1951-siwalik", "tauxe-badgley-1988-reversal", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "flynn-2016-siwalik", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "munthe-1979-daud-khel", "yasin-2017-sudhnoti" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "kazmi-jan-1997", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "thicknessM": 600, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Lindsay, E.H., Flynn, L.J. et al. (2005). Miocene stratigraphy and mammal fauna from the Sulaiman Range, Southwestern Himalayas, Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018202004431", "year": 2005 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Johnson, N.M., Opdyke, N.D., Johnson, G.D., Lindsay, E.H. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1982). Magnetic polarity stratigraphy and ages of Siwalik Group rocks of the Potwar Plateau, Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 37, 17-42.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(82)90056-6", "year": 1982 }, { "citation": "Barndt, J., Johnson, N.M., Johnson, G.D., Opdyke, N.D., Lindsay, E.H., Pilbeam, D. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1978). The magnetic polarity stratigraphy and age of the Siwalik Group near Dhok Pathan Village, Potwar Plateau, Pakistan. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 41, 355-364.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(78)90194-3", "year": 1978 }, { "citation": "Iqbal, O., Baig, M.S., Pervez, S. & Siddiqi, M.I. (2018). Structure and Stratigraphy of Rumbli and Panjar Areas of Kashmir and Pakistan with the Aid of GIS. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 91, 57-66.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-018-0820-2", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Khan, M.J., Opdyke, N.D. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1988). Magnetic stratigraphy of the Siwalik Group, Bhittani, Marwat and Khasor Ranges, northwestern Pakistan, and the timing of Neogene tectonics of the Trans Indus. Journal of Geophysical Research, 93(B10), 11773-11790.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/JB093iB10p11773", "year": 1988 }, { "citation": "Gill, W.D. (1951). The stratigraphy of the Siwalik Series in the Northern Potwar, Punjab, Pakistan. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 107, 375-394.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.JGS.1951.107.01-04.16", "year": 1951 }, { "citation": "Tauxe, L. & Badgley, C. (1988). Stratigraphy and remanence acquisition of a palaeomagnetic reversal in alluvial Siwalik rocks of Pakistan. Sedimentology, 35, 697-715.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.1988.tb01245.x", "year": 1988 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Flynn, L.J., Pilbeam, D., Barry, J.C., Morgan, M.E. & Raza, S.M. (2016). Siwalik synopsis: a long stratigraphic sequence for the Later Cenozoic of South Asia. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 15(7), 877-887.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2015.09.015", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Munthe, J., Hussain, S.T., Lukacs, J.R., West, R.M. & Shah, S.M.I. (1979). Neogene Stratigraphy of the Daud Khel Area, Mianwali District, Pakistan. Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology, 23, 1-18.", "year": 1979 }, { "citation": "Yasin, M., Ali, S.M.K., Munir, M.H. & Ishfaque, M. (2017). The sedimentary geology, remote sensing, geomorphology and petrology of Miocene to Late Pliocene sediments in District Sudhunhoti and Poonch, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. Earth Science Malaysia, 1(1), 8-14.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.26480/esmy.01.2017.08.14", "year": 2017 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Johnson et al. (1982): nominal stratotype age range 10.1–7.9 Ma. The conspicuous long normal-polarity zone within the Nagri Formation (magnetic Chron 9) is radiometrically (fission-track) dated at 9.50 ± 0.63 Ma, anchoring the Middle Siwalik chronology.", "source": "johnson-1982-siwalik" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Barndt et al. (1978), Dhok Pathan type area (204 palaeomagnetic sites): the Nagri Formation spans 10.0–8.6 Ma locally, with Ramapithecus and other hominoid primates occurring in Epoch 9 at about 9 Ma.", "source": "barndt-1978-siwalik" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Iqbal et al. (2018): in the Rumbli–Panjar area (Hazara–Kashmir syntaxis) the Nagri Formation is red to purple, greenish-grey and ash-grey sandstone and siltstone with purple to reddish-brown mudstone. Local section thickness ~1160 m (Kashmir Basin, after Islam 2006).", "source": "iqbal-2018-kashmir" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Nomenclature (Khan et al. 1988): Hemphill & Kidwai (1973) proposed extending 'Nagri Formation' to the Trans-Indus channel-sandstone unit (the Marwat Formation), but Khan et al. reject the correlation — the Trans-Indus Marwat is medial-to-late Pliocene and younger (Gauss chron and above), not the late-Miocene Nagri type section. The curated age of the Nagri type section is unaffected.", "source": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Gill (1951): the Nagri Stage of the Northern Potwar is characterised by pepper-coloured (salt-and-pepper) sandstones — the arenaceous middle Siwalik unit above the Chinji Stage.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Tauxe & Badgley (1988): a single palaeomagnetic reversal dated ~8.1–8.4 Ma (upper Nagri / Nagri–Dhok Pathan interval), traced through six correlated sections, is time-transgressive — its position reflects local relief and lateral variability in sediment-accumulation rate (transitional-interval thickness is inversely correlated with accumulation rate), so individual Siwalik lithostratigraphic units are diachronous.", "source": "tauxe-badgley-1988-reversal" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Flynn et al. (2016): the Late Miocene Nagri Formation is dominated by thick, multi-storied sand bodies, in contrast to the finer-grained Chinji below and Dhok Pathan above.", "source": "flynn-2016-siwalik" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B): in the Marwat-Bhittanni ranges the Nagri Formation is early Pleistocene (mammalian fauna, Morris 1938) - younger than the late-Miocene-early-Pliocene Nagri of the Potwar, an example of Siwalik time-transgression - and is ~5,353 ft of grey sandstone with brown siltstone. It contains the contested 'Bain boulder bed' (~30 ft of unsorted boulders in a powdery matrix), read as glacial by Morris (1938) but as a volcanic/pumiceous mudflow by Danilchik and as a fanglomerate by Gansser; the authors saw no direct evidence of glaciation.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Munthe et al. (1979): at Daud Khel the Nagri Formation is 1,025 m thick and 56% sandstone - thick, intensively cross-bedded greenish-gray sandstone (cliff-forming in the lower part, coarser than the Chinji), with well-rounded igneous pebbles common in the upper third, and dull-red siltstone. It is harder to separate from the overlying Dhok Pathan than in the central Potwar because it lacks the typical multistoried sandstone bodies.", "source": "munthe-1979-daud-khel" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Gill (1951): south of the Dhulian oilfield the Nagri Stage is ~4700 ft (~1430 m) thick with more than 65% massive sandstone; near the Indus in the west its upper part carries thick conglomerate beds that pass eastward into massive sandstone, part of a channel-to-flood-plain facies change across the northern Potwar.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Yasin et al. (2017), Sudhnoti–Poonch (Azad Kashmir): the Nagri Formation is light-grey sandstone with shale, clay and scanty conglomerate showing planar bedding and ripple marks; the sandstone is coarse-grained, salt-and-pepper and calcite-cemented at Thorar and micaceous, thick-bedded to massive at Dar, with carbonate (calcrete) concretions in the shale, and carries clasts of volcanics, quartzite, schist and chert.", "source": "yasin-2017-sudhnoti" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "dhok-pathan-formation", "name": "Dhok Pathan Formation", "age": "Late Miocene to Early Pliocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Miocene-Pliocene", "lithology": "Grey and brown sandstone with clay interbeds", "description": "Fluvial sequence recording Miocene-Pliocene transition. Contains diverse mammal fauna including hominoid primates.", "thickness": "1,330–2,000 m", "fossils": [ "Selenoportax vexillarius", "Bramatherium perimense" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thick fluvial Siwalik molasse unit (interbedded sandstone and clay) recording Himalayan foreland deposition; it rests transitionally on the Nagri Formation and is renowned for its rich Siwalik mammalian fauna, central to studies of Neogene vertebrate evolution in the subcontinent.", "typeLocality": "Dhok Pathan village", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Nagri Formation", "underlies": "Tatrot Formation" }, "provinces": [ "potwar", "kohat", "salt-range" ], "introducedBy": "Blanford (1876)", "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "economicImportance": "", "plainSummary": "A thick Pliocene river-laid sandstone-and-clay of the Siwaliks, rich in fossil mammals.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-1977", "indplex-geolex", "johnson-1982-siwalik", "barndt-1978-siwalik", "badgley-tauxe-1990", "iqbal-2018-kashmir", "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "gill-1951-siwalik", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "flynn-2016-siwalik", "munthe-1979-daud-khel", "yasin-2017-sudhnoti", "chaudhry-1985-dhok-pathan-petrology", "naeem-2006-dhok-pathan-slope", "khan-2006-selenoportax", "khan-2006-bramatherium" ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "fossils": [ "khan-2006-selenoportax", "khan-2006-bramatherium" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Johnson, N.M., Opdyke, N.D., Johnson, G.D., Lindsay, E.H. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1982). Magnetic polarity stratigraphy and ages of Siwalik Group rocks of the Potwar Plateau, Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 37, 17-42.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(82)90056-6", "year": 1982 }, { "citation": "Barndt, J., Johnson, N.M., Johnson, G.D., Opdyke, N.D., Lindsay, E.H., Pilbeam, D. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1978). The magnetic polarity stratigraphy and age of the Siwalik Group near Dhok Pathan Village, Potwar Plateau, Pakistan. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 41, 355-364.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(78)90194-3", "year": 1978 }, { "citation": "Badgley, C. & Tauxe, L. (1990). Paleomagnetic stratigraphy and time in sediments: studies in alluvial Siwalik rocks of Pakistan. Journal of Geology, 98, 457-477.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1086/629419", "year": 1990 }, { "citation": "Iqbal, O., Baig, M.S., Pervez, S. & Siddiqi, M.I. (2018). Structure and Stratigraphy of Rumbli and Panjar Areas of Kashmir and Pakistan with the Aid of GIS. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 91, 57-66.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-018-0820-2", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Khan, M.J., Opdyke, N.D. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1988). Magnetic stratigraphy of the Siwalik Group, Bhittani, Marwat and Khasor Ranges, northwestern Pakistan, and the timing of Neogene tectonics of the Trans Indus. Journal of Geophysical Research, 93(B10), 11773-11790.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/JB093iB10p11773", "year": 1988 }, { "citation": "Javed Khan, M. & Opdyke, N.D. (1981). The magnetic polarity stratigraphy and correlation of the Upper Siwalik sediments from the Bhittani Range, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 24, 133-141.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9201(81)90144-1", "year": 1981 }, { "citation": "Gill, W.D. (1951). The stratigraphy of the Siwalik Series in the Northern Potwar, Punjab, Pakistan. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 107, 375-394.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.JGS.1951.107.01-04.16", "year": 1951 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Flynn, L.J., Pilbeam, D., Barry, J.C., Morgan, M.E. & Raza, S.M. (2016). Siwalik synopsis: a long stratigraphic sequence for the Later Cenozoic of South Asia. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 15(7), 877-887.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2015.09.015", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Munthe, J., Hussain, S.T., Lukacs, J.R., West, R.M. & Shah, S.M.I. (1979). Neogene Stratigraphy of the Daud Khel Area, Mianwali District, Pakistan. Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology, 23, 1-18.", "year": 1979 }, { "citation": "Yasin, M., Ali, S.M.K., Munir, M.H. & Ishfaque, M. (2017). The sedimentary geology, remote sensing, geomorphology and petrology of Miocene to Late Pliocene sediments in District Sudhunhoti and Poonch, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. Earth Science Malaysia, 1(1), 8-14.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.26480/esmy.01.2017.08.14", "year": 2017 } ], "coordinates": "33.1302, 72.3470", "thicknessM": 1665, "tier": 1, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Johnson et al. (1982): nominal stratotype age range 7.9–5.1 Ma (lower boundary at the Nagri–Dhok Pathan contact ~7.9 Ma near the base of Chron 8; upper boundary at the Tatrot ‘stratotype’, Tatrot–Andar section, ~5.1 Ma). Both bounds are lithofacies boundaries and locally time-transgressive.", "source": "johnson-1982-siwalik" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Badgley & Tauxe (1990): dense transition-stratigraphy sampling of a magnetic reversal within the Dhok Pathan Formation reveals highly variable accumulation rates over 10^3–10^4 yr and time-transgressive paleosol and floodplain-marsh horizons, underscoring that the formation boundaries are diachronous.", "source": "badgley-tauxe-1990" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Iqbal et al. (2018): in the Rumbli–Panjar area the Dhok Pathan Formation is dominantly greenish-grey, massive, medium- to coarse-grained sandstone with siltstone and mudstone. Local section thickness ~1720 m (Kashmir Basin, after Islam 2006).", "source": "iqbal-2018-kashmir" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Nomenclature (Javed Khan & Opdyke 1981): Hemphill & Kidwai (1973) proposed extending 'Dhok Pathan Formation' to the Trans-Indus Sheri Gasha Formation, but this is rejected — the Sheri Gasha is Plio-Pleistocene, not the middle–late Miocene Dhok Pathan type section. The curated age of the Dhok Pathan type section is unaffected.", "source": "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Gill (1951): the Dhok Pathan Stage of the Northern Potwar is characterised by variegated shales with sandstone — the upper Middle Siwalik unit above the Nagri Stage.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Flynn et al. (2016): the Dhok Pathan Formation comprises channel sand deposits interbedded with finer floodplain silts, succeeding the thick-sand Nagri Formation; Pliocene Upper Siwalik units above include conglomeratic sands.", "source": "flynn-2016-siwalik" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Munthe et al. (1979): at Daud Khel the Dhok Pathan Formation is 778 m thick (top not present) and ~58% sandstone that becomes lighter-coloured and less indurated upward with upward-increasing pebble/cobble conglomerate, plus yellowish-orange claystone and siltstone; the red-to-orange mudstone colour change marks its base. It is laterally continuous with the Gaud Nala reference section of Fatmi (1974); the authors decline to subdivide it into members.", "source": "munthe-1979-daud-khel" }, { "field": "stratigraphicPosition", "note": "Gill (1951): at its type locality the Dhok Pathan Stage is soft variegated clay alternating with light-coloured sandstone; near the Indus it includes conglomerate, and eastward a 'Dhok Pathan' facies appears at progressively lower levels, giving a heterochronous (diachronous) boundary with the underlying massive Nagri sandstones.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Yasin et al. (2017), Sudhnoti–Poonch (Azad Kashmir): the Dhok Pathan Formation shows the typical alternation of sandstone and clay (about 50:50 sandstone:clay in the Kashmir Basin) — loose, friable, thick-bedded, calcareous dark-grey to black sandstone with brown to reddish-brown clays and conglomerate lenses that increase towards the top; its medium- to coarse-grained sandstone carries clasts of gneiss, schist, quartzite, granite, carbonate and marble.", "source": "yasin-2017-sudhnoti" }, { "field": "lithologyType", "note": "Yasin et al. (2017): modal analysis of the area's Miocene–Pliocene Siwalik sandstones gives quartz 23–45%, feldspar 3–13% and lithic fragments (igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary), classifying them as lithic arenite and lithic greywacke; pebble imbrication, planar bedding and ripple marks record palaeoflow from north to south, and calcrete concretions indicate a warm, semi-arid climate.", "source": "yasin-2017-sudhnoti" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Sandstone petrography at Kalabagh and Mangla (Chaudhry et al., 1985): the Dhok Pathan Formation here is dominantly subfeldspathic lithic arenites and lithic wackes with calcareous/arenaceous mudstones, derived from a rising provenance of acid-to-intermediate volcanics, cherty limestones (± quartzite, shale, sandstone) and low-grade metamorphics (slate, phyllite, greenschist), with a minor granite contribution.", "source": "chaudhry-1985-dhok-pathan-petrology" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Engineering geology at Pir Pehai, District Mianwali, near the Kalabagh Dam site (Naeem & Farooq, 2006): the cyclic sandstone–claystone/siltstone succession contains tectonic bedding shears in the fine beds that act as failure surfaces; two-wedge analysis recommends a 38° cut slope (factor of safety 1.57–1.95) for stable permanent excavations.", "source": "naeem-2006-dhok-pathan-slope" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Boselaphine bovid Selenoportax vexillarius (right maxilla with M2–M3, PUPC 06/14; Khan et al., 2006) and the sivatheriine giraffid Bramatherium perimense (parietal horn core PUPC 2004/22, locality H7; Khan et al., 2006) recorded from the Dhok Pathan Formation (Middle Siwaliks) at Hasnot, Jhelum District (~5–7 Ma).", "source": "khan-2006-selenoportax" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 33.1302, "lng": 72.347, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "gaj-formation", "name": "Gaj Formation", "age": "Early Miocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Early–Middle Miocene", "lithology": "Variegated grey gypsiferous shale interbedded with calcareous, ferruginous, cross-bedded sandstone and fossiliferous argillaceous limestone.", "description": "Last marine sequence in Kirthar region before complete Tethys closure. Transition to continental conditions.", "thickness": "200-400 m", "fossils": [ "Foraminifera", "Molluscs", "Marine vertebrates" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Miocene shale-sandstone-limestone unit resting conformably on the Nari Formation; the Kirthar equivalent of the lower Sulaiman molasse and a marker of the Miocene marine-to-continental transition.", "typeLocality": "Gaj River, Kirthar Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Nari Formation", "underlies": "Manchar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range", "sindh" ], "introducedBy": "Blanford (1876)", "environment": [ "marginal marine", "deltaic" ], "plainSummary": "A Miocene shale-and-sandstone of the Kirthar Range, marking the shift from sea to land deposition.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "brohi-2009-surjan", "khan-1968-nari-gaj" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Brohi, I.A., Bablani, S.A. & Solangi, S.H. (2009). Geology and Economic Significance of Tertiary Rocks, Khorwari Section, Surjan Anticline, Thano Bula Khan, Sindh. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 41(1), 95-106.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "26.8750, 67.3200", "thicknessM": 300, "tier": 1, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Corroborated by USGS OFR 94-689: greenish-gray, variegated, gypsiferous shale with subordinate calcareous ferruginous crossbedded sandstone and argillaceous fossiliferous limestone (Miocene? to Oligocene?).", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Brohi et al. (2009): the Miocene Gaj Formation is reported for the first time from the Khorwari section of the Surjan Anticline (Thano Bula Khan, Jamshoro) — mixed clastic/non-clastic shallow-marine to non-marine shale, clay, sandstone and limestone; part of the Eocene–Pleistocene Surjan Tertiary succession studied for economic (dimension-stone, mineral and hydrogeological) potential.", "source": "brohi-2009-surjan" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Biozonation near Karachi (Khan, 1968): the Gaj Formation is Late Aquitanian to Burdigalian, carrying the Miogypsina globulina Zone — Miogypsina globulina/intermedia/tani/gunteri/cushmani, Miogypsinoides dehaarti, Austrotrillina howchini and Taberina malabarica — with lepidocyclinids disappearing in its upper half.", "source": "khan-1968-nari-gaj" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 26.875, "lng": 67.32, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "manchar-formation", "name": "Manchar Formation", "age": "Miocene-Pliocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Miocene-Pliocene", "lithology": "Sandstone, clay, conglomerate (continental)", "description": "Continental molasse in lower Indus basin. Equivalent to Siwalik Group. Contains mammal fossils.", "thickness": "1000-2000 m", "fossils": [ "Siwalik-type mammal fossils" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Miocene-Pliocene continental molasse of the lower Indus Basin, originally named the 'Manchhar Series' by Blanford (1876) after Manchhar Lake; it is the Sindh equivalent of the Siwalik Group. Poorly consolidated, fine- to medium-grained sandstone, clay and conglomerate overlie the marine Gaj Formation and yield Siwalik-type mammal fossils.", "typeLocality": "Manchhar (Manchar) Lake area, Sindh", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Gaj Formation", "underlies": "Recent alluvium" }, "provinces": [ "sindh", "kirthar-range" ], "coordinates": "26.4230, 67.6730", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "brohi-2009-surjan" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "introducedBy": "Blanford (1876)", "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "plainSummary": "The Sindh version of the Siwalik molasse - Miocene-Pliocene river sandstones and clays around Manchhar Lake that carry the same kinds of mammal fossils as the Potwar Siwaliks.", "thicknessM": 1500, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Brohi, I.A., Bablani, S.A. & Solangi, S.H. (2009). Geology and Economic Significance of Tertiary Rocks, Khorwari Section, Surjan Anticline, Thano Bula Khan, Sindh. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 41(1), 95-106.", "year": 2009 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "synonyms": [ "Manchar Group", "Manchhar Formation", "Manchhar Series" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "name", "note": "Merged duplicate unit \"Manchar Group\" (manchar-group) into this record. Sources, provinces and any missing fields were carried over; the old name is retained as a synonym.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Brohi et al. (2009): the Manchar Formation (Upper Miocene; book/paper spelling 'Manchar') caps the marine Tertiary section on the Surjan Anticline (Thano Bula Khan), overlying the Gaj Formation and underlying the Pleistocene Dada Conglomerate. Consistent with the curated Mio–Pliocene age.", "source": "brohi-2009-surjan" } ], "rank": "formation", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 26.423, "lng": 67.673, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "siahan-formation", "name": "Siahan Formation", "age": "Eocene-Oligocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Paleocene–Eocene", "lithology": "Shale and slate with siltstone and sandstone (metamorphosed near the Washuk ophiolite thrust).", "description": "Deep marine turbidite sequence in Makran accretionary prism. Part of the arc-trench gap fill.", "thickness": "2000-4000 m", "fossils": [ "Deep water foraminifera", "Trace fossils" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Paleocene–Eocene flysch shale (locally slate) of the Makran accretionary wedge; with the Hoshab shale it forms the fine-grained, valley-forming part of the Khojak–Panjgur submarine-fan system.", "typeLocality": "Siahan Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Wakai Limestone", "underlies": "Zurati Formation" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "environment": [ "deep marine" ], "plainSummary": "A Paleocene–Eocene deep-sea shale (locally slate) of the Makran wedge, the muddy partner to the Panjgur sandstones.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022", "malkani-2020-balochistan", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2020-balochistan", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 2, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359468233", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 3000, "reviewStatus": "published", "economicImportance": "The principal host rock of the Makran-Siahan fault-controlled epithermal-to-mesothermal stibnite (antimony)-gold-silver quartz-carbonate vein system (e.g. Gokumb, Kuchaki, Mir Baig Raidgi, Safed Gilanchi, Machi Koh) and of extensive iron-oxidized zones; also the setting of the Soro/Phudkush possible-meteorite locality. Veins are thin (mm-20 cm) and discontinuous, so individual deposits are small (Malkani 2020).", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Shah (2009) subsumes the 'Siahan shale' (Hunting Survey 1961) into the Khojak Formation. Kept separate here: Siahan is a distinct, thick (2000-4000 m) Makran formation in modern usage (Makran prospectivity 2022).", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Siahan Formation appears in the Makran flysch stratigraphic charts as Miocene (paired with the Khojak Formation) and is cited as a hydrocarbon source rock; 'Siahan' is also a major Makran thrust. The chart age (Miocene) differs from the curated Eocene–Oligocene — recorded as a note pending a fuller source.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "panjgur-formation", "name": "Panjgur Formation", "age": "Middle Miocene (Serravallian; ~13.8-11.6 Ma)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene–Neogene", "epoch": "Middle Miocene", "lithology": "Predominantly sandstone with marine shale; clastic turbidites deposited as stacked deep-sea fan sequences.", "description": "Major turbidite sequence in Makran. Part of world's largest accretionary wedge complex.", "thickness": "1000-2000 m", "fossils": [ "Foraminifera", "Trace fossils" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A very thick Oligocene–Early Miocene turbidite succession of the Khojak–Panjgur submarine-fan complex, the ridge-forming backbone of the Makran accretionary wedge — one of the largest accretionary prisms on Earth, fed by Himalayan-derived (Katawaz delta) detritus.", "typeLocality": "Makran Flysch Province, Balochistan Basin", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Hoshab Formation", "underlies": "Parkini Formation" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "environment": [ "deep marine", "submarine fan" ], "economicImportance": "The principal potential RESERVOIR unit of the Makran; its stacked turbidite sandstones have porosities up to ~18% and form exploration targets, with Hoshab/Parkini shales as source and seal.", "plainSummary": "The thick Oligocene–Miocene turbidite sandstones that build the ridges of the Makran wedge — the region's main potential gas/oil reservoir.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "khan-2024-makran-prism" ], "citations": { "era": "makran-prospectivity-2022", "period": "makran-prospectivity-2022", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "makran-prospectivity-2022", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "age": "indplex-geolex", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "epoch", "note": "Current record lists Eocene–Oligocene; modern provenance and biostratigraphic work (Kassi et al.; Cromie et al. 2022) dates the Panjgur Formation as Oligocene–Early Miocene.", "source": "makran-prospectivity-2022" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Panjgur Formation is a Miocene slope/shale unit of the Makran (Panjgur) accretionary prism, cited as both a hydrocarbon source rock and a reservoir ('Talar and Panjgur sandstones'); 'Panjgur' is also a major Makran thrust. Consistent with the curated Middle Miocene age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Khan et al. (2024): the Panjgur Formation's deep-sea submarine-fan turbidites form part of the offshore Makran accretionary prism — the world's largest — built by convergence of the Arabian plate beneath Eurasia (Early Cretaceous onset, with Middle Miocene renewed subduction); tectonic shortening and imbricate thrust faulting, with a continuous sediment influx, produced a ~7.5-km-thick sedimentary succession.", "source": "khan-2024-makran-prism" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "The Lower Miocene Panjgur Formation is the principal reservoir target of the Makran: stacked turbidite/submarine-fan sandstones (estimated 450 m to 2-3 km thick) with favourable reservoir characteristics, sealed by overlying Parkini mudstones; the primary offshore exploration target (Cromie et al. 2022).", "source": "makran-prospectivity-2022" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359468233", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Khan, U., Khan, M., Shiguo, W. & Gao, J. (2024). Geodynamics and structural evolution of Makran accretionary prism, Arabian-Eurasian convergent plate boundary. EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, abstract EGU24-17684.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-17684", "year": 2024 } ], "coordinates": "26.9706, 64.0887", "thicknessM": 1500, "reviewStatus": "published", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 26.9706, "lng": 64.0887, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "hoshab-formation", "name": "Hoshab Formation", "age": "Late Oligocene to Early Miocene (Chattian-Burdigalian; ~24.3-16.0 Ma)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene-Neogene", "epoch": "Late Oligocene to Early Miocene", "lithology": "Claystone and shale with subordinate sandstone, limestone and conglomerate; abyssal shale / flysch.", "description": "Transitional sequence between Siahan and Panjgur formations. Deep marine turbidite and hemipelagic deposits.", "thickness": "1000-2000 m", "fossils": [ "Planktonic foraminifera", "Trace fossils" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The deep-marine shale forming the distal, valley-forming facies of the Khojak–Panjgur submarine fan; part of the Turbat Group of the Makran accretionary wedge and one of its main source rocks.", "typeLocality": "Makran Flysch Province, Balochistan Basin", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Zurati Formation", "underlies": "Panjgur Formation" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "environment": [ "abyssal", "deep marine" ], "economicImportance": "A recognised potential hydrocarbon SOURCE ROCK of the Makran; thrust detachments root within this mud-rich interval, and hanging-wall anticlines form potential traps.", "plainSummary": "A deep-sea Makran mudstone–shale — a likely petroleum source rock and the floor beneath the Panjgur turbidite sands.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "khan-2024-makran-prism" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "environment": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "makran-prospectivity-2022", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359468233", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Khan, U., Khan, M., Shiguo, W. & Gao, J. (2024). Geodynamics and structural evolution of Makran accretionary prism, Arabian-Eurasian convergent plate boundary. EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, abstract EGU24-17684.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-17684", "year": 2024 } ], "coordinates": "26.0147, 63.8840", "thicknessM": 1500, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "overlies", "note": "Oldest exposed unit in the Makran Flysch Province; its base is not exposed.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Hoshab Formation appears in the Makran stratigraphic charts as a Miocene turbidite/limestone unit (with a Shaigalu member); 'Hoshab' is one of the major thrust faults dividing the Makran. Broadly consistent with the curated Late Oligocene–Early Miocene age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Khan et al. (2024): the abyssal-to-deep-marine Hoshab Formation belongs to the fill of the offshore Makran accretionary prism — the world's largest — formed by Arabian-under-Eurasian convergence (Early Cretaceous onset, Middle Miocene renewed subduction), whose thrust-wedge shortening and continuous sediment influx built a ~7.5-km-thick succession.", "source": "khan-2024-makran-prism" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "The Oligocene Hoshab Formation is a deep-marine shale/mudstone with onshore outcrop TOC up to ~0.6%, interpreted as a (potential) hydrocarbon source rock for the Makran, with thrust detachments rooting in this mud-rich interval (Cromie et al. 2022).", "source": "makran-prospectivity-2022" } ], "lithologyType": "claystone", "lat": 26.0147, "lng": 63.884, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "parkini-formation", "name": "Parkini Formation", "age": "Late Miocene (Tortonian-Messinian; ~11.6-6.7 Ma)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Late Miocene", "lithology": "Predominantly mudstone (sandy claystone); massive upper-Miocene slope mudstones blanketing the Panjgur fan complex.", "description": "Upper part of Makran accretionary sequence. Shallow marine to deltaic sediments marking shoaling.", "thickness": "3030-4545 m", "fossils": [ "Benthic foraminifera", "Mollusks" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Miocene slope mudstone of the Makran accretionary wedge, deposited above the Panjgur turbidites as the prism shallowed; a candidate source rock of the Makran petroleum system.", "typeLocality": "Makran Flysch Province, Balochistan Basin", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Panjgur Formation", "underlies": "Talar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "environment": [ "deep marine", "slope" ], "economicImportance": "A recognised potential hydrocarbon SOURCE ROCK of the Makran (slope-to-basinal mudstone, TOC locally exceeding 1%).", "plainSummary": "A Miocene Makran slope mudstone — another candidate petroleum source rock, above the Panjgur sands.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "makran-prospectivity-2022", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "age": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359468233", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "thicknessM": 3788, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as the Parkini mudstone member, lower member of the Hinglaj Formation (adopted from Hunting Survey 1961; type section at Parkini Kaur). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997) RANK FLAG: the book treats this as the lower 'Parkini Mudstone Member' of the Hinglaj Formation (nodular dark-grey mudstone; Mio-Pliocene; a Makran slope deposit and hydrocarbon source rock), not a stand-alone formation.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) REVISES the earlier (1997-based) rank flag: this newer book treats the Parkini as its own formation — the 'Parkini Formation' of HSC (1960), from Parkini Khaur (a tributary of the Hingol River) — an upper-Miocene slope mudstone that conformably overlies the Panjgur Formation and is transitionally overlain by the Talar Sandstone; it treats Hinglaj as a GROUP, not a formation. So the dataset's formation rank for Parkini is supported here, and the earlier 'Parkini Mudstone Member of the Hinglaj Formation' framing (Kazmi & Jan 1997) is superseded.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "The upper Miocene Parkini Formation (up to ~3 km thick) is a slope-to-basinal calcareous mudstone that acts both as a potential source rock and as a top seal over the Panjgur turbidite reservoirs in the Makran petroleum system (Cromie et al. 2022).", "source": "makran-prospectivity-2022" } ], "lithologyType": "mudstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "ormara-formation", "name": "Ormara Formation", "age": "Middle Pleistocene (Calabrian; ~1.39-0.77 Ma)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Middle Pleistocene", "lithology": "Sandy claystone; the combined Gwadar-Ormara succession is predominantly sandy clay.", "description": "Shallow marine to coastal deposits in western Makran. Contains well-preserved molluscan fauna.", "thickness": "60-900 m (combined Gwadar-Ormara succession)", "fossils": [ "Bivalves (lamellibranchs)", "Gastropods", "Foraminifera" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Pliocene shallow-marine to coastal unit of the eastern Makran coastal belt, dominantly soft mudstone with subordinate siltstone, sandstone and marl; it overlies the Talar Formation with a gradational lower contact and yields a molluscan (bivalve-gastropod) and foraminiferal fauna. It records the youngest marine sedimentation of the accreting Makran wedge before final coastal emergence.", "typeLocality": "Ormara hammerhead section, Makran Flysch Province", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Talar Formation", "underlies": "Jiwani Formation" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "coordinates": "25.2100, 64.6400", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "makran-prospectivity-2022", "indplex-geolex", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "indplex-geolex", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "fossils": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "coastal" ], "plainSummary": "A Pliocene shallow-sea mudstone-and-sandstone along the Makran coast near Ormara, full of clam and snail shells, marking the last marine deposits before the coastline emerged.", "thicknessM": 1000, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359468233", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Age refined from 'Pliocene' to Middle Pleistocene (Calabrian) per the Indian Plate Lexicon (compiler N.K. Siddiqui). Conformably overlies the Gwadar Formation (not yet a separate unit here).", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Shah (2009) synonymises the Ormara Formation into the Gwadar Formation (preferring the name Gwadar). Kept as a distinct unit here: Ormara overlies Gwadar with a younger (Middle Pleistocene) age, following Hunting Survey (1961) and modern Makran usage.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Ormara Formation (Late Pleistocene) forms the Ormara headland — an uplifted horst of mudstone, sandstone, conglomerate and shelly limestone (shelf deposits) connected to the mainland by tombolos, dipping 3–5° seaward on the Makran coast.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "claystone", "lat": 25.21, "lng": 64.64, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "jiwani-formation", "name": "Jiwani Formation", "age": "Late Pleistocene (Chibanian; ~0.77-0 Ma)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Quaternary", "epoch": "Late Pleistocene", "lithology": "Shelly (coquinoid) limestone and littoral concretionary deposits.", "description": "Youngest marine-continental transitional sequence in Makran. Contains raised beach deposits and marine terraces.", "thickness": "200-500 m", "fossils": [ "Mollusks", "Corals" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Pleistocene raised shelly limestone of the south Makran coast; its uplifted coastal terraces record the rapid tectonic emergence of the Makran shoreline above the active subduction zone.", "typeLocality": "Jiwani section, Makran Flysch Province, Balochistan Basin", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Ormara Formation", "underlies": "Recent coastal deposits" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "synonyms": [ "Sub-Recent shelly limestone" ], "environment": [ "coastal marine", "littoral" ], "plainSummary": "A Pleistocene shelly coastal limestone of the Makran coast — a raised beach marking how fast the coast is rising above the subduction zone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2020-balochistan", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "malkani-2020-balochistan", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359468233", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "coordinates": "25.0485, 61.7457", "thicknessM": 350, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Age refined from 'Pliocene-Pleistocene' to Late Pleistocene per the Indian Plate Lexicon (compiler N.K. Siddiqui).", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Lexicon gives 30 m at the Jiwani type area (sandy/shelly limestone, sandstone, conglomerate); conformably overlies the Ormara or Gwadar Formation. The existing 200-500 m figure derives from a separate subsurface source.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents as 'Jiwani formation'). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Jiwani Formation (Pleistocene to Sub-Recent; type section east of Jiwani) is ~30 m of littoral shelly limestone, cross-laminated pebbly sandstone and conglomerate, overlying the Gwadar Formation with an angular unconformity (locally the Hinglaj) and forming uplifted, tilted marine terraces of the Makran coast; bivalves (Fossularca, Timoclea arakanensis, Martesia striata).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "economicImportance": "Hosts the Jiwani sulphur deposit — a thin (~9 in), discontinuous sulphur layer in dark clay near a mud volcano ~20 km NW of Jiwani, grading ~43-56% S (a small deposit), with similar minor occurrences at Ganz and Karghari — and its coastal shelly limestone, sandstone and conglomerate are worked locally as construction/building stone (Malkani 2020).", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 25.0485, "lng": 61.7457, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "lei-conglomerate", "name": "Lei Conglomerate", "age": "Pliocene-Pleistocene", "era": "Quaternary", "period": "Quaternary", "epoch": "Pliocene-Pleistocene", "lithology": "Boulder conglomerate, coarse gravel, sandstone", "description": "Named after Lei Nala. Also known as Mirpur or Kakra Conglomerate. Lower unit of the Soan Group. Coarse alluvial fan deposits recording rapid Himalayan uplift.", "thickness": "100-300 m", "fossils": [ "Mammal fossils", "Stegodon", "Early Paleolithic artifacts" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The coarse boulder-conglomerate at the top of the Upper Siwalik (Soan Group) of the Potwar, named 'Lei Conglomerate' by Gill (1952) for deposits formerly called the 'Boulder Conglomerate' of De Terra and Pilgrim. Its bouldery alluvial-fan and braided-river gravels record rapid late-Pliocene to Pleistocene unroofing of the frontal Himalayan ranges along the Main Boundary Thrust.", "typeLocality": "Lei Nala, Potwar Plateau", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Dhok Pathan Formation", "underlies": "Soan Formation" }, "provinces": [ "potwar", "kohat" ], "coordinates": "33.6007, 73.0679", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gill-1951-siwalik" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "synonyms": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "introducedBy": "Gill (1952)", "synonyms": [ "Boulder Conglomerate", "Mirpur Conglomerate", "Kakra Conglomerate" ], "environment": [ "alluvial fan", "fluvial", "continental" ], "plainSummary": "A very coarse boulder-and-gravel deposit capping the Potwar Siwaliks - the debris shed by fast-rising Himalayan foothills in Plio-Pleistocene times. It was formerly called the Boulder Conglomerate.", "thicknessM": 200, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gill, W.D. (1951). The stratigraphy of the Siwalik Series in the Northern Potwar, Punjab, Pakistan. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 107, 375-394.", "year": 1951 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents as 'Lei Conglomerate'). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "stratigraphicPosition", "note": "Gill (1951): in the Soan area the Lei Conglomerate is a post-Siwalik Pleistocene deposit that rests with strong unconformity on the folded and peneplaned Siwalik succession (Kamlial to Pinjor stages) — the first major unconformity above the otherwise conformable Siwalik pile.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lat": 33.6007, "lng": 73.0679, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "soan-formation", "name": "Soan Formation", "age": "Pliocene to Pleistocene", "era": "Quaternary", "period": "Quaternary", "epoch": "Pliocene-Pleistocene", "lithology": "Boulder conglomerate, sandstone, silt", "description": "Coarse alluvial fan deposits from rapidly rising Himalaya. Contains famous Soan Culture Paleolithic tools. Upper unit of the Soan Group.", "thickness": "120-450 m in Trans Indus-Potwar Province (TrI-PP) m", "fossils": [ "Stegodon rathiansis" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The youngest, boulder-conglomerate-dominated unit of the Siwalik molasse (the Urak Boulder Conglomerate of the Sibi region), capping the foreland succession; its coarse Plio-Pleistocene gravels record the final, high-energy unroofing of the rising Himalaya.", "typeLocality": null, "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Pinjor Formation", "underlies": "alluvium" }, "provinces": [ "potwar", "kohat" ], "introducedBy": "Cheema et al. (1977)", "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "economicImportance": "", "plainSummary": "A capping layer of coarse Plio-Pleistocene boulder gravel — the youngest Siwalik deposit, shed from the rising Himalaya.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-1977", "indplex-geolex", "rendell-1987-soan", "iqbal-2018-kashmir", "opdyke-1979-upper-siwalik", "gill-1951-siwalik", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "sarwar-1985-stegodon-rathiansis" ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "underlies": "gsp-shah-1977", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "synonyms": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": "sarwar-1985-stegodon-rathiansis" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Rendell, H.M., Hailwood, E.A. & Dennell, R.W. (1987). Magnetic polarity stratigraphy of Upper Siwalik Sub-Group, Soan Valley, Pakistan: implications for early human occupance of Asia. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 85, 488-496.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(87)90143-8", "year": 1987 }, { "citation": "Iqbal, O., Baig, M.S., Pervez, S. & Siddiqi, M.I. (2018). Structure and Stratigraphy of Rumbli and Panjar Areas of Kashmir and Pakistan with the Aid of GIS. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 91, 57-66.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-018-0820-2", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Opdyke, N.D., Lindsay, E., Johnson, G.D., Johnson, N., Tahirkheli, R.A.K. & Mirza, M.A. (1979). Magnetic polarity stratigraphy and vertebrate paleontology of the Upper Siwalik subgroup of northern Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 27, 1-34.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(79)90090-6", "year": 1979 }, { "citation": "Gill, W.D. (1951). The stratigraphy of the Siwalik Series in the Northern Potwar, Punjab, Pakistan. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 107, 375-394.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.JGS.1951.107.01-04.16", "year": 1951 } ], "tier": 1, "reviewStatus": "published", "thicknessM": 285, "synonyms": [ "Suan" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Rendell et al. (1987): palaeomagnetic study of a 68 m Upper Siwalik (Soan) section in the Soan syncline at Riwat. A palaeolithic artefact-bearing gritstone/conglomerate horizon near the base of the section is dated to 2.0 ± 0.2 Ma — one of the oldest reported traces of early human occupance in Asia and a numeric anchor for the lower Upper Siwalik / Soan interval.", "source": "rendell-1987-soan" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Iqbal et al. (2018): in the Rumbli–Panjar area the Soan Formation is dominantly grey, fine- to medium-grained, medium- to thick-bedded sandstone with siltstone and clays; assigned a Pliocene age with a local section thickness ~600 m (Kashmir Basin, after Islam 2006).", "source": "iqbal-2018-kashmir" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Opdyke et al. (1979): magnetostratigraphy of eight Upper Siwalik sections on the Potwar Plateau (calibrated by fission-track tuff ages of 2.3 ± 0.4 and 2.5 ± 0.4 Ma at the Gauss/Matuyama boundary) shows the Upper Siwalik subgroup spans from the middle Gauss to the middle Brunhes — one section (1.87 km thick) covers ~5.5 to 0.6 Ma. The Tatrot-to-Pinjor faunal change occurs at about 2.47 Ma at the Gauss/Matuyama boundary (marked by the first appearance of Equus and Elephas), placing the Tatrot (Pliocene) and Pinjor (Pleistocene) faunal levels of the Soan/Upper Siwalik in a numeric framework consistent with the curated Pliocene–Pleistocene age.", "source": "opdyke-1979-upper-siwalik" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Gill (1951): the Upper Siwalik of the Northern Potwar (Soan syncline) comprises, in ascending order, the Tatrot Stage (clay, sandstone, conglomerate), the Pinjor Stage (pink silt, sandstone, gravel and conglomerate) and the Boulder Conglomerate Stage (coarse conglomerate and sand) — the historical stages of the Upper Siwalik succession represented in the Soan Formation.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Gill (1951): in the Soan syncline the complete Siwalik succession from the Kamlial to the Pinjor Stage (Villafranchian) is free of marked unconformities and is overlain with strong unconformity by the post-Siwalik Pleistocene Lei Conglomerate — differing from de Terra (1936, 1939), who placed the first great unconformity at the base of the Tatrot Stage.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Stegodon rathiansis Sarwar, Akram & Saeed (1985) — an advanced stegodont (~18½ ridge-plates in the lower M3; holotype PUPC 69/364) — from the uppermost Tatrotian (Upper Siwaliks) near Rathian, District Jhelum. In the Pakistani scheme the Soan Formation comprises the Tatrot and Pinjor (Chaudhry et al., 1985).", "source": "sarwar-1985-stegodon-rathiansis" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "koh-i-sultan-volcanic-group", "name": "Koh-i-Sultan Volcanic Group", "age": "Late Pliocene to Pleistocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene–Quaternary", "epoch": "Late Pliocene–Pleistocene", "lithology": "Intercalated dacitic-andesitic lava flows and volcaniclastics.", "description": "Young volcanic complex in Chagai. Part of active volcanic arc with fumarolic activity. Contains sulfur deposits.", "thickness": "Variable (volcanic edifice)", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "The youngest volcanism of the Chagai magmatic arc, building the Koh-i-Sultan volcano on the Pakistan–Afghanistan border; records arc activity continuing into the Quaternary.", "typeLocality": "Koh-i-Sultan (2,332 m), Chagai (Pak–Afghan border)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Pishi Group", "underlies": "Recent deposits" }, "provinces": [ "chagai-hills" ], "economicImportance": "Sulfur deposits, geothermal potential", "environment": [ "volcanic-arc" ], "plainSummary": "The Koh-i-Sultan volcano — the youngest (Plio-Pleistocene) dacite-andesite volcanism of the Chagai arc, on the Pak-Afghan border.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-14", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "coordinates": "29.1000, 62.8000", "reviewStatus": "published", "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lat": 29.1, "lng": 62.8, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "kirana-group", "name": "Kirana Group", "age": "Precambrian (870 ± 40 Ma)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "lithology": "Rhyolite, rhyolitic tuff, andesite, granite, diorite, gabbro", "description": "Oldest exposed rocks in Punjab plains, forming isolated hills (Kirana, Sangla, Chiniot). Represents Precambrian volcanic-plutonic complex of the Indian Shield. Only surface exposure of crystalline basement in the Punjab.", "thickness": "Variable (inselberg remnants)", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "Records Neoproterozoic felsic-dominated volcanism and plutonism on the northwestern margin of the Indian Shield; correlated with the Malani Igneous Suite and Marwar Supergroup of Rajasthan and interpreted within a NE-Gondwana / Rodinia setting.", "typeLocality": "Kirana Hills, Sargodha District, Punjab", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Crystalline basement", "underlies": "Covered by alluvium" }, "provinces": [ "sindh", "potwar", "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "economicImportance": "Source of building stone and aggregate", "coordinates": "31.9500, 72.7000", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "jamil-2012-neoproterozoic" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "plainSummary": "The oldest exposed rocks of the Punjab plains - a Neoproterozoic (~870 Ma) volcanic-plutonic complex (rhyolite, tuff, andesite, granite) forming the Kirana, Sangla and Chiniot inselbergs, the only surface exposure of Indian-shield basement in Punjab.", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Ahmed, T. & Hassan, I. (2025). Regional Geodynamic Implications of Proterozoic Volcanic and Metasedimentary Sequences in the Kirana Hills, Punjab, Pakistan. Indonesian Journal on Geoscience, 12(3), 437-465.", "url": "https://ijog.geologi.esdm.go.id/index.php/IJOG/article/view/1191", "year": 2025 }, { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Jamil, A. & Sheikh, R.A. (2012). An overview of Neoproterozoic reservoirs in Pakistan. In: Bhat, G.M., Craig, J., Thurow, J.W. et al. (eds) Geology and Hydrocarbon Potential of Neoproterozoic–Cambrian Basins in Asia. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 366, 111-121.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP366.2", "year": 2012 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "members": [ "asianwala-formation", "taguwali-formation", "chak-112-conglomerate" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Revised Kirana Complex scheme (Chaudhry, Ahsan & Rehman 2022, Table 4): the Kirana Group comprises (top to bottom) the Asianwala Formation, Taguwali Formation and Chak 112 Conglomerates.", "source": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Kirana Group (Kazmi 1964; Kirana Hills near Sargodha) is Late Proterozoic — a Rb-Sr isochron of 870 ± 40 Ma (Davies & Crawford 1971), part of the 850–750 Ma post-Delhi anorogenic event — >2,330 m of unfossiliferous phyllite, slate, quartzite and subordinate conglomerate with bimodal rhyolite–dolerite volcanics, subdivided into the Hachi, Taguwali, Asianwala, Hadda and Sharaban formations; the western extension of the Indian shield forming the probable basement to the Salt Range.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Jamil & Sheikh (2012): the low-grade Neoproterozoic metasediments of the Kirana Hills, together with the Salt Range Formation, are among the exposed Neoproterozoic rocks of the Punjab Platform being re-evaluated for hydrocarbon-reservoir potential; the Punjab-Platform Neoproterozoic appears separated from that of the Potwar by a palaeo-high, and correlates with outcrops in Rajasthan (India).", "source": "jamil-2012-neoproterozoic" } ], "rank": "group", "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lat": 31.95, "lng": 72.7, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chiniot-granite", "name": "Chiniot Granite", "age": "Precambrian (850-900 Ma)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "lithology": "Pink biotite granite, aplite, pegmatite", "description": "Part of the Kirana Hills complex exposed near Chiniot. Represents plutonic intrusion into Kirana volcanics.", "thickness": "Variable", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "A plutonic component of the exposed Indian-shield basement of Punjab (Kirana Complex); of Neoproterozoic age, it belongs to the same felsic magmatic province as the Kirana Group volcanics.", "typeLocality": "Chiniot, Punjab", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Crystalline basement", "underlies": "Quaternary alluvium" }, "provinces": [ "sindh", "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "coordinates": "31.7200, 72.9800", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "plainSummary": "A pink biotite granite (with aplite and pegmatite) exposed near Chiniot, part of the Neoproterozoic Kirana Hills basement complex intruding the Kirana volcanics.", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Ahmed, T. & Hassan, I. (2025). Regional Geodynamic Implications of Proterozoic Volcanic and Metasedimentary Sequences in the Kirana Hills, Punjab, Pakistan. Indonesian Journal on Geoscience, 12(3), 437-465.", "url": "https://ijog.geologi.esdm.go.id/index.php/IJOG/article/view/1191", "year": 2025 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997) NAMING FLAG: the book does not use 'Chiniot Granite' and describes the Chiniot (Buland Hill) rocks as predominantly rhyolitic flows, tuffs (some welded), breccia and concordant dolerite sheets — the bimodal Kirana Hills igneous suite (Late Proterozoic, ~870 Ma), NOT a granite. The DB name/lithology should be reviewed against this.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "igneous", "lat": 31.72, "lng": 72.98, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "mansehra-granite", "name": "Mansehra Granite", "age": "Early–Middle Ordovician (~478–466 Ma)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Ordovician", "lithology": "Tourmaline-bearing leucogranite, two-mica granite", "description": "Intrusive into Tanawal Formation, providing maximum age constraint for the Tanawal. One of the best dated Cambrian granites in Himalaya.", "thickness": "Plutonic body (several km)", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "Provides a key age constraint on the Tanawal Formation and records early Palaeozoic (Cambro-Ordovician), Andean-type accretional magmatism along the northern margin of East Gondwana. Modern U-Pb zircon geochronology places its crystallization in the Ordovician (~478-466 Ma), revising the older Rb-Sr estimate.", "typeLocality": "Mansehra, Hazara, KP", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Intrusive into Tanawal Formation", "underlies": "Covered by Mesozoic sequence" }, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "coordinates": "34.3333, 73.2000", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "mansehra-upb-2016", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "calkins-1975-hazara", "ogasawara-2018-mansehra", "dipietro-pogue-2004", "shams-ahmed-1968-mansehra-dolerites", "ashraf-chaudhry-1974-dadar-pegmatites", "ashraf-chaudhry-1974-mansehra-veins" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "mansehra-upb-2016", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "mansehra-upb-2016" ], "introducedBy": "calkins-1975-hazara", "synonyms": "calkins-1975-hazara", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "plainSummary": "A large porphyritic two-mica / tourmaline-bearing leucogranite of the Hazara region that intrudes the Tanawal Formation; one of the best-studied granites of the NW Himalaya.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Updated from the older Early Cambrian Rb-Sr whole-rock estimate (~516 Ma) to Early-Middle Ordovician crystallization ages (~478 Ma Mansehra, ~475 Ma leucogranites, ~466 Ma Hakale) from modern SHRIMP and LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon dating (Naeem et al. 2016). Era remains Paleozoic.", "source": "mansehra-upb-2016" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the porphyritic two-mica Mansehra Granite (Hazara District) is an Early Palaeozoic, calc-alkaline S-type granite–granodiorite (quartz–albite/oligoclase–K-feldspar–biotite ± garnet, with feldspar megacrysts to 15 cm and a strong gneissose fabric; Susalgali Gneiss + Mansehra porphyritic granite + andalusite granite), intruding the Precambrian Tanawal Formation of the Hazara Nappe as thick folded sheets over >2,000 km². Rb-Sr isochron 516 Ma (Le Fort et al. 1980), variously termed 'Late Cambrian'/'Cambro-Ordovician' — slightly older than the curated ~478–466 Ma (Early–Middle Ordovician), recorded as a note.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the book calls the Mansehra Granite an Early Palaeozoic / Late Cambrian pluton with a 516 Ma Rb–Sr age (Le Fort et al. 1980), and treats a regional 466 ± 2 Ma date (Baig et al. 1989) as a later metamorphic event, not the intrusion age. The curated value (~478–466 Ma, Early–Middle Ordovician) is retained because it derives from a modern U–Pb zircon study (mansehra-upb-2016), which supersedes the 1980 Rb–Sr figure; the two are recorded together as the Rb-Sr-vs-U-Pb methodological difference.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): originally assigned the Mansehra Granite a Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary age (~80 Ma K-Ar, R.G. Davies) and interpreted it as synorogenic with the early Himalayan orogeny. This is SUPERSEDED by modern geochronology, which places the Mansehra Granite in the Cambrian–Ordovician (~470 Ma) Himalayan granite belt; the curated Ordovician age is retained and the Calkins assignment recorded only as a historical note.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975, after Shams 1961): a light-coloured, medium- to coarse-grained, foliated (except around Mansehra) granite characterised by large twinned microcline phenocrysts (locally up to 5 in), with microcline–oligoclase–quartz and minor biotite/muscovite; a tourmaline-rich variety (the 'Hakale granite') and a foliated 'Susal Gali granite gneiss' are genetically related. Gravity and field data indicate a sheet-like body folded with its Tanawal Formation country rock; contact aureoles are weak (local cordierite schist).", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Ogasawara et al. (2018): zircon U-Pb dating gives 206Pb/238U crystallisation ages of 483–476 Ma (Early Ordovician), confirming and refining the curated Ordovician age (and definitively superseding the Late-Cretaceous ~80 Ma K-Ar age of Calkins et al. 1975). The Mansehra granite is a typical S-type Lesser Himalayan granite; inherited zircon cores at 889–664, 1862–1595 and 2029 Ma indicate a Late Neoproterozoic–Cambrian sedimentary protolith (max age ~664 Ma) derived from Paleoproterozoic crust (high initial 87Sr/86Sr 0.7324–0.7444; eNd(t) −9.2 to −8.6).", "source": "ogasawara-2018-mansehra" }, { "field": "age", "note": "LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon chronometry confirms an early-Palaeozoic (Cambro-Ordovician), Andean-type crystallization for the Mansehra Granitic Complex, consistent with the ~478-466 Ma assignment (Naeem et al. 2016).", "source": "mansehra-upb-2016" }, { "field": "age", "note": "DiPietro & Pogue (2004, after Treloar et al. 1989a): the ~500 Ma Mansehra augen orthogneiss is interlayered with Tanawal pelitic schist across the NW Indian-plate cover — corroborating the Cambro-Ordovician (~500 Ma) age of the Mansehra granite.", "source": "dipietro-pogue-2004" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Shams & Ahmed (1968): the Paleozoic schists, gneisses and granite of the Mansehra-Amb area are cut by concordant tholeiitic dolerite sills (inches to >100 ft thick) along foliation planes, with unusually magnesian pyroxenes and highly magnesian olivine (Fo80–91) defining a tholeiitic iron-enrichment differentiation trend.", "source": "shams-ahmed-1968-mansehra-dolerites" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "source": "ashraf-chaudhry-1974-dadar-pegmatites", "note": "Ashraf & Chaudhry (1974) described six zoned granite pegmatites in the Dadar area (Basala village), emplaced in Barrovian kyanite-grade schists ~2 furlongs from the Mansehra Granite; the bodies (up to 6 x 3 m) grade from a cleavelandite-muscovite-garnet wall zone through beryl-bearing intermediate zones (with relict microcline perthite) to a milky quartz core (93-97% SiO2), extensively albitised during a late pneumatolytic stage — interpreted as granite pegmatites genetically linked to the Mansehra Granite." }, { "field": "economicImportance", "source": "ashraf-chaudhry-1974-mansehra-veins", "note": "In the Mansehra-Batgram area, quartz, quartz-ilmenite and quartz-kyanite veins cut the Mansehra Granite and associated gneisses/schists (Ashraf & Chaudhry 1974): simple quartz veins (98-99% quartz; a Chitta Batta dyke 34 ft wide and 1 mile long) occur within the granite, whereas ilmenite- and kyanite-bearing veins (kyanite blades 3-6 cm, locally after andalusite/chiastolite) are confined to the metamorphic host rocks." } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Naeem, M., Burg, J.-P., Ahmad, N., Chaudhry, M.N. & Khalid, P. (2016). U-Pb zircon systematics of the Mansehra Granitic Complex: implications on the early Paleozoic orogenesis in NW Himalaya of Pakistan. Geosciences Journal, 20(4), 427-447.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-015-0062-x", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Ogasawara, M., Fukuyama, M., Siddiqui, R.H. & Zhao, Y. (2018). Origin of the Ordovician Mansehra granite in the NW Himalaya, Pakistan: constraints from Sr–Nd isotopic data, zircon U–Pb age and Hf isotopes. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds) Himalayan Tectonics: A Modern Synthesis. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 481.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP481.5", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Ashraf, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1974). Geology of Dadar pegmatites, Mansehra area, Hazara District, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 10, 59-66." }, { "citation": "Ashraf, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1974). Quartz, quartz-ilmenite and quartz-kyanite veins in the Mansehra-Batgram area of Hazara District. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 10, 67-72." } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Shams (1961)", "synonyms": [ "Susal Gali Granite Gneiss", "Hakale Granite" ], "lithologyType": "igneous", "lat": 34.3333, "lng": 73.2, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "nagarparkar-complex", "name": "Nagarparkar Igneous Complex", "age": "Precambrian (Malani Igneous Suite, ~750-770 Ma)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "lithology": "Granite, rhyolite, basalt, granophyre", "description": "Exposed in Nagarparkar area of southeastern Sindh. Part of the Malani Igneous Suite extending from Rajasthan. Represents major Neoproterozoic felsic magmatism.", "thickness": "Variable (plutonic-volcanic complex)", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "Records major Neoproterozoic A-type, largely anorogenic felsic magmatism of the Malani Igneous Suite (a Neoproterozoic silicic large igneous province) linked to Rodinia; U-Pb zircon ages from the complex span roughly the late Tonian (~740-880 Ma).", "typeLocality": "Karunjhar Hills, Nagarparkar, Sindh", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Crystalline basement", "underlies": "Quaternary deposits" }, "provinces": [ "sindh", "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "economicImportance": "Dimension stone quarrying", "coordinates": "24.3500, 70.7100", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "nagarparkar-npic-2019", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "ahmad-chaudhary-2007-karai-gabbro" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "nagarparkar-npic-2019" ], "period": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "nagarparkar-npic-2019" ], "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "nagarparkar-npic-2019" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "nagarparkar-npic-2019" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "plainSummary": "A Neoproterozoic granite-rhyolite igneous complex exposed around the Karunjhar Hills at Nagarparkar, SE Sindh - the Pakistani extension of the Malani Igneous Suite of Rajasthan.", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Mastoi, A.S., Yang, X.-Y., Deng, J. & Hakro, A.A.A.D. (2019). Early Neoproterozoic evolution of Southeast Pakistan: evidence from geochemistry, geochronology, and isotopic composition of the Nagarparkar Igneous Complex. International Geology Review, 61(11), 1398-1408.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/00206814.2018.1512905", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Ahmad, S.A. & Chaudhary, M.N. (2007). Geochemical characterization and origin of the Karai gabbro from the Neoproterozoic Nagarparkar Complex, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 42, 1-14.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Nagar Parkar igneous complex'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the 'Nagar Igneous Complex' (Kazmi & Khan 1973; Nagar Parkar, SE Sindh) is Late Proterozoic — amphibolite (possibly older basement) intruded by grey and pink (riebeckite-aegirine) granite and cut by undeformed alkaline mafic dykes and two rhyolite domes; an anorogenic within-plate suite correlated with the ~740 Ma Malani Igneous Suite / Mount Abu granites, underlying the Thar coal-field. Corroborates the curated Malani (~750–770 Ma) assignment.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "era", "note": "Geochemistry, geochronology and Lu-Hf isotopes assign the Nagar Parkar Igneous Complex granites to Early Neoproterozoic (Malani-related) magmatism on the SE Pakistan shield (Mastoi et al. 2019).", "source": "nagarparkar-npic-2019" }, { "field": "lithology", "source": "ahmad-chaudhary-2007-karai-gabbro", "note": "Ahmad & Chaudhary (2007) characterised the Karai gabbro and associated dolerites as 'within-plate' alkaline-to-subalkaline continental tholeiites (normative nepheline in the more alkaline gabbros), forming ring-shaped outcrops. Discrimination diagrams (Ti-Zr-Y, Ti-V, Nb-Zr-Y) and chondrite-normalised REE (LREE-enriched with a slight negative Nb anomaly) confirm a non-subduction, continental flood-tholeiite character." }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "source": "ahmad-chaudhary-2007-karai-gabbro", "note": "The magmatism is attributed to a Neoproterozoic mantle plume (hot-spot) active ~1000-750 Ma that drove continental rifting and Rodinia break-up along the western margin of the Trans-Aravalli belt, forming the bimodal Kirana-Malani-Nagar volcano-plutonic suite. The complex's phases run from Phase 1 Dhedvero gabbro/Karai dolerite through the Nagarparkar Granite (Phase 3) to late basic/acid dykes (Ahmad & Chaudhary 2007)." }, { "field": "coordinates", "source": "ahmad-chaudhary-2007-karai-gabbro", "note": "The complex crops out over ~450 sq km in the extreme SE Thar Desert near the Rann of Kutch (24°15'-24°30' N, 70°37'-71°07' E), resting unconformably on the Aravalli-Delhi basement and overlain by the Quaternary Bar Tala Formation (Ahmad & Chaudhary 2007)." } ], "lithologyType": "igneous", "lat": 24.35, "lng": 70.71, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "besham-group", "name": "Besham Group", "age": "Archean to Paleoproterozoic (>1800 Ma)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Archean-Paleoproterozoic", "lithology": "Granitic, biotite-rich orthogneiss together with metasedimentary gneiss, schist, metapsammite, marble and amphibolite, with komatiitic metavolcanics.", "description": "Exposed in the Besham-Swat area as a tectonic window through Lesser Himalayan nappes. Represents some of the oldest crystalline basement of the Indian Plate in Pakistan. Includes Lahor Complex and Besham Nappe with polyphase deformation history.", "thickness": "3000+ m", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "The Precambrian crystalline basement of the Indian plate exposed in the Besham Nappe; Ar–Ar amphibolite ages of about 1850–2000 Ma place it in the Late Archean(?) to Middle Proterozoic. Baig (1990) divided it into the lower Thakot Formation and the upper Pazang Formation; it is overlain unconformably by the Karora Group cover.", "typeLocality": "Besham, Indus valley (the Besham Nappe)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Crystalline basement (deepest exposed)", "underlies": "Karora Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hazara", "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "economicImportance": "Gemstone potential (emeralds in associated rocks)", "introducedBy": "Fletcher et al. (1986)", "plainSummary": "The ~1.9-billion-year-old crystalline basement at Besham — orthogneiss, schist and marble — beneath the Karora cover.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "34.9200, 72.8800", "thicknessM": 3000, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.92, "lng": 72.88, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "iskere-gneiss", "name": "Iskere Gneiss", "age": "Paleoproterozoic (~1850 Ma)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Paleoproterozoic", "lithology": "Augen gneiss, biotite-muscovite gneiss, migmatite", "description": "Named after Iskere village in the Nanga Parbat massif. Represents reworked Indian Plate basement with characteristic augen texture from K-feldspar porphyroclasts. Intruded by Tertiary leucogranites.", "thickness": "1500+ m", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "Regarded as one of the older basement components of the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh massif (Palaeoproterozoic orthogneiss); records long-lived reworking of Indian-plate basement subsequently overprinted by Himalayan metamorphism and leucogranite intrusion.", "typeLocality": "Iskere village, Nanga Parbat, Gilgit-Baltistan", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Shingus Gneiss", "underlies": "Nanga Parbat Gneiss" }, "provinces": [ "nanga-parbat", "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "plainSummary": "A Palaeoproterozoic augen gneiss and migmatite unit of the Nanga Parbat massif near Iskere village, representing reworked Indian-plate crystalline basement with K-feldspar augen texture and intruded by Tertiary leucogranites.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "thicknessM": 1500, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Iskere Orthogneiss yields a 1850 Ma zircon date (Zeitler et al. 1989), interpreted as a deformational, thermal and magmatic event (Treloar et al. 1990b) that was regionally widespread — comparable Ar/Ar ages of 1887–1865 Ma at Besham (Baig 1990) and a 1820 ± 130 Ma Rb–Sr date from Kumaon (Valdiya 1988). This corroborates the curated ~1850 Ma (Paleoproterozoic) age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Iskere Orthogneiss is a core unit of the Nanga Parbat Group; it is tectonically overlain (Madin et al. 1989) by the Shingus Gneiss — or, per Treloar et al. (1991b), forms the basement to it — and in the Haramosh region is overlain by the Haramosh Schist (amphibolite-grade biotite schist/gneiss, marble, calc-silicate gneiss and amphibolite).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "nanga-parbat-gneiss", "name": "Nanga Parbat Gneiss", "age": "Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Mesoproterozoic", "lithology": "Paragneiss, pelitic schist, calc-silicate, quartzite, marble", "description": "Cover sequence of the Nanga Parbat massif metamorphosed to upper amphibolite facies. Contains metasedimentary rocks originally deposited as continental shelf sediments on Indian Plate margin.", "thickness": "2000+ m", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "Represents the metamorphosed continental-shelf cover of the Indian plate within the Nanga Parbat syntaxis; its protolith depositional age is only loosely constrained (Mesoproterozoic-Neoproterozoic) and remains debated.", "typeLocality": "Nanga Parbat massif, Gilgit-Baltistan", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Iskere Gneiss", "underlies": "Kohistan Arc rocks (across MMT)" }, "provinces": [ "nanga-parbat", "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "plainSummary": "The metasedimentary cover of the Nanga Parbat massif - paragneiss, pelitic schist, calc-silicate, quartzite and marble metamorphosed to upper amphibolite facies, originally deposited on the Indian-plate margin.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "zeitler-1989-nangaparbat", "madin-1989-nangaparbat" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "thicknessM": 2000, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Zeitler, P.K., Sutter, J.F., Williams, I.S., Zartman, R. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1989). Geochronology and temperature history of the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh Massif, Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 1-22.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p1", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Madin, I.P., Lawrence, R.D. & Ur-Rehman, S. (1989). The northwestern Nanga Parbat-Haramosh massif; evidence for crustal uplift at the northwestern corner of the Indian craton. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 169-182.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p169", "year": 1989 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Nanga Parbat Gneisses form the >15 km-thick Proterozoic Nanga Parbat Group (Madin 1986) of the Nanga Parbat–Haramosh Massif (the Nanga Parbat Syntaxis, a re-entrant into the Kohistan arc), comprising the basal Shingus paragneiss, the Iskere orthogneiss, upper amphibolites and marbles, and the Haramosh Schist; the group is intruded by younger undeformed granites, pegmatites and mafic dykes. The Precambrian Salkhala Formation is thrust over the gneisses along the Shontargali Thrust (an MCT analogue), and the Liachar Thrust carries the high-grade gneisses onto Recent Indus-valley glacial sediments.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997), after Tahirkheli (1987–1992): the amphibolite-facies Nanga Parbat Gneisses are dated at 1,800–2,700 Ma — an older span (Paleoproterozoic–Neoarchean) than the curated 'Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic'; flagged for reconciliation.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zeitler et al. (1989): U/Pb zircon dating gives protolith ages of ~1850 Ma for the Iskere Gneiss and 400–500 Ma for the structurally lower Shengus Gneiss (which may be a metamorphosed equivalent of the Mansehra Granite and other Paleozoic S-type Himalayan granites). Critically, thin high-U zircon rims on the Iskere Gneiss yield 2.3–11 Ma ages, showing that the high-grade metamorphism of the massif is TERTIARY, not Precambrian — the curated Precambrian age applies to the protolith, not the metamorphic fabric.", "source": "zeitler-1989-nangaparbat" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Zeitler et al. (1989): the Nanga Parbat–Haramosh Massif — a north-pointing promontory of Indian-plate high-grade gneiss at the northwestern Himalayan syntaxis — reached peak metamorphic temperatures at 25–30 Ma. Its post-metamorphic cooling over the last 5–10 Ma has been controlled by the Raikhot Fault together with passive uplift beneath the overthrust Kohistan arc; net cooling rates for gneisses now at the Indus River accelerated from ~20 °C/Ma at ~20 Ma to ~300 °C/Ma at 0–0.4 Ma, recording extraordinarily rapid recent exhumation.", "source": "zeitler-1989-nangaparbat" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Madin et al. (1989): the western boundary of the Nanga Parbat–Haramosh Massif is not the Main Mantle Thrust but the younger, recently active dextral-reverse Raikot fault, which truncates the MMT and separates the Kohistan-arc rocks (Kohistan Sequence) from the high-grade Proterozoic metasediments (the 'Nanga Parbat Group') and orthogneisses of the Indian craton. The Raikot fault (mylonite zones plus discrete faults) accommodated ~15–25 km of late Cenozoic crustal uplift, appears to involve the Moho, and is interpreted as a terminal tear fault on the Main Central Thrust following a major — possibly pre-collision Indian-plate — crustal structure.", "source": "madin-1989-nangaparbat" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "mangla-gneiss", "name": "Mangla Gneiss", "age": "Precambrian (Paleoproterozoic)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Paleoproterozoic", "lithology": "Biotite gneiss, quartzofeldspathic gneiss, amphibolite", "description": "Exposed in subsurface and drill cores near Mangla Dam area. Represents Indian Shield crystalline basement beneath the Himalayan foreland. Important for understanding basement configuration of the Potwar-Kashmir region.", "thickness": "Unknown (drill core intercepts)", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "Important for reconstructing the basement configuration of the Potwar-Kashmir foreland; assigned a Palaeoproterozoic/Precambrian basement age, though direct geochronology is sparse.", "typeLocality": "Mangla Dam area, Mirpur, Azad Kashmir", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Deep crystalline basement", "underlies": "Precambrian-Paleozoic sedimentary cover" }, "provinces": [ "azad-kashmir", "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "coordinates": "33.1400, 73.6400", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "low", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-14", "plainSummary": "A biotite / quartzofeldspathic gneiss with amphibolite, known mainly from drill cores and subsurface near Mangla Dam, Mirpur, representing Indian-shield crystalline basement beneath the Himalayan foreland.", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 33.14, "lng": 73.64, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "sargodha-ridge-basement", "name": "Sargodha Ridge Basement", "age": "Precambrian (Archean-Proterozoic)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Archean-Proterozoic", "lithology": "Granite, gneiss, schist, quartzite (subsurface)", "description": "Buried basement high (horst) between the Potwar and Sulaiman basins. Known from geophysical surveys and rare drill core data. The Kirana Hills are surface expression of this buried ridge. Controls petroleum migration and trapping in the Punjab Platform.", "thickness": "Unknown (buried feature)", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "A basement ridge separating major depocentres of the Indus foreland; the Kirana Hills inselbergs are its surface expression, exposing Neoproterozoic Indian-shield basement. It exerts an important control on petroleum migration and trapping on the Punjab Platform.", "typeLocality": "Sargodha area, Punjab (subsurface)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Deep crystalline basement", "underlies": "Paleozoic-Mesozoic sedimentary cover" }, "provinces": [ "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "economicImportance": "Controls petroleum migration pathways in Punjab Platform", "coordinates": "32.0800, 72.6700", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "low", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "plainSummary": "A buried Precambrian basement high (horst) beneath the Punjab Platform between the Potwar and Sulaiman basins, whose only surface expression is the Kirana Hills.", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Ahmed, T. & Hassan, I. (2025). Regional Geodynamic Implications of Proterozoic Volcanic and Metasedimentary Sequences in the Kirana Hills, Punjab, Pakistan. Indonesian Journal on Geoscience, 12(3), 437-465.", "url": "https://ijog.geologi.esdm.go.id/index.php/IJOG/article/view/1191", "year": 2025 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Sargodha (Sargodha-Shahpur/Shahkot) ridge is the buried Precambrian basement horst of the Indus platform — the western extension of the Indian shield — whose exposed summits form monadnocks (the Kirana Hills) of unfossiliferous Kirana Group metasediments and metavolcanics (Rb-Sr 870 ± 40 Ma; Davies & Crawford 1971), with gold-bearing hematite; the sedimentary cover thins to 0–600 m over the ridge, which probably forms the basement to the Salt Range.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "igneous", "lat": 32.08, "lng": 72.67, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "petaro-ridge-basement", "name": "Petaro-Hyderabad Ridge", "age": "Precambrian", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Proterozoic", "lithology": "Crystalline basement (granite, gneiss — subsurface)", "description": "Buried basement high in Lower Sindh known from gravity and aeromagnetic surveys. Separates the Thar Platform from the main Indus Basin. Important structural control on Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentation in Lower Indus.", "thickness": "Unknown (buried feature)", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "An important structural control on Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentation in the Lower Indus Basin; known only from geophysics and rare drill data, its crystalline-basement age is unconstrained beyond a general Precambrian assignment.", "typeLocality": "Petaro-Hyderabad area, Sindh (subsurface)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Deep crystalline basement", "underlies": "Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary sequence" }, "provinces": [ "sindh", "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "economicImportance": "Controls gas field locations in Lower Sindh", "coordinates": "25.5200, 68.3100", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "low", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-14", "plainSummary": "A buried Precambrian basement high in Lower Sindh (Petaro-Hyderabad area), identified from gravity and aeromagnetic surveys, separating the Thar Platform from the main Indus Basin.", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "lithologyType": "igneous", "lat": 25.52, "lng": 68.31, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "jafar-kandao-formation", "name": "Jafar Kandao Formation", "age": "Late Devonian (Famennian) to Mid-Carboniferous (Westphalian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian–Carboniferous", "lithology": "Argillite with subordinate limestone, quartzite and conglomerate; a discontinuous conglomerate marks the basal unconformity.", "description": "Named after Jafar Kandao area. Contains trilobite fauna indicating Late Cambrian age.", "thickness": "200-500 m", "fossils": [ "Conodonts" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An argillite-dominated unit overlying the Nowshera Formation; limestone lenses have yielded latest-Devonian to Early Mississippian and Late Pennsylvanian conodonts (Pogue et al., 1992), making it Carboniferous.", "typeLocality": "Jafar Kandao, Rustam area northeast of Nowshera", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Nowshera Formation", "underlies": "Panjpir Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "introducedBy": "Pogue and Hussain (1986)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "A Carboniferous argillite-and-limestone unit above the Nowshera Formation, dated by conodonts.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "dipietro-1993", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "dipietro-1993", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993). Stratigraphy south of the Main Mantle Thrust, Lower Swat, Pakistan. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds), Himalayan Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74, 207-220.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1993.074.01.15", "year": 1993 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0915:PAMSOT>2.3.CO;2", "year": 1992 }, { "citation": "Hussain, A., DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 18, 25-35.", "year": 1998 } ], "coordinates": "34.3500, 72.2833", "thicknessM": 350, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Corrected: the previous age ('Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician') contradicted the unit's own period field (Devonian–Carboniferous). DiPietro et al. (1993), after Pogue & Hussain (1988), report conodonts of late Famennian–Tournaisian near the base and Westphalian B some 20 m below the Karapa greenschist, giving a Late Devonian to Mid-Carboniferous age. Lithology: a laterally variable ~1100 m sequence of argillite, sandy limestone, conglomerate, quartzite and calcareous quartzite.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Pogue, Harris & Hussain (1992; unit named by Pogue & Hussain 1986): conodonts (Protognathodus, Gnathodus semiglaber/pseudosemiglaber, Neogondolella cf. donbasica, Rhachistognathus) date the Jafar Kandao Formation as latest Devonian to Middle Carboniferous (late Famennian/Tournaisian to Westphalian B). About 1,100 m of argillite with lenses of limestone, quartzite and conglomerate; a granitic-clast conglomerate records an early-Carboniferous tectonic/uplift episode. Overlies the Nowshera Formation and is overlain by the Karapa Greenschist.", "source": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hussain, DiPietro & Pogue (1998): the Jafar Kandao Formation (type section on the Machai Canal ~5 km SE of Rustam, 34 deg 19' N, 72 deg 18' E) is dominantly argillite with a lower channel conglomerate carrying granite and quartzite clasts; conodonts range from Protognathodus (latest Devonian-early Mississippian) through Gnathodus (Mississippian) to Neogondolella cf. donbasica and Rhachistognathus (Pennsylvanian). It is overlain across a sharp contact by the Karapa Greenschist (metamorphosed tholeiitic basalt).", "source": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 34.35, "lng": 72.2833, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "karapa-greenschist", "name": "Karapa Greenschist", "age": "Late Carboniferous to Late Triassic (bracketed by bounding formations)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "", "epoch": "", "lithology": "Metamorphosed tholeiitic basalt (greenschist), identified on geochemical analyses.", "description": "The Karapa Greenschist is a metamorphosed tholeiitic basalt (greenschist) of the Peshawar basin, lying between the Carboniferous Jafar Kandao Formation below and the Late Triassic (Carnian) Kashala Formation above. It is not directly dated; its age is bracketed only as late Carboniferous (Westphalian) to late Triassic (Carnian) from the conodont ages of the bounding formations. Its type area is on the south-facing slope of Gumbat Sar between Karapa and Sonigram villages, well exposed near Karapa village about 30 km NE of Baroch.", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "A greenschist-facies metatholeiite intercalated in the Peshawar-basin Palaeozoic-Mesozoic succession, interpreted as a metamorphosed volcanic horizon; its wide late-Carboniferous to late-Triassic age bracket derives solely from the conodont-dated formations above and below it (Pogue, Harris & Hussain 1992; Hussain, DiPietro & Pogue 1998).", "typeLocality": "South-facing slope of Gumbat Sar between Karapa and Sonigram villages; well exposed near Karapa village, about 30 km NE of Baroch (Survey of Pakistan Topographic Sheet 43B/7).", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Jafar Kandao Formation", "underlies": "Kashala Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "introducedBy": "Pogue and Hussain (1986)", "environment": [ "volcanic" ], "plainSummary": "A metamorphosed basalt (greenschist) layer in the Peshawar-basin succession, dated only by the fossil ages of the rocks above and below it.", "sources": [ "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "tahirkheli-1993-warsak" ], "citations": { "lithology": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "typeLocality": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "overlies": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "underlies": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "introducedBy": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "geologicalSignificance": [ "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" ], "plainSummary": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "age": [ "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" ], "era": [ "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 3, "reviewStatus": "published", "references": [ { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.", "year": 1992, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0915:PAMSOT>2.3.CO;2" }, { "citation": "Hussain, A., DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 18, 25-35.", "year": 1998 }, { "citation": "Tahirkheli, T., Khan, M.A. & Mian, I. (1993). The Warsak basic rocks: Initial-rift stage continental tholeiites of Permo-Triassic 'Panjal' affinity. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 26, 17-33.", "year": 1993 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Tahirkheli, Khan & Mian (1993): the Warsak basic rocks near Peshawar (tholeiitic microgabbros, dolerites and metabasalts) are initial-rift-stage continental tholeiites of within-plate affinity, and their volcanic/volcaniclastic component is directly correlatable with the Karapa Greenschist of the Ambela area (and the amphibolite marker of the upper Marghazar Formation of Lower Swat) - all of Permo-Triassic 'Panjal' affinity, correlated with the Panjal volcanics of Kaghan and Kashmir. This supports a Permo-Triassic (Panjal rift) origin and age for the Karapa Greenschist, consistent with its bracketed age.", "source": "tahirkheli-1993-warsak" }, { "field": "era", "note": "Assigned era = Paleozoic by the older-bound rule for boundary-straddling units: the age is only bracketed by the bounding Jafar Kandao and Kashala formations as Late Carboniferous to Late Triassic, so the older bound (Late Carboniferous, Paleozoic) is used; period/epoch left unset as the bracket spans multiple periods.", "source": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "nowshera-formation", "nomenclaturalStatus": "redefined", "name": "Nowshera Formation", "age": "Early Devonian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian", "lithology": "Reef limestone rich in corals and stromatoporoids, surrounded by brecciated reef limestone and sparsely fossiliferous dolomite, with a middle carbonate-cemented sandstone unit.", "description": "Exposed in Nowshera area. Contains conodonts and brachiopods indicating Ordovician-Silurian age.", "thickness": "595 m", "fossils": [ "Corals", "Stromatoporoids", "Cephalopods", "Gastropods", "Brachiopods", "Conodonts" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early Devonian reef complex at Nowshera, conformably overlying the Late Silurian Panjpir Formation; as redefined by Pogue and Hussain (1986) it includes a lower fossiliferous limestone/dolomite, a middle carbonate-cemented sandstone (the Misri Banda Quartzite of Stauffer) and an upper limestone/dolomite (the Pir Sabak Formation). Conodonts indicate an Early Devonian age.", "typeLocality": "3.5 km north of Nowshera", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Panjpir Formation", "underlies": "Shagai Limestone" }, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "epoch": "Early Devonian", "introducedBy": "Stauffer (1968); redefined by Pogue and Hussain (1986)", "environment": [ "marine", "reef" ], "plainSummary": "An Early Devonian coral-stromatoporoid reef complex at Nowshera, above the Panjpir Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "mawson-2003-nowshera", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "khan-2026-nowshera-reef" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Molloy, P.D., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (1997). Late Devonian-Tournaisian conodonts from the eastern Khyber region, north-west Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 103(2), 123-148.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Mawson, R., Talent, J.A. et al. (2003). Siluro-Devonian conodonts from Nowshera, Pakistan. [Journal details not machine-readable from the supplied scanned PDF.]", "year": 2003 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0915:PAMSOT>2.3.CO;2", "year": 1992 }, { "citation": "Hussain, A., DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 18, 25-35.", "year": 1998 } ], "coordinates": "34.0470, 71.9750", "thicknessM": 595, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Molloy, Talent & Mawson (1997) AGE FLAG: the paper refers to the 'Early Devonian (Lochkovian–?Pragian) Nowshera Limestone' (~50 km E of Peshawar), citing Ali & Anwar (1969), Stauffer (1967, 1968b), Talent & Mawson (1979) and Pogue et al. (1992) — a rich tabulate-coral (Cladopora etc.) carbonate. This DB record's fields are internally inconsistent (age 'Middle Ordovician to Silurian' but period 'Devonian'): if it corresponds to the Nowshera Limestone the age should be Early Devonian, whereas a Middle Ordovician–Silurian span would instead cover the underlying Nowshera-area sequence (Misri Banda Quartzite / Panjpir Formation). Recorded as a flag for reconciliation with a Nowshera-specific source; not overwritten.", "source": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Mawson, Talent et al. (2003), 'Siluro-Devonian conodonts from Nowshera, Pakistan' — the dedicated conodont study of the Nowshera-area carbonates. Its title-level result (Siluro-Devonian), together with the 'Early Devonian (Lochkovian–?Pragian) Nowshera Limestone' of Molloy, Talent & Mawson (1997), gives two independent primary lines of evidence for a Silurian–Early Devonian age — reinforcing the earlier flag that this record's age field ('Middle Ordovician to Silurian') is inconsistent with its own epoch/period ('Early Devonian'/'Devonian') and should be reconciled to Siluro-Devonian for the Nowshera Limestone (an Ordovician–Silurian span would instead cover the underlying Misri Banda Quartzite / Panjpir Formation). NOTE: the 2003 PDF is a scanned image with no text layer and could not be machine-read here, so its detailed zonation is not incorporated; the age field is left unchanged pending reconciliation.", "source": "mawson-2003-nowshera" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) RESOLVES the age flag: conodont studies (Molloy in Talent & Mawson 1979) indicate an Early Devonian age for the Nowshera Formation (reef-complex limestone/dolomite, 595 m, type 3.5 km N of Nowshera); near Nowshera the Late Silurian Panjpir Formation is conformably overlain by the Nowshera Formation. The book explicitly separates the underlying Ordovician Misri Banda Quartzite (Cruziana rugosa, Skolithos; Pogue et al. 1992) and the Middle Ordovician(?)–Late Silurian Panjpir Formation as distinct units — so the previous 'Middle Ordovician to Silurian' age actually belonged to those underlying units. Age corrected to Early Devonian (agrees with Molloy, Talent & Mawson 1997 and Mawson et al. 2003, and with the record's own epoch/period).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Pogue, Harris & Hussain (1992): conodonts (Belodella devonica, Icriodus corniger/struvei plexus, Polygnathus, Ancyrodella cf. buckeyensis) date the Nowshera Formation as Early to early Late Devonian (Lochkovian to Frasnian) - the first evidence of these ages in Pakistan south of the Main Karakoram Thrust. About 1,150 m of sandy dolomite, calcareous/dolomitic quartzite and fossiliferous reef limestone (the classic Nowshera Devonian reef); redefined by Pogue & Hussain (1986) to include quartzites Stauffer had mapped as Misri Banda.", "source": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Hussain, DiPietro & Pogue (1998): the Nowshera Formation (type locality 3.5 km N of Nowshera on the Nowshera-Risalpur road; correlated with the Ghundai Sar reef complex of the Khyber area) is Early to early Late Devonian (Lochkovian-Frasnian; upper part N of Swabi yields Ancyrodella cf. buckeyensis and Polygnathus cf. webbi). The authors reject Latif's (1970) Carboniferous age (ampleximorph corals at Pir Sabak) in favour of the Devonian conodont control.", "source": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Siluro-Devonian conodont faunas recovered from the Nowshera area constrain the age of the Nowshera Formation reefal carbonates (Mawson et al. 2003).", "source": "mawson-2003-nowshera" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Khan et al. (2026): the Devonian Nowshera Formation forms the Nowshera Reef Complex, the only Devonian reef complex in Pakistan, of high geoheritage and geotourism value (scientific, educational and touristic significance) and under quarrying pressure.", "source": "khan-2026-nowshera-reef" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 34.047, "lng": 71.975, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "panjpir-formation", "name": "Panjpir Formation", "age": "Middle Ordovician(?) to Late Silurian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Ordovician–Silurian", "lithology": "Slate and phyllite with intercalations of limestone and quartzite, and a basal conglomerate carrying quartzite, dolomite, limestone and argillite clasts.", "description": "Named after Panjpir village. Represents shallow marine to deltaic conditions during Early Devonian.", "thickness": "110–1,075 m", "fossils": [ "Crinoids", "Pelecypods", "Cephalopods", "Nautiloids", "Conodonts" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A slate-and-phyllite unit overlying the Misri Banda Quartzite (dataset Jobra Formation); its limestones carry crinoids, cephalopods and Ludlovian conodonts, and a crinoidal limestone at the top yields Late Silurian (Pridolian) conodonts, giving a Middle Ordovician(?) to Late Silurian age.", "typeLocality": "Panjpir village, Mardan District", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Jobra Formation", "underlies": "Nowshera Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "epoch": "Middle Ordovician(?)–Late Silurian (Pridolian)", "introducedBy": "Pogue and Hussain (1986)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "A slate-and-limestone unit above the Misri Banda Quartzite, dated by conodonts from the Ordovician to the Late Silurian.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0915:PAMSOT>2.3.CO;2", "year": 1992 }, { "citation": "Hussain, A., DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 18, 25-35.", "year": 1998 } ], "coordinates": "34.1000, 72.5333", "thicknessM": 592.5, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORRECTION: the Panjpir Formation (type Panjpir Village, Mardan) is Middle Ordovician(?) to Late Silurian (Pogue & Hussain 1986; Ludlovian/Late Silurian conodonts, Talent & Mawson 1979) — it is conformably OVERLAIN by the Early Devonian Nowshera Formation. The previous 'Early Devonian' age was the Nowshera Formation's, mis-applied here; corrected (this also completes the Nowshera-area reconciliation: Misri Banda Qzt = Ordovician, Panjpir = Ord–Silurian, Nowshera = Early Devonian).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Pogue, Harris & Hussain (1992): extensive conodont faunas (Ozarkodina excavata, O. remscheidensis, Kockelella variabilis, Polygnathoides siluricus, Oulodus, Walliserodus, etc.) date the Panjpir Formation as Early to latest Silurian (Llandoverian to Pridolian) - the first documented evidence of Early and Middle Silurian rocks in Pakistan. About 875 m of dark argillite, phyllite and metasiltstone with an upper crinoidal-orthoceratid limestone; unconformable on the Misri Banda Quartzite and overlain by the Nowshera Formation.", "source": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Hussain, DiPietro & Pogue (1998): the Panjpir Formation (type section near Panjpir village, 34 deg 06' N, 72 deg 30' E, 4 km SE of Swabi; = the 'Kandar Phyllite' of Stauffer 1968) yielded, from a basal crinoidal-limestone lens NW of Misri Banda, Distomodus sp. of Llandoverian-early Wenlockian age - cited as the first evidence of Early and Middle Silurian rock in Pakistan; late-Silurian (Pridolian) conodonts occur in its upper crinoidal limestone.", "source": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.1, "lng": 72.5333, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "mona-jhal-group", "name": "Mona Jhal Group", "age": "Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Early–Late Cretaceous", "lithology": "Black shale (Sembar), limestone-shale-siltstone (Goru), sandstone (Mekhtar) and pelagic limestone (Parh).", "description": "Widespread Late Cretaceous carbonate-marl sequence in southern Pakistan. Type locality in Parh Range, Sulaiman.", "thickness": "200-600 m", "fossils": [ "Planktic foraminifera", "Ammonites" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Cretaceous succession of the western Kirthar/Sulaiman region, comprising the Sembar, Goru, Mekhtar and Parh formations; encompasses the Indus Basin's principal hydrocarbon source rock (Sembar), its main Lower Goru gas reservoir, and the persistent Parh pelagic-limestone marker.", "typeLocality": "Parh Range, Sulaiman", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Goru Formation", "underlies": "Mughal Kot Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman", "kirthar-range" ], "environment": [ "marine" ], "economicImportance": "Contains the Sembar source rock and Lower Goru reservoir — the core of the Indus Basin petroleum system.", "plainSummary": "The Cretaceous Parh Group — Sembar, Goru, Mekhtar and Parh — the source-rock-and-reservoir heart of the Indus Basin, plus the Parh marker limestone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 400, "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "synonyms", "note": "USGS OFR 94-689 records that the Parh Group of Hunting Survey Corporation (1961) was renamed and redefined by Fatmi et al. (1986) as the Mona Jhal Group, comprising in descending order the Mughal Kot Formation, Parh Limestone, Goru Formation and Sembar Formation, and locally including the Bibai Formation below the Mughal Kot Formation in the eastern part of the map area.", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "name", "note": "Renamed from 'Parh Group' to Mona Jhal Group: Fatmi et al. (1990) — confirmed by USGS OFR 94-689 — superseded the Hunting (1961) 'Parh group' with the Mona Jhal Group (Sembar, Goru, Parh and Mughal Kot formations). The Parh Limestone is retained as a constituent formation.", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "rank": "group", "members": [ "sembar-formation", "goru-formation", "parh-limestone", "mughal-kot-formation" ], "synonyms": [ "Parh Group" ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "baltoro-granite", "name": "Baltoro Granite", "age": "Early Miocene (~21 Ma; U–Pb zircon emplacement 21.0 ± 0.5 Ma)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Early Miocene", "lithology": "Biotite granite, muscovite granite, leucogranite", "description": "Major batholith underlying Baltoro Glacier and K2 region. Collision-related leucogranite recording peak metamorphism and melting.", "thickness": "Plutonic body (10+ km)", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "A large post-collisional crustal-melt batholith of the south-central Karakoram underlying the Baltoro Glacier and K2-Trango region. Emplaced in the early Miocene (U-Pb zircon ~21 Ma), with crustal-melt biotite-muscovite-garnet leucogranites yielding U-Pb ages of roughly 21-13 Ma; records crustal melting some ~30 Myr after the India-Asia collision.", "typeLocality": "Baltoro Glacier, Karakoram", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Intrusive into Karakoram metamorphics", "underlies": "Exposed at surface" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "coordinates": "35.7500, 76.3000", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "parrish-tirrul-baltoro-1989", "searle-baltoro-2010", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "searle-1989-karakoram", "rex-karakoram-1988", "searle-karakoram-2011" ], "citations": { "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "parrish-tirrul-baltoro-1989", "searle-baltoro-2010" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "parrish-tirrul-baltoro-1989" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "searle-baltoro-2010" ], "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "parrish-tirrul-baltoro-1989", "searle-baltoro-2010" ], "plainSummary": [ "parrish-tirrul-baltoro-1989", "searle-baltoro-2010" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "plainSummary": "A Miocene collision-related granite and leucogranite batholith beneath the Baltoro Glacier and K2 region, formed by melting of thickened crust long after the India-Asia collision.", "thicknessM": 10000, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Parrish, R.R. & Tirrul, R. (1989). U-Pb age of the Baltoro granite, northwest Himalaya, and implications for monazite U-Pb systematics. Geology, 17(12), 1076-1079.", "url": "https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/17/12/1076/204814/U-Pb-age-of-the-Baltoro-granite-northwest-Himalaya", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Searle, M.P., Parrish, R.R., Thow, A.V., Noble, S.R., Phillips, R.J. & Waters, D.J. (2010). Anatomy, age and evolution of a collisional mountain belt: the Baltoro granite batholith and Karakoram Metamorphic Complex, Pakistani Karakoram. Journal of the Geological Society, 167(1), 183-202.", "url": "https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/abs/10.1144/0016-76492009-043", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Searle, M.P., Rex, A.J., Tirrul, R., Rex, D.C., Barnicoat, A. & Windley, B.F. (1989). Metamorphic, magmatic, and tectonic evolution of the central Karakoram in the Biafo-Baltoro-Hushe regions of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 47-73.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p47", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Rex, A.J., Searle, M.P., Tirrul, R., Crawford, M.B., Prior, D.J., Rex, D.C. & Barnicoat, A. (1988). The geochemical and tectonic evolution of the central Karakoram, North Pakistan. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A, 326, 229-255.", "year": 1988 }, { "citation": "Searle, M.P. (2011). Geological evolution of the Karakoram Ranges. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 147-159.", "year": 2011 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Baltoro Granite is a post-collisional Miocene pluton of the Karakoram (Axial) Batholith — U-Pb zircon 21 ± 0.5 Ma (Urdukas; Parrish & Tirrul 1989), stretching ~100 × 10–20 km through the central Karakoram — of massive co-magmatic monzogranite to leucogranite (with orbicular biotite granite on the Trongo Towers and leucogranite dykes), interpreted as lower-crustal melts with a mantle input; drove contact metamorphism (M3) at 25–21 Ma. Corroborates the curated Miocene (25–12 Ma) age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Searle et al. (1989): the Baltoro Plutonic Unit (BPU) — biotite monzogranite to two-mica ± garnet leucogranite and pegmatite-aplite of mildly peraluminous affinity — is the youngest magmatic phase of the composite Karakoram batholith, with a U-Pb crystallisation age of 21 ± 0.5 Ma and K-Ar mica cooling ages of 11.7–5.25 Ma. It is a postcollisional crustal melt derived from deep crustal levels (petrogenesis distinct from the High Himalayan leucogranites), emplaced after the India–Eurasia collision along the southern Karakoram.", "source": "searle-1989-karakoram" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Searle et al. (1989): thermal effects of BPU emplacement define the M3 metamorphism of the central Karakoram (andalusite-cordierite at Mitre Peak indicating ≤3.75 kbar / ~12.5 km depth; sillimanite-grade melt pods at Paiyu), overprinting the regional syntectonic Barrovian M2 (kyanite-garnet, ~550 °C / 5.5 kbar). Older subduction-related phases of the batholith include the Jurassic Hushe complex and the Cretaceous (82–75 Ma) Muztagh Tower metagranitoids; the M2-cutting Mango Gusar two-mica granite is 37.0 ± 0.8 Ma.", "source": "searle-1989-karakoram" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Corroborated by Searle (2011) and Rex et al. (1988): the Baltoro Granite is the Miocene axial post-collisional leucogranite of the Karakoram batholith, emplaced during crustal thickening after the India-Asia collision. Consistent with the recorded Miocene (25-12 Ma) age.", "source": "searle-karakoram-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Tightened from \"Miocene (25-12 Ma)\" to an Early Miocene emplacement of 21.0 ± 0.5 Ma from U–Pb zircon dating (Parrish & Tirrul 1989), a late- to post-tectonic phase of the Karakoram batholith; monazite ages 17–19 Ma record slow post-emplacement cooling, and Precambrian zircon inheritance indicates a crustal-melt source.", "source": "parrish-tirrul-baltoro-1989" }, { "field": "age", "note": "U-Pb dating shows the Baltoro granite batholith was assembled over c. 26.4-13 Ma as a suite of biotite-muscovite-garnet leucogranites (Trango Towers, Cathedral, K2-Gasherbrum), a long-lived Miocene crustal-melt event (Searle et al. 2010).", "source": "searle-baltoro-2010" } ], "lithologyType": "igneous", "lat": 35.75, "lng": 76.3, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "hunza-plutonic-unit", "name": "Hunza Plutonic Unit", "age": "Mid-Cretaceous (~105 Ma)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Granodiorite, tonalite, diorite", "description": "Arc-related plutonics in southern Karakoram. Part of the Trans-Himalayan batholith system.", "thickness": "Plutonic body", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "A calc-alkaline, subduction-related plutonic suite (quartz diorite, tonalite, granodiorite) that dominates the western-central Karakoram batholith; part of the pre-collisional Trans-Himalayan arc built above the Neo-Tethyan subduction zone, and deformed in the south by later collisional thrusting. U-Pb zircon dating places the Hunza plutonic complex in the mid-Cretaceous (~105 Ma).", "typeLocality": "Hunza Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Intrusive into older metamorphics", "underlies": "Covered by younger deposits" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "plainSummary": "Arc-related granodiorite-tonalite plutons of the southern/western Karakoram batholith, built above the subducting Neo-Tethys before the India-Asia collision.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "crawford-searle-karakoram-1992", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "rex-karakoram-1988", "searle-karakoram-2011" ], "citations": { "age": "crawford-searle-karakoram-1992", "era": "crawford-searle-karakoram-1992", "period": "crawford-searle-karakoram-1992", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "crawford-searle-karakoram-1992" ], "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "crawford-searle-karakoram-1992" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "crawford-searle-karakoram-1992" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "epoch": "crawford-searle-karakoram-1992" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Narrowed from the baseline Cretaceous-Paleogene (which bundled the whole Karakoram batholith) to the mid-Cretaceous emplacement age (~105 Ma U-Pb zircon) of the Hunza plutonic unit proper (Crawford & Searle 1992). Era reset Cenozoic -> Mesozoic accordingly.", "source": "crawford-searle-karakoram-1992" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the mid-Cretaceous, calc-alkaline Hunza Plutonic Complex of the Karakoram Batholith is U-Pb zircon dated at 95 ± 5 Ma (with K-Ar 46 Ma hornblende and 26 Ma biotite; Le Fort et al. 1983) — quartz diorite to granite (granodiorite predominant), its southern part foliated and garnet-bearing with migmatite and late two-mica/garnet-muscovite leucogranite dykes; a pre-collision unit. Consistent with the curated ~105 Ma age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Corroborated by Rex et al. (1988) and Searle (2011): the Hunza Plutonic Unit is part of the Karakoram batholith, an Andean-type (I-type, calc-alkaline) suite generated by Late Jurassic to Mid-Cretaceous north-dipping subduction of Tethyan oceanic lithosphere beneath the Karakoram, pre-dating the ~50 Ma India-Asia collision. Consistent with the recorded mid-Cretaceous (~105 Ma) subduction-related setting.", "source": "searle-karakoram-2011" }, { "field": "epoch", "note": "Assigned mid-Cretaceous (Albian, ~105 Ma) within the ca. 115–80 Ma range of the pre-collision (India–Asia) Karakoram plutonic units; the Hunza plutonic unit is a calc-alkaline, quartz diorite–granodiorite suite emplaced above the north-dipping subduction zone before the ~50 Ma collision (Crawford & Searle 1992).", "source": "crawford-searle-karakoram-1992" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Crawford, M.B. & Searle, M.P. (1992). Field relationships and geochemistry of pre-collisional (India-Asia) granitoid magmatism in the central Karakoram, northern Pakistan. Tectonophysics, 206(1-2), 171-192.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004019519290375G", "year": 1992 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Rex, A.J., Searle, M.P., Tirrul, R., Crawford, M.B., Prior, D.J., Rex, D.C. & Barnicoat, A. (1988). The geochemical and tectonic evolution of the central Karakoram, North Pakistan. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A, 326, 229-255.", "year": 1988 }, { "citation": "Searle, M.P. (2011). Geological evolution of the Karakoram Ranges. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 147-159.", "year": 2011 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "coordinates": "36.32, 74.66", "tier": 1, "epoch": "Albian (mid-Cretaceous)", "lithologyType": "igneous", "lat": 36.32, "lng": 74.66, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "darkot-group", "name": "Darkot Group", "age": "Late Palaeozoic (Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous–Permian", "lithology": "A thick sequence of slate, limestone, quartzite, conglomerate, schist, marble, gneiss and volcanics.", "description": "Metamorphosed Paleozoic sequence in Chitral area. Contains various metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks.", "thickness": "3000+ m", "fossils": [ "Bryozoans", "Foraminifera", "Brachiopods", "Crinoids", "Corals", "Gastropods" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Permo-Carboniferous group that forms most of the southern sedimentary belt of the Karakoram, exposed in two long east–west belts north of the Main Karakoram Thrust. It comprises the White Marble, Rawat, Gum and Barum formations and the basal shales (Le Fort and Gaetani, 1998); in the higher-grade Hunza and Baltoro–Shigar areas its metamorphosed equivalents are the Dumordo, Ganchen and Askore formations. It is intruded by Karakoram Batholith plutons and is unconformably overlain by the Reshun Formation.", "typeLocality": "Darkot village, upper Yasin valley", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chitral Slate", "underlies": "Reshun Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "introducedBy": "Ivanac et al. (1956)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "plainSummary": "The Permo-Carboniferous Darkot Group — the main southern sedimentary belt of the Karakoram — including the Rawat, Gum and Barum formations and their metamorphic equivalents.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548", "year": 1995 } ], "coordinates": "36.4700, 73.5300", "thicknessM": 3000, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Darkot Group (Ivanac et al. 1956) is subdivided by Le Fort & Gaetani (1998) into the Gum, Barum and Rawat formations and spans the Upper Palaeozoic (bryozoans, brachiopods, Permian fusulinids, Upper Carboniferous conodonts) to the Mesozoic (Late Triassic megalodontids in the Gum Fm.); the paper introduces the term 'Darkot-Gazin Metasedimentary Belt' for it. NB: broader than the curated 'Ordovician–Devonian' age — flagged for reconciliation.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORRECTION: the Darkot Group is Late Palaeozoic — its fossils indicate an Upper Carboniferous to Lower Permian age (mapped as Permian), NOT 'Ordovician–Devonian' as previously recorded (the earlier age was unsourced). The Barum Formation is a member of this Permian Darkot Group. Age corrected.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): in formalizing the Permian Chapursan Group (Lashkargaz-Lupghar-Panjshah formations) the authors kept it distinct from the Darkot Group (Ivanac et al. 1956) while noting a possible affinity between the two.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 36.47, "lng": 73.53, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "shogram-formation", "name": "Shogram Formation", "age": "Middle–Late Devonian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian", "lithology": "Massive crinoidal dolomite in the lower part; bedded dolomite, fossiliferous limestone with corals and thin shale in the middle; and cross-bedded fine- to medium-grained quartzite with brachiopod-bearing limestone in the upper part.", "description": "Named after Shogram village. Contains glaciomarine diamictites indicating Permo-Carboniferous glaciation on Asian plate.", "thickness": "~230 m at the Kurâgh Spur type section (180 m on the Yarkhun R.; ~80 m at Chillinji); the widely-cited ~800 m (Bender & Raza 1995; Kazmi & Jan 1997) is unsupported (Talent et al. 1999)", "fossils": [ "Rugose corals", "Brachiopods", "Conodonts", "Trilobites (Neocalmonia chitralensis, N. batillifera orientalis)" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The principal Devonian carbonate of the Chitral-Hindukush sequence, recording a marine-shelf environment; it is thrust south-eastward over the Cretaceous Reshun Formation along the Reshun Thrust and undergoes rapid lateral facies changes that have long complicated local correlation.", "typeLocality": "Shogram village (mount), Yarkhun valley, Chitral", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chilmarabad Formation", "underlies": "Lun Shale" }, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral", "karakoram" ], "epoch": "Middle–Late Devonian", "introducedBy": "Desio (1966)", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "synonyms": [ "Sewakht Formation", "Owir Formation" ], "plainSummary": "The main Devonian limestone-and-quartzite unit of Chitral (~230 m thick at its Kurâgh Spur type section), rich in corals and brachiopods, now thrust over much younger Cretaceous rocks.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2008-devonian", "feist-talent-mawson-2001", "talent-gaetani-1999", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": "talent-gaetani-1999", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "talent-gaetani-1999" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Baseline thickness '6m' is a migration artifact: it is the 6 m pisolitic ironstone bed of the nearby Zait Limestone, not the Shogram Formation, which is about 800 m thick near its type locality. Flag for Phase-6 cleanup.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Baseline age 'Devonian–Jurassic' is over-broad: it bundles the overlying Sarikole/Lun Shales, which range up to the Jurassic. The Shogram Formation proper is Middle to Late Devonian. Flag for Phase-6 cleanup.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19): the Shogram Formation is Middle-Late Devonian, ~75 m (Axial sheet) to 250-300 m (Karambar); a clean match to the dataset's Middle-Late Devonian age.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Shogram Formation is Givetian at the base and Frasnian for the overlying lithozones (Middle–Late Devonian; no Famennian evidence here). Dated by corals (Schröder 2004), tabulates (Hubmann & Gaetani 2007) and conodonts (Icriodus alternatus alternatus, Polygnathus decorosus). The most fossiliferous Devonian unit of Karakoram — five lithozones from basal terrigenous conglomerates/arenites through brachiopod–crinoid calcarenites and coral bafflestones to a fine terrigenous top with Rhizocorallium; records a Givetian rifting event.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2008): the Shogrâm Formation begins with basal alluvial arenite and fine conglomerate, overlain by alternating marine bioclastic limestones and litharenites with one or two coral bafflestones; its lowermost part is Givetian, extending through the Frasnian and seemingly into the Famennian (the last poorly documented in the Karambar sections, contrasting with the classic Shogrâm/Kurâgh sections of Chitral). Gaetani et al. (2004) give the range as mid-Givetian to mid-Famennian. Corroborates the curated Middle–Late Devonian age.", "source": "gaetani-2008-devonian" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Feist, Talent & Mawson (2001): Late Devonian trilobites from near the Frasnian–Famennian boundary in the Shogrâm Formation on the SW flank of the Kurâgh Spur (~230 m shale-limestone-arenite succession) — a new asteropygine Neocalmonia chitralensis sp. nov. and Neocalmonia batillifera orientalis subsp. nov. (from unit KUR 9B), extending the Asteropyginae eastward from Iran and southern Afghanistan; an earlier Reed (1922) form (Dalmanites (Asteropyge) koraghensis) is reassignable to Heliopyge. The Upper Kellwasser Event is located within unit KUR 19 (Talent et al. 1999).", "source": "feist-talent-mawson-2001" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Talent et al. (1999) THICKNESS CORRECTION: they designate the Kurâgh Spur section (~36°13'N, 72°10'E; ~7.5 km NE of Reshun) as the type section of the Shogrâm Formation — an ~230-m-thick shale-limestone-arenite succession into which the underlying Charun Quartzite passes gradationally upward. The often-quoted ~800 m (Bender & Raza 1995; Kazmi & Jan 1997) is explicitly stated to be unsupported by any known section (elsewhere ~180 m on the Yarkhun River, ~80 m at Chillinji). Thickness field refined accordingly.", "source": "talent-gaetani-1999" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Talent et al. (1999): conodonts show the Shogrâm Formation at Kurâgh spans mid-Givetian (base, Middle varcus Subzone at the Charun-transitional beds; P. varcus, P. timorensis) through Frasnian (from ~18-20 m, interval 9A) to early Famennian (from ~51-53.5 m, intervals 17-19); a sedimentation lacuna may represent all or most of the earlier half of Frasnian time. The new conodont Icriodus homeomorphus sp. nov. occurs in early Famennian horizons (Late triangularis to ?Early crepida Zone). Corroborates and refines the curated Middle-Late Devonian age.", "source": "talent-gaetani-1999" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Sciunnach, D. & Talent, J.A. (2008). The Devonian of Western Karakorum (Pakistan). Acta Geologica Polonica, 58(3), 261-285.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Feist, R., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (2001). Devonian trilobites from the Shogrâm Formation, Kurâgh, Chitral (NW Pakistan). Alcheringa, 25(2), 107-115.", "year": 2001 }, { "citation": "Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999). Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts from the Western Karakoram and Hindu Kush, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 105(2), 201-226.", "year": 1999 } ], "thicknessM": 230, "reviewStatus": "published", "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "lun-shale", "name": "Lun Shale", "age": "Silurian to Late Devonian (structurally disrupted mélange)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Silurian–Devonian", "lithology": "Slates and shales with subordinate quartzarenites and limestones, structurally disrupted (a stratigraphic mélange)", "description": "Named after Lun village, Chitral. A problematic, structurally disrupted (mélange) assemblage of slates with subordinate arenites and limestones, containing rocks ranging in age from Silurian to Late Devonian. Formerly assigned a Permian–Triassic age; reclassified as Siluro-Devonian on conodont and graptolite evidence (Talent et al. 1999; Feist et al. 2001).", "thickness": "200-500 m", "fossils": [ "Ammonoids (rare)", "Bivalves" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A problematic, faulted assemblage in the Reshun–Kurâgh area of Chitral, applied by Desio (1966) to slates with subordinate arenites and limestones. Conodonts and graptolites show it to be a stratigraphic potpourri/mélange of Silurian (monograptids at the top of Mt Shogram) through Early Devonian (Emsian) and Late Devonian rocks — not a Permian–Triassic unit. The name has also been applied inconsistently (Buchroithner 1998 mapped a 'Lun Shale' tract next to the Cretaceous Krinj Limestone), so no single clean age applies.", "typeLocality": "Lun, Chitral", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Shogram Formation", "underlies": "Reshun Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "plainSummary": "A structurally disrupted (mélange) unit of slates and shales in Chitral, named after Lun village; its rocks range from Silurian to Late Devonian in age, and it was formerly mis-assigned to the Permian–Triassic.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gaetani-chitral-1996", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "feist-talent-mawson-2001", "talent-gaetani-1999", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "talent-gaetani-1999", "era": "talent-gaetani-1999", "period": "talent-gaetani-1999", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "thicknessM": 350, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M. and others (1996). Reconnaissance geology in Upper Chitral, Baroghil and Karambar districts (northern Karakorum, Pakistan). Geologische Rundschau, 85, 683-704.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02440105", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Feist, R., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (2001). Devonian trilobites from the Shogrâm Formation, Kurâgh, Chitral (NW Pakistan). Alcheringa, 25(2), 107-115.", "year": 2001 }, { "citation": "Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999). Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts from the Western Karakoram and Hindu Kush, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 105(2), 201-226.", "year": 1999 } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "AGE CONFLICT: Gaetani et al. (1996) report Early Devonian (early Emsian) conodont horizons in the Lun Shale of the Reshun-Tirich Mir belt, whereas the dataset lists Permian-Triassic. Unit corroborated; the age needs review (the Tirich Mir report also speculates Permian-Jurassic). Literature-search-derived.", "source": "gaetani-chitral-1996" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Lun Shales (Desio; = Sarikol Slate of Hayden 1915) are a thick sequence of grey splintery slaty shale with quartzite, dolomite and limestone between the Tirich and Reshun Faults (NW Chitral), overlying the Shogram Formation and truncated by the Tirich Fault. The book gives a wide/uncertain range — largely Permo-Carboniferous, but possibly Devonian(?) to Late Jurassic (Permian fusulines and, in the Rosh Gol upper part, Middle–Late Jurassic ammonites) — bracketing the curated 'Permian–Triassic'.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Feist, Talent & Mawson (2001) AGE FLAG: this paper lists the 'Lun Shale' among the older Middle Palaeozoic units of Chitral (with the Charun Quartzite and Chilmarabad Formation) that underlie the Devonian (Givetian–Famennian) Shogrâm Formation — implying a Silurian–Devonian (Middle Palaeozoic) age, which CONFLICTS with this record's curated 'Permian–Triassic (Mesozoic)' age. Given the curated age is itself attributed to Gaetani et al. (Chitral 1996) and Kazmi & Jan (1997), the discrepancy likely reflects either a homonym or a mis-correlation and is flagged for reconciliation against the primary Chitral Devonian literature; not overwritten.", "source": "feist-talent-mawson-2001" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Talent et al. (1999) STRONG AGE FLAG (with Feist et al. 2001): the 'Lun Shale' (Desio 1966) is documented as a PROBLEMATIC stratigraphic potpourri / tectonic mélange of rocks of various ages — Silurian (monograptids at the top of Mt Shogram), Early Devonian (Emsian; this report) and Late Devonian — NOT a Permian-Triassic unit. Hayden (1915) and Desio (1966) had thought it Carboniferous; the name has also been applied inconsistently (Buchroithner 1998 mapped a 'Lun Shale' tract adjacent to the Cretaceous Krinj Limestone). This directly contradicts this record's curated 'Permian-Triassic (Mesozoic)' age and its 'Permo-Triassic extinction' description — two independent primary sources (Talent et al. 1999 conodonts/graptolites; Feist et al. 2001) place it in the Silurian-Devonian (Middle Palaeozoic). Given the unit's mélange character, no single clean age applies; strongly flagged for reclassification (Paleozoic, Siluro-Devonian) pending author decision — NOT auto-overwritten because it flips the era badge.", "source": "talent-gaetani-1999" }, { "field": "age", "note": "RECLASSIFIED (author-approved 2026-07-30): age changed from 'Permian–Triassic' (Mesozoic) to Silurian–Late Devonian (Paleozoic), era badge flipped Mesozoic→Paleozoic, on two independent primary sources — Talent et al. (1999) conodonts/graptolites and Feist et al. (2001) — which document the Lun Shale as a Siluro-Devonian structurally disrupted mélange. The earlier 'Permo-Triassic extinction' description was a mis-correlation (partly a conflation with the Chitral Slates) and has been removed.", "source": "talent-gaetani-1999" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "reshun-formation", "name": "Reshun Formation", "age": "Late Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "The Reshun Conglomerate: a lower psammite/conglomerate (Awi Conglomerate) overlain by micritic limestone and maroon shale.", "description": "Named after Reshun village. Carbonate platform sequence with evaporitic intervals. Contains Megalodon-bearing facies.", "thickness": "500-1500 m", "fossils": [ "Megalodon", "Corals", "Foraminifera" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The well-known Reshun Conglomerate; it unconformably overlies the Krinj Limestone and is juxtaposed against the Paleozoic Northern sedimentary belt along the Reshun Thrust. Its age is Cretaceous, possibly extending into the Early Tertiary; the Tupop Conglomerate of the lower Chapursan valley is a correlative.", "typeLocality": "Reshun, Mastuj valley, Chitral", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Krinj Limestone", "underlies": "Chitral Slate" }, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "introducedBy": "Hayden (1915)", "synonyms": [ "Awi Conglomerate", "Tupop Conglomerate" ], "environment": [ "marginal marine", "marine" ], "plainSummary": "The famous Reshun Conglomerate of the Mastuj valley — Cretaceous conglomerate and limestone above the Krinj Limestone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "epoch": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "36.1550, 72.0989", "thicknessM": 1000, "reviewStatus": "published", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Age corrected from \"Triassic-Jurassic\" to Late Cretaceous per Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19: Reshun Conglomerate, Upper Cretaceous, 0-600 m) and the well-known mid-to-Late Cretaceous Reshun Formation of Chitral; author-approved 2026-07-17.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Reshun conglomerate'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Reshun Formation is Late Cretaceous — a post-Aptian age is required because it unconformably overlies late-Aptian orbitolinid (Mesorbitolina) limestones and contains reworked Orbitolina-bearing clasts; no pollens were recovered. A >500 m (locally >1000 m) fluvial red conglomerate/sandstone succession of high-energy fans passing to a braided plain, unconformably (low-angle) overlying Palaeozoic–Triassic units of the Axial Unit; records two deformational events related to the Kohistan–Karakoram collision.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1996): the Reshun conglomerate forms a belt from Chitral to the Karambar valleys; no direct age control was obtained, but it is inferred to be Cretaceous, younger than the Orbitolina limestones because reworked clasts carry orbitolinid foraminifera. Corroborates the Cretaceous assignment.", "source": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996" } ], "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lat": 36.155, "lng": 72.0989, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "ailak-formation", "name": "Ailak Formation", "age": "Late Permian–Late Triassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "lithology": "Massive dolomite and limestone.", "description": "Named by Gaetani et al. (1995) after Baroghil Alak, the Ailak Formation comprises dolomite and limestone of Late Permian to Late Triassic age in the Karakoram of the upper Hunza–Chitral region.", "fossils": [ "Fusulinid foraminifera (Nankinella, Sphaerulina)", "Dasyclad alga (Permocalculus)", "Tubiphytes" ], "typeLocality": "Baroghil Alak by Gaetani et al", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Gharil Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1995)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Triassic", "thickness": "about 1000 m", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A roughly 1000 m carbonate-platform succession exposed along the continental divide in the Baroghil region, overlying the Gharil Formation; it may be the lateral equivalent of the Kundil and Wirokhun formations of the Chapursan area.", "plainSummary": "A thick Late Permian to Late Triassic dolomite-and-limestone unit of the Baroghil divide.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "perri-molloy-talent-2004", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" ], "citations": { "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "fossils": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Baseline age 'Carboniferous–Paleocene' is a migration/bundling artifact: the Ailak Formation proper is Late Permian to Late Triassic. The baseline description also bundles the Paleocene Misghar Slate and the Pasu Slate, which are separate units and should be split out in Phase-6.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Spans Late Permian to Late Triassic (Malkani, 2017); most of the unit is Triassic, so the era badge is set to Mesozoic (period Triassic) with the full range kept in the age line. A boundary-convention call. (Separately, the baseline description appears to bundle the Paleocene Misghar and Pasu slates, which are distinct units to split out in a later pass.)", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19): the Ailak Formation is Triassic, 0->150 m (Lasht/Siru) to 500-600 m (Lashkargaz/Baroghil). Consistent with the dataset's Late Permian-Late Triassic span.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2013): in the Baroghil (Lashkargaz–Baroghil) platform succession the Ailak Formation is a ~500–600 m peritidal dolostone unit whose lower grey part is Late Permian (fusulinids Nankinella and Sphaerulina with the dasyclad alga Permocalculus; Leven et al. 2007) and whose upper whitish stromatolitic part is Triassic (about 40–50% of the unit), consistent with the curated Late Permian–Late Triassic span. Deep karst infillings (up to ~100 m) with volcanic/metamorphic quartz mark platform emersion, possibly Cimmerian peripheral-bulge uplift.", "source": "gaetani-2012-karakorum" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the type section of the Ailak Formation is the ridge of the continental divide between the Baroghil and Darwaz passes (introduced by Gaetani et al. 1996); >550 m of peritidal dolostone whose lower grey part is Late Permian (fusulinids Nankinella and Sphaerulina, Tubiphytes, Permocalculus) and whose lighter upper part is Triassic — the dolostone contains the Permian/Triassic boundary, with internal gaps in the Triassic part. Huge palaeokarst cavities (up to 100 m deep) at the Baroghil Pass record Cimmerian-age emersion; transgressively overlain by the Lower Jurassic Darwaz An Formation.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Perri, Molloy & Talent (2004): the Ailak Dolomite (name introduced by Gaetani et al. 1995; the DB 'Ailak Formation') is a ~1,000+ m sequence of dolostones up the Yarkhun valley, extending eastwards; it carries a diverse Late Permian foraminifer fauna in dark grey thick-bedded limestones ~460 m above the base and, towards the top, foraminifer 'ghosts' suggestive of a Late Triassic attribution — i.e. Late Permian to ?Late Triassic, matching the curated age. It passes eastwards into slope and offshore facies in the Chapursan and Shimshal valleys of upper Hunza and forms the type of the 'Ailak–Zait Carbonate Platform'. Corroborates the curated Late Permian–Late Triassic age and ~1,000 m thickness.", "source": "perri-molloy-talent-2004" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Surfaced from the age notes into fossils[]: the lower grey (Late Permian) part of the Ailak dolostone yields fusulinids Nankinella and Sphaerulina with the dasyclad alga Permocalculus and Tubiphytes (Zanchi & Gaetani 2011; Gaetani et al. 2013, after Leven et al. 2007). These fix the Permian/Triassic boundary within the unit.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Ailak Formation (>1,000 m of massive dolostones capping the western succession from Baroghil to Chillinji, correlated with the Guhjal Dolomite of Hunza) yielded no age-diagnostic fossils and is bracketed only on stratigraphic position between the Kubergandian and ?Midian; its Murgabian-Midian dolostone transgression is correlated across the Pamirs, Central Afghanistan and the Tethys Himalaya as a turning point in the initial opening of Neo-Tethys. A huge paleokarst (solution cavities up to ~100 m deep) at the Chitral/Wakhan boundary records emersions placed in the Mesozoic, consistent with the unit's Late Permian-Late Triassic span.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Nicora, A., Henderson, C., Cirilli, S., Gale, L., Rettori, R., Vuolo, I. & Atudorei, V. (2013). Refinements in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic stratigraphy of Karakorum, Pakistan. Facies, 59, 915-948.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0346-9", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Perri, M.C., Molloy, P.D. & Talent, J.A. (2004). Earliest Triassic conodonts from Chitral, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 110(1), 467-478.", "year": 2004 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548", "year": 1995 } ], "thicknessM": 1000, "coordinates": "36.85, 73.38", "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lat": 36.85, "lng": 73.38, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "guhjal-dolomite", "name": "Guhjal Dolomite", "age": "Late Permian–Late Triassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "epoch": "Late Triassic", "lithology": "Massive grey platform dolostones and dolomitic limestones with peritidal cycles.", "description": "The Guhjal Dolomite is a thick platform-carbonate succession of the Upper Hunza (Gojal) area in the Northern Karakorum. As characterised by Gaetani et al. (1995), it begins in the Permian and continues into the Late Triassic, and is the Hunza equivalent of the Ailak Formation dolostones of the Baroghil–Karambar area. Its Late Permian base records the Murgabian–Midian carbonate transgression tied to the initial opening of Neo-Tethys, and its Triassic part carries megalodontid bivalves and colonial scleractinian corals. A Parafusulina sp. assemblage in facies transitional between the Gircha Formation and the Guhjal Dolomite indicates a mid- to late Permian age for the base of the platform.", "fossils": [ "megalodontid bivalves (Triassic)", "colonial scleractinian corals (Triassic)", "Parafusulina sp. (Permian base)" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Hunza platform-carbonate equivalent of the Ailak Formation; its Late Permian (Murgabian–Midian) dolostone transgression is part of a regional carbonate-platform event recorded from the Pamirs and Central Afghanistan to the Tethys Himalaya, marking a turning point in the initial opening of Neo-Tethys along the Perigondwanan margin (Gaetani et al. 1995).", "typeLocality": "Gojal (Gujhal) area, Upper Hunza, Northern Karakorum (Gilgit-Baltistan).", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chapursan Group" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "introducedBy": "Characterised for the Gujhal (Gojal) area of Upper Hunza by Gaetani et al. (1995)", "environment": [ "carbonate platform", "peritidal", "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "A thick Late Permian to Late Triassic platform dolomite of Upper Hunza — the Hunza counterpart of the Ailak Formation — marking the Neo-Tethys carbonate flooding of the Karakorum.", "sources": [ "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "zanchi-gritti-1996" ], "citations": { "age": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "era": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "period": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "lithology": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "typeLocality": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "fossils": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "overlies": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "introducedBy": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "geologicalSignificance": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "plainSummary": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 2, "reviewStatus": "published", "references": [ { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "year": 1995, "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548" }, { "citation": "Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.", "year": 1984 }, { "citation": "Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Review of stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley (UHV), NW Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.", "year": 1990 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Coward et al. (1984) (naming it the 'Gujhal Formation', after Tahirkheli 1979): a ~500 m mass of dolomite, dolomitic limestone and limestone with thin bands of siliceous schist and two conglomerate horizons (one at the base and one in the middle part), exposed in the Batura and Pasu areas, and assigned a Permo-Triassic age - a third independent characterisation consistent with the curated Late Permian-Late Triassic platform dolomite. It has a tectonic contact with the underlying Pasu Slates and the Karakoram batholith.", "source": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Tahirkheli et al. (1990), Upper Hunza Valley (spelling it 'Gujal Dolomite'; named by Desio & Martina 1972): a dominantly calcareous formation forming high ridges and cliffs in the lower valley, with three calcareous bed types - semi-crystalline argillaceous limestone, semi- to medium-crystalline dolomitic limestone and dolomite, and semi- to medium-crystalline arenaceous dolomitic limestone - with thin grey/yellowish/pinkish argillaceous and arenaceous shale intercalations and two intraformational conglomerate horizons (clasts of Gujal Dolomite, plus rare Pak-China Friendship Fm and Passu Slate). It is the second-thickest sequence of the valley after the Passu Slate; its 'Kilik Formation' outcrop on the north flank of the Sost Anticline is shown to be the same folded block of Gujal Dolomite.", "source": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Tahirkheli et al. (1990): Hayden (1916) described silicified shells from the Gujal Dolomite as Hippurites and Rudistes, which Desio & Martina (1972) reinterpreted as megalodonts; on lithological correlation with formations in the Shaksgam valley, the Pamir and Mt. Tupopdan, Desio & Martina assigned it a Permo-Triassic age - consistent with the curated Late Permian-Late Triassic span.", "source": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Zanchi & Gritti (1996): the Guhjal dolomite forms the upper unit of the Guhjal Unit (defined by Gaetani et al. 1990) — a meta-sedimentary belt between the Karakorum Axial Batholith and the Upper Hunza Fault, north of the Sost Unit. The upper unit is calcareous-dolomitic marble of uncertain age; a low-grade metamorphic imprint occurs along NW-SE shear zones, and the unit is intruded by the KAB (andalusite-bearing contact metapelites near Gulkin) and by the Paleocene Kuk pluton. Corroborates the dolomitic/marble platform lithology.", "source": "zanchi-gritti-1996" } ], "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "shanoz-conglomerate", "name": "Shanoz Conglomerate", "age": "Late Cretaceous–Early Palaeocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Paleocene", "lithology": "Pinkish-red, medium-textured conglomerate in a siliceous-argillaceous matrix; subangular to subrounded clasts (in ascending order of abundance) of limestone-dolomite (Guhjal Dolomite), slate and schist (Gircha Formation and Passu Slate), and quartzite (Pak-China Friendship Formation).", "description": "The Shanoz Conglomerate is the youngest formation of the Upper Hunza Valley (Northern Karakorum), named by Desio & Martina (1972) for exposures near Mount Shanoz. As described by Tahirkheli et al. (1990), it is a pinkish-red post-orogenic conglomerate whose clasts are derived from the older Upper Hunza units, and it is little deformed because it was deposited after the major tectonic episodes that folded the valley. It is correlated with the Reshun Conglomerate of Chitral (assigned an Upper Cretaceous–Lower Tertiary age on fossil-bearing boulders), though the Shanoz itself lacks such fossiliferous clasts.", "fossils": [], "geologicalSignificance": "The youngest, least-deformed unit of the Upper Hunza Valley, marking post-orogenic molasse deposition after the main Karakorum folding; correlated with the Reshun Conglomerate of Chitral, giving an inferred Late Cretaceous to Early Palaeocene age (Tahirkheli et al. 1990).", "typeLocality": "Near Mount Shanoz, Upper Hunza Valley, Northern Karakorum (Gilgit-Baltistan); clasts also seen in streams near Khaiber village.", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Guhjal Dolomite" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "introducedBy": "Desio & Martina (1972)", "environment": [ "alluvial", "molasse" ], "plainSummary": "A pinkish-red, little-deformed conglomerate — the youngest rock of the Upper Hunza Valley — made of pebbles shed from the older Karakorum formations after the mountains were folded.", "sources": [ "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" ], "citations": { "age": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "era": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "period": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "lithology": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "typeLocality": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "overlies": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "introducedBy": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "geologicalSignificance": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "plainSummary": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 3, "reviewStatus": "published", "references": [ { "citation": "Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Review of stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley (UHV), NW Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.", "year": 1990 }, { "citation": "Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.", "year": 1984 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Coward et al. (1984): the Shanoz Conglomerate, occurring between Pasu and Khaiber, consists of calcareous fragments in a siliceous matrix and is considered the lower-Cretaceous equivalent of the Reshun Conglomerate of the Chitral area. (Tahirkheli et al. 1990 instead correlate the Reshun Conglomerate to the Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeocene; the two give somewhat different ages for the same correlative.)", "source": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "akhtar-nika-formation", "name": "Akhtar Nika Formation", "age": "Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Alternating limestone and shale (Parh-like limestone near Mand).", "description": "Akhtar Nika Formation named by Aminullah and Kansi (2012). It consists of alternated limestone and shale. Its thickness is 1000-1500m in the Qila Saifullah-Sharin Jogezai section. Its age is considered Cretaceous by Malkani (2014c).", "thickness": "1,000–1,500 m", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Kakar-Khurasan Basin", "introducedBy": "Aminullah & Kansi (2012)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Cretaceous", "typeLocality": "Qila Saifullah–Sharin Jogezai section", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Cretaceous limestone-shale unit at the base of the Nisai Group in the Kakar-Khurasan basin of northern Balochistan.", "plainSummary": "A Cretaceous limestone-and-shale unit of northern Balochistan, the base of the Nisai Group.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-14", "tier": 2, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "coordinates": "30.7011, 68.3597", "thicknessM": 1250, "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 30.7011, "lng": 68.3597, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "ali-masjid-formation", "name": "Ali Masjid Formation", "description": "The Ali Masjid Formation is a Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous (early Frasnian to mid-Tournaisian) unit of the Khyber Pass area, named after Ali Masjid village and extending across the Khyber Agency (Kazmi & Jan 1997). It consists of red shale alternating with siltstone, sandstone, quartzite and limestone, with thin conglomerates and lateritic beds marking repeated breaks in sedimentation; its age is tightly constrained by conodont faunas (Molloy, Talent & Mawson 1997). Khan et al. (1989) had earlier grouped it, with the Landikotal Slates, in the Shagai Formation.", "fossils": [ "Brachiopods", "Corals", "Conodonts (Famennian–Tournaisian zonal fauna)" ], "typeLocality": "Ali Masjid village, Khyber Pass", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Shagai Limestone", "underlies": "Khyber Limestone" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "introducedBy": "Stauffer (1968)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian–Carboniferous", "epoch": "Late Devonian–Early Mississippian (Tournaisian)", "lithology": "Red shale alternating with siltstone, sandstone, quartzite and limestone, with thin conglomerates and lateritic beds marking repeated breaks in sedimentation.", "thickness": "220 m", "environment": [ "marine", "marginal marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A red-bed unit extending across the Khyber Agency; thin conglomerates and laterites record repeated breaks in sedimentation, and fossiliferous beds west of the type section yield a Late Devonian brachiopod-and-coral fauna. It is correlated with the Haji Gak Formation of Afghanistan.", "plainSummary": "A Late Devonian red-shale-and-sandstone unit of the Khyber Pass, between the Shagai and Khyber limestones.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "period": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "epoch": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Molloy, P.D., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (1997). Late Devonian-Tournaisian conodonts from the eastern Khyber region, north-west Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 103(2), 123-148.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0915:PAMSOT>2.3.CO;2", "year": 1992 } ], "coordinates": "34.0800, 71.2900", "thicknessM": 220, "age": "Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous (early Frasnian to mid-Tournaisian)", "synonyms": [ "Ali Masjid Group" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "name", "note": "Merged the redundant \"Ali Masjid Group\" (ali-masjid-group) into this record; old name kept as a synonym.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Ali Masjid Formation (type locality the village of Ali Masjid, Khyber Pass; extends across the Khyber Agency) is Late Devonian on a brachiopod and coral fauna — 220 m of red shale alternating with siltstone, sandstone, quartzite and limestone, with thin conglomerates and lateritic beds marking breaks in sedimentation. It conformably overlies the Shagai Limestone and is conformably overlain by the Khyber Limestone; Shah (1977) correlated it with the Haji Gak Formation of Afghanistan. Corroborates the curated Late Devonian age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Molloy, Talent & Mawson (1997): conodonts (62 species/subspecies) from acid-leaching of 226 samples across four measured sections through the Ali Masjid Formation west of Misri Khel (former South Khyber Agency) show the unit spans at least the Middle crepida Zone (low Famennian) up to the Early crenulata Zone (mid-Tournaisian), with a fauna low in one section indicative of the Late falsiovalis Zone (early Frasnian). The formation therefore ranges from the early Late Devonian INTO the Early Carboniferous (Tournaisian), refining the curated 'Late Devonian'. Two hiatuses are inferred (between the Late falsiovalis and Middle crepida zones, and between the Late expansa and Early duplicata zones). It conformably overlies the Shagai Limestone and is overlain (transgressively) by the Carboniferous–Permian Khyber Limestone; the map legend of Stauffer (1968a) gives its range as ?Givetian–Tournaisian.", "source": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) COMPETING INTERPRETATION (not applied): the book notes views that reassign the Khyber carbonates (including the Ali Masjid Formation) to the Precambrian (Aslam 2000; Pogue et al. 1999) and even questions the unit's validity (Khan 1989 read it as a slumped Khyber-Limestone block). The curated Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous age is retained because it rests on the hard conodont biostratigraphy of Molloy, Talent & Mawson (1997); the Precambrian reassignment is recorded as an unresolved alternative.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Pogue, Harris & Hussain (1992): conodonts (Icriodus, Palmatolepis aff. gracilis plexus, Polygnathus extralobatus, P. perplexus) from crinoidal limestone overlying the Ghundai Sar reef complex indicate a Late Devonian (Famennian, expansa Zone) age for the Ali Masjid Formation - corroborating the curated Late Devonian age with independent conodont control.", "source": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 34.08, "lng": 71.29, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "alpurai-group", "nomenclaturalStatus": "redefined", "name": "Alpurai Group", "description": "Alpurai group is renamed by DiPietro (1990) after the Alpurai schist of Kazmi et al. (1984). Di Pietro (1990) mentioned the Marghazar, Kashala, Nakanai Ghar and Saidu formations in this group. 31", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Manglaur Formation" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "DiPietro (1990)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "lithology": "Unfossiliferous siliceous schist, calcareous quartz-mica-garnet schist, marble and para-amphibolite.", "typeLocality": "Alpurai, Swat", "geologicalSignificance": "The Paleozoic–Mesozoic metasedimentary cover of the Precambrian Manglaur Schist (Swat Nappe), resting unconformably on the Swat Granite Gneiss; originally the 'Alpurai Schists' (Kazmi et al., 1984c), redefined by DiPietro (1990) to include the Marghazar, Kashala, Saidu and Nikanai Ghar formations.", "plainSummary": "The Paleozoic–Mesozoic schist-and-marble cover of the Swat Nappe — the Marghazar, Kashala, Saidu and Nikanai Ghar formations.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "dipietro-1993", "ahmad-jan-jehan-2005", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "anczkiewicz-1998-swat-suture" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "dipietro-1993" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993). Stratigraphy south of the Main Mantle Thrust, Lower Swat, Pakistan. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds), Himalayan Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74, 207-220.", "year": 1993 }, { "citation": "Ahmad, I., Jan, M.Q. & Jehan, N. (2005). Metamorphic mineral assemblages south of the Malakand and adjoining areas, northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 38, 139-148.", "year": 2005 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Anczkiewicz, R., Burg, J.-P., Hussain, S.S., Dawood, H., Ghazanfar, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Indus Suture in the Lower Swat, Pakistan, NW Himalaya. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 16(2-3), 225-238.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-9547(98)00003-8", "year": 1998 } ], "coordinates": "34.9000, 72.6500", "members": [ "marghazar-formation", "kashala-formation", "nakanai-ghar-formation", "saidu-formation" ], "age": "Paleozoic–Mesozoic", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "DEFINED by DiPietro et al. (1993, full text): the Alpurai Group (Lower Swat, south of the Main Mantle Thrust) = Marghazar Formation (Carboniferous or younger) + Kashala, Saidu and Nikanai Ghar formations (Triassic or younger); it unconformably overlies the Manglaur formation, with the Jobra formation in lenses beneath. Type sections designated for each unit. This is the defining paper for the group.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "The Alpurai Group metasediments record a south-to-north increasing Barrovian metamorphic gradient (Ahmad, Jan & Jehan 2005): greenschist facies (biotite grade; ~300-400 C, <=3 kb) around Takht-e-Bhai and Rustam in the south, rising to epidote-amphibolite facies (garnet-kyanite grade; ~580 C, ~5.5 kb) near Mora Kandao / Malakand in the north.", "source": "ahmad-jan-jehan-2005" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "DiPietro et al. (1993): introduced by Kazmi et al. (1984) as the 'Alpurai schist' and raised to group rank — subdivided into the Marghazar, Kashala, Saidu and Nikanai Ghar formations — by DiPietro (1990). The group records Late-Palaeozoic breakup of Gondwana, a passive Mesozoic shelf, and drowning of the shelf at the onset of the Himalayan orogeny; it unconformably overlies the Manglaur Formation and the Swat granitic gneiss.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Anczkiewicz et al. (1998): the Alpurai Schists/Group (mica-garnet calc-schists) reach amphibolite facies up to kyanite grade (minimum ~550 C at 7 kbar) - not the greenschist grade of earlier work; their lower-part metabasalts likely represent the Permian Panjal Trap (Gondwana-break-up rifting). 40Ar-39Ar amphibole ages bracket the onset of post-collisional normal faulting on the Indus Suture at ~37-40 Ma.", "source": "anczkiewicz-1998-swat-suture" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.9, "lng": 72.65, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "ambar-formation", "name": "Ambar Formation", "description": "The Ambar Formation is named after Ambar village along the Swabi–Jehangira road by Pogue and Hussain (1986) for dolomite, dolomitic limestone, quartzite and argillite.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Ambar village, Swabi-Jehangira road (Nowshera-Swabi area)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Jobra Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "introducedBy": "Pogue and Hussain (1986)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Cambrian", "lithology": "Brownish-grey dolomite with chert lenses and shale layers; the upper part is more massive with stromatolitic laminations.", "thickness": "more than 425 m", "synonyms": [ "Amber Formation", "Amber dolomite" ], "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The oldest unit of the Nowshera Paleozoic complex (the 'Amber dolomite'), correlated on lithology with the Cambrian Abbottabad Formation of Hazara; it is overlain unconformably by the Ordovician Misri Banda Quartzite (dataset Jobra Formation).", "plainSummary": "A Cambrian dolomite — the oldest Paleozoic unit near Nowshera — matched with the Abbottabad Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "room-2023-ambar-dolomite", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Room, S.A., Kashif, M., Ullah, H., Rehman, A.U., Ahmad, W. & Akhtar, S. (2023). Characterization of Dolomite in Ambar Formation (Cambrian), Peshawar Basin, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Petroleum and Coal, 65(3), 875-885.", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0915:PAMSOT>2.3.CO;2", "year": 1992 }, { "citation": "Hussain, A., DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 18, 25-35.", "year": 1998 } ], "thicknessM": 425, "age": "Cambrian", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Room et al. (2023): the massive Cambrian dolomite of the Ambar Formation (Peshawar Basin) records multiphase dolomitisation — a replacive matrix-dolomite phase (MD-I to MD-III), a pore-filling saddle-dolomite and calcite-cement phase with brecciation and stylolitisation (characteristic of burial dolomitisation), and a final white-calcite calcitisation phase. MD-I δ18O values of −7.64 to −8.13‰ PDB retain a Cambrian marine signature, implying dolomitisation during the Mid–Late Cambrian by thermal-convection burial fluids channelled along fractures and faults.", "source": "room-2023-ambar-dolomite" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Pogue, Harris & Hussain (1992; unit named by Pogue & Hussain 1986): the Ambar Formation is ~500 m of massive sandy dolomite with characteristic 'butcher-block' weathering and basal pisolitic beds. No conodonts were recovered, but microscopic shell debris in the pisoliths argues against a Late Proterozoic age and it is correlated on lithology with the Lower Cambrian Sirban Formation (upper Abbottabad Group) - hence a Cambrian(?) age. It unconformably overlies the Tanawal Formation and is overlain by the Misri Banda Quartzite.", "source": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hussain, DiPietro & Pogue (1998): the Ambar Formation (dolomite, dolomitic limestone and calcareous quartzite with algal laminations and poorly developed stromatolites) has its type section at Ambar village (34 deg 03' N, 72 deg 25' E) on the Swabi-Jehangira road. It rests unconformably on the Precambrian Tanawal Formation (locally a ~10 m cobble-pebble conglomerate at Chingalai) and is unconformably overlain by the Ordovician Misri Banda Quartzite across 5-10 m of maroon shale; correlated with the Abbottabad Formation of Hazara. Its Cambrian(?) age rests only on stratigraphic position.", "source": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" } ], "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "misri-banda-quartzite", "name": "Misri Banda Quartzite", "age": "Ordovician (Tremadoc-Llandeilo)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Ordovician", "epoch": "Early-Middle Ordovician", "lithology": "Arenaceous and calcareous quartzite (fine- to medium-grained quartz with feldspar in a siliceous to calcareous matrix), cross-bedded and ripple-marked with vertical Skolithos burrows; dark-grey laminated argillite in the upper part.", "description": "The Misri Banda Quartzite is an Ordovician (Tremadoc-Llandeilo) quartzite of the Peshawar basin, lying between the Ambar Formation below and the Panjpir Formation above. Named by Stauffer (1968) and restricted by Pogue and Hussain (1986), it carries Cruziana rugosa trace fossils indicating an early-middle Ordovician age; the discontinuous cobble-pebble conglomerate at its unconformable top (below the Panjpir Formation) contains reworked late-Silurian conodonts. Its type section is near Misri Banda, 10 km NE of Nowshera, and it correlates with the quartzite member of the Abbottabad Formation in the Sherwan area.", "fossils": [ "Cruziana rugosa (trace fossils)", "Skolithos burrows" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A cross-bedded, Skolithos-bearing shallow-marine quartzite marking the Ordovician of the Peshawar basin; its Cruziana rugosa ichnofauna is among the first evidence of Ordovician rocks south of the Main Karakoram Thrust (Pogue, Harris & Hussain 1992; Hussain, DiPietro & Pogue 1998).", "typeLocality": "Near Misri Banda, 10 km NE of Nowshera (34.017 N, 72.101 E).", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Ambar Formation", "underlies": "Panjpir Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "introducedBy": "Stauffer (1968); restricted by Pogue and Hussain (1986)", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "plainSummary": "An Ordovician shallow-marine quartzite of the Peshawar basin, full of Skolithos worm burrows and Cruziana trails.", "sources": [ "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "qasim-2014-abbottabad" ], "citations": { "age": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "era": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "period": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "lithology": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "typeLocality": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "fossils": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "overlies": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "underlies": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "introducedBy": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "geologicalSignificance": [ "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" ], "plainSummary": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "coordinates": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 3, "coordinates": "34.0172, 72.1014", "reviewStatus": "published", "references": [ { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.", "year": 1992, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0915:PAMSOT>2.3.CO;2" }, { "citation": "Hussain, A., DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 18, 25-35.", "year": 1998 }, { "citation": "Qasim, M., Khan, M.A. & Haneef, M. (2014). Stratigraphic characterization of the Early Cambrian Abbottabad Formation in the Sherwan area, Hazara region, N. Pakistan: Implications for Early Paleozoic stratigraphic correlation in NW Himalayas, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 47(1), 25-40.", "year": 2014 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Qasim et al. (2014): the Misri Banda Quartzite of the Peshawar basin — Ordovician by palaeontology but ~525 Ma by youngest detrital zircon — is lithologically similar to, and a possible equivalent of, the upper quartzite member of the Abbottabad Formation in the Sherwan (Hazara) area.", "source": "qasim-2014-abbottabad" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.0172, "lng": 72.1014, "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "anjira-formation", "name": "Anjira Formation", "age": "Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "description": "Anjira Formation The Anjira member of Shirinab Formation was named by Williams (1959) after Anjira village (34L/7) with type locality 12 km east of Anjira (Anwar et al. 1991). It is correlative to Loralai limestone of Sulaiman basin. It represents mainly thin to medium bedded grey limestone with some grey shale and marl. Its lower contact with Spingwar Formation and upper contact with Chiltan (Takatu, Zidi) Limestone is conformable. The age assigned by Williams (1959) and Woodward (1959) is Early Jurassic but HSC (1961) have recorded Torcian fossils from its lower part. Its age ranges from Late Liassic to Bajocian (Early-Middle Jurassic).", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Anjira", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Spingwar Formation", "underlies": "Chiltan Limestone" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Western Kirthar (Balochistan)", "introducedBy": "Williams (1959)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Jurassic", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The upper member of the Jurassic Shirinab Formation, above the Spingwar and Loralai members.", "plainSummary": "The upper member of the Jurassic Shirinab Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2020-balochistan", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "synonyms": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "malkani-2020-balochistan", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "name", "note": "Anjira is a MEMBER of the Shirinab Formation, not a separate formation (Williams 1959).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "synonyms": [ "Anjira Member (basal Shirinab Formation; Williams 1959)" ], "tier": 1, "thickness": "100-352 m", "thicknessM": 226, "lithology": "Clayey limestone At the type section, designated by Anwar et al. (1991), the lithology is composed of thin to thick-bedded limestone interbeded locally with partings of marl and calcareous shale. The limestone is grey to dark grey, weathers brownish grey, and is lithographic and fossiliferous. It is marly, shelly, mottled and muddy at places. The marl is grey to greenish grey, weathers brownish g…", "economicImportance": "Hosts stratabound lead-zinc mineralization of the Khuzdar belt in the upper part of the Jurassic Shirinab succession: the Gunga deposit (~6% Zn, 1.5% Pb; SEDEX-type) and the nearby Surmai deposit (Mississippi-Valley-type, ~6.5% combined, with 10-20 g/t Ag) — an important Zn-Pb-Ag resource (Malkani 2020).", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "arkari-formation", "name": "Arkari Formation", "age": "Permian–Jurassic", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian–Jurassic", "lithology": "Schist, phyllite, quartzite and extensive marble (metasediments up to lower-amphibolite facies).", "description": "Arkari formation is named by Leake et al. (1989) for the west of Tirich Mir fault is largely represents metasediments metamorphosed up to lower amphibolite facies. It consists of schist, phyllite and quartzite and extensive deposits of marble. Considering metamorphosed facies of Lun shales with Permian to Jurassic age.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Leake et al. (1989)", "reviewStatus": "published", "typeLocality": "West of the Tirich (Mir) Fault, Chitral District", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The metamorphosed equivalent of the Lun Shales (Sarikol Slate) west of the Tirich Fault; metamorphic grade rises toward the Tirich Mir pluton (garnet–staurolite schist). The protolith Lun Shales carry Permian fusulines and range in age up to the Late Jurassic.", "plainSummary": "Metamorphosed Permian-to-Jurassic shales (now schist and marble) west of the Tirich Mir fault.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 } ], "coordinates": "36.2000, 71.8000", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Arkari formation (Leake et al. 1989; Chitral / Lutkho Valley, Karakoram-Hindukush). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Arkari Formation (Leake et al. 1989; Arkari Valley west of the Tirich Mir) is a medium-grade metamorphic complex (micaschist, phyllite, marble, quartzite, feldspathic gneiss) possibly derived from the Wakhan Slates; belemnite remains (Pascoe 1924) suggest a Mesozoic age for at least part of the protolith.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 36.2, "lng": 71.8, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "ashtigar-formation", "name": "Ashtigar Formation", "age": "Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "description": "Ashtigar formation is named after the Ashtigar village by Gaetani et al. (1993) and comprised of shale and fine grain sandstone (turbidites) of Liassic age.", "fossils": [ "Trigonia-type bivalves", "Brachiopods", "Crinoids", "Foraminifera", "Nannofossils" ], "typeLocality": "Ashtigar village, Chapursan valley, upper Hunza", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Aghil Limestone", "underlies": "Yashkuk Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1993)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Jurassic (Liassic)", "lithology": "Thick, dark grey marly shale interbedded with fine-grained turbidites, calcarenite and volcanic debris.", "environment": [ "marine", "deep marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early Jurassic (Liassic) terrigenous turbidite unit that conformably overlies the Aghil Limestone; its erosional upper contact with the Yashkuk Formation is marked by a conglomerate rich in Aghil Limestone clasts. The turbidites point to deposition in a deepening, tectonically active basin.", "plainSummary": "An Early Jurassic deep-water shale-and-turbidite unit above the Aghil Limestone in the Chapursan valley.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thickness": "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Nicora, A., Henderson, C., Cirilli, S., Gale, L., Rettori, R., Vuolo, I. & Atudorei, V. (2013). Refinements in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic stratigraphy of Karakorum, Pakistan. Facies, 59, 915-948.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0346-9", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 } ], "coordinates": "36.72, 74.50", "thickness": "about 110 m", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2013): the Ashtigar Formation yields Late Triassic benthic foraminifera ('Trochammina' jaunensis, Aulotortus sinuosus, Miliolipora cuvillieri), but because these occur only in reworked clasts a Jurassic age is not excluded; the curated Early Jurassic (Liassic) age is retained. It comprises basal dark shale/siltstone passing up into marly shale with fine turbidites carrying oceanic-subduction-complex debris (radiolarian chert, chlorite/serpentine schist, basalt), and is overlain with a gentle angular unconformity by the Yashkuk Formation.", "source": "gaetani-2012-karakorum" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): in the regional synthesis the arenaceous Ashtigar Formation is placed in the Jurassic (Cimmerian), above the latest-Triassic drowned carbonate platform and below the Yashkuk Formation — consistent with the curated Early Jurassic (Liassic) assignment. Quartz-lithic sandstones with clasts of serpentinite/chlorite schist, basalt and radiolarite record erosion of an oceanic subduction complex near an arc–trench system.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "lithologyType": "marl", "lat": 36.72, "lng": 74.5, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "atark-formation", "name": "Atark Formation", "lithology": "Dolomite, limestone, shale, sandstone and marble.", "description": "Atark Formation is named by Buchroithner (1978). It consists of dolomite, limestone, shale, sandstone and marbles. It is Sakmarian to Midian in age (Gaetani and Leven 1993).", "fossils": [ "Megalodonts (bivalves)", "Dasycladacean algae" ], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Buchroithner (1978)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "epoch": "", "age": "Permian to Triassic", "references": [ { "citation": "Gaetani, M. & Leven, E. Ya. (1993). Permian stratigraphy, NW Karakoram.", "year": 1993 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "year": 2011 } ], "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early to Middle Permian (Sakmarian–Midian) carbonate–clastic unit of the Chitral/Baroghil region (Gaetani and Leven, 1993).", "plainSummary": "An Early–Middle Permian dolomite-and-limestone unit of the Chitral region.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "typeLocality": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "fossils": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, full text): the Atark Unit is a severely deformed succession of Permian to TRIASSIC shallow-water carbonate and slates (Gaetani & Leven 1993), East Hindu Kush-Wakhan domain. Age conflict confirmed — the dataset lists Permian only; extend to Permian-Triassic (author to confirm).", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Age corrected from \"Permian (Sakmarian–Midian)\" to \"Permian to Triassic\" per Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19, North Karakoram Terrain correlation chart); author-approved 2026-07-17.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Atark unit (Buchroithner 1978, 1980; emended Gaetani & Leven 1993) records evolution from an Early Permian continental/marine terrigenous plain and carbonate ramp (Early Permian fusulinids in the lower part) to a wide Late Triassic carbonate platform bearing large bivalves (megalodontids, dasycladacean algae in the Atark Dolostone). Mapped as three facies — Atark Slates (?Permian), Atark Black Limestone (?Permian, >100 m) and Atark Dolostone (Triassic).", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1996) (after Gaetani & Leven 1993; term introduced Buchroithner 1978): the Atark unit is mostly whitish massive dolostone and limestone, incipiently marbleised and tightly folded; megalodonts and dasycladacean algae near Aliabad indicate a Triassic age, while a Permian section with megalodonts and possibly rudists at Rosh Gol extends the range, together suggesting an age span from the Permian to ?Cretaceous (broader than the Permian-Triassic recorded here). Exposed in Chitral between the Tirich Mir fault and a fault to the north, disappearing east of Lasht.", "source": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996" } ], "typeLocality": "Named from the Atark Valley, a tributary of the Tirich Gol east of the Tirich Mir; forms a continuous strip north of the Tirich Boundary Zone from the SW edge of the map to Inkip in the Yarkhun Valley.", "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "baintha-group", "name": "Baintha Group", "lithology": "Massive beds of marble, locally intruded by granite.", "description": "Baintha group is named after Baintha Brak Peak above the Biofo glacier, (and also the name of a summer pasture on the right bank of Biafo) and consists of massive beds of marble along the contact of Karakoram axial batholith with the metamorphic complex. At places it is intruded by granites. This group crops out near the middle part of Biafo glacier and may be traced towards the marble peak of Baltoro and farter westward to Chogo Lungma, Nagar and Hunza.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Baintha Brak Peak, above the Biafo glacier", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "geologicalSignificance": "A marble group developed along the contact of the Karakoram axial batholith with the metamorphic complex; it crops out near the middle of the Biafo glacier and can be traced toward Baltoro, Chogo Lungma, Nagar and Hunza.", "plainSummary": "A marble group along the Karakoram batholith–metamorphic complex contact near the Biafo glacier.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-06-29", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "coordinates": "35.9481, 75.7533", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 35.9481, "lng": 75.7533, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "baltit-group", "name": "Baltit Group", "age": "Precambrian", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "description": "The Baltit Group was named by Stauffer (1968c) for a Permo-Carboniferous succession (including limestone) exposed south of the Karakoram granodiorite in the Hunza valley. Tahirkheli (1982) correlated it with his Chitral slates of Precambrian to Lower Palaeozoic age.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "introducedBy": "Stauffer (1968c)", "reviewStatus": "published", "lithology": "Slate, quartzite and crystalline limestone/marble (metasediments).", "geologicalSignificance": "The name given by Stauffer (1968c) to the metasediments south of the Karakoram Granodiorite in the Hunza valley; these are the same rocks that Desio (1963, 1964) named the Dumordo Formation, whose name has priority under the Stratigraphic Code of Pakistan. Their age is debated: Stauffer placed them in the Permo-Carboniferous, whereas Tahirkheli (1982) correlated them with his Precambrian to Lower Paleozoic Chitral Slates.", "plainSummary": "Metasediments south of the Karakoram Granodiorite in Hunza — the same body as the Dumordo Formation — with a debated Paleozoic or Precambrian age.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "stauffer-1975", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": "stauffer-1975", "typeLocality": "stauffer-1975", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Stauffer, K.W. (1975). Geology of the Gilgit-Hispar Area, Gilgit Agency, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey / Geological Survey of Pakistan, Project Report (IR) PK-19 (Open-File Report), 41 p.", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "36.3167, 74.6667", "typeLocality": "Baltit, Hunza State", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Stauffer (1975, USGS PK-19) defined the Baltit Group at its type locality (Baltit, Hunza; 36 deg 19' N, 74 deg 40' E) and assigned a Carboniferous(?)-Permian age, correlating it with the Darkot Group. The dataset follows Tahirkheli's (1982) Precambrian-Lower Palaeozoic correlation; the age remains disputed.", "source": "stauffer-1975" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 36.3167, "lng": 74.6667, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "bampokha-group", "name": "Bampokha Group", "lithology": "(1992) for the Girarai and Tursak formations exposed in the south of MCT in the Lesser Himalaya and consists of low-grade clac schist and marble and graphitic schist.", "description": "Bampokha group is named by Chaudhry et al. (1992) for the Girarai and Tursak formations exposed in the south of MCT in the Lesser Himalaya and consists of low-grade clac schist and marble and graphitic schist. According to Chaudhry et al. (1992) this group is different from Alpurai schist group in its tectonostratigraphic position and age.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "introducedBy": "Chaudhry et al. (1992)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "geologicalSignificance": "A low-grade metasedimentary group of the Lesser Himalaya, exposed south of the Main Central Thrust, comprising the Girarai and Tursak formations.", "plainSummary": "A low-grade metasedimentary group (the Girarai and Tursak formations) of the Lesser Himalaya south of the MCT.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "age": "Paleozoic (undifferentiated)", "members": [ "girarai-formation", "tursak-formation" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "banna-formation", "name": "Banna Formation", "age": "Precambrian–Triassic", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "description": "Named by Tahirkheli (1979) after Banna village east of Besham, the Banna Formation consists of marble with slate, graphitic schist and chloritic schist, exposed in a small syncline along the eastern side of the Indus syntaxis in Allai Kohistan (DiPietro et al., 1999). It has a thrust contact with the Indus Mélange to the north and is separated by the Banna Thrust from the underlying sillimanite gneisses of the Hazara nappe. Proposed correlations include the Precambrian Salkhala Formation (Kazmi & Abbasi, 2008), the Palaeozoic–Early Mesozoic Alpurai Group (Treloar et al., 1989), and the Triassic-or-younger Saidu Formation (DiPietro et al., 1999).", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Banna village, east of Besham", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "sillimanite gneisses of the Hazara nappe" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "Tahirkheli (1979)", "environment": [ "continental" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "lithology": "Marble, slate, graphitic schist and chlorite schist.", "geologicalSignificance": "The metasedimentary sequence of the Banna Nappe in the immediate footwall of the Main Mantle Thrust, separated from the underlying sillimanite gneisses of the Hazara Nappe by the extensional Banna Thrust; it may correlate with the Alpurai Schists and the Sharda Group cover sediments (Treloar, 1989a).", "plainSummary": "The marble-and-schist sequence of the Banna Nappe, just below the Main Mantle Thrust east of Besham.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "34.83, 73.06", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Banna and Landai formations'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.83, "lng": 73.06, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "bara-formation", "name": "Bara Formation", "age": "Paleocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Fluviatile to paralic sandstone and shale with coal and carbonaceous beds.", "description": "Named by Ahmad and Ghani (in Cheema et al., 1977) after Bara Nai in the Laki Range, with its principal reference section at Ranikot, the Bara Formation consists of soft sandstone, shale and coal. It corresponds to the lower Ranikot sandstone of Vredenburg (1906) and the equivalents of later workers. Its lower contact with the Khadro Formation and upper contact with the Lakhra Formation are transitional and conformable. Age: Early Paleocene.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Khadro Formation", "underlies": "Lakhra Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sindh" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Eastern Kirthar (Sindh)", "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Williams (1959)", "epoch": "Paleocene", "environment": [ "fluvial", "paralic" ], "economicImportance": "The principal coal-bearing horizon of the Sindh (Lower Indus) coalfields, including the Lakhra, Sonda and Thar areas.", "geologicalSignificance": "The middle, coal-bearing fluvio-paralic unit of the Paleocene Ranikot Group and the main coal horizon of the Sindh coalfields.", "plainSummary": "The coal-bearing middle unit of the Paleocene Ranikot Group — the source of Sindh's coal.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "usgs-wnuk-bara-1993", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "malkani-2016-indus-sealevel", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "malik-1989-coal", "wnuk-1993-bara-ranikot" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "usgs-wnuk-bara-1993", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Wnuk, C., SanFilipo, J.R., Chandio, A.H. & Fatmi, S.F. (1993). The stratigraphy and coal resource potential of the Bara Formation in the Fort Ranikot area, Sindh Province, Pakistan; a progress report. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 93-256, 63 p.", "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr93256", "year": 1993 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2016). Revised stratigraphy of Indus Basin (Pakistan): Sea level changes. In: Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific — Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608, Novosibirsk 2016, Abstract Volume, pp. 97-99.", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Malik, I.A. (1989). Geodynamics and Coal Deposits of Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 12-43.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Wnuk, C., Sanfilipo, J.R., Chandio, A.H. & Fatmi, S.F. (1993). The Stratigraphy and Coal Resource Potential of the Bara Formation in the Fort Ranikot Area, Sindh Province, Pakistan: A Progress Report. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 93-256 (also GSP Project Report IR-PK-105).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr93256", "year": 1993 } ], "coordinates": "26.1183, 67.8867", "thicknessM": 486, "thickness": "60-600 m (based on surface exposures) m", "typeLocality": "Bara Nai, northern Laki Range", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) treat the Bara Formation (Shah 1977) as the lower sandstone/siltstone part of the Dungan Formation; it lacks age-diagnostic fossils (Shah 1977; Afzal 1996; Wakefield & Monteil 2002) and its Paleocene age rests on stratigraphic position between the P1 Khadro and the late Thanetian-early Ilerdian upper Dungan. Supports the curated Paleocene age.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Malkani (2016) describes the Paleocene Bara Formation of the Kirthar (lower Indus) Basin as sandstone with minor limestone, coal and volcanics, the latter attributed to Deccan volcanism near the K/Pg boundary.", "source": "malkani-2016-indus-sealevel" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Malik (1989): the mid-Paleocene Bara Formation (dominantly sandstone over Khadro basaltic lava flows, near Kalri Lake) hosts the Sonda coalfield of the Lower Indus Basin - eleven coal seams, three workable, with a cumulative 4-6 m and reserves ~500 Mt (9,599-12,743 BTU/lb); the coal is rich in fixed carbon and sulphur.", "source": "malik-1989-coal" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Wnuk et al. (1993, USGS OFR 93-256): although the Paleocene Bara Formation is the principal coal-bearing unit of the Lower Indus Basin (worked historically NW of the Lakhra Anticline), a coal-resource assessment at Fort Ranikot in the northern Lakhi Range found NO coal in the Bara rocks there - the coal beds are absent or structurally obscured at that locality. A documented negative result that bounds the field's coal distribution.", "source": "wnuk-1993-bara-ranikot" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Coal-resource assessment of the Paleocene Bara Formation (Ranikot Group) in the Fort Ranikot area, northern Lakhi Range, Sindh, documents its fluviatile-to-paralic coal-bearing succession — part of the Lakhi Range / Sonda-Thatta Sindh coalfields (Wnuk et al. 1993).", "source": "usgs-wnuk-bara-1993" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 26.1183, "lng": 67.8867, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "baroghil-group", "name": "Baroghil Group", "description": "Baroghil group was named by Tahirkheli (1982) after the Baroghil pass, exposed in the Yarkhun valley, and south of Baroghil pass in Chitral district. Talent et al. (1999) have divided it into lower Yarkhun formation and upper Vidiakot formation.", "fossils": [ "Acritarchs", "Conodonts", "Brachiopods" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Ishkarwaz Granite", "underlies": "Chilmarabad Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Tahirkheli (1982)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Ordovician–Silurian", "age": "Ordovician–Silurian", "references": [ { "citation": "Talent, J. A. et al. (1999). Lower Palaeozoic of the Baroghil, Chitral; Yarkhun (Silurian) and Vidiakot (Ordovician) formations.", "year": 1999 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 } ], "lithology": "Basal chert-rich conglomerate and arkosic sandstone with brachiopods, overlain by slate with metadolomite and quartzite.", "typeLocality": "Baroghil Pass, Yarkhun valley, Chitral district", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The lower Paleozoic platform sequence (Ordovician–Silurian) that unconformably overlies the pre-Ordovician Ishkarwaz Granite south of the Baroghil Pass; it is divided into the lower Yarkhun Formation and the upper Vidiakot Formation (Talent et al., 1999) and carries Early Ordovician acritarchs and Middle–Late Ordovician conodonts. It is overlain with angular unconformity by the Devonian Chilmarabad Formation.", "plainSummary": "An Ordovician–Silurian sequence (the Yarkhun and Vidiakot formations) above the Ishkarwaz Granite at Baroghil Pass.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996", "gaetani-1997-karakorum-block" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "coordinates": "36.8843, 73.3529", "members": [ "yarkhun-formation", "vidiakot-formation" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Baroghil Group (Ordovician–Silurian) comprises two formations — the Yarkhun Formation (Arenig, below) and the Vidiakot Formation (Arenig–Llanvirn to ?Silurian, above). Its lower formation rests with a preserved basal non-conformity on the pre-Ordovician Karakoram crystalline basement; the mechanically weak Ordovician slates act as the detachment level from which many floor thrusts propagate.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1996) introduced the 'Baroghil unit' as the most complete upper-crustal section of the Karakorum: a crystalline basement intruded by granite and transgressed by more than 4 km of sedimentary rocks ranging in age from Ordovician to Jurassic, forming a south-thrust north-dipping monocline; the measured section along the Baroghil ridge slightly exceeds 1000 m. The Baroghil Group as recorded here corresponds to the lower (Ordovician-Silurian) part of that succession.", "source": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani (1997): the Karakorum Block succession opens with an Early Ordovician marine transgression onto the crystalline basement, a muddy-shelf environment persisting through the Ordovician; the Ordovician-Silurian mostly shaly succession is ~1 km thick with rare carbonate intercalations. Corroborates the Ordovician-Silurian age and gives a thickness scale for the Baroghil succession.", "source": "gaetani-1997-karakorum-block" } ], "lithologyType": "chert", "lat": 36.8843, "lng": 73.3529, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "barum-formation", "name": "Barum Formation", "age": "Paleozoic (inferred; unfossiliferous)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Paleozoic (undifferentiated)", "lithology": "300–500 m of sandstone, siltstone, slate, microconglomerate and thin limestone, with basal black shale and lenses of white dolomitic marble.", "description": "The Barum Formation is a Paleozoic clastic unit of the Darkot Group in the Northern Karakoram, exposed around the Barum Glacier in the upper Gazin/Yasin area. It consists of slightly metamorphosed grey to dark sandstones (mostly litharenites) in 10–50 cm beds with microconglomerate seams and rare marly-limestone intercalations; no fossils have been found, and a Paleozoic age is inferred by analogy with the terrigenous successions of the Northern Karakoram. It is one of the three formations (with the Gum and Rawat formations) into which Le Fort & Gaetani (1998) subdivided the Darkot Group.", "thickness": "300–500 m", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Barum glacier, north of Ramach, upper Yasin/Darkot region", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "reviewStatus": "published", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A clastic formation of the Darkot Group (Darkot-Gazin Metasedimentary Belt) of the Northern Karakoram Terrain. Slightly metamorphosed grey to dark litharenites and microconglomerates with slaty intercalations and rare marly-limestone lenses; unfossiliferous, its Paleozoic age is inferred by analogy with the terrigenous successions of the Northern Karakoram (Le Fort & Gaetani 1998; Zanchi & Gaetani 2011).", "plainSummary": "A Paleozoic sandstone-and-slate formation of the Darkot Group in the Northern Karakoram, exposed near the Barum Glacier.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "period": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "plainSummary": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "introducedBy": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Baseline thickness '50m' is a migration artifact: it is the thickness of the basal black-shale member, not the whole formation, which is 300–500 m thick. Flag for Phase-6 cleanup.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Reviewer reconciliation (2026-07-30): the Barum Formation is a single unit — the Darkot-Group clastic formation of Le Fort & Gaetani (1998), not a distinct Cretaceous–Eocene unit. The prior 'Cretaceous–Eocene' age (from the GSP Memoir 24 compilation, uncited on the age field and inconsistent with the unfossiliferous Paleozoic Darkot Group, whose Gum and Rawat formations are Permian–Triassic and Late Palaeozoic) is superseded by the definitional Italian-survey work (Le Fort & Gaetani 1998; Zanchi & Gaetani 2011), which assigns a Paleozoic age by analogy with Northern Karakoram terrigenous successions.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 } ], "thicknessM": 400, "coordinates": "36.46, 73.52", "introducedBy": "Le Fort & Gaetani (1998)", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 36.46, "lng": 73.52, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "baska-formation", "name": "Baska Formation", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Green to grey shale and claystone interbedded with alabaster (gypsum), gypsiferous limestone and marl.", "description": "Proposed by Hemphill and Kidwai (1973) to replace Eames' (1952) descriptive term 'shale with alabaster', with its type section near Baska village, the Baska Formation consists of gypsum, shale, limestone, marl and rare siltstone and is roughly 30–100 m thick. Its lower contact with the Drug Formation and upper contact with the Habib Rahi Formation are conformable. Fossiliferous rubbly limestone beds have yielded foraminifera (e.g. Lockhartia hunti, Dictyoconoides vredenburgi), bivalves and gastropods with an Early Eocene aspect (Iqbal, 1969).", "thickness": "100m", "fossils": [ "Barbatia drougensis", "Gosavia humberti" ], "typeLocality": "2 km east-northeast of Baska village", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Toi Formation", "underlies": "Habib Rahi Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "coordinates": "31.4833, 70.1333", "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Hemphill et al. (1973)", "epoch": "Early Eocene", "environment": [ "restricted marine", "evaporitic" ], "economicImportance": "Contains alabaster (gypsum) beds.", "geologicalSignificance": "The uppermost, gypsum-bearing unit of the Ghazij Group in the Sulaiman Range, recording restricted, evaporitic conditions at the close of Ghazij deposition.", "plainSummary": "A gypsum-bearing Early Eocene shale, the top of the Ghazij Group, marking a restricted, salty phase.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "jones-1997-sulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "hemphill-kidwai-1973" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Jones, R.W. (1997). Aspects of the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Northern Sulaiman Ranges, Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 16(1), 51-58.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.16.1.51", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 } ], "thicknessM": 100, "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Jones (1997): latest Early–earliest Middle Eocene, from the nummulitid Assilina maior punctulata (Cuisian Supérieur–Lutetian Basal of Schaub 1981; NP14–NP15) and planktonic foraminifera 'Globigerina' lozanoi (P8–P10) and Globorotalia (Acarinina) ex gr. pentacamerata (P8–?P9).", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Jones (1997): a low-energy back-bank lagoon characterised by Miliolida, with sea-grasses (epiphytic discorbids) and rare globigerinids indicating open-ocean influence; deposited during the regressive third-order sequence TA3.1 of Haq et al. (1987).", "source": "jones-1997-sulaiman" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B) NAMED the Baska Shale (replacing the informal 'shales with alabaster' of Eames 1952), type section 1.5 mi ENE of Baska village (D.I. Khan area). Early Eocene (Cuisian?); green to greenish-grey claystone with alabaster (gypsum) nodules, veins and beds, gypsiferous limestone and marl bearing larger foraminifera (Cuneolina, Lockhartia hunti, Dictyoconoides vredenburgi); ~607-620 m [ft] thick near Domanda/Baska, thinning northward.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 31.4833, "lng": 70.1333, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "bauma-harel-formation", "name": "Bauma Harel Formation", "age": "Cretaceous–Eocene (uncertain; ?Jurassic)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous–Paleogene", "lithology": "Volcanic metasediments metamorphosed to chlorite–epidote greenschist, interbedded with slate, phyllite, minor carbonate layers and conglomerate; the lower part comprises amphibolite, marble and metapelite basement.", "description": "Bauma Harel formation is named after the Bauma Harel locality by Kazmi and Abbasi (2008) for the sequence of amphibolites, marbles and metapelites bear a minimum Ar-Ar age of 650Ma, in the Askole-Skoro Lungma, Bauma Harel and Thalle village areas in the NE of Skardu. These rocks form the Late Proterozoic basements and also in the Baroghil area of western Karakoram, they are overlain by platform type sedimentary sequence with lower Ordovician fossils (crinoids and graptolites). Bauma-Harel formation consists of volcanic metasediments metamorphosed to chloriteepidote greenschists interbedded with slate, phyllite, minor carbonate layers and conglomerate.", "fossils": [ "turritellid gastropods" ], "typeLocality": "Bauma Harel locality, Askole–Skoro Lungma and Thalle area, northeast of Skardu", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Kazmi and Abbasi (2008)", "environment": [ "volcanic" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Proterozoic crystalline basement (amphibolite, marble and metapelite with a minimum Ar–Ar age of about 650 Ma) overlain by a platform sequence that carries Early Ordovician crinoids and graptolites; recognised in the western Karakoram and the Baroghil area.", "plainSummary": "Ancient (Late Proterozoic) crystalline basement near Skardu, capped by an Early Ordovician fossil-bearing cover.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "hanson-1989-shigar", "robertson-collins-2002-shyok" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "fossils": "hanson-1989-shigar" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Hanson, C.R. (1989). The northern suture in the Shigar valley, Baltistan, northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 203-215.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p203", "year": 1989 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Bauma Harel schist'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Bauma-Harel Formation (Desio 1963; Skardu area of the Ladakh-Kohistan arc, adjacent to the Shyok Suture) is volcaniclastic metasediment metamorphosed to chlorite-epidote greenschist interbedded with slate, phyllite, carbonate and conglomerate, carrying poorly-preserved Cretaceous fossils and correlated with the Chalt Volcanics and Gawuch Formation; truncated northward by the MKT. Corroborates a Cretaceous age (curated 'Ordovician' should be reviewed — the book gives Cretaceous).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) + Kazmi & Jan (1997) RESOLVE the age flag: the Bauma-Harel Formation (Desio 1963; Skardu/Baltistan) overlies the Katzarah Formation and belongs to Desio's Cretaceous–Eocene 'Shigar Group' metamorphic suite — volcaniclastic metasediments (chlorite-epidote greenschists, slate, phyllite, minor carbonate and conglomerate), truncated northward by the MKT. The book does NOT support an Ordovician age; the previous 'Ordovician' appears to be an artifact of tracing the Ordovician Thalle Limestone marble horizon geographically 'up to Bauma Harel'. Age corrected from Ordovician to Cretaceous–Eocene (era Paleozoic→Mesozoic), with the age still noted as uncertain (Le Fort & Pecher 2001 suggest it may be Jurassic).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Hanson (1989), after Desio (1963): the Bauma-Harel Formation (named from the Bauma-Harel Lungma) is defined as a Cretaceous unit of volcaniclastic metasediments metamorphosed to chlorite-epidote greenschist, interbedded with slate, phyllite, minor carbonate and multicoloured conglomerate, up to ~9 km in outcrop width on the Ladakh-Kohistan arc (south) side of the Northern Suture. Poorly preserved turritellid gastropods (sample PAK/B-85-71, Bauma-Harel Lungma) are tentatively Cretaceous, and it is correlated with the Rakaposhi Volcanics and the Gawuch Formation along the Northern Suture. This arc-cover interpretation qualifies the curated Late-Proterozoic-basement framing (which corresponds to the associated Askore amphibolite/marble basement).", "source": "hanson-1989-shigar" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Robertson & Collins (2002), in their structural anatomy of the Shyok Suture Zone, describe the Bauma-Harel Group as the structurally highest unit — a several-km-thick succession of Ordovician and Carboniferous-to-Permian-Triassic low-grade mixed carbonate/siliciclastic rocks deposited on the south-Asian continental margin. This Palaeozoic-Triassic assignment diverges from the tentative Cretaceous-Eocene age recorded here (after GSP/Kazmi & Abbasi 2008); flagged as an unresolved divergence pending reconciliation, with the primary suture-zone study favouring a Palaeozoic-Triassic age.", "source": "robertson-collins-2002-shyok" } ], "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "daltumbore-formation", "name": "Daltumbore Formation", "description": "A Paleozoic succession of interbedded clastic and carbonate metasediments forming the Asian-plate (Karakoram) side of the Northern Suture on the northeast side of the Shigar Valley, Baltistan. Defined by Hanson (1989), it is faulted southwest along the Northern Suture over the Cretaceous Bauma-Harel Formation of the Ladakh-Kohistan arc, and subsumes the former Skoro Lungma Slates, Daltumbore Micaschists and Askore Amphibolites of Desio and Zanettin.", "era": "Paleozoic", "age": "Paleozoic (Permian brachiopods, crinoids and bryozoans reported from associated limestones; Brookfield & Gupta 1984)", "lithology": "Interbedded clastic and carbonate metasediments — shales, limestones and conglomerates passing along strike into slates, marbles and garnet-biotite schists as metamorphic grade increases northwestward.", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "basin": "Karakoram (Asian plate)", "region": "Shigar Valley, Baltistan", "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "typeLocality": "Northeast side of the Shigar Valley (Daltumbore–Skoro Lungma area), Baltistan, northern Pakistan.", "synonyms": [ "Skoro Lungma Slates", "Daltumbore Micaschists", "Askore Amphibolites" ], "introducedBy": "Hanson (1989); after Desio (1963, 1964) and Zanettin (1964)", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "geologicalSignificance": "The Asian-plate (Karakoram) footwall of the Northern Suture (Main Karakoram Thrust) in the Shigar Valley; its Paleozoic shelf-type carbonates and clastics are thrust southwest over the Cretaceous arc rocks of the Bauma-Harel Formation. Metamorphic isograds cut by the suture show that metamorphism predated suturing (Hanson 1989).", "sources": [ "hanson-1989-shigar" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Hanson, C.R. (1989). The northern suture in the Shigar valley, Baltistan, northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 203-215.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p203", "year": 1989 } ], "citations": { "age": "hanson-1989-shigar", "lithology": "hanson-1989-shigar", "environment": "hanson-1989-shigar", "typeLocality": "hanson-1989-shigar", "synonyms": "hanson-1989-shigar", "introducedBy": "hanson-1989-shigar", "geologicalSignificance": "hanson-1989-shigar" }, "confidence": "medium", "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": "primary", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "bdongo-la-formation", "name": "Bdongo-La Formation", "age": "Middle Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "description": "Bdongo-La formation is named by Desio and Fantini (1960), exposed in the Shaksgam valley, comprised of marly sandstone and dark coloured limestones of upper Jurassic age.", "fossils": [ "Corals", "Ammonites" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Marpo Sandstone" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Desio and Fantini (1960)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Middle Jurassic", "lithology": "Marly sandstone and dark-coloured limestone.", "typeLocality": "Shaksgam valley, eastern Karakoram", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Jurassic marine unit that conformably overlies the Marpo Sandstone in the Shaksgam valley; the youngest Jurassic unit of the eastern-Karakoram succession.", "plainSummary": "A Late Jurassic marly-sandstone-and-limestone unit of the Shaksgam valley, above the Marpo Sandstone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "rolfo-2014", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "rolfo-2014", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "rolfo-2014", "thickness": "rolfo-2014", "thicknessM": "rolfo-2014" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Rolfo, F., Groppo, C. & Gaetani, M. (2014). A geological cross-section north of Karakorum, from Yarkand to K2. Journal of the Virtual Explorer, 47, Paper 1. https://doi.org/10.3809/jvirtex.2014.00336", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3809/jvirtex.2014.00336", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "36.10, 76.50", "thickness": "about 200 m", "thicknessM": 200, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the Bdongo-La (Bango-La) Formation is assigned an Upper Jurassic age (Desio & Fantini; Gaetani), versus the curated Middle Jurassic (Rolfo 2014). Recorded as a note; the primary Rolfo (2014) age is retained pending reconciliation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "marl", "lat": 36.1, "lng": 76.5, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "besham-banda-limestone", "name": "Deshan Banda Limestone", "lithology": "Grey limestone of the Kalam Group (Dir-Drosh area), overlying the Karandoki Slate and overlain by the Shon Quartzite; the Kalam Group is about 800 m thick and assigned a Middle Jurassic-Cretaceous age (Tahirkheli 1980).", "description": "The Deshan Banda Limestone (Besham Banda limestone), named after the Deshan Banda locality in upper Swat by Tahirkheli (1979), consists of 35 m of crystalline and fossiliferous limestone. It forms part of the Kalam group (total thickness more than 800 m), which also includes the Karandoki slates (named after the Karandoki stream 2 km south of Kalam; 120 m of grey, green and maroon slates with layers of para-amphibole) and the Shou quartzites (named after the Shou stream near Kalam town; 600 m of quartzites). The Kalam group units are locally intruded by the 75-78 Ma Deshai diorites (Jan and Mian 1971).", "thickness": "Kalam Group about 800 m (Karandoki Slate + Deshan Banda Limestone + Shon Quartzite)", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Deshan Banda locality in upper Swat", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Dir-Drosh", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic-Cretaceous", "age": "Middle Jurassic to Cretaceous", "references": [ { "citation": "Tahirkheli, R. A. K. (1979). Kalam Group (Cretaceous), upper Swat.", "year": 1979 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A limestone unit of the Kohistan greenstone/metasedimentary belt, associated with the Kalam Group metasediments intruded by Cretaceous (Deshai) diorites.", "plainSummary": "A limestone of the Kohistan greenstone belt, within the arc's Cretaceous metasedimentary sequence.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "thicknessM": 600, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Data-quality flag (reviewer, 2026-07-30): this record is internally inconsistent — the name (\"Besham Banda Limestone\", Cretaceous, Kohistan province) does not match its lithology field, which describes the \"Karandoki slates ... 2 km south of Kalam (Tahirkheli 1979)\". Kazmi & Jan (1997) describe the Besham Group as a PRECAMBRIAN basement (quartzo-feldspathic gneisses, ~1850-2000 Ma amphibolites) at the core of the Besham antiform, and note that \"Banda\" elsewhere denotes unrelated units (Misri Banda Quartzite, Deshan Banda Limestone, Baraul Banda Slate) — there is no formal \"Besham Banda Limestone\". Likely a migration/conflation error; needs reviewer clarification (is this the Karandoki Slates, the Precambrian Besham Group, or a Cretaceous Kohistan limestone?). Downgraded to under-review.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Audit diagnosis (2026-07-30): Kazmi & Jan (1997) identify the real constituents as two units of the Kalam Group (Dir-Drosh area) — the Karandoki Slate (basal) overlain by the Deshan Banda Limestone (then Shon Quartzite; Kalam Group ~800 m, Middle Jurassic-Cretaceous, Tahirkheli 1980). This record conflates the Karandoki Slate + Deshan Banda Limestone and mislabels them \"Besham\" (a separate Precambrian nappe near the Indus Syntaxis). Recommend splitting/renaming to the Kalam Group units and removing the \"Besham\" association.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Corrected (reviewer audit, 2026-07-30): this record was mislabelled \"Besham Banda Limestone\" and carried the underlying Karandoki Slate lithology. Per Kazmi & Jan (1997) it is the Deshan Banda Limestone of the Kalam Group (Dir-Drosh area, Kohistan), a Middle Jurassic-Cretaceous limestone between the basal Karandoki Slate and the overlying Shon Quartzite. It is NOT related to the Precambrian Besham nappe. The Karandoki Slate remains to be added as a separate underlying unit.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORROBORATES the earlier rename to 'Deshan Banda Limestone': the book has a 'Deshan Banda limestone' (upper Swat) — ~35 m of light grey crystalline fossiliferous limestone that underlies the Shon/Shou Quartzites and overlies the Karandoki Slates within the Kalam Group (Matsushita 1965; Middle Jurassic–Cretaceous). There is no 'Besham Banda' unit in the Kalam Group (the previous label conflated it with the unrelated Besham Indus-gorge Proterozoic locality). Kalam Group order (top→base): Shon Quartzites → Deshan Banda Limestone → Karandoki Slates.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "bostan-formation", "name": "Bostan Formation", "age": "Middle Pleistocene to present (Chibanian-Holocene; ~0.77-0 Ma)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Quaternary", "epoch": "Middle Pleistocene to Holocene", "lithology": "Gypsiferous claystone to sandstone; lacustrine to playa deposits.", "description": "The Bostan Formation is named after the village of Bostan, 20 km east of Kuchlak (HSC 1961). It consists of clay, silt, sandstone and conglomerate; the clay and silt are red to maroon and brown, and the sandstone and conglomerate are medium to thick bedded and mostly friable, indicating uplift of the area. It is assigned to the Pleistocene-Holocene Sakhi Sarwar Group (Malkani 2012k, 2014c) - first used after the Sakhi Sarwar area of D.G. Khan and treated as synonymous with the Bostan Formation - which comprises the Dada Formation (mainly conglomerate) and the Sakhi Sarwar Formation (mud and sandstone with poorly developed conglomerate, mud-dominant in valley centres), concealed at places in valleys and plains by Subrecent and Recent fluvial, eolian and colluvial deposits.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Kamroud village, Siahan Range (Makran)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Subrecent and Recent deposits" }, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Kakar-Khurasan Basin", "introducedBy": "Malkani (2012)", "environment": [ "lacustrine", "playa" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "synonyms": [ "Sakhi Sarwar Group (in part)" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Pleistocene–Holocene molasse of the Kakar-Khurasan/Pishin region, equivalent to the Sakhi Sarwar Group (Boston Formation), capping the basin fill.", "plainSummary": "A very young (Pleistocene–Holocene) gravel-and-mud molasse of northern Balochistan.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "kasi-2012-pishin" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "environment": "indplex-geolex", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2012 } ], "coordinates": "30.4325, 67.0061", "thickness": "600-750 m", "thicknessM": 675, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Revised to gypsiferous claystone-sandstone of lacustrine-playa origin per the Indian Plate Lexicon (compiler N.K. Siddiqui), superseding a 'foreland molasse conglomerate' description.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "typeLocality", "note": "Type locality specified as Kamroud village, Siahan Range (Makran), superseding 'Village Bostan'.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "overlies", "note": "Lower contact: unconformably overlies the Shirinab, Loralai, Nisai and Khojak formations; conformably overlies the Haro Conglomerate in the Axial Belt. Upper contact is the present surface.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Corroborated by USGS OFR 94-689: Pleistocene lacustrine clay (gypsiferous), conglomerate and salt-and-pepper sandstone; unconformable on older strata; ~750 m thick in the Pishin Basin (Cheema et al. 1977).", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents as 'Bostan formation'). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Bostan Formation (believed Pleistocene; type sections Pishin Lora and Kamerod village) is folded lacustrine-to-playa gypsiferous white/grey/brick-red clay interbedded with salt-and-pepper thin sandstone and conglomerate, laid down in tectonic depressions and unconformably overlying the Neogene and older rocks (transitional with the Khojak Formation in the Dalbandin Valley); unfossiliferous.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kasi et al. (2012): in the Pishin Belt the name Bostan Formation (Hunting Survey Corporation 1960) denotes a Pleistocene red-bed molasse — red shale/siltstone with conglomerate and sandstone — forming Zone V, thrust over the Malthanai Formation and in turn overthrust by the Holocene Zhob valley deposits. This Pishin-Belt usage should be reconciled with the curated Makran (Siahan Range) attribution of the record.", "source": "kasi-2012-pishin" } ], "lithologyType": "claystone", "lat": 30.4325, "lng": 67.0061, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "burawai-formation", "name": "Burawai Formation", "age": "Late Palaeozoic to Mesozoic (post-Late-Carboniferous cover; correlated with the Panjal Volcanics)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous–Triassic", "lithology": "Metasedimentary schist, marble and paragneiss.", "description": "The Burawai Formation is named after Burawai village in the Kaghan valley by Chaudhry and Ghazanfar (1987) for schists, marbles and paragneisses of Palaeo-Mesozoic age. It is one of the constituent units of the Sharda Group (described by Chaudhry et al. 1986 for gneisses, marble, granites and amphibolites), which is exposed from the Kunhar valley NE of Batal to Babusar pass, between the MMT and the north-dipping Batal thrust (Treloar et al. 1989b), and is similar to the Alpurai Group of Swat. The Sharda Group comprises the basal Di Khari granite gneiss (Cambrian and older), the Naran formation (named after Naran village by Greco et al. 1989, 1993 for metapelitic-metagreywacke gneisses), the Dadar granite-migmatite complex and the Burawai Formation.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Burawai, Upper Kaghan valley", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara Sub-Basin", "introducedBy": "Greco et al. (1989)", "reviewStatus": "published", "geologicalSignificance": "The Paleozoic–Mesozoic metasedimentary cover sequence of the Sharda Group in the Upper Kaghan valley (Greco et al., 1989), above the Naran Formation in the inverted Kaghan nappe pile.", "plainSummary": "A Paleozoic–Mesozoic metasedimentary unit (schist, marble, gneiss) of the Burawai area, Upper Kaghan.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "34.9420, 73.8690", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORRECTION: the Burawai Formation is the Palaeozoic–Mesozoic cover overlying the Naran Formation in the Kaghan Valley, correlated with the Panjal Volcanics (Late Carboniferous and younger) — not 'Cambrian' as previously recorded (unsourced). Age corrected to Late Palaeozoic–Mesozoic.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.942, "lng": 73.869, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "burji-formation", "name": "Burji Formation", "lithology": "Several km of phyllites, shales and limestone with chlorite–epidote greenschists.", "description": "Burji formation (Burji La or Burjila formation) named by Desio (1978) consists of several km thick phyllites, shales, limestone and chlorite-epidote greenschists exposed south of Indus River, is the eastward extension of upper metasedimentary, volcanic and detritial sequence of Kohistan magmatic arc (Bard et al. 1980) just south of Karakoram Suture.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "introducedBy": "Desio (1978)", "environment": [ "marine", "metamorphic" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Cretaceous", "typeLocality": "Burji La (Burjila), south of the Indus", "geologicalSignificance": "A metasedimentary–metavolcanic unit south of the Indus near Skardu, the eastward extension of the upper metasedimentary and volcanic sequence of the Kohistan–Ladakh arc.", "plainSummary": "A thick phyllite-shale-limestone unit near Skardu — the eastern continuation of the Kohistan arc's metasediments.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "coordinates": "35.1600, 75.6300", "age": "Cretaceous", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Burji Formation (Desio 1978) is the several-km-thick upper metasedimentary-volcanic-detrital sequence of the Kohistan magmatic arc south of the Indus River (Skardu-Ladakh) — phyllite, slate, chlorite-epidote greenschist and limestone with Upper Cretaceous fossils, interbedded with the Deosai Volcanics; northward it has a faulted contact with the Katzarah Formation. Corroborates the curated Cretaceous age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 35.16, "lng": 75.63, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "chak-jabbi-limestone", "name": "Chak Jabbi Limestone", "age": "Middle Triassic (Anisian-Ladinian; ~246.7-237.0 Ma)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "lithology": "Thin- to medium-bedded (15-60 cm) grey, brownish-grey-weathering sub-lithographic limestone; slope-forming; unfossiliferous.", "description": "The Chak Jabbi Limestone of Fatmi (1972) is a lateral variation of the Kingriali Formation and is now regarded as a junior synonym of it. The Kingriali (originally the Kingriali dolomite, named after Kingriali peak in the Khisor Range by Gee (1945) and later amended to Kingriali Formation) consists of dolomite, limestone, dolomitic limestone, marl, sandstone and shale. Anwar et al. (1992) divided it into two members: the lower Doya (sandstone, dolomite and minor shale) and the upper Vanjari (mainly dolomite). Some brachiopods, bivalves and crinoidal remains are reported. Age Late Triassic.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Near Bagh village, Kalachitta Range (Kohat-Margala Province); reference section 1 km ESE of Bagh village", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Mianwali Formation", "underlies": "Kingriali Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kohat-Potwar Basin", "introducedBy": "Fatmi (1972)", "reviewStatus": "published", "thickness": "30 m (type section)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Triassic shallow-marine sublithographic limestone of the Upper Indus Basin, conformably overlying the Mianwali Formation and grading up into the Kingriali Formation; it occupies a stratigraphic position equivalent to the Tredian Formation and is largely unfossiliferous.", "economicImportance": "Raw material for cement; mined in the lowest beds exposed east of the Hattar Cement Factory.", "plainSummary": "A fine-grained Triassic limestone of the Kalachitta and Hazara hills, sitting between the Mianwali and Kingriali formations.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "synonyms": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "epoch": "Middle Triassic", "thicknessM": 30, "synonyms": [ "Chak Jabbi Formation" ], "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "typeLocality", "note": "Type locality corrected from 'Kingriali peak in Khisor' to the Kalachitta Range (near Bagh village, Kohat-Margala Province) per Fatmi (1972) / Indian Plate Lexicon; the Khisor Range attribution was in error.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Lithology revised to Fatmi's sub-lithographic, unfossiliferous limestone; the prior dolomitic description appears to have been conflated with another unit.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Middle Triassic (Anisian-Ladinian) assigned on stratigraphic position between the Mianwali and Kingriali formations; correlative with the Tredian Formation of the Salt Range.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chalt-formation", "name": "Chalt Formation", "description": "Chalt formation is named after the Chalt village about 40km N of Gilgit by Desio (1964) for quartz biotite schist, quartzite, marble and conglomerate. Ivanac et al. (1956) assigned Permo-carboniferous age based on fossils.", "fossils": [ "Bryozoans", "Fenestella", "Productids", "Corals" ], "typeLocality": "Chalt village, about 40 km north of Gilgit, Hunza valley", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "introducedBy": "Desio (1964)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous–Permian", "age": "Permo-Carboniferous", "references": [ { "citation": "Ivanac, J. F. et al. (1956). Geology of the Chalt–Babusar area; Permo-Carboniferous age assigned on fossils.", "year": 1956 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Stauffer, K.W. (1975). Geology of the Gilgit-Hispar Area, Gilgit Agency, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey / Geological Survey of Pakistan, Project Report (IR) PK-19 (Open-File Report), 41 p.", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "lithology": "Dark-grey quartz–biotite schist with subordinate quartzite, marble and conglomerate.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Permo-Carboniferous metasedimentary unit of the Darkot Group, faulted against the Dumordo Formation in the Hunza valley; Searle (1991) treated it as part of the Ganchen Formation.", "plainSummary": "A Permo-Carboniferous quartz–biotite schist unit of the Darkot Group near Chalt, north of Gilgit.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "stauffer-1975", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "stauffer-1975" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "coordinates": "36.2333, 74.3333", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Chalt schist'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 36.2333, "lng": 74.3333, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chamalang-group", "name": "Chamalang (=Ghazij) Group", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "description": "The Chamalang Group (Malkani, 2010) is the fully developed equivalent of the Ghazij Group (introduced by Oldham, 1890; type section at Spintangi after Williams, 1959; raised to group rank by Shah, 2002), with its type area at Chamalang. It comprises the Shaheed Ghat, Toi, Kingri and Baska formations. Early Eocene.", "fossils": [ "Early Eocene mammals" ], "typeLocality": "Spintangi", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "coordinates": "29.9517, 68.0833", "synonyms": [ "Ghazij Group" ], "introducedBy": "Malkani (2010a)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Eocene", "lithology": "Thick shale with subordinate sandstone, limestone, coal, gypsum and laterite.", "environment": [ "marginal marine", "paralic" ], "economicImportance": "Hosts coal (Toi Formation) and gypsum (Baska Formation); the Ghazij shales form a regional seal.", "geologicalSignificance": "The Early Eocene Ghazij succession (Chamalang Group) of the Sulaiman region, comprising the Shaheed Ghat, Drug, Toi, Baska and Kingri formations; a thick shale-dominated unit with economic coal, gypsum and laterite.", "plainSummary": "The Early Eocene Ghazij (Chamalang) Group of the Sulaiman Range — Shaheed Ghat, Drug, Toi, Baska and Kingri — a thick shale unit with coal and gypsum.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "khan-clyde-2013", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "synonyms": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "khan-clyde-2013", "thicknessM": "khan-clyde-2013", "fossils": "khan-clyde-2013", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Khan, I.H. & Clyde, W.C. (2013). Lower Paleogene Tectonostratigraphy of Balochistan: Evidence for Time-Transgressive Late Paleocene-Early Eocene Uplift. Geosciences, 3(3), 466-501.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences3030466", "year": 2013 } ], "members": [ "shaheed-ghat-formation", "toi-formation", "kingri-formation", "baska-formation" ], "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Equated with the lower Eocene Ghazij Formation of USGS OFR 94-689 (divided into upper/middle/lower zones around the flanks of the Sibi-Urak trough); the upper zone is reddish-weathering claystone with minor conglomeratic sandstone and local bog iron, ~215 m thick in the Mach area.", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Khan & Clyde (2013): the Ghazij Formation (= Chamalang Group) records an upper Paleocene-lower Eocene shallowing-upward synorogenic succession — proximal conglomerate (lower-Paleocene + Mesozoic clasts) in the west grading to distal sandstone/shale in the east, with deltaic and fluvial facies. Paleocurrents flow SE (reversed from the Cretaceous shelf), and sandstone petrography indicates a collision-suture/fold-thrust provenance. Its lower contact on the Dungan Group and upper contact with the Spintangi Limestone are both time-transgressive; a late Paleocene-early Eocene unconformity in the Quetta-Kalat region is read as the local response to initial India-Asia contact.", "source": "khan-clyde-2013" } ], "thickness": "≈780 m at Kingri to ≈1,372 m in the Mughal Kot area; thins toward the Marri-Bugti Hills", "thicknessM": 1372, "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 29.9517, "lng": 68.0833, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "chapursan-group", "name": "Chapursan Group", "description": "Chapursan group is named by Gaetani et al. (1990a) for the Lupghar and Panjshah formations in upper Hunza region and Lashkargaz formation in the Baroghil region of Shimshal and Chapursan Valleys of the upper Hunza.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1990a)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian–Triassic", "age": "Permian", "references": [ { "citation": "Gaetani, M. et al. (1995). Permian stratigraphy of the upper Hunza (Lupghar, Panjshah, Lashkargaz formations).", "year": 1995 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548", "year": 1995 } ], "typeLocality": "Chapursan and Shimshal valleys, upper Hunza", "geologicalSignificance": "A Permian to Triassic group of the upper Hunza region comprising the Lupghar and Panjshah formations of upper Hunza together with the Lashkargaz Formation of the Baroghil/Shimshal–Chapursan area.", "plainSummary": "A Permian–Triassic group of upper Hunza made up of the Lupghar, Panjshah and Lashkargaz formations.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thickness": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thicknessM": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "lithology": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "environment": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "members": [ "lupghar-formation", "panjshah-formation", "lashkargaz-formation" ], "coordinates": "36.72, 74.50", "thickness": "~400-500 m (Karambar sheet)", "thicknessM": 450, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19): the Chapursan Group is Permian, ~400-500 m in the Karambar sheet. Thickness gap-filled.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Chapursan Group is a thick mainly-carbonate Permian succession overlying the Gircha Formation, with large fusulinids in the massive white limestones (KCh2); its upper part (massive carbonates, Kmc) may be Triassic in age. Detailed only in the remote Karambar Unit.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Chapursan Group (Gaetani et al. 1990a/1995; Shimshal and Chapursan valleys, upper Hunza) is a Middle to Late Permian marine sequence of sandstone, siltstone and limestone overlying the Gircha Formation, divided into the Lupghar and Panjshah formations (Upper Hunza) and the Lashkargaz Formation (Baroghil); it was first named the Panjshah Formation (1990a) then redefined as a group.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Chapursan Group is introduced here for the mixed terrigenous-carbonate, shallow-water fossil-rich (fusulinids, brachiopods, bryozoans, corals, molluscs) units that make up the middle part of the Northern Karakorum Permian - comprising, from base to top, the Lashkargaz, Lupghar and Panjshah formations. It is kept distinct from the Darkot Group (Ivanac et al. 1956) despite possible affinity, and records a Sakmarian-onward carbonate ramp/platform above the terrigenous Gircha Formation.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" } ], "lithology": "A thick, mainly carbonate succession (Karambar Unit, Shuinj Glacier): brownish well-bedded and massive limestones passing to platy black limestones (KCh1), massive white limestones with large fusulinids passing to grey-black well-bedded limestones (KCh2), slates and marls passing up to cyclic marlstones and massive limestones (KCh3), massive carbonates interfingering with KCh3 (KCh4), and undifferentiated black slates and marlstones at the top (KCh5).", "environment": [ "marine", "carbonate platform", "basinal" ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 36.72, "lng": 74.5, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chatti-formation", "name": "Chatti Formation", "age": "Early Pleistocene (Gelasian; ~2.58-1.80 Ma)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "lithology": "Clayey sandstone.", "description": "Chatti Formation is after the locality of Chatti (31 K/3) about 17 miles north west of Gawader (HSC, 1961). These rocks were also included in the \"Upper Mudstone\" of Khan (1951). It is a part of Makran series paleontologically defined by Vredenburg (1909; p. 299-300). It consists of mostly mudstone which is interbedded with siltstone or fine grained sandstone and marl. The Ormara is the synonym of Chatti because Ormara is mapped in the eastern part of southern Makran coastal areas where Chatti formation is not mapped and distinction between Ormara and Chatti mudstone is also difficult in the western part also (HSC, 1961). Its age is Pliocene.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Talar Formation", "overlies": "Talar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Makran-Siahan Basin, Wazhdad Arc And Mashkel/Kharan Basin", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Pleistocene", "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "typeLocality": "Makran Flysch Province, Balochistan Basin", "environment": [ "marine", "shelf" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Pliocene mudstone of the coastal Makran (Gwadar area), part of the youngest, regressive marine fill of the accretionary wedge.", "plainSummary": "A Pliocene coastal-Makran mudstone near Gwadar, among the youngest marine deposits of the wedge.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "25.3000, 62.1300", "thicknessM": 1000, "thickness": "over 1000 m", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Age refined to Early Pleistocene (Gelasian) per the Indian Plate Lexicon (compiler N.K. Siddiqui); conformably overlies Hinglaj or Talar Fm and is unconformably overlain by the Gwadar Fm.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as the Chatti mudstone member, upper member of the Hinglaj Formation (adopted from Hunting Survey 1961). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997) RANK FLAG: the book treats this as the upper 'Chatti Mudstone Member' of the Hinglaj Formation (more calcareous/marly mudstone; Pleistocene), not a stand-alone formation.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) REVISES the earlier rank flag: the book treats the Chatti as its own formation — the 'Chatti Formation' of HSC (1960), for shelf-to-slope calcareous mudstone-siltstone around Chatti Village (25 km NW of Gwadar), conformably overlying the Talar Formation (Plio-Pleistocene) — not as a member of the Hinglaj Formation. The dataset's formation rank is supported here; the earlier 'Chatti Mudstone Member of the Hinglaj Formation' framing (Kazmi & Jan 1997) is superseded.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 25.3, "lng": 62.13, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chaudhwan-formation", "name": "Chaudhwan Formation", "age": "Pliocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "lithology": "Mud, sandstone and conglomerate, becoming conglomerate-dominated upward.", "description": "Introduced by Hemphill and Kidwai (1973), type section at Chaudhwan Zam, the Chaudhwan Formation (about 650–750 m) consists of alternating maroon-to-khaki calcareous mudstone/shale, grey-brown sandstone and sandy conglomerate, capped by thick conglomerate that marks the boundary between the Sulaiman Fold Belt and the Sulaiman Foredeep. Its lower contact with the Litra Formation is disconformable and its upper contact with the Dada Formation is angular. It hosts continental vertebrates; on stratigraphic position its age is likely Pliocene.", "thickness": "~1,500–2,100 m", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Chaudhwan Zam, Sulaiman Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Litra Formation", "underlies": "Dada Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "coordinates": "31.6167, 70.25", "introducedBy": "Hemphill and Kidwai (1973)", "environment": [ "fluvial", "alluvial", "continental" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Pliocene–Pleistocene", "geologicalSignificance": "The uppermost molasse of the Sulaiman foreland (top of the Vihowa Group), equivalent to the Upper Siwalik (Soan and upper Dhok Pathan); its upward-coarsening, conglomerate-dominated section records the final, high-energy unroofing of the rising Sulaiman ranges.", "plainSummary": "The youngest, gravel-rich molasse capping the Sulaiman Range — the coarse debris shed as the mountains rose.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "citations": { "epoch": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "thickness": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "typeLocality": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "lithology": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "overlies": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "environment": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "geologicalSignificance": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "plainSummary": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. et al. (2018). Tectonic Map of Sulaiman Fold Belt, Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan.", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331158873", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 } ], "thicknessM": 1800, "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Source of gravel and sand for construction aggregate.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B) NAMED the Chaudhwan Formation as the upper Siwalik unit, type section at Chaudhwan Zam. Pliocene to possibly Pleistocene; mostly hard massive boulder/cobble/pebble conglomerate (limestone, quartzite, sandstone clasts) in sandstone matrix, ~4,900-7,000 ft, coarsest near the Waziristan/N-Sulaiman highlands; an angular unconformity N of Chaudhwan Zam records late-Pliocene-Pleistocene movement on the Domanda fault. Equivalent to the Malagan + Dhok Pathan + upper Nagri of the eastern ranges.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "The Chaudhwan Formation is the coarsening-upward top of the Sulaiman molasse, becoming conglomerate-dominant in its upper reaches, of Pliocene age on mammalian evidence; its type area (with the Chaudhwan Zam) was designated by Hemphill & Kidwai (1973) (Raza et al. 2002).", "source": "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 31.6167, "lng": 70.25, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "chikar-formation", "name": "Chikar Formation", "age": "Cambrian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Cambrian", "description": "Chikar formation named after the Chikar village by Kazmi and Jan (1997) in the upper reaches of Yarkhun valley south of Darkot pass, contains siltstones and quartzites intruded by several granitic dykes, southward schist and hornfels and migmatites. Its age is Late Proterozoic to Early Cambrian (Le Fort et al. 1994).", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Chikar village, upper Yarkhun valley, south of Darkot Pass", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Kazmi and Jan (1997)", "reviewStatus": "published", "lithology": "Metasedimentary siltstone and quartzite intruded by granitic dykes, passing southward into schist, hornfels and migmatite.", "geologicalSignificance": "One of the oldest units of the basin: a Late Proterozoic to Early Cambrian metasedimentary sequence (Le Fort et al., 1994) intruded by the pre-Ordovician Ishkarwaz Granite in the upper Yarkhun valley of the Hindukush.", "plainSummary": "Ancient basement metasediments of the upper Yarkhun valley — among the oldest rocks of the Karakoram-Hindukush, cut by old granite.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "36.68, 73.45", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Chikar quartzite'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "siltstone", "lat": 36.68, "lng": 73.45, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chikchi-ri-shale", "name": "Chikchi-ri Shale", "lithology": "Black, green, brown and red shale with thin beds of limestone, tuff and lava flows.", "description": "Chikchi-ri shale is named after Chikchi-ri Range by Desio (1963), exposed in the type area and Singhie glacier, large area of eastern Karakoram from Shaksgam valley and Karakoram pass to Shyok valley. It consists of black, green, brown and red shales with thin beds of limestone, tuff and lava flows.", "fossils": [ "Conodonts (Neospathodus homeri)", "Meandrospira pusilla" ], "typeLocality": "Chikchi-ri", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Desio (1963)", "reviewStatus": "published", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A variegated shale sequence with interbedded tuff and lava flows exposed over a large part of the eastern Karakoram, from the Shaksgam valley and Karakoram Pass to the Shyok valley. Its age is not constrained in the baseline.", "plainSummary": "A colourful shale-and-volcanic sequence spread across the eastern Karakoram, of uncertain age.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "low", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Chikchi-ri Shales (Desio 1963, 1964; Chikchi Range and Singhie Glacier valley, eastern Karakoram) are Triassic — black, brown, green and red arenaceous shales and greenschists with thin limestone, tuff and lava, overlying the Permian Shaksgam Formation and underlying the Late Triassic Aghil Limestone, and passing laterally into the Urdok Conglomerate. A correlative section (Gaetani et al. 1990b) yields the Lower Triassic conodont Neospathodus homeri and the foraminifer Meandrospira pusilla, implying an Early Triassic age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "age": "Triassic (Early Triassic)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "epoch": "Early Triassic", "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chilmarabad-formation", "name": "Chilmarabad Formation", "age": "Devonian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian", "lithology": "Slate, dolomitic limestone and dolomite.", "description": "Chilmarabad formation consists of Devonian slates, dolomitic limestone and dolomites unconformably overlies the Baroghil group in the Baroghil pass region (LeFort et al., 1994). It is overlain by Late Devonian Shogram formation (Gaetani et al. 1995).", "fossils": [ "Tabulate corals (Thamnopora, Pachycanalicula)", "Calcareous alga (Pseudopalaeoporella)", "Stromatoporoids" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Baroghil Group", "underlies": "Shogram Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "reviewStatus": "published", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Devonian carbonate–slate unit that rests with angular unconformity on the Baroghil Group in the Baroghil Pass region and passes up into the Late Devonian Shogram Formation.", "plainSummary": "A Devonian slate-and-dolomite unit above the Baroghil Group and below the Shogram Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2008-devonian", "talent-gaetani-1999", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "underlies": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thicknessM": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "typeLocality": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "introducedBy": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "fossils": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Sciunnach, D. & Talent, J.A. (2008). The Devonian of Western Karakorum (Pakistan). Acta Geologica Polonica, 58(3), 261-285.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999). Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts from the Western Karakoram and Hindu Kush, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 105(2), 201-226.", "year": 1999 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "thickness": "max ~145 m (Axial) to ~300 m (Karambar); ~230 m in the Lashkargaz/Baroghil sheet", "thicknessM": 230, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19): the Chilmarabad Formation sits at the Silurian-Devonian level, max ~145 m (Axial) to ~300 m (Karambar). Corroborates the Devonian age; thickness gap-filled.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Chilmarabad Formation is Eifelian to ?Givetian — the upper dolostone member yields algae and tabulate corals (Pseudopalaeoporella, Thamnopora, Pachycanalicula; Hubmann & Gaetani 2007). Two members: a lower doloarenitic member (~125 m) with terrigenous input and an upper monotonous light-grey stromatolitic dolostone member (~110 m); deposited on a wide peritidal flat. In the Karambar Unit it overlies the Vandanil Formation and is covered upward by the Shogram Formation.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2008): the Chilmarabad Formation (Gaetani et al. 1996) is divided into two members — a lower mixed siliciclastic–carbonate package (present in most southern/western thrust sheets) and a ubiquitous upper member of often-stromatolitic dolostones (the calcareous part of the Tash Kupruk Zone is similar facies). Its carbonate flats show a trend towards emersion at the top and are overlain, across a regional unconformity, by the basal Shogrâm Formation. Devonian; corroborates the curated age and adds the primary source.", "source": "gaetani-2008-devonian" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Talent et al. (1999): the Chilmarabad Formation (Gaetani et al. 1996) had no previously known fossils; a horizon with poorly-preserved stromatoporoids 'not younger than Middle Devonian' occurs above Lashkargaz, and a coral horizon further supports a Devonian age. It may be, in a general way, a lateral equivalent of the Charun Quartzite, and forms part of the Yarkhun-Vidiakot-Chilmarabad (Baroghil) assemblage. Corroborates the curated Devonian age.", "source": "talent-gaetani-1999" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Surfaced from the age notes into fossils[]: the upper dolostone member yields algae and tabulate corals — Pseudopalaeoporella, Thamnopora, Pachycanalicula (Hubmann & Gaetani 2007, in Zanchi & Gaetani 2011). Talent et al. (1999) add poorly-preserved stromatoporoids 'not younger than Middle Devonian' and a coral horizon above Lashkargaz — the first fossils reported from a formation previously without any.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "typeLocality": "Type section measured north of Chilmarabad village, Yarkhun Valley; also exposed on the plateau NW of Lashkargaz.", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1996)", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chogo-lungma-group", "name": "Chogo Lungma Group", "lithology": "White to greyish-blue, intensely folded marble interbedded with amphibolite; the impure marble carries diopside, phlogopite and grossular garnet, with calc-silicate layers and locally green tremolite.", "description": "Chogo Lungma group of limestone is exposed in the confluence of Bolocho and Chogo Lungma glaciers, near Sost in Hunza valley, Sumayar pluton, Kero Lungma, Berelter and Hoh Lumba valleys and near the mouth of Biofo glacier. It consists of white to grayish blue intensely folded marble, interbedded with amphibolite horizons. The impure marble contains diopside, phlogopite and grossularite garnet and it is interbedded with calc- silicate layers. At places marble shows acid green color due to presence of tremolite (Le Fort and Pechner 2001).", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "typeLocality": "Confluence of the Bolocho and Chogo Lungma glaciers, near Sost, Hunza valley", "geologicalSignificance": "A folded marble-and-amphibolite group of the Karakoram metamorphic belt, exposed around the Chogo Lungma glacier and adjacent valleys (Le Fort and Pechner, 2001).", "plainSummary": "A folded marble-and-amphibolite group of the Chogo Lungma glacier region in Hunza.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "coordinates": "35.90, 75.05", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 35.9, "lng": 75.05, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "chushal-formation", "name": "Chushal Formation", "description": "The Chushal Formation is the Agglomeratic Slate (named by Middlemiss 1910-1911; the 'Chushal Formation' of Bossart et al. 1984) of the Kaghan Valley, District Mansehra. It is a highly heterogeneous, greenschist-facies (biotite-grade) unit of graphitic schist, feldspathic and micaceous quartzite, pelitic schist, feldspathic chlorite-calcite schist, marble and metaconglomerate, carrying devitrified volcanogenic matter. Of Upper Carboniferous to Permian age, it lies between the underlying Tanawal (Tanol) Formation and the overlying Panjal Formation and is the Kaghan equivalent of the Agglomeratic Slate of Kashmir (part of the Panjal series). Its origin is debated - variously volcanic, glacial or mixed; Chaudhry, Ghazanfar & Hussain (1989) read it as combined volcanic, volcanogenic, continental, glacial and marine facies deposited during rifting of the NW Indian margin.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara Sub-Basin", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous", "epoch": "Late Carboniferous", "age": "Early Permian", "references": [ { "citation": "Chaudhry, M. N. et al. (1986); Panjal system (agglomeratic slate member), Early Permian.", "year": 1986 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ghazanfar, M. & Hussain, M.S. (1989). Petrography, Metamorphism, Nature and Origin of Agglomeratic Slate in Kaghan Valley, District Mansehra, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 61-70.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 } ], "lithology": "Agglomeratic slate.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Carboniferous agglomeratic-slate unit of the Kashmir–Hazara Himalayan zone, associated with the Permian volcanic rocks (Panjal Trap correlatives) of the region.", "plainSummary": "A Late Carboniferous agglomeratic slate of the Hazara–Kashmir Himalaya.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "chaudhry-1989-agglomeratic-slate" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "description": "chaudhry-1989-agglomeratic-slate", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Chaudhry, Ghazanfar & Hussain (1989): the Chushal Formation (Agglomeratic Slate) of the Kaghan Valley is a highly heterogeneous, greenschist-facies (biotite-grade) assemblage of graphitic schist, feldspathic and micaceous quartzite, pelitic schist, feldspathic chlorite-calcite schist, marble and metaconglomerate, containing devitrified cryptocrystalline volcanogenic (volcanic-derived) matter.", "source": "chaudhry-1989-agglomeratic-slate" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Chaudhry et al. (1989): named the Agglomeratic Slate by Middlemiss (1910-1911) and the 'Chushal Formation' by Bossart et al. (1984), it is the Kaghan (District Mansehra) equivalent of the Agglomeratic Slate of Kashmir and part of the Panjal series. It is underlain by the Tanawal (Tanol) Formation (contact often faulted, locally gradational) and overlain by the Panjal Formation. Its origin is historically contested (explosive-volcanic vs glacial); the authors interpret mixed volcanic, volcanogenic, continental, glacial and marine facies deposited during rifting of the NW Indian margin under subarctic conditions (supporting Wadia 1931, 1975). Age Upper Carboniferous to Permian.", "source": "chaudhry-1989-agglomeratic-slate" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "chutrun-limestone", "name": "Chutrun Limestone", "description": "Chutrun limestone is exposed in the west of Basha River near the contact of Karakoram metamorphic complex, Pakora and Niamur valley and right bank of Chogo Lungma glacier. This limestone splits into hectometric lenses of marble wrapped in schist. It joins with the Chog Lungma group of limestone.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "lithology": "Marble that splits into hectometric lenses wrapped in schist.", "typeLocality": "West of the Basha River, near the Karakoram Metamorphic Complex (Chogo Lungma area)", "geologicalSignificance": "A marble unit near the Karakoram Metamorphic Complex west of the Basha River; it merges with the limestone of the Chogo Lungma Group.", "plainSummary": "A marble unit of the Basha River area that joins the Chogo Lungma Group limestones.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "coordinates": "35.80, 75.42", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 35.8, "lng": 75.42, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "dada-formation", "name": "Dada Formation", "age": "Pleistocene", "era": "Quaternary", "period": "Quaternary", "epoch": "Pleistocene", "lithology": "Conglomerate with subordinate mud and sandstone.", "description": "Dada Formation Its name is derived from Dada River south of Spintangi Railway station (HSC, 1961). It consists of conglomerate with subordinate shale and sandstone. At places it also includes the white and red muds especially in the valley areas. Its lower contact with Chaudhwan Formation and upper contact with Sakhi Sarwar Formation is angular and at some places transitional. According to stratigraphic position, its age may be Pleistocene.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Dada River south of Spintangi Railway station", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chaudhwan Formation", "underlies": "Sakhi Sarwar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Western Kirthar (Balochistan)", "reviewStatus": "published", "environment": [ "fluvial", "alluvial" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Pleistocene conglomeratic molasse unit of the Sakhi Sarwar Group, among the youngest deposits of the Sulaiman–Kirthar foreland.", "plainSummary": "A Pleistocene gravel-rich molasse, one of the youngest units of the foreland.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "brohi-2009-surjan", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "citations": { "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "thickness": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "thicknessM": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Brohi, I.A., Bablani, S.A. & Solangi, S.H. (2009). Geology and Economic Significance of Tertiary Rocks, Khorwari Section, Surjan Anticline, Thano Bula Khan, Sindh. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 41(1), 95-106.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Source of gravel and sand for construction aggregate.", "thickness": "about 1,000 m (Urak area)", "thicknessM": 1000, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Gap-fill (thickness field was empty). USGS OFR 94-689 (Maldonado et al. 1994) reports the Dada Conglomerate as about 1,000 m thick in the Urak area of the Sibi-Urak trough (after Hunting Survey Corporation 1961). Confidence medium: the USGS Dada Conglomerate is the Sibi-Urak-trough correlative and the measurement is locality-specific.", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Shah (2009) folds the 'Dada conglomerate' (Hunting Survey 1961) into the Lei Conglomerate. Kept separate here: distinct Quetta/Kirthar province and ~1000 m thickness (vs 100-300 m for the northern Lei), and treated as a distinct unit by USGS OFR 94-689.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997) NAMING FLAG: the book treats the 'Dada Conglomerate' (HSC 1960) as a superseded name renamed the Lei Conglomerate (Gill 1952) — thick boulder conglomerate and cross-bedded sandstone of a Quaternary (early Middle Glaciation) piedmont outwash on the western Lower Indus Plain, resting with sharp angular unconformity on the Siwalik Group and interfingering with the Larkana Formation. The DB name should be reconciled.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Brohi et al. (2009): the Dada Conglomerate (Pleistocene) is reported for the first time from the Khorwari section of the Surjan Anticline (Thano Bula Khan, Sindh), forming the top of the local Tertiary–Quaternary succession. Corroborates the Pleistocene age.", "source": "brohi-2009-surjan" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "darband-formation", "name": "Darband Formation", "age": "Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "description": "Darband formation is named after the Darband post in Chapursan valley by Gaetani et al. (1993) for red to grey nodular limestone with conglomerate at the top Late Cretaceous age.", "fossils": [ "Inoceramid fragments", "Coccoliths" ], "typeLocality": "Darband post, Chapursan valley, upper Hunza", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Reshit Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1993)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous (Campanian–Early Maastrichtian)", "lithology": "About 300 m of red and grey nodular limestone interbedded with conglomerate at the top.", "thickness": "about 300 m", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Cretaceous (Campanian to Early Maastrichtian) nodular-limestone unit that overlies the Tupop Conglomerate with angular unconformity; its age rests on coccolith assemblages (Gaetani et al., 1993).", "plainSummary": "A Late Cretaceous nodular-limestone unit of the Chapursan valley, dated by coccoliths.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 } ], "coordinates": "36.7200, 74.7800", "thicknessM": 300, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Darband Formation is cited as Campanian (Late Cretaceous) red/pinkish nodular marls (Gaetani et al. 1993) that unconformably cover the Tupop Conglomerate in the Sost Unit (Koz Yaz Glacier area) — consistent with the curated Cretaceous age. (A separate 'Darband Fm.' of Pudsey & Gupta 1985 is treated by this paper as a member of the Rawat Formation in the Darkot-Gazin belt.)", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 36.72, "lng": 74.78, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "dark-limestone", "name": "Dark Limestone", "age": "Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "lithology": "About 150 m of dark limestone.", "description": "Dark limestone is named by Gaetani et al. (1996a) and consists of 150m thick limestone and its age is Liassic (Pliensbachian).", "thickness": "about 150 m", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1996a)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early Jurassic (Liassic, Pliensbachian) limestone of the Karakoram Mesozoic succession.", "plainSummary": "An Early Jurassic dark limestone unit, about 150 m thick.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "thicknessM": 150, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Data-quality flag (reviewer, 2026-07-30): \"Dark Limestone\" is an informal lithological descriptor (attributed by the GSP lexicon to Gaetani et al. 1996a), NOT a formally named formation, and it is not carried as a formal unit in Kazmi & Jan (1997). Its Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) age, ~150 m thickness and Karakoram setting overlap the now-formal Darwaz An Formation (Zanchi & Gaetani 2011) and related Baroghil-Darwaz platform limestones. Candidate for merger into a formal unit or removal; downgraded to under-review pending a decision.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORROBORATES the flag: the book treats the Chitral/Karakoram 'dark limestone' informally (consistently in quotation marks) — a ~150 m sequence of dark grey massive-to-thin-bedded limestone (Gaetani et al. 1996a) overlying the Ailak Formation, of Liassic (Pliensbachian) age. Confirms this is an informal descriptor, effectively the same body later formalised as the Darwaz An Formation; not a stand-alone formal unit.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "darwaza-formation", "name": "Darwaza Formation", "description": "Darwaza Formation is named by Hussain et al. (1990) for the cream coloured limestone with dolomite overlain by maroon argillite. Pogue et al. (1999b) inferred it as Late Proterozoic based on Sr[87 ] / Sr[86 ] ratios of Inzari limestone which is lying on top of this sequence.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Hisartang Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "introducedBy": "Hussain et al. (1990)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "lithology": "Cream-coloured limestone with dolomite, overlain by maroon argillite.", "typeLocality": "Attock Range", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The oldest formation exposed on the southern Attock Range; unfossiliferous, with an unexposed lower contact and an upper gradational contact with the Hisartang Formation, it has been tentatively correlated with the Cambrian Ambar Formation.", "plainSummary": "An unfossiliferous cream-limestone-and-argillite unit, the oldest exposed in the southern Attock Range.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "age": "Paleozoic (undifferentiated)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "dilband-formation", "name": "Dilband Formation", "age": "Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "lithology": "Oolitic hematite ironstone with sandstone and shale.", "description": "Named by Abbas et al. (1998) in the northern Kirthar Range (synonym Mazar Drik Formation), the Dilband Formation is a thin unit (about 20–30 m) with three members — a lower jarositic clay, a middle reddish ironstone and an upper green glauconitic shale — straddling the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary. Its lower contact with the Chiltan (Takatu/Zidi) Limestone and upper contact with the Sembar Formation are disconformable to locally conformable. Ammonites (e.g. Macrocephalites; Bullatimorphites bullatus of Arkell, 1956; Fatmi, 1977) indicate a Late Bathonian age for the Mazar Drik unit, and Malkani (2003) reported the dinosaur Brohisaurus kirthari.", "thickness": "about 20m", "fossils": [ "Choffatia", "Bullatimorphites bullatus", "Clydoniceras", "Brohisaurus kirthari" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chiltan Limestone", "underlies": "Sembar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Western Kirthar (Balochistan)", "synonyms": [ "Mazar Drik Formation" ], "introducedBy": "Abbas et al. (1998)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Cretaceous", "typeLocality": "Dilband area, Kalat District", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "economicImportance": "Hosts the Dilband iron-ore deposit — Pakistan's largest — oolitic hematite at the top-Chiltan unconformity grading about 52–62% iron oxide.", "geologicalSignificance": "An Early Cretaceous ironstone-bearing unit resting on the top-Chiltan unconformity in the Kalat region, the host of Pakistan's principal iron-ore resource.", "plainSummary": "An Early Cretaceous ironstone unit in Kalat District — the home of Pakistan's biggest iron-ore deposit.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "malkani-kirthar-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "malkani-gsp-ir-2017", "umar-2024-cretaceous" ], "citations": { "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Khosa, M.H., Alyani, M.I., Somro, N., Zafar, T., Arif, J. & Aleem, M.Z. (2017). Revised Stratigraphic Setup and Mineral Deposits of Kirthar Basin (Lower Indus Basin), Pakistan. Lasbela University Journal of Science and Technology, VI, 54-84.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Mahmood, Z., Somro, N. & Shaikh, S.I. (2017). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Kirthar Basin, Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Information Release No. 1010.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 } ], "thicknessM": 20, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Malkani et al. (2017, Kirthar): the Dilband Formation (Late Bathonian, spanning the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary; up to ~30 m; three members — lower jarositic clay, middle reddish ironstone, upper green glauconitic shale) hosts the Dilband iron ore at the J/K boundary and yields the titanosauriform/early-titanosaurian sauropod Brohisaurus kirthari (Sun Chaku, Karkh; Charoh, Zidi, Khuzdar) plus ammonites (Macrocephalites, Indocephalites, Indosphinctes, Choffatia, Bullatimorphites bullatus, Clydoniceras). It is treated as a synonym of the Mazar Drik Formation in this corpus. Attributed corroboration of the already-listed Brohisaurus; Brohisaurus is a Malkani-corpus taxon.", "source": "malkani-kirthar-2017" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Umar et al. (2024, after Malkani 2021): the Dilband ironstone member carries Phylloceras and Lyticeras ammonites, giving a Neocomian–Valanginian age along the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary; it lies disconformably on the Chiltan Limestone and at the base of the Sembar Formation. Deposited in a small, sediment-starved, tectonically unstable shallow-marine sub-basin during extensional normal faulting.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Umar et al. (2024, after Abro et al. 2011; Malkani 2020b): the Dilband oolitic-hematite iron deposits of the Mastung district (south of Quetta) run up to 60% iron (average ~35%), with ~200 million tonnes of reserves discovered along the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary — Pakistan's principal sedimentary iron resource.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "dir-group", "name": "Dir Group", "age": "Late Paleocene to Early Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "description": "Dir group ( Latest Cretaceous-Paleocene) named by Tahirkheli (1979) which include the Baraul Banda slate and Ultor volcanic formation. Baraul Banda slate contains shale, wakes, calcareous beds and some volcanics.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "introducedBy": "Tahirkheli (1979)", "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "marine" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Latest Cretaceous–Paleocene", "lithology": "Baraul Banda slate (shale, greywacke, calcareous beds and volcanics) and the Utror volcanic formation.", "geologicalSignificance": "The latest-Cretaceous–Paleocene arc succession of the Dir–Chitral region, comprising the Baraul Banda slate and the Utror volcanics; records the youngest, waning phase of Kohistan-arc volcanism before final collision.", "plainSummary": "The Dir Group — the Baraul Banda slate and Utror volcanics — the latest-Cretaceous–Paleocene record of Kohistan-arc volcanism.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "shah-shervais-1999-dir-utror", "ahmad-2025-kohistan-swat-kalam" ], "citations": { "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Shah, M.T. & Shervais, J.W. (1999). The Dir-Utror metavolcanic sequence, Kohistan arc terrane, northern Pakistan. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 17(4), 459-475.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(99)00006-1", "year": 1999 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORRECTION: the book assigns the Dir Group a late Paleocene to early Eocene age and does not extend it into the Cretaceous; the previous 'Cretaceous–Paleocene' start (from the GSP lexicon) is corrected to Late Paleocene–Early Eocene.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "stratigraphicPosition", "note": "Shah & Shervais (1999): in the NW Kohistan arc the Dir Group comprises, from the base, the Baraul Banda slate (calcareous siltstone/slate — Fletcher's 1985 'tuffite' — up to ~4 km thick, with early Eocene microfossils), the Dir-Utror metavolcanic series, and the Panakot meta-arkose.", "source": "shah-shervais-1999-dir-utror" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Shah & Shervais (1999): the Dir-Utror volcanic series is dominated by porphyritic basaltic-andesite and andesite with subordinate basalt, high-MgO basalt, dacite and rhyolite, metamorphosed to greenschist facies (chlorite-epidote-albite-actinolite); its calc-alkaline whole-rock trend and LILE-enriched, Nb-P-Ti-depleted trace-element patterns are typical of subduction-related arc magmatism.", "source": "shah-shervais-1999-dir-utror" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Shah & Shervais (1999): the Dir-Utror volcanics represent a Paleocene-Eocene 'successor arc' built on the accreted Mesozoic Kohistan arc; 40Ar-39Ar hornblende ages of 58-61 Ma (Treloar et al. 1989) and early Eocene microfossils in the underlying Baraul Banda slate bracket its age, close to the ~50-55 Ma initial closure of the Neo-Tethys.", "source": "shah-shervais-1999-dir-utror" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2025): the Eocene Dir-Kalam (Utror) volcanics of the Dir Group extend westward through northern Kalam, Utror, eastern and central Dir and the Barawal Valley to the Afghan border, reaching a maximum width of 4-5 km near Utror and, near Bhan to the east, becoming interbedded with slates. Post-suturing arc volcanism mapped at 1:50,000.", "source": "ahmad-2025-kohistan-swat-kalam" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "drosh-formation", "name": "Drosh Formation", "lithology": "Epidotised vesicular andesite with interbedded thin red shales.", "description": "Drosh formation (1.5km thick) is named after Drosh and it consists of epidotised beds, vesicular andesite and interbedded thin red shales.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Drosh", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Purit Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "age": "Cretaceous", "references": [ { "citation": "Pudsey, C. J. et al. (1985). Collision zone between the Kohistan arc and the Asian plate, NW Pakistan.", "year": 1985, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259412744_Collision_zone_between_the_Kohistan_Arc_and_the_Asian_Plate_in_NW_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "epoch": "Cretaceous", "thickness": "about 1,500 m", "environment": [ "volcanic-arc" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Cretaceous arc-volcanic unit (andesite) of the Chitral part of the Kohistan–Dir arc, recording subaerial-to-shallow-marine island-arc volcanism.", "plainSummary": "A Cretaceous andesite-and-shale of the Chitral arc — lavas from the Kohistan island-arc volcanoes.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "coordinates": "35.5684, 71.8038", "thicknessM": 1500, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Drosh Formation (Cretaceous; type section Drosh Gol, SW Chitral) is ~1.5 km of thickly-bedded epidotised, vesicular porphyritic andesite (plagioclase-hornblende-pyroxene phenocrysts, locally autobrecciated, with associated copper mineralisation) interbedded with thin red shales, overlying the Purit Formation in the Kohistan arc south of the Shyok Suture (possibly part of the Yasin Group).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lat": 35.5684, "lng": 71.8038, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "duma-formation", "name": "Duma Formation", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "geologicalSignificance": "A formation of the Malakand/Swat area (which includes the Malandrai Member); its lithology and age are not well established in the baseline.", "plainSummary": "A poorly characterised formation of the Malakand area, containing the Malandrai Member.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "low", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Late Carboniferous to Triassic", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous–Triassic", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill: the Duma Formation (DiPietro et al. 1995, rev. 1999; type Duma Village, ~46 km ENE of Rustam, Indus Gorge) is banded white-to-grey marble (phlogopite/tremolite; local garnetiferous schistose and dolomitic marble) with thin amphibolite layers, comprising a lower Malandrai member, a Duma marble member and an upper Karapa member. Bracketed by the underlying Carboniferous Jafar Kandao Formation and the overlying conodont-bearing Triassic Kashala Formation, it is Late Carboniferous–Triassic (possibly extending to the Cambrian per DiPietro et al. 1999).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "dumordo-formation", "name": "Dumordo Formation", "lithology": "Garnet–staurolite schist, garnet–mica schist, garnet amphibolite, crystalline marble and micaceous quartzite, with lenses of biotite gneiss.", "description": "Dumordo formation is named after a Dumordo tributary of Biaho River in upper Braldu valley by Desio (1963) and it consists of garnet-staurolite schist, garnet mica schist, garnet amphibole, marble 20", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "introducedBy": "Desio (1963)", "reviewStatus": "published", "typeLocality": "Dumordo, a tributary of the Biaho River in the upper Braldu valley", "geologicalSignificance": "The higher-grade metamorphic equivalent of part of the Darkot Group south of the Karakoram Batholith; its contact with the Karakoram Granodiorite is partly gradational and partly intrusive. It is the same body that Stauffer (1968c) called the Baltit Group, but the name Dumordo has priority. No fossils have been found, and its age is debated between Permo-Carboniferous and Precambrian–Lower Paleozoic.", "plainSummary": "A high-grade metamorphic (schist-and-marble) unit of the Darkot Group near the Karakoram Batholith; its age is unresolved.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "35.7357, 75.9772", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Type-locality coordinate set from reviewer-supplied GPS (35 deg 44 08.6 N, 75 deg 58 37.8 E), Shaksgam/eastern Karakoram; supersedes an approximate fleet estimate.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Dumordo group'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Dumordo Formation (Desio 1963, 1964; = Baltit Group of Stauffer 1968c, Dumordo name having priority) is unfossiliferous — Stauffer tentatively placed it in the Permo-Carboniferous, whereas Tahirkheli (1982) correlated it with his Chitral Slates and assigned it a Precambrian–Lower Palaeozoic age. The era/period recorded here follow the Permo-Carboniferous (Darkot Group) option; the Precambrian alternative is noted.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): garnet-staurolite schist, garnet-mica schist, garnet amphibolite, crystalline marble and micaceous quartzite with scattered biotite-gneiss layers, exposed south of the Karakoram Granodiorite in the Hunza Valley (part of the Karakoram Metamorphic Complex, north of the Main Karakoram Thrust). Its contact with the Karakoram Granodiorite is partly gradational and partly intrusive; in Hunza it is faulted against the Chalt Formation and overlain by the Ganchen Formation. Gem-bearing recrystallised marbles occur along the Karakoram suture zone.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "age": "Uncertain (unfossiliferous) — Permo-Carboniferous (Stauffer 1968c) or Precambrian–Lower Palaeozoic (Tahirkheli 1982)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous–Permian", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 35.7357, "lng": 75.9772, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "early-middle-eocene-kahan-group", "name": "Early-Middle Eocene Kahan Group", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Limestone and calcareous shale (Habib Rahi, Pirkoh) alternating with marl and shale (Domanda, Drazinda).", "description": "Introduced by Khan (2009), the Kahan Group has its type section near Kahan village and comprises the Habib Rahi, Domanda, Pirkoh and Drazinda formations — previously members of the Kirthar Formation, formalized by Shah (2002). Early–Middle Eocene.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Kahan", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "coordinates": "29.2982, 68.9023", "introducedBy": "Khan (2009)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early–Middle Eocene", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "economicImportance": "The Pirkoh and Habib Rahi limestones are gas reservoirs; the Drazinda Shale yields celestite.", "geologicalSignificance": "The Eocene Kirthar-equivalent succession of the Sulaiman Range, comprising the Habib Rahi, Domanda, Pirkoh and Drazinda formations; hosts the Pirkoh and Habib Rahi limestone gas reservoirs.", "plainSummary": "The Eocene Kahan Group of the Sulaiman Range — the Habib Rahi, Domanda, Pirkoh and Drazinda formations, including major gas-reservoir limestones.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-15", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "members": [ "habib-rahi-formation", "domanda-formation", "pirkoh-formation", "drazinda-formation" ], "tier": 1, "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 29.2982, "lng": 68.9023, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "fort-munro-formation", "name": "Fort Munro Formation", "age": "Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Dark-grey, hard, thick-bedded limestone with marly and shaly interbeds in the Sulaiman area; grey to cream, thin-bedded above and thick-bedded to massive, reefoid below in the Kirthar area.", "description": "Introduced by Williams (1959) as the upper limestone member of the Mughal Kot Formation (type section on the western flank of the Fort Munro anticline) and raised to formation rank by Fatmi (1977), the Fort Munro Formation is grey-to-brown, thin-to-thick-bedded limestone with minor greenish-grey shale, about 100–150 m thick. Its lower contact with the Mughal Kot Formation and upper contact with the Pab Formation are transitional and conformable. Larger foraminifera (Omphalocyclus, Orbitoides, Siderolites) indicate a Late Campanian–Maastrichtian age (Williams, 1959; HSC, 1961).", "thickness": "100m", "fossils": [ "Omphaocyclus sp", "Orbitoides sp." ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Mughal Kot Formation", "underlies": "Pab Sandstone" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "coordinates": "29.9539, 70.1772", "introducedBy": "Williams (1959)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "reef" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Maastrichtian shelf-and-reef limestone capping the Cretaceous carbonates of the Sulaiman–Kirthar belts; conformably overlying the Mughal Kot Formation and overlain by the Pab Sandstone.", "plainSummary": "A Maastrichtian reef-and-shelf limestone forming the top of the Cretaceous limestones, just below the Pab Sandstone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "zaman-2024-fortmunro", "umar-2024-cretaceous" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "zaman-2024-fortmunro", "underlies": "zaman-2024-fortmunro", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "typeLocality": "zaman-2024-fortmunro", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Zaman, B.U., Mohibullah, M., Manan, R.A., Kassi, A.M. & Rizwan, M. (2024). Detailed sedimentological investigation of the late Cretaceous Fort Munro Formation, western Sulaiman Range, Pakistan. Carbonates and Evaporites, 39, 55.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-024-00965-2", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 } ], "thicknessM": 100, "economicImportance": "Building-limestone source.", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zaman et al. (2024) and Umar et al. (2024): the Fort Munro Formation is Campanian–Maastrichtian, refining the curated 'Cretaceous' age. It was first mapped as the Hippuritic Limestone (Blanford 1878) and Hemipneustes Limestone (Vredenburg 1909), treated as a member of the Mughal Kot Formation (Williams 1959) and raised to formation rank by Fatmi (1977).", "source": "zaman-2024-fortmunro" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Zaman et al. (2024): the fuller larger-benthic-foraminifera assemblage is Orbitoides media, O. tissoti minima, Omphalocyclus macropora, Actinosipon punjabensis and species of Siderolites, with abundant Hippurites bivalves — indicating an inner-to-middle ramp (semi-restricted, storm-induced skeletal shoals, lagoon and open-marine sub-environments).", "source": "zaman-2024-fortmunro" }, { "field": "underlies", "note": "Zaman et al. (2024): the Fort Munro Formation conformably overlies the Mughal Kot Formation and is conformably overlain by the Pab Formation in most of the SFTB; where the Mughal Kot facies is absent (e.g. Quetta) it rests unconformably on the Parh Group, and around Quetta it is disconformably overlain (lateritic bed) by the Paleocene–Eocene Dungan Formation.", "source": "zaman-2024-fortmunro" } ], "typeLocality": "Fort Munro, in the hills along the Fort Munro–Dera Ghazi Khan road, eastern Sulaiman Range (Rakhi Nala designated as reference section)", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 29.9539, "lng": 70.1772, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "fort-munro-group", "name": "Fort Munro Group", "age": "Late Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "description": "Late Cretaceous Fort Munro Group The term Fort Munro Group was first time used by Malkani (2009a) for Mughal Kot, Fort Munro, Pab and Vitakri formations. Its type section is Rakhi Gaj and Girdu are in Toposheet K/1. Here only Pab and Vitakri formations are exposed only in the core of Laki anticline. The remaining areas show exposures of Tertiary and Quaternary deposits. 85", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Pab Sandstone" }, "provinces": [ "sindh" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Eastern Kirthar (Sindh)", "introducedBy": "Malkani (2009a)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "lithology": "Marl and shale (Mughal Kot), reefoid limestone (Fort Munro) and sandstone (Pab), with the Vitakri red beds.", "environment": [ "marine", "marginal marine" ], "economicImportance": "The Pab Sandstone is a significant gas reservoir.", "geologicalSignificance": "The Late Cretaceous succession of the Sulaiman/Kirthar region, comprising the Mughal Kot, Fort Munro, Pab and Vitakri formations; includes the Pab Sandstone reservoir and the latest-Maastrichtian Vitakri dinosaur beds.", "plainSummary": "The Late Cretaceous Fort Munro Group — Mughal Kot, Fort Munro, Pab and the dinosaur-bearing Vitakri beds.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "members": [ "mughal-kot-formation", "fort-munro-formation", "pab-sandstone", "vitakri-formation" ], "tier": 1, "thickness": "44-100 m", "thicknessM": 72, "typeLocality": "Western flank of Fort Munro anticline (along the Fort Munro - D", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Fort Munro Formation'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "marl", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "gahirat-limestone", "name": "Gahirat Limestone", "description": "Gahirat limestone is named after Gahirat village 10km N of Drosh by Desio (1958) for limestone, phyllite and 3km thick marbles.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Gahirat village, about 10 km north of Drosh, Chitral", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Desio (1958)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Grey, massive limestone with coarsely crystalline marble (locally up to about 3 km thick) and a central zone of grey micaceous phyllite.", "thickness": "up to about 3 km (marble)", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thick, unfossiliferous platform carbonate/marble that conformably overlies the Koghozi Greenschist on the south-eastern limb of the Chitral Slate anticline; assigned to the Cretaceous by Pudsey et al. (1985), but with a poorly constrained age owing to the absence of fossils.", "plainSummary": "A thick, fossil-free Cretaceous limestone-and-marble unit near Gahirat, north of Drosh.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-14", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "coordinates": "35.6600, 71.7900", "thicknessM": 3000, "age": "Cretaceous", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 35.66, "lng": 71.79, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "ganchen-formation", "name": "Ganchen Formation", "age": "Devonian–Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian–Permian", "lithology": "Metapelite with less common gneiss and amphibolite and thick beds of crystalline limestone and dolomite; pelites carry a kyanite–staurolite–garnet–biotite–muscovite–plagioclase–quartz assemblage.", "description": "Ganchen formation is named after the Ganchen peak (6462m) by Desio (1963) exposed in the Shigar valley (Skardu district) and consists of metapelites, gneisses, amphibolites, limestone and dolomite. Metamorphic grade is increasing NW and slates are converted into garnet biotite schists. Hanson (1989) named this sequence as Daltumbore formation while Desio (1963) included the Lugma slates, Daltumbore mica schist and Askore amphibolite in this sequence. The age is assigned from Devonian to Permian by Brookfield and Gupta (1984) and Hanson (1989).", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Ganchen Peak (6462 m), north of the Shigar valley, Skardu district", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "introducedBy": "Desio (1963)", "reviewStatus": "published", "geologicalSignificance": "A metapelite–marble unit of the Karakoram Metamorphic Complex north of Shigar, in contact with the Dumordo Formation; assigned a Devonian to Permian age (Brookfield and Gupta, 1984; Hanson, 1989). Searle (1991) extended the name to include the Chalt Formation of Hunza.", "plainSummary": "A high-grade metapelite-and-marble unit near Ganchen Peak, part of the Karakoram Metamorphic Complex.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "gandaf-formation", "name": "Gandaf Formation", "age": "Middle–Late Proterozoic", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Proterozoic", "lithology": "Dark schist overlain by and interbedded with graphitic slate, phyllite, schist and marble; garnet-schist horizons are conspicuous, and intrusive rocks are abundant.", "description": "Named by Pogue et al. (1995) after Gandaf village in the Tarbela Lake area, the Gandaf Formation consists of schist, slate, phyllite and marble, forming the upper part of the Middle–Late Proterozoic cover on the Besham basement and intruded by the Mansehra and Swat granitic gneisses (Kazmi & Jan, 1997).", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Gandaf, Indus valley", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Karora Formation" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "Pogue et al. (1995)", "reviewStatus": "published", "geologicalSignificance": "The upper part of the Karora Group cover sequence (Pogue et al., 1995; DiPietro et al., 1996), distinguished from the underlying Karora Formation by its conspicuous garnet-schist horizons and abundant intrusions; its lower contact with the Karora Formation is transitional.", "plainSummary": "The upper Karora-Group cover unit — garnet-bearing dark schist and marble above the Karora Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "pogue-1999-himalayan-foothills" ], "citations": { "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "description": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Baseline age 'Cretaceous' conflicts with Kazmi & Jan (1997), who treat the Gandaf Formation as the upper part of the Middle–Late Proterozoic Karora Group (greenschist-facies cover on the Besham basement). Age needs review.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the book states the Gandaf Formation is 'Early Proterozoic at the very least' — i.e. possibly older than the curated Middle–Late Proterozoic. Recorded as a note (the curated age is retained as the conservative option).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "typeLocality", "note": "Pogue et al. (1999): the Gandaf Formation — >500 m of carbonaceous and calcareous phyllite, schist and carbonaceous marble with interbedded muscovite-chlorite-quartz schist — is named for the village of Gandaf, ~3 km north of Tarbela dam. It is the oldest exposed unit of the Panjal–Khairabad block (apart from Early Proterozoic crystalline rocks near Besham) and passes transitionally up into the Manki Formation.", "source": "pogue-1999-himalayan-foothills" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Hylland, M.D., Yeats, R.S., Khattak, W.U. & Hussain, A. (1999). Stratigraphic and structural framework of Himalayan foothills, northern Pakistan. In: Macfarlane, A., Sorkhabi, R.B. & Quade, J. (eds) Himalaya and Tibet: Mountain Roots to Mountain Tops. Geological Society of America Special Paper 328, 257-274.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0-8137-2328-0.257", "year": 1999 } ], "coordinates": "34.1167, 72.6833", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.1167, "lng": 72.6833, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "gawuch-formation", "name": "Gawuch Formation", "lithology": "Green phyllites and limestone; intruded near the base by diorite.", "description": "Gawuch formation (2km thick) with Gawuch Gol type section consists of green phyllites and limestone. Toward the base phyllite is intruded by diorite. It is overlain by Purit formation.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Purit Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Cretaceous", "age": "Early Cretaceous", "references": [ { "citation": "Pudsey, C. J. et al. (1985). Gawuch Formation, Kohistan arc cover; Early Cretaceous (Orbitolina).", "year": 1985, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259412744_Collision_zone_between_the_Kohistan_Arc_and_the_Asian_Plate_in_NW_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thickness": "about 2,000 m", "typeLocality": "Gawuch Gol", "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Cretaceous metasedimentary unit of the Chitral part of the Kohistan–Dir arc, overlain by the Purit Formation and intruded by arc diorites.", "plainSummary": "A Cretaceous green-phyllite-and-limestone of the Chitral arc, beneath the Purit Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 3, "coordinates": "35.6000, 71.8000", "thicknessM": 2000, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 35.6, "lng": 71.8, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "gharil-formation", "name": "Gharil Formation", "age": "Middle to Late Permian (Kubergandian–Midian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "lithology": "Siltstone, sandstone and marl, with poorly sorted microconglomerate and dark red hematitic cross-bedded sandstone (ironstone) at its scoured base in the Baroghil region.", "description": "Gharil formation is named after the Gharil village in upper Yarkhun valley, 5km east of Baroghil pass by Gaetani et al. (1995), and consists of siltstone, sandstone and marl of Late Permian to Late Triassic age.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Gharil", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Lashkargaz Formation", "underlies": "Ailak Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1995)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Permian–Late Triassic", "environment": [ "marginal marine", "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A largely siliciclastic unit of the Upper Yarkhun (Baroghil) succession that rests on a deeply scoured surface of the Lashkargaz Formation and is overlain by the Ailak Formation.", "plainSummary": "A Late Permian to Late Triassic sandstone-and-marl unit of the Baroghil area, between the Lashkargaz and Ailak formations.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" ], "citations": { "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thickness": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thicknessM": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548", "year": 1995 } ], "coordinates": "36.8800, 73.4200", "thickness": "~5 m (Lasht/Siru) to ~20 m (Lashkargaz/Baroghil)", "thicknessM": 20, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19): the Gharil Formation is a thin Permian unit, ~5 m (Lasht/Siru) to ~20 m (Lashkargaz/Baroghil). Thickness gap-filled.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Gharil Formation is unfossiliferous; a latest Middle Permian to earliest Late Permian age is proposed from its stratigraphic position at the end-Guadalupian regression. It is the 'Ironstone Horizon' of Hayden (1915) — red fining-upward conglomerate/arenite cycles capped by lateritic Fe-enriched siltstones, recording subaerial exposure at near-equatorial palaeolatitude (Muttoni et al. 2009).", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORRECTION: the book places the Gharil Formation between the Kubergandian and Midian stages (Middle–Late Permian); the Triassic part of the previous 'Permian–Triassic' range belongs to the overlying Ailak Formation. Age corrected to Middle–Late Permian (previous age unsourced).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Gharil Formation is a thin terrigenous-and-ironstone horizon at the Kubergandian-?Murgabian boundary, resting on a major, tectonically enhanced disconformity above the Lashkargaz Formation and sealed by the Ailak Formation dolostones. Its quartzarenites are compositionally mature (average Q97 F2 L1) and it carries a prominent ironstone / bauxite-laterite ooid horizon recording prolonged subaerial exposure at equatorial latitudes - evidence, with the overlying Ailak dolostones, of the significant northward (tropical) drift of the Northern Karakorum during the Permian.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" } ], "lithologyType": "siltstone", "lat": 36.88, "lng": 73.42, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "ghundai-sar-formation", "name": "Ghundai Sar Formation", "description": "", "fossils": [ "Tabulate corals (Cladopora, Thamnopora, Favosites)", "Heliolites", "Crinoids", "Conodonts (late Famennian)" ], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "geologicalSignificance": "A formation of the Nowshera/Peshawar Paleozoic area; its lithology and age are not well established in the baseline.", "plainSummary": "A poorly characterised formation of the Nowshera/Peshawar Paleozoic area.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "stauffer-khyber-1975", "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "era": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "period": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Stauffer, K.W. (1975). Geology of the Khyber Pass, Khyber Agency, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 75-272.", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Molloy, P.D., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (1997). Late Devonian-Tournaisian conodonts from the eastern Khyber region, north-west Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 103(2), 123-148.", "year": 1997 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Independently described (Khan 1969; Stauffer 1975, USGS OFR 75-272; and later Peshawar-basin reef studies): a Siluro-Devonian reef complex forming an isolated hill N of Jamrud Fort, subdivided into dolomitized quartzite, talus/reef breccia, crinoidal limestone with phyllite, and a reef-core unit; fauna include corals, stromatoporoids, crinoids and graptolites. Literature-search-derived; confirm against PDF.", "source": "stauffer-khyber-1975" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Molloy, Talent & Mawson (1997): the Devonian limestones near Gundhai Sar (4–6 km N of Jamrud) form a >1,000 m sequence mapped by Khan (1969, 1970; Khan et al. 1970) as six units of the 'Ali Masjid Group'. Parts have lithologic and macrofaunal similarities to the Early Devonian (Lochkovian–?Pragian) Nowshera Limestone — an abundance of the twig-like tabulate coral Cladopora plus Thamnopora, Favosites and Heliolites — and the authors suggest the entire Gundhai Sar sequence may in fact be Ali Masjid Formation (Group). A spot sample of crinoidal limestone overlying the main limestone (perhaps the Warran Ghundai Formation of Khan 1970) yielded conodonts of the late Famennian expansa Zone (Pogue et al. 1992), coeval with part of the Misri Khel Ali Masjid section. Gap-filled to Paleozoic/Devonian on this evidence.", "source": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997" } ], "age": "Devonian (Gundhai Sar / 'Ali Masjid Group' sequence; ?Early Devonian to late Famennian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "gilgit-formation", "name": "Gilgit Formation", "age": "Cretaceous (Jaglot Group, Kohistan arc)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Interlayered schists, paragneisses and amphibolites (the Gilgit–Kachura gneisses of Le Fort & Pecher).", "description": "Gilgit formation is named by Khan T. et al. (1996) and consists of interlayered sequence of schists, paragneisses and amphibolites may be of Jurassic age. LeFort and Pecher (2001) have included this formation in their Gilgit-Katchura gneisses.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Gashu-confluence volcanics" }, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Cretaceous", "introducedBy": "Khan T. et al. (1996)", "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "metamorphic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The lowest, metamorphosed part of the Jaglot Group of the Kohistan island arc; its schists and amphibolites represent deformed arc-basement and volcaniclastic rocks of the intra-oceanic Kohistan arc.", "plainSummary": "The metamorphosed lower part of the Kohistan arc's Jaglot Group — schists, gneisses and amphibolites of Jurassic(?) age.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "treloar-1996-kohistan", "khan-1997-gilgit", "yamamoto-2011-thelichi", "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "alam-2024-gilgit-intrusions" ], "citations": { "era": "khan-1997-gilgit", "period": "khan-1997-gilgit", "epoch": "khan-1997-gilgit", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "khan-1997-gilgit", "typeLocality": "khan-1997-gilgit", "thickness": "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas" }, "confidence": "low", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-04", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya: implications for magmatic and tectonic arc-building processes. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Khan, T., Jan, M.Q., Khan, M.A. & Kausar, A.B. (1997). High-grade metasedimentary rocks (Gilgit Formation) in the vicinity of Gilgit, Kohistan, northern Pakistan. Journal of Mineralogy, Petrology and Economic Geology, 92, 465-479.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2465/ganko.92.465", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Yamamoto, H., Rehman, H.U., Kaneko, Y. & Kausar, A.B. (2011). Tectonic stacking of back-arc formations in the Thelichi section (Indus valley) of the Kohistan arc, northern Pakistan. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 40, 417-426.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2010.09.006", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Khan, T., Khan, M.A. & Jan, M.Q. (1994). Geology between Gilgit and Chilas, Kohistan, N. Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 27, 99-112.", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Alam, M., Ali, H., Hussain, I., Hussain, Z., Azam, M., Baig, S.S., Qureshi, J.A. & Khan, H. (2024). Petrographical and geochemical constraints on the origin of the igneous intrusions in Gilgit Metamorphic Complex, northern Kohistan Island Arc (Pakistan): Implications for Petrogenesis, magma evolution and tectonic setting. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 57(1), 79-95.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2024 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Treloar et al. (1996) treat the Gilgit paragneisses (Khan et al. 1993) as a constituent of the mid-Cretaceous Jaglot Group rather than a separately dated formation — noting a possible tension with the curated Jurassic age; no independent age is given for the paragneisses in this paper.", "source": "treloar-1996-kohistan" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Khan T. et al. (1997) define the Gilgit Formation as a constituent of the Cretaceous Jaglot Group of the Kohistan island arc (arc active in Late Jurassic–Cretaceous times); its overlying Gashu-Confluence Volcanics and Thelichi Formation are the equivalents of the Chalt Volcanics and the Albian–Aptian Yasin Group, placing the Gilgit Formation in the Cretaceous. The prior uncited 'Jurassic' age is superseded (era/period/epoch reset accordingly).", "source": "khan-1997-gilgit" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Khan T. et al. (1997): the Gilgit Formation is a thick turbiditic metasedimentary succession (>80% paragneisses and schists — metapelite, semi-metapelite and semi-metapsammite protoliths) interstratified with amphibolites and calc-silicates, regionally metamorphosed up to sillimanite grade and locally migmatitic (peak ~640 °C, 6.7 kbar). Type locality Sai Nala; lower contact not exposed (presumed underplated by the Chilas Complex), upper contact conformable with the Gashu-Confluence Volcanics. Lithologically resembles the Katzarah Formation of Baltistan.", "source": "khan-1997-gilgit" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Yamamoto et al. (2011): in the Thelichi section the Jaglot Group forms a north-dipping tectonic stack with consistent northward younging (no fold-repeated 'Jaglot syncline'), the Gilgit Formation being the structurally highest of the three units (Thelichi Formation → Gashu-Confluence Volcanics → Gilgit Formation); graded bedding, cross-bedding and pillow structures confirm clastic-and-volcanic origins in a Cretaceous back-arc basin.", "source": "yamamoto-2011-thelichi" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Khan T. et al. (1994), mapping the Kohistan terrane between Gilgit and Chilas: the Gilgit Formation is the ~1 km-thick basal unit of the Jaglot Group, a succession of schists, paragneisses, calc-silicates and amphibolites (some amphibolites derived from pillowed basalts), reaching sillimanite grade in the paragneisses. Its stratigraphy is repeated by the Gilgit anticline and Jaglot syncline; an earlier Jurassic–Cretaceous age correlation (with the Kalam succession) is noted, but the formation is here mapped as the base of the Cretaceous Jaglot Group.", "source": "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the book tags the Gilgit Formation '(Jurassic?)' as the lowest unit of the Jaglot (schist) Group (with the Gashu Confluence Volcanics and Thelichi Formation). The curated Cretaceous age (from the primary Khan 1997 Gilgit study and six other sources) is retained; the book's tentative Jurassic alternative is recorded as a note, and the member-of-Jaglot-Group relationship is confirmed.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Alam et al. (2024): the Gilgit Metamorphic Complex (host of the Gilgit Formation, northern Kohistan Island Arc) is intruded, in the Sakar Koi to Chimis Dass area, by small bodies of granite, granodiorite, gabbroic-diorite and basaltic trachy-andesite (SiO2 53.6-73.2 wt%) of a calc-alkaline metaluminous series (the granite peraluminous). On tectonic-discrimination diagrams the granite and granodiorite plot in the syn-collisional field while the gabbro-diorite and basaltic trachy-andesite plot in the volcanic-arc field, interpreted as upper-mantle-sourced magmatism that became more acidic with time. Records post-/syn-metamorphic arc magmatism cutting the Gilgit metasediments (not an age revision of the formation).", "source": "alam-2024-gilgit-intrusions" } ], "typeLocality": "Sai Nala, near Gilgit, Kohistan (Gilgit-Baltistan), northern Pakistan.", "thickness": "about 1 km (succession of schists, paragneisses, calc-silicates and amphibolites, some derived from pillowed basalts)", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "girarai-formation", "name": "Girarai Formation", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Tilgram Formation", "underlies": "Tursak Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "introducedBy": "Chaudhry et al. (1992)", "geologicalSignificance": "A low-grade metasedimentary formation of the Bampokha Group in the Lesser Himalaya south of the Main Central Thrust.", "plainSummary": "A formation of the Bampokha Group in the Lesser Himalaya.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-15", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 } ], "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "gircha-formation", "name": "Gircha Formation", "age": "Late Carboniferous–Early Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "lithology": "Thick-bedded to massive arkosic and quartzarenitic sandstone with slate (argillite) intercalations, passing upward into dark argillites with thin limestone–dolomite beds; sandstones are rich in igneous rock fragments.", "description": "Gircha formation is named after Gircha village in upper Hunza valley by Desio (1963), consists of sandstone and slate intercalations of earliest Permian. Gaetani et al. (1995) consider Pasu slates as being a local facies of the Gircha formation and also include in it the Shimsal slates of Casnedi et al. (1985) and Kilik formation of Desio (1963).", "fossils": [ "Trigonotreta stokesi", "Spirelytha petaliformis", "Punctospirifer afghanus", "Eurydesma sp." ], "typeLocality": "Gircha", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Chapursan Group", "overlies": "Misgar Slate" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Desio (1963)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Permian", "environment": [ "fluvial", "deltaic", "rift" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Lowest exposed unit of the Permian sequence of the Sost/Upper Hunza tectonostratigraphic block; deposited in rapidly subsiding rift troughs in a fluvio-deltaic setting. Its base is not exposed and its top passes transitionally up into the marine Chapursan Group. The Pasu Slates, Shimshal Slates and Kilik Formation are treated as local facies of the Gircha Formation.", "plainSummary": "The oldest exposed rocks of the upper Hunza Permian sequence — river- and delta-laid sandstones and slates that grade up into the marine Chapursan Group.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2004-carboniferous", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "tahirkheli-uhv-1990", "angiolini-brunton-zanchi-1999" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thicknessM": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "angiolini-brunton-zanchi-1999" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Zanchi, A., Angiolini, L., Olivini, G., Sciunnach, D., Brunton, H., Nicora, A. & Mawson, R. (2004). The Carboniferous of the Western Karakoram (Pakistan). Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 23(2), 275-305.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(03)00137-8", "year": 2004 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.", "year": 1984 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548", "year": 1995 }, { "citation": "Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Review of stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley (UHV), NW Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.", "year": 1990 }, { "citation": "Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuqua, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley, North Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.", "year": 1990 } ], "coordinates": "36.6300, 74.8500", "thickness": ">50 m (Axial) to >500 m (Karambar); ~250 m in the Lashkargaz/Baroghil sheet", "thicknessM": 250, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19): the Gircha Formation is Lower Permian, ranging from >50 m (Axial) to >500 m (Karambar) across the thrust sheets. Corroborates the Permian age; thickness gap-filled.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): most of the Gircha Formation was deposited during the earliest Permian — bracketed below by the Tournaisian Ribat Formation (gentle angular unconformity) and above by the Sakmarian brachiopod assemblage at the base of the overlying Lashkargaz Formation; an Asselian brachiopod-packed siltstone occurs in the Karambar Unit (Angiolini et al. 2005), so a latest-Carboniferous start cannot be excluded. Redefined by Gaetani et al. (1990a) with a ~1000 m type-area thickness (Desio 1963); marine, storm-dominated shallow-water passing up to fluvio-deltaic.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2004): the Gircha Formation (arkoses to quartzarenites; exceeds ~1,000 m in the Karambar area) seals the Carboniferous succession above a break-up unconformity linked to early drifting in the seaway bordering the Karakoram. Its base is ?latest Carboniferous–earliest Permian and an Asselian brachiopod fauna occurs 133 m above the base — so the very base is latest Carboniferous, with the bulk Early Permian (early Sakmarian at the top of the studied interval). Refines/contextualises the curated Permian age (the basal Gircha is latest Carboniferous).", "source": "gaetani-2004-carboniferous" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Coward et al. (1984), following the Tahirkheli (1979) framework, described the Gircha Formation near Khaiber as ~4,000 m thick, its upper part argillaceous with thin calcareous intercalations and its lower part sandstone with calcareous-arenaceous shales, carrying Lower Permian brachiopods, corals and bryozoans. (This early bulk thickness far exceeds the member-scale figures of the later Gaetani et al. 1995 formalization.)", "source": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Gircha Formation (name introduced by Desio 1963, whose original ~6,000 m thickness is a large over-estimate from faulting/folding, and whose base is nowhere exposed in Hunza) is here clarified with reference sections at Ashtigar (Hunza) and East Baroghil (Yarkhun); thickness increases eastward from no more than ~600 m in the Upper Yarkhun/Baroghil to >1,000 m in Chapursan. The Pasu Slates (Schneider 1957) and Shimshal Slates (Casnedi & Nicora 1985) are treated as synonyms, and Desio's Kilik Formation is rejected (a tectonic juxtaposition of Permian and Jurassic slices). It is the basal terrigenous clastic wedge (arkoses to quartzarenites, continental-to-coastal with abrupt marine transgressions), passing up into the carbonate Chapursan Group.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the middle-upper Gircha Formation is dated latest Asselian-Early Sakmarian on a brachiopod assemblage (Trigonotreta lyonsensis, T. stokesi, Punctospirifer afghanus, Spirelytha petaliformis) with an Eurydesma bivalve fauna, correlated to Western Australia (Lyons/Callytharra), the Carnarvon Basin, Tasmania and SE Pamir; the base age is unknown and may reach into the Carboniferous. No Permo-Carboniferous glacigene deposits were found (warmer conditions), and the >800 m of inferred Sakmarian section implies a very high accumulation rate.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Tahirkheli et al. (1990): in the Upper Hunza Valley the Gircha Formation occupies the core of the newly recognised Sost Anticline and is the oldest formation exposed there; its base is not exposed and it is presumed to overlie the Dumurdu Formation of Desio & Martina (1972) / Baltit Group of Tahirkheli (1982). It is ~85% argillaceous (garnet-mica schist, chlorite schist, quartz schist, sericite-phyllitic schist and splintery slaty shales) with subordinate thin yellowish-brown limestone and flaggy quartzitic sandstone, intruded by dolerite, diorite, granite, aplite and vein quartz; its upper contact with the overlying Pak-China Friendship Formation is unconformable and faulted. A Lower Permian age (Desio & Martina 1972) is supported by a new fossil locality ~3 km north of Sost.", "source": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Corroborated by Tahirkheli et al. (1990): the Gircha Formation is the oldest exposed formation of the Upper Hunza Valley (North Karakoram), occupying the core of the Sost Anticline. Its base is not exposed but is presumed to unconformably overlie the Dumordo Formation / Baltit Group. It is the base of a faunally-dated UHV succession (Gircha - Pak-China Friendship/Dih - Passu Slate - Gujal Dolomite - Shanoz Conglomerate) that ranges from Late Permian to Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary.", "source": "tahirkheli-uhv-1990" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Extended from \"Permian\": the base of the Gircha Formation yields a Late Carboniferous (Moscovian-Kasimovian) brachiopod fauna (Densepustula, Septacamera darvazensis, Alispirifer middlemissi), so the unit spans the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian (Angiolini, Brunton & Zanchi 1999).", "source": "angiolini-brunton-zanchi-1999" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 36.63, "lng": 74.85, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "gorag-formation", "name": "Gorag Formation", "description": "Gorag Formation", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Western Kirthar (Balochistan)", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "low", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Oligocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill + RANK FLAG: the book recognises no 'Gorag Formation'. HSC (1960) redefined the Kirthar Limestone as the Brahui Limestone and subdivided it into a Kirthar Member (Middle–Upper Eocene) and a Gorag Member (Oligocene), NW Kirthar Range. This record's 'Gorag Formation' most likely corresponds to that Oligocene Gorag Member of the Brahui Limestone; age gap-filled to Oligocene and the member rank flagged for reconciliation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "gum-formation", "name": "Gum Formation", "age": "Permian–Cretaceous", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "lithology": "About 1000 m of limestone and slate.", "description": "Gum formation (1000m) is named after Qalandar Gum glacier and consists of limestone and slates. Gaetani (2004) mentioned the Permian to Triassic or up to Cretaceous.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Qalandar Gum glacier, upper Yasin/Darkot region", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "reviewStatus": "published", "thickness": "about 1000 m", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thick limestone-and-slate unit of the Darkot Group (its Southern Stack); assigned a Permian age, though Gaetani (2004) suggested it may range up into the Triassic or even the Cretaceous.", "plainSummary": "A thick (about 1000 m) Permian limestone-and-slate unit of the Darkot Group.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 1000, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, full text): massive light limestone/dolostone (named after the Qalandar Gum Glacier) with a Permian-aspect bryozoan-brachiopod fauna. Supports a Permian age; the Cretaceous extension in the dataset is NOT confirmed by this map.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Gum Formation (Le Fort & Gaetani 1998; Darkot Group) is Permian to Triassic — Member 1 carries a Permian-aspect bryozoan/brachiopod fauna, Member 2 Late Triassic megalodontids. Well-bedded recrystallized limestones and dolostones (Mb 2 >700 m; Mb 1 ≥300 m). NB: the curated top age 'Cretaceous' is not supported by this paper (Triassic top) — flagged for reconciliation.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "introducedBy": "Le Fort & Gaetani (1998)", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "gwal-formation", "name": "Gwal Formation", "age": "Triassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "lithology": "It consists of variegated shale and thin bedded limestone and marl with rare mafic intrusion and diabase flow.", "description": "Gwal Formation Gwal named by Anwar et al. (1991) after Gwal village. It consists of variegated shale and thin bedded limestone and marl with rare mafic intrusion and diabase flow. On the basis of ammonites including Meekoceras, Owenites, Anakashmirites, Anasibirites, Durgaites, Hemiprionites, etc the age is Early Triassic (Late-Middle Scythian). It is exposed in Khanozai, Zhob, Quetta, Shirinab (Mastung, Kalat), etc, areas. It is 350 m thick in the Trakai-Gwal section. It contains exotic blocks of Permian limestone containing brachiopods, corals etc. Its lower contact is not exposed and upper contact with Wulgai is sharp and conforable with fossiliferous conglomeratic and dense limestone.", "thickness": "350 m", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Wulgai Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Western Kirthar (Balochistan)", "introducedBy": "Anwar et al. (1991)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Triassic", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Triassic unit of the Zhob/Muslimbagh area of the Balochistan ophiolite belt, associated with exotic Permian limestone blocks bearing brachiopods, fusulinids and corals.", "plainSummary": "A Triassic unit of the Zhob area, found near exotic older Permian limestone blocks.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 350, "tier": 1, "typeLocality": "Trakai-Gwal section, Axial Belt", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "hachi-group", "name": "Hachi Volcanic Group", "lithology": "Quartzite, slates, phyllite, tuffs and lava flows (the Hachi volcanics).", "description": "The Hachi Volcanic Group was named by Shah (2009) after the Hachi volcanics (Alam 1987), which take their name from Hachi hill north of Sikhanwali Railway Station. In general the group consists of quartzite, slates, phyllite, tuffs and lava flows. It occurs in the Kirana area, where the Kirana Complex (named after the Kirana hills and exposed near Sargodha, Chiniot, Shahkot and the Shangla hills) was introduced as the Kirana Group by Kazmi (1964), dated by Rb/Sr by Davies and Crawford (1971), and divided by Alam et al. (1992) into the Kirana and Sharban groups.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Hachi hill, north of Sikhanwali (Kirana Hills)", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "introducedBy": "Shah (2009) (after the Hachi volcanics, Alam 1987)", "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "metamorphic" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "geologicalSignificance": "A metavolcanic–metasedimentary group of the Precambrian Kirana Complex; with the Kirana and Sharban groups it makes up the exposed Indian-shield basement of the Sargodha–Chiniot–Shahkot area (an Rb–Sr age was obtained by Davies & Crawford 1971).", "plainSummary": "Precambrian arc volcanics and metasediments of the Kirana Hills basement (the Hachi volcanics).", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "31.9025, 72.7000", "age": "Neoproterozoic", "synonyms": [ "Hachi Group", "Hachi Volcanics" ], "members": [ "buland-hill-formation", "wad-sayyidan-formation" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Revised Kirana Complex scheme (Chaudhry, Ahsan & Rehman 2022, Table 4): the Hachi Volcanic Group comprises the Buland Hill Formation over the Wad Sayyidan Formation.", "source": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Hachi group'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the book names this the 'Hachi Formation' (not 'Hachi Volcanic Group') — the first of the five formations (Hachi, Taguwali, Asianwala, Hadda, Sharaban; Alam 1983) of the Precambrian Kirana Group (>2,330 m of phyllite, slate, quartzite and bimodal volcanics; Rb-Sr 870 ± 40 Ma) in the Kirana Hills. No per-formation lithology/age is given; the DB 'Volcanic Group' rank should be reviewed.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORROBORATES the rank flag: the book names this the 'Hachi Formation' — one of the Kirana Group formations (Asianwala/Taguwali/Hachi; Alam et al. 1992; type at Hachi Hill, N of Sikhanwali) of quartzites, slates, phyllites, tuffs and lava flows, the oldest formation exposed in the Kirana Hills — NOT a 'Hachi Volcanic Group'. The DB name 'Hachi Volcanic Group' should be corrected to 'Hachi Formation'. NOTE: a dataset contact ('machh-super-group' overlies 'Hachi Volcanic Group') pairs a Balochistan super-group with this Punjab/Kirana Precambrian formation and looks geographically spurious — flag for review.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 31.9025, "lng": 72.7, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "harmosh-formation", "name": "Harmosh Formation", "lithology": "Amphibolite-grade biotite schist and gneiss, marble, calc-silicate gneiss and amphibolite.", "description": "Harmosh formation named after the Harmosh Range and consists of amphibolite,-grade biotite schist and gneiss, marble, calc-silicate gneiss and amphibolite. The age is Late Proterozoic (Madin et al. 1989). Shingus gneiss is named after Shingus village in the Indus gorge and consists of amphibolite-grade biotite gneiss, amphibolite, calc-silicate gneiss, biotite schist and marble (Madin et al. 1989). . 2600-2200 Ma Proterozoic", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Harmosh (Haramosh) Range, Gilgit District", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "nanga-parbat" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Nanga-Parbat-Harmosh Massif", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Precambrian", "environment": [ "metamorphic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The amphibolite-facies crystalline schist-and-gneiss sequence of the Nanga Parbat–Haramosh Massif, part of the Precambrian Indian-plate basement re-exposed in the massif; it corresponds to the Nanga Parbat Group of Madin (1986).", "plainSummary": "The amphibolite-grade gneiss and schist of the Nanga Parbat–Haramosh Massif — Indian-plate basement.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-06-29", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "age": "Precambrian (undifferentiated)", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "hisartang-formation", "name": "Hisartang Formation", "description": "Hisartang Formation is named after Hisartang village by Hussain at al. (1990) for quartzite and argillite. Late Proterozoic sequence.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Hisartang, Attock-Cherat Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Darwaza Formation", "underlies": "Inzari Limestone" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Ordovician", "lithology": "White-to-grey, fine-grained unfossiliferous quartzite with worm burrows and dark argillite beds in the middle.", "thickness": "minimum 650 m", "introducedBy": "Hussain et al. (1989)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Ordovician quartzite of the Attock-Cherat Range, conformable on the Darwaza Formation and overlain by the Inzari Limestone; on lithologic grounds it is correlated with the Early–Middle Ordovician Misri Banda Quartzite.", "plainSummary": "An Ordovician quartzite of the Attock-Cherat Range, between the Darwaza and Inzari units.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "thicknessM": 650, "age": "Ordovician", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Hisartang Formation (Hussain et al. 1989, 1990; Attock-Cherat Range) is a ≥650 m sequence of unfossiliferous white-to-grey quartzites (with worm-burrow impressions) and a middle dark laminated argillite; its Ordovician age is inferred by lithological correlation with the Early–Middle Ordovician Misri Banda Quartzite. It has a conformable gradational contact with the underlying Darwaza Formation and is conformably overlain by the (?Devonian) Inzari Limestone. Consistent with the curated Ordovician age (noted as inferred/unfossiliferous).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) COMPETING INTERPRETATION: the book now places the Hisartang Formation in the Late Proterozoic (below the ~750 Ma Inzari Limestone), superseding the earlier Ordovician age it inferred by lithological correlation with the Misri Banda Quartzite. As this unit is unfossiliferous, the Precambrian reassignment may be correct; recorded as a note and flagged with the Attock-Cherat cluster for reconciliation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "hispar-sar-group", "name": "Hispar Sar Group", "lithology": "Massive marble with aluminous schist, quartzite and dark amphibolite.", "description": "Hispar Sar group is named after the right bank of Hispar glacier and may be traced northwestward into the Hunza valley. It consists of massive marbles with aluminous schists and quartzites with dark coloured amphibolite. It has tectonic contact with Hunza granodiorite and at places this contact is intrusive. This unit hosts the famous Hunza rubies and other gemstones (Kazmi and Jan 1997, Le Fort and Pechner 2001). Earlier this unit was named as Ganesh marble by Tahirkheli (1996).", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "introducedBy": "Tahirkheli (1996)", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "typeLocality": "Right bank of the Hispar glacier, extending northwest into the Hunza valley", "synonyms": [ "Ganesh Marble" ], "economicImportance": "Hosts the famous Hunza ruby (corundum) deposits and other gemstones.", "geologicalSignificance": "A marble-dominated group of the Karakoram metamorphic belt with a tectonic, locally intrusive contact against the Hunza Granodiorite; earlier called the Ganesh Marble (Tahirkheli, 1996). Its ruby-corundum marbles, northeast of Aliabad, formed under high-grade conditions.", "plainSummary": "A marble group of the Hispar–Hunza area that hosts the celebrated Hunza rubies.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-06-29", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "coordinates": "36.0800, 75.3000", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 36.08, "lng": 75.3, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "inzari-limestone", "name": "Inzari Limestone", "description": "Inzari Limestone is named after Inzari village by Hussain et al. (1990) for thin bedded, yellow to greenish grey limestone.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Inzari, Attock-Cherat Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Hisartang Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "introducedBy": "Hussain et al. (1990)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian", "lithology": "Thin-bedded, yellowish- to greenish-grey crystalline limestone with common dendrites and stylolites.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An unfossiliferous crystalline limestone that conformably overlies the Hisartang Formation (its upper contact faulted); Hussain et al. (1990) considered it time-equivalent to the Early Devonian Nowshera Formation.", "plainSummary": "A crystalline limestone above the Hisartang quartzite, taken as Early Devonian like the Nowshera Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Devonian", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) COMPETING INTERPRETATION: the book places the Inzari Limestone in the Late Proterozoic (~750 Ma isotopic date; unfossiliferous), whereas it had earlier been thought Early Devonian. As the Attock-Cherat carbonates here lack biostratigraphic control, the Precambrian reassignment may well be correct; recorded as a note and flagged for reconciliation of the whole Attock-Cherat (Darwaza–Hisartang–Inzari) cluster.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "jabrai-formation", "name": "Jabrai Formation", "age": "Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Mudstone and shale with alternations of thin marl and limestone beds.", "description": "Jabrai Formation named by Aminullah and Kansi (2012). It consists of mudstone/shale with alternation of thin marl/limestone beds. Its thickness is 500-1000m exposed in the Qila Saifullah–Sharin Jogezai section. Malkani (2014c) assumed as Cretaceous by law of super position and also correlation with Parh and Fort Munro groups and Chamalang (Ghazij) Group of Sulaiman basin.", "thickness": "500–1,000 m", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Kakar-Khurasan Basin", "introducedBy": "Aminullah & Kansi (2012)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Cretaceous", "typeLocality": "Qila Saifullah–Sharin Jogezai section", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Cretaceous mudstone-shale unit of the Nisai Group (Kakar-Khurasan basin), dated by superposition and regional correlation.", "plainSummary": "A Cretaceous mudstone-and-shale unit of the Nisai Group in northern Balochistan.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kakar-nisai-group" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "tier": 2, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kakar, A., Kasi, A.M., Benedetti, A. & Kasi, A.K. Stratigraphy and depositional environment of a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate platform and slope succession of the Paleogene Nisai Group, Pakistan. (Venue per supplied manuscript.)" } ], "coordinates": "30.7011, 68.3597", "thicknessM": 750, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Kakar et al.: the Jabrai Formation is the lowest unit of the Nisai Group - a thick succession of olive-gray mudstone and shale with ultramafic-mafic and quartzite lithoclasts in calciturbidite beds (detritus from the Zhob Valley Ophiolites), bounded by the Ghazij Group to the south.", "source": "kakar-nisai-group" } ], "lithologyType": "mudstone", "lat": 30.7011, "lng": 68.3597, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "jaglot-group", "name": "Jaglot Group", "age": "Jurassic–Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic–Cretaceous", "description": "Jaglot group ( Middle Jurassic-Middle Cretaceous ) is named by Khan T. et al. (1994) for the Gilgit formation, Gashu-confluence volcanics and Thelichi formation.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Middle Jurassic–Middle Cretaceous", "introducedBy": "Khan T. et al. (1994)", "lithology": "Schists and paragneisses (Gilgit Formation) overlain by the Gashu-Confluence Volcanics and the metavolcanic-bearing Thelichi Formation.", "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The metasedimentary–metavolcanic group of the central Kohistan island arc, comprising the Gilgit, Gashu-Confluence Volcanics and Thelichi formations; records arc volcanism and sedimentation between the Chilas complex and the northern volcanics.", "plainSummary": "The central Kohistan-arc group — Gilgit, Gashu-Confluence Volcanics and Thelichi — recording Jurassic–Cretaceous island-arc volcanism and sedimentation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "treloar-1996-kohistan", "khan-1997-gilgit", "yamamoto-2011-thelichi", "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya: implications for magmatic and tectonic arc-building processes. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Khan, T., Jan, M.Q., Khan, M.A. & Kausar, A.B. (1997). High-grade metasedimentary rocks (Gilgit Formation) in the vicinity of Gilgit, Kohistan, northern Pakistan. Journal of Mineralogy, Petrology and Economic Geology, 92, 465-479.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2465/ganko.92.465", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Yamamoto, H., Rehman, H.U., Kaneko, Y. & Kausar, A.B. (2011). Tectonic stacking of back-arc formations in the Thelichi section (Indus valley) of the Kohistan arc, northern Pakistan. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 40, 417-426.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2010.09.006", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Khan, T., Khan, M.A. & Jan, M.Q. (1994). Geology between Gilgit and Chilas, Kohistan, N. Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 27, 99-112.", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.", "year": 1984 } ], "members": [ "gilgit-formation", "thelichi-formation" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Treloar et al. (1996) formally define the Jaglot Group (also termed the Jaglot Schist Belt) as a major arc-stratigraphic unit north of the Chilas Complex, comprising greenschist-facies metabasalts (some pillowed) interbedded with quartz-rich volcaniclastic/schistose metasediments. Its age is uncertain but mid-Cretaceous — limestones in the Kalam area yield a mid-Jurassic to Cretaceous Rhabdophyllian fauna (Bender & Raza 1995) and it grades upward into the mid-Cretaceous Chalt volcanic rocks. Named constituents: the Peshmal Schists (basal), Jaglot volcanics, the Thelichi Formation and the Gilgit paragneisses.", "source": "treloar-1996-kohistan" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Treloar et al. (1996): the Jaglot Group was deposited by sediment-charged turbidity currents into a medium-to-deep-water intra-arc/back-arc extensional basin, with submarine basaltic eruptions, recording crustal stretching behind the active frontal arc. It was deposited onto the Kamila Amphibolite Belt basement (contact nowhere exposed, always separated by the Chilas gabbronorite), intruded on its south side by the Chilas Complex (which carries Jaglot xenoliths) and to the north by the Kohistan Batholith, and is overlain by the Chalt Volcanic Group; it most likely correlates with the Katzarah Formation east of the Nanga Parbat syntaxis.", "source": "treloar-1996-kohistan" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Khan T. et al. (1997) subdivide the Jaglot Group near Gilgit, from bottom to top, into the Gilgit Formation, the Gashu-Confluence Volcanics and the Thelichi Formation — reported there for the first time as a thick metasedimentary–metavolcanic arc succession.", "source": "khan-1997-gilgit" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Yamamoto et al. (2011): the Jaglot Group in the Thelichi section (Indus valley) is a north-dipping tectonic stack — structural bottom Thelichi Formation, middle Gashu-Confluence Volcanics, top Gilgit Formation — with consistent northward younging rather than the previously inferred 'Jaglot syncline'. The stack records northward subduction and closure of the Kohistan back-arc basin against the Asian margin (~100 Ma); the Chalt Volcanic Group conformably overlies the group.", "source": "yamamoto-2011-thelichi" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Khan T. et al. (1994), mapping >4000 km² of Kohistan between Gilgit and Chilas, define the Jaglot Group as a succession of metasediments and metavolcanics divided (base to top) into the Gilgit Formation, Gashu-Confluence Volcanics and Thelichi Formation, regionally metamorphosed in greenschist-to-amphibolite facies (sillimanite in the Gilgit paragneisses). The predominance of turbidites and pillowed basalts indicates deposition in an oceanic, probably back-arc, basin, and the group is correlated with the Yasin Group sediments and Chalt Volcanics of the Northern Suture. In this mapping the stratigraphy is repeated by the crustal-scale Gilgit anticline and Jaglot syncline — a fold-repetition (the 'Jaglot syncline') later disputed by Yamamoto et al. (2011), who read the section as a north-dipping tectonic stack.", "source": "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Coward et al. (1984): the volcanics at Chalt and the sediments near Gilgit are folded around a major westward-facing Jaglot syncline - a second-phase structure with a half-wavelength well over 50 km that, with its parasitic folds, affects the rocks from Gilgit to Jijal and is one of the largest crustal-scale tight synclines known; metamorphic grade in the Kohistan sequence ranges from greenschist facies in the core of the Jaglot syncline to high-pressure granulite facies in the Jijal Complex against the MMT.", "source": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" } ], "thickness": "more than ~2.5 km total (Gilgit Formation ~1 km + Gashu-Confluence Volcanics ~0.5 km + Thelichi Formation >1 km)", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "jobra-formation", "name": "Jobra Formation", "age": "Early–Middle Ordovician", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Ordovician", "description": "The Jobra Formation (DiPietro, 1990; Swat area, southeast of Ilam) is a proposed synonym of the Nowshera Formation (Stauffer, 1968) and corresponds to the Misri Banda Quartzite of the Nowshera hills — quartzite with limestone and argillite. It is dated Early–Middle Ordovician on the trace fossil Cruziana rugosa (Pogue et al., 1992; Kazmi & Jan, 1997) and rests unconformably on older (Cambrian?) rocks.", "fossils": [ "Cruziana rugosa" ], "typeLocality": "Misri Banda, Nowshera area", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Ambar Formation", "underlies": "Panjpir Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "synonyms": [ "Misri Banda Quartzite" ], "introducedBy": "Stauffer (1968a)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early–Middle Ordovician", "lithology": "Grey to pinkish, cross-bedded feldspathic quartzite with subordinate argillite, a basal conglomerate, and crinoidal limestone with dark phyllite in the upper third.", "thickness": "175 m", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Misri Banda Quartzite of the Nowshera area — a cross-bedded feldspathic quartzite carrying the trace fossil Cruziana rugosa (Early–Middle Ordovician) — resting unconformably on the Cambrian Ambar Formation and overlain unconformably by the Panjpir Formation.", "plainSummary": "The Ordovician Misri Banda Quartzite near Nowshera, with Cruziana trace fossils, above the Ambar dolomite.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "dipietro-1993", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-28", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Baseline age 'Cambrian–Carboniferous' is over-broad. This unit (type locality Misri Banda, Stauffer 1968a) is the Misri Banda Quartzite, dated Early–Middle Ordovician by the trace fossil Cruziana rugosa (Kazmi & Jan, 1997). Age needs review.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Type locality relocated to Jubra, Gadezai, Buner (Ellum Road) — reviewer-verified against Google Maps and a published geological map (Plus Code H9MW+C6H). Supersedes an earlier Nowshera-area estimate.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" }, { "field": "age", "note": "DiPietro et al. (1993, Table 1) place the Jobra Formation (with a query) at the Early-Middle Paleozoic level, unconformably below the Alpurai Group. This is CONSISTENT with the dataset s Early-Middle Ordovician age (the text-level “unknown age” was hedging; the correlation chart positions it). No conflict.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "DiPietro et al. (1993) apply the name 'Jobra formation' in Lower Swat to isolated lenses of fine-grained, wollastonite-bearing calc-silicate rock interlayered with quartzite, tremolite marble, garnetiferous schist and amphibolite, overlying the Ilam gneiss and unconformably below the Marghazar Formation (formalised at formation rank by DiPietro 1990). Its age is uncertain — possibly an early–middle Palaeozoic shelf sequence, perhaps correlative with the Devonian Nowshera Formation. This metamorphic Swat unit is lithologically distinct from the canonical (Ordovician, Peshawar-basin) Jobra Formation (Misri Banda Quartzite); the two may be homonyms.", "source": "dipietro-1993" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993). Stratigraphy south of the Main Mantle Thrust, Lower Swat, Pakistan. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds), Himalayan Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74, 207-220.", "year": 1993 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 175, "coordinates": "34.5836, 72.3956", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.5836, "lng": 72.3956, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kaghan-group", "name": "Kaghan Group", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara Sub-Basin", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "era": "Precambrian", "lithology": "Metapelite, schist, quartzite, marble, metaconglomerate and pegmatite (greenschist facies).", "typeLocality": "Lower Kaghan valley, west of Balakot", "introducedBy": "Ghazanfar and Chaudhry (1986)", "geologicalSignificance": "The lower-grade (greenschist-facies) metasedimentary sequence of the Lower Kaghan Nappe, originally correlated with the Precambrian Salkhala Formation; it is separated from the higher-grade Sharda Group to the north by the Batal Fault (regarded as the Main Central Thrust).", "plainSummary": "The lower-grade metasedimentary sequence of the Lower Kaghan Nappe, below the Sharda Group across the Batal Fault.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "ghazanfar-chaudhry-1985-kaghan" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "age": "Proterozoic", "coordinates": "34.54, 73.35", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Kaghan Group (Ghazanfar & Chaudhry 1986; Proterozoic, matching the curated age) is a Lesser-Himalayan metasedimentary sequence of the Lower Kaghan Nappe — unfossiliferous metapelites, schists, quartzites, marbles, metaconglomerates, calc-silicates and amphibolites (greenschist to garnet grade) — occurring in a band around the Hazara–Kashmir Syntaxis (equated with the Salkhala Formation by Greco 1991). It is overthrust by the higher-grade Sharda Group along the Batal–Luat Fault and is itself thrust over Palaeozoic–Mesozoic rocks along the Panjal Thrust.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Ghazanfar & Chaudhry (1985) map the Kaghan Formation (Cambrian–Precambrian) between Mahandari and Batakundi as the Biari, Doga, Phagal, Lohar Banda Marble, Kamalban, Kaghan Pelites (>90% of the unit), Rajwal, Paludaran graphitic schist and Batal units; regional metamorphism rises south-to-north from biotite through almandine to staurolite/kyanite grade, and graphite (Paludaran and Naran horizons), gypsum and marble are economic.", "source": "ghazanfar-chaudhry-1985-kaghan" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.54, "lng": 73.35, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kahan-group", "name": "Kahan Group", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Basal Jatta Gypsum overlain by the Habib Rahi, Domanda, Pirkoh and Drazinda limestone-and-shale formations.", "description": "The Kahan Group was first introduced by Khan (2009) in his geological map of the G 1 degree sheet; the type section was designated by Malkani (2010g) near the village of Kahan. In the Kohat sub-basin the Kahan Group consists of the Habib Rahi, Domanda, Pirkoh and Drazinda formations. It is equivalent to the Kuldana Group of the Potwar sub-basin and the Kirthar Group of the Kirthar basin.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Kahan", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Kohat-Potwar Basin", "introducedBy": "Khan (2009); type section Malkani (2010)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early–Middle Eocene", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "evaporitic" ], "economicImportance": "The Jatta Gypsum is a major gypsum resource; the Habib Rahi and Pirkoh limestones are gas reservoirs.", "geologicalSignificance": "The Eocene succession of the Kohat sub-basin, comprising the Jatta Gypsum and the Habib Rahi, Domanda, Pirkoh and Drazinda formations; equivalent to the Kuldana Group of the Potwar sub-basin and the Kirthar Group of the Kirthar basin.", "plainSummary": "The Eocene Kahan Group of the Kohat sub-basin — the Jatta Gypsum plus the Habib Rahi, Domanda, Pirkoh and Drazinda formations — the Kohat equivalent of the Kirthar Group.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "citations": { "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-15", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "members": [ "habib-rahi-formation", "domanda-formation", "pirkoh-formation", "drazinda-formation" ], "tier": 1, "lithologyType": "gypsum", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "kamerod-formation", "name": "Kamerod Formation", "description": "Kamerod formation is derived from Kamerod on the northern margin of the Siahan range (31M/10). The lithology and description is same as Kech formation. Subrecent and Recent deposits consist of unconsolidated gravel, sand, silt and clay. 5", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Kamerod, northern margin of the Siahan Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Subrecent and Recent deposits" }, "provinces": [ "chagai-hills" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Chagai-Raskoh Magmatic Arc", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Quaternary", "epoch": "Pleistocene", "age": "Pleistocene", "references": [ { "citation": "Hunting Survey Corporation (1961); Malkani, M. S. (2014). Equivalent to Kech Formation (Pleistocene).", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "lithology": "Conglomerate, mudstone and sandstone with unconsolidated gravel, sand, silt and clay (same facies as the Kech Formation).", "environment": [ "fluvial", "alluvial" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Pleistocene post-orogenic molasse of the Siahan/Makran region, equivalent to the Kech Formation; its angular unconformity over Eocene–Oligocene strata records the late uplift and folding of the Makran wedge.", "plainSummary": "A young (Pleistocene) gravel-and-mud molasse of the Siahan–Makran area, the same as the Kech Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "malkani-2020-balochistan", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Second Malkani reference (2020, same author - not independent): the Kamerod Formation (Kamerod, N margin of the Siahan range, 31 M/10) is fluvial-lacustrine conglomerate, mudstone and sandstone, Pleistocene; lithologically the same as the Kech Formation.", "source": "malkani-2020-balochistan" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Shah (2009) uses 'Kamerod' only as the principal reference section of the Bostan Formation. Kept separate here: our Kamerod Formation (Malkani) is a fluvial conglomerate/sandstone of Chagai, lithologically unlike Shah's lacustrine gypsiferous Bostan - a name/concept collision, not a synonym.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Kamerod Formation (Pleistocene; near Saindak Fort, Chagai) is near-horizontal young basinal beds intruded by small quartz-diorite bodies and fresh olivine-basalt/lamprophyre dykes.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "karora-formation", "name": "Karora Formation", "description": "The Karora Formation is named after Karora village near Besham by Fletcher (1986). It belongs to the Besham basement complex and cover sequence of the region east of Swat: near Alpurai the Swat nappe is structurally underlain by the Besham nappe and, further eastward, the Hazara nappe, resulting from thrusting of the Indo-Pakistan basement. Tahirkheli (1979) named this the Besham Group (with the Chali and Banna formations); other names applied in the area include the Lahor granite, Thakot metamorphic rocks, Pazang group and the Karora group and formation.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Karora, Indus valley", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Besham Group", "underlies": "Gandaf Formation" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "Fletcher (1986)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Precambrian", "lithology": "Thick dark graphitic schist, marble, with subordinate non-schistose metapsammite and metaconglomerate; a basal conglomerate (the Amlo Conglomerate) rests on the Besham Group.", "geologicalSignificance": "The lower part of the Karora Group cover sequence, resting on the Besham Group along an angular unconformity (basal Amlo Conglomerate); greenschist-facies graphitic schist and marble, intruded by small plutons and lacking the garnetiferous rocks of the overlying Gandaf Formation. Leucogranites intruding the group give Early–Late Paleozoic ages, indicating a Middle–Late Proterozoic depositional age.", "plainSummary": "The lower Proterozoic cover unit on the Besham basement — graphitic schist and marble above a basal conglomerate.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "34.8878, 72.7685", "age": "Proterozoic (undifferentiated)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Karora group'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.8878, "lng": 72.7685, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kashala-formation", "name": "Kashala Formation", "age": "Triassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "lithology": "Calcareous schist and schistose marble with massive white-to-grey marble, about 4000 m thick.", "description": "Kashala formation consists of calcareous schist and schistose marble with massive white to grey marble of about 4000m thick, sharp contact with underlying amphibolites of Marghazar formation. Pogue et al. (1992) reported upper Triassic (Carnian) conodonts from the marble in the mid of formation.", "thickness": "about 4000 m", "fossils": [ "Conodonts" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Marghazar Formation", "underlies": "Saidu Formation" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Triassic (Carnian)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thick calcareous-schist and marble unit of the Alpurai Group that has yielded Late Triassic (Carnian) conodonts (Pogue et al., 1992), fixing the Mesozoic age of the upper Alpurai Group; it rests on the Marghazar Formation and is overlain by the Saidu Formation.", "plainSummary": "A thick (~4000 m) Late Triassic marble-and-calc-schist unit of the Alpurai Group, dated by conodonts.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "dipietro-1993", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "dipietro-1993", "typeLocality": "dipietro-1993", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993). Stratigraphy south of the Main Mantle Thrust, Lower Swat, Pakistan. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds), Himalayan Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74, 207-220.", "year": 1993 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0915:PAMSOT>2.3.CO;2", "year": 1992 } ], "thicknessM": 4000, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED by DiPietro et al. (1993, full text): the Kashala Formation of the Alpurai Group, Triassic or younger. Corroborates the Triassic age.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "DiPietro et al. (1993): marks the transition to a stable carbonate shelf and may correlate in part with the Zanskar Supergroup of western India; thickness ranges from <700 m north of Jowar to >1200 m near Baroch.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Pogue, Harris & Hussain (1992): conodonts (Neogondolella polygnathiformis augusta) from marble horizons date the Kashala Formation as Late Triassic (Carnian). About 1,300 m of massive brown-weathering marble alternating with marble and calcareous phyllite (>1,500 m north of Rustam); part of the Alpurai Group of Swat, correlated with the Kingriali Formation of the Salt Range, and intruded near Baroch by the Ambela Granitic Complex.", "source": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin" } ], "introducedBy": "DiPietro (1990)", "typeLocality": "Named from Kashala mountain ~13 km SSW of Saidu, Lower Swat; two type sections — road cuts on Dop Sar (high-grade) and stream cuts north of Baroch (low-grade).", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "katzarah-formation", "name": "Katzarah Formation", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous–Paleogene", "epoch": "Cretaceous–Eocene", "introducedBy": "Desio (1978)", "typeLocality": "between the Shigar and Indus rivers", "lithology": "Siltstones, schists, slates and phyllites with quartzitic sandstone intercalations (the Katzarah schists).", "environment": [ "marine", "metamorphic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A high-grade metasedimentary unit of the Ladakh arc (Skardu/Shigar area) south of the Indus, recording deformed and metamorphosed arc-related sediments.", "plainSummary": "The Cretaceous–Eocene Katzarah schists of the Skardu area — metamorphosed arc sediments south of the Indus.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Cretaceous–Eocene", "coordinates": "35.31, 75.62", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Katzarah Formation (Desio 1963) is ~1,500 m of high-grade metasediments (amphibolite facies or higher) — hornfels, biotite schist, sillimanite schist, gneisses and amphibolites (subdivided into the Tsordas Gneiss, Skoyo Gneiss, Askore Amphibolite and Katzarah Schist), cropping out in the Indus and lower Shigar valleys of the Skardu region. It overlies the Upper-Cretaceous-fossil-bearing Burji Formation (faulted contact), is overlain by the Bauma-Harel Formation and is intruded by the Ladakh Intrusives — implying a Late Cretaceous arc-metasedimentary context. The book gives no Eocene evidence, so the curated 'Cretaceous–Eocene' upper limit is not corroborated (recommend narrowing to Late Cretaceous).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORROBORATES the curated Cretaceous–Eocene age: ~1,500 m of biotite-schists, gneisses, amphibolites and marbles (garnet–sillimanite grade) between the Shigar River and the Indus near Skardu (type at Katzarah, ~23 km NW of Skardu); Desio (1963, 1978) referred it to the Cretaceous–Eocene 'Shigar Group', though Hanson (1989) called the age uncertain and Le Fort & Pecher (2001) suggested it may be Jurassic. Overlies the Upper-Cretaceous-fossil-bearing Burji Formation and is overlain by the Bauma-Harel Formation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "thickness": "about 1,500 m", "lithologyType": "siltstone", "lat": 35.31, "lng": 75.62, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kech-formation", "name": "Kech Formation", "age": "Pleistocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Quaternary", "epoch": "Pleistocene", "lithology": "Conglomerate, mudstone and sandstone with an upper angular-unconformity surface.", "description": "Kech formation is named by HSC (1961) after the Kech valley near Gish Kaur (Map 9; 31N/8) and Kech Valley generally existed from Hoshab area to Turbat. It is also correlated with Kamerod/ partly Ormara formation. It consists of conglomerate, mudstone and sandstone facies. It also has upper angular contact with Subrecent to Recent surficial deposits. The age of the formation is Pleistocene.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Subrecent to Recent surficial deposits" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Makran-Siahan Basin, Wazhdad Arc And Mashkel/Kharan Basin", "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "reviewStatus": "published", "typeLocality": "Kech valley, near Gish Kaur", "environment": [ "fluvial", "alluvial" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Pleistocene post-orogenic conglomeratic molasse of the Makran; its angular unconformity over folded Eocene–Oligocene strata dates the main folding and uplift of the accretionary wedge.", "plainSummary": "A Pleistocene gravel molasse of the Kech valley, sitting on an unconformity that records the Makran's final folding.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "malkani-2020-balochistan" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Second Malkani reference (2020, same author - not independent): the Kech Formation (Kech valley, Hoshab-Turbat) is conglomerate, mudstone and sandstone (fluvial), Pleistocene, correlated with the Kamerod / partly Ormara formations, with an upper angular unconformity to Subrecent-Recent deposits.", "source": "malkani-2020-balochistan" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "khadro-formation", "name": "Khadro Formation", "age": "Paleocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Basal limestone with oysters and reptile bones, overlain by olive to grey ferruginous fossiliferous sandstone and gypsiferous shale with fossiliferous limestone interbeds; includes basaltic lava flows.", "description": "Named by Williams (1959) after Khadro Nai in the northern Laki Range (type section at Bara Nai), the Khadro Formation is the earliest-Paleocene unit of the Kirthar Basin and consists of limestone, sandstone, shale and volcanics — including Deccan-Trap basalt flows (the 'Khaskheli basalt') seen at surface and in the subsurface. It corresponds to the Cardita beaumonti beds of Blanford (1878). Its lower contact with the Vitakri Formation is disconformable and its upper contact with the Bara Formation is transitional and conformable. Earliest Paleocene.", "fossils": [ "Oysters", "Reptile bones", "Foraminifera" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Pab Sandstone", "underlies": "Bara Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sindh" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Eastern Kirthar (Sindh)", "introducedBy": "Williams (1959)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Paleocene", "typeLocality": "Bara Nai, Lakhi Range", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal marine unit of the Paleocene Ranikot Group in the Kirthar/Sindh region, notable for reptile-bearing limestone and intercalated Deccan-related basaltic lava flows recording earliest-Cenozoic volcanism.", "plainSummary": "The bottom unit of the Paleocene Ranikot Group in Sindh — fossil-rich marine beds with early reptile bones and lava flows.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "malkani-2016-indus-sealevel", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2016). Revised stratigraphy of Indus Basin (Pakistan): Sea level changes. In: Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific — Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608, Novosibirsk 2016, Abstract Volume, pp. 97-99.", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "26.1183, 67.8867", "thicknessM": 67, "thickness": "In type section where at least two basaltic flows are present in the lower part, a thickness of 67 m is reported m", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) treat the Khadro Formation (Shah 1977) as the lowermost sandstone-siltstone-shale part of the Dungan Formation, yielding planktonic foraminifera of Zone P1 (Early Paleocene, Danian; Nagappa 1959) and equated with the Cardita Beaumonti Beds. Consistent with, and refines, the curated Paleocene age to earliest Paleocene (P1).", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Malkani (2016) records volcanics derived from Deccan volcanism within the Paleocene Khadro Formation (sandstone, shale, limestone and volcanics) of the Kirthar (lower Indus) Basin, corroborating the basal Khadro basaltic flows already noted in the dataset and the K/Pg Deccan signal across the Sangiali/Ranikot base.", "source": "malkani-2016-indus-sealevel" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 26.1183, "lng": 67.8867, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "khalkal-formation", "name": "Khalkhal Formation", "description": "Named by Desio (1963) after the Khalkal Glacier, a tributary of the Godwin-Austen Glacier in the Baltoro basin, the Khalkal Formation is about 800 m of slaty calcareous sandstone, phyllite and conglomerate.", "thickness": "about 800 m", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Khalkhal glacier, a tributary of the Godwin-Austen (Baltoro) glacier", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Desio (1963)", "reviewStatus": "published", "lithology": "About 800 m of slaty calcareous sandstone, phyllite and conglomerate.", "geologicalSignificance": "A thick metasedimentary slate–sandstone–phyllite unit of the Baltoro region of the central Karakoram; its precise age is not established.", "plainSummary": "A thick (about 800 m) slaty metasedimentary unit of the Baltoro glacier region.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Baseline thickness '200m' is a migration artifact: it is the thickness of the K2 gneiss, whose description is concatenated into this record. The Khalkal Formation proper is about 800 m thick (Desio, 1963). Flag for Phase-6 cleanup.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Khalkhal Formation (the book's spelling; DB 'Khalkal' is a typo) is queried Cretaceous — shales, sandstones and conglomerates forming the highest (youngest) stratigraphic level of the Gasherbrum sedimentary sequence, in the sedimentary belt north of the Karakoram Batholith (Broad Peak area, where it is deformed to greenschist facies). This is a Karakoram/Gasherbrum unit — the DB regional tagging should be verified.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "thicknessM": 800, "coordinates": "35.80, 76.45", "age": "? Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 35.8, "lng": 76.45, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "khanozai-group", "name": "Khanozai Group", "age": "Triassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "lithology": "Dark-grey mudstone and shale with thin limestone, calcareous mudstone and sandstone.", "description": "Named by Fatmi et al. (1986) for the Gwal and Wulgai formations exposed along the Western Indus Suture where the Sulaiman and Balochistan basins meet. The Gwal Formation (Anwar et al., 1991) is variegated shale with thin-bedded limestone and marl, yielding Early Triassic (Scythian) ammonites (Meekoceras, Owenites, Anasibirites) and reaching about 350 m; the overlying Wulgai Formation (Williams, 1959) is variegated shale with medium-bedded limestone of Middle–Late Triassic age. The group correlates with the Mianwali Formation of the Upper Indus Basin.", "thickness": "350 m", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "introducedBy": "Fatmi et al. (1986)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Triassic", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Triassic succession of the Zhob/Muslimbagh region of the Balochistan ophiolite belt, comprising the Wulgai and Gwal formations; dark mudstone-shale with thin limestone, the base of the Mesozoic there.", "plainSummary": "The Triassic Khanozai Group — the Wulgai and Gwal formations — the dark mudstones at the base of the Mesozoic in western Balochistan.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 350, "members": [ "gwal-formation", "wulgai-formation" ], "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "mudstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "khyber-limestone", "name": "Khyber Limestone", "age": "Carboniferous–Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous–Permian", "lithology": "Thick-bedded limestone, marble and massive dolomite with minor shale; limonite-rich arenaceous beds occur in the middle part.", "description": "The Khyber Limestone of Stauffer (1968) is placed within the Ali Masjid Group of Khan, M.A. (1970), which also comprises the Spin Rag quartzite, Oosi Nala limestone, Kandar phyllite, Nowshera formation, Misri Banda quartzite and Warran Ghundai formation; the Ghundai Sar formation of Khan et al. (1989) is a synonym of this group. Its basal Spin Rag quartzite (30-36 m thick) rests on the Landikotal slate along a thrust fault and is assigned a Middle to Upper Silurian age (Khan, M.A. 1970).", "thickness": "30-36m", "fossils": [ "Brachiopods", "Gastropods", "Pelecypods", "Ammonoids", "Bryozoans", "Fusulinids" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Ali Masjid Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "published", "typeLocality": "Ali Masjid village, Khyber Pass", "introducedBy": "Stauffer (1968)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The youngest Paleozoic unit of the Khyber Agency, conformably overlying the Upper Devonian Ali Masjid Formation; its rich fauna — including fusulinids — indicates a Carboniferous to Permian age.", "plainSummary": "A Carboniferous–Permian limestone-and-dolomite unit of the Khyber Pass, above the Ali Masjid Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Baseline age 'Silurian' is incorrect: the Khyber Limestone (Stauffer 1968b) conformably overlies the Upper Devonian Ali Masjid Formation and carries fusulinids, indicating a Carboniferous–Permian age (Kazmi & Jan, 1997). The baseline lithology string ('Spin Rag quartzite…') also appears to be an artifact from a different unit. Age and lithology need review.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Khyber limestone (Stauffer 1968; type section near Ali Masjid, Khyber Pass). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Molloy, Talent & Mawson (1997): the (Carboniferous–Permian) Khyber Limestone transgresses over the top of the Ali Masjid Formation — the base of the Khyber Limestone transgression is placed near the top of the sampled Ali Masjid sections (above the mid-Tournaisian Early crenulata Zone). Corroborates the curated Carboniferous–Permian age and the Ali Masjid → Khyber Limestone superposition.", "source": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) COMPETING INTERPRETATION (not applied): following Pogue et al. (1999), the book reassigns the Khyber Limestone to the Late Proterozoic (~750 Ma Sr-isotopic date) and places the whole Khyber sequence in its Precambrian chapter. This conflicts with the classic fusulinid/conodont-based Carboniferous–Permian age (Shah 1977; Kazmi & Jan 1997; the Ali Masjid conodont biostratigraphy of Molloy, Talent & Mawson 1997). The curated Carboniferous–Permian age is retained because it rests on biostratigraphy; the Precambrian Sr-isotope reassignment is recorded as an unresolved alternative.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Molloy, P.D., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (1997). Late Devonian-Tournaisian conodonts from the eastern Khyber region, north-west Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 103(2), 123-148.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "34.0800, 71.2900", "thicknessM": 33, "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 34.08, "lng": 71.29, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kingri-formation", "name": "Kingri Formation", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Continental to paralic sandstone and mudstone (molasse).", "description": "Named by Malkani (2009), type section northwest of Kingri town, the Kingri Formation is red-to-maroon calcareous shale and mudstone with subordinate grey sandstone, about 700 m thick, representing floodplain and channel deposits. It extends from Mach and Johan (Kalat) northward to Hangu, where it is called the Gurguri Sandstone. Its lower contact with the Toi Formation and upper contact with the Drug Formation are disconformable. A distinctive mammal fauna is reported from the Kingri/Toi interval (Gingerich et al., 2001); on stratigraphic position its age is Early Eocene.", "thickness": "700m", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Kingri formation is the just northwest of Kingri town", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Toi Formation", "underlies": "Drug Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Western Kirthar (Balochistan)", "coordinates": "30.4667, 69.7833", "introducedBy": "Malkani (2009a)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Eocene", "environment": [ "fluvial", "paralic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Eocene continental-to-paralic (molasse) unit of the Sibi/Kingri area, broadly equivalent to the Toi Formation of the Ghazij Group.", "plainSummary": "An Eocene river-and-coastal molasse of the Sibi/Kingri area, similar to the Toi Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "malkani-2010-sulaiman" ], "citations": { "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 } ], "thicknessM": 700, "economicImportance": "Hosts Early Eocene coal; a source of silica sand and building sandstone.", "tier": 1, "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 30.4667, "lng": 69.7833, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "kishar-formation", "name": "Kishar Formation", "lithology": "Metasedimentary basement of the Indian plate (schist, quartzite and calc-silicate gneiss).", "description": "Kishar formation is named by Dipietro et al. (1999) for darkgrey non schistose biotite quartz plagioclase rocks which were earlier included in the Besham group. Amlo conglomerate is named after the Amlo village north of Besham by Baig (1990). It consists of mainly conglomerate.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Amlo, Indus valley", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "DiPietro et al. (1999)", "reviewStatus": "published", "geologicalSignificance": "A conglomerate unit at Amlo associated with the base of the Besham–Karora cover sequence of the Indus valley.", "plainSummary": "A conglomerate unit at Amlo in the Besham–Karora cover sequence.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "dipietro-pogue-2004", "dipietro-isachsen-2001", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "dipietro-isachsen-2001", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "dipietro-isachsen-2001", "era": "dipietro-isachsen-2001", "period": "dipietro-isachsen-2001" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (2004). Tectonostratigraphic subdivisions of the Himalaya: A view from the west. Tectonics, 23, TC5001.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/2003TC001554", "year": 2004 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A. & Isachsen, C.E. (2001). U-Pb zircon ages from the Indian plate in northwest Pakistan and their significance to Himalayan and pre-Himalayan geologic history. Tectonics, 20(4), 510-525.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/2000TC001193", "year": 2001 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "CONFLICT / possible homonym (DiPietro & Pogue 2004, full text): the well-documented Kishar formation is a PRE-2173 Ma GNEISSIC basement unit of the Indian plate (Western Hinterland / Besham), unconformably overlain by the Karora and Gandaf formations - NOT the \"mainly conglomerate\" unit recorded here (Malkani 2017; no age; Swat-Malakand). Either this record is mis-described (it should be a Paleoproterozoic gneiss) or the name is a homonym of a different Swat unit. NOT corroborated - author to resolve.", "source": "dipietro-pogue-2004" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "RESOLVED (DiPietro & Isachsen 2001 + DiPietro & Pogue 2004, both full text): the Kishar formation is a pre-2173 Ma METASEDIMENTARY BASEMENT unit of the Indian plate (Indus syntaxis / Besham), unconformably below the Karora formation. The earlier \"mainly conglomerate\" description (Malkani 2017) was a mis-attribution of the conglomerate at the BASE OF THE KARORA (which carries Kishar-derived clasts) - not the Kishar itself. Lithology and age corrected; homonym flag resolved (same unit, mis-described).", "source": "dipietro-isachsen-2001" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "age": "Paleoproterozoic or older (pre-2173 Ma)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Paleoproterozoic", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "krinj-limestone", "name": "Krinj Limestone", "description": "Krinj limestone is named after Krinj village in Lutkho Valley East of Shigar by Desio (1959) for platform type limestone about 2.5km thick.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Krinj village, Lutkho valley, Chitral", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Reshun Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Desio (1959)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Massive platform-type limestone.", "thickness": "about 2.5 km", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thick platform carbonate forming the north-western limb of the Chitral Slate anticline; placed in the Cretaceous by Pudsey et al. (1985), although earlier workers had proposed ages from Permian to Triassic. It is unconformably overlain by the Reshun Formation.", "plainSummary": "A thick (about 2.5 km) Cretaceous platform limestone near Krinj, below the Reshun Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 } ], "coordinates": "36.0000, 71.8011", "thicknessM": 2500, "age": "Cretaceous", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Krinj(i) Limestone (Desio 1959) is Early Cretaceous — late Aptian orbitolinids (Mesorbitolina) and small rudist fragments occur at Krinji and at Nal near Reshun; it covers the Chitral Slates and lies below the Reshun Conglomerate.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 36, "lng": 71.8011, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kundalshahi-group", "name": "Kundalshahi Group", "description": "The Kundalshahi Group (Salkhala Formation) is named after Kundalshahi village in the Neelam valley by Malik et al. (1996); it was originally proposed as the Kundalshahi formation by Ghazanfar and Chaudhry (1986). Those authors, extending their Kaghan mapping into the Neelam valley, recognized the Sharda group north of the MCT and a Neelam Valley group south of it (subdivided into the Tithwal and Kundalshahi formations). The Naril group (granulitic gneisses named after Naril village north of Kel by Malik et al. 1996) occurs in the same area.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Naril, Neelam (Neelum) valley, Azad Kashmir", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "azad-kashmir" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Upper Neelam Valley", "synonyms": [ "Salkhala Formation" ], "introducedBy": "Malik et al. (1996)", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "low", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Late Proterozoic (Neoproterozoic)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill: the Kundalshahi Group (Malik et al. 1996; type Kundalshahi Village, Neelum Valley; = the Kundalshahi Formation of Ghazanfar & Chaudhry 1986) is interlayered semi-pelitic schists and metapsammites with minor quartzite, marble and metaconglomerate (relict graded bedding; calc-silicate boudins), subdivided into the Kuttar, Babun and Katha units. The authors correlate it with the Hazara Formation and the Salkhala series of Wadia (1930) — Late Proterozoic — and note that the name 'Salkhala' should take precedence. It unconformably overlies the Naril Group.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "kundil-formation", "name": "Kundil Formation", "age": "Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "description": "Kundil formation is named after Kundil valley, south of Darband post about 10km NW of Sost (Shimshal and Chapursan Valleys of upper Hunza) by Gaetani et al. (1990a), presented 3 members of marl, limestone and fine tuffs of Late Permian age.", "fossils": [ "Conodonts (Lopingian: Clarkina, Iranognathus)" ], "typeLocality": "Kundil valley", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Panjshah Formation", "underlies": "Wirokhun Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1990a)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Permian", "lithology": "Cherty limestone with marl and fine tuff: a lower thick-bedded cherty limestone unit, a middle grey cherty limestone unit, and an upper unit, with a metabreccia up to 100 m thick between the middle and upper units.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Uppermost Permian formation of the Chapursan Group in the Upper Hunza region; conformably overlies the Panjshah Formation.", "plainSummary": "The Late Permian cherty-limestone top of the Chapursan Group in upper Hunza.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "gaetani-1997-karakorum-block" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Nicora, A., Henderson, C., Cirilli, S., Gale, L., Rettori, R., Vuolo, I. & Atudorei, V. (2013). Refinements in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic stratigraphy of Karakorum, Pakistan. Facies, 59, 915-948.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0346-9", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548", "year": 1995 } ], "coordinates": "36.7100, 74.7700", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2013): conodonts refine the Kundil Formation to the Lopingian — late Wuchiapingian (Iranognathus sosioensis, Clarkina liangshanensis, C. orientalis) through early–mid Changhsingian (C. changxingensis, C. subcarinata) to late Changhsingian, with the very top yielding C. abadehensis + C. hauschkei (the last two Changhsingian conodont zones). The deep-water cherty limestone was formerly assigned to the latest Permian only (Gaetani et al. 1995) and is here emended; CAI 5. The Permian–Triassic boundary is drawn at the Kundil–Wirokhun contact.", "source": "gaetani-2012-karakorum" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Kundil Formation (three members, up to ~190 m at its type section in the lower Kundil valley, Upper Hunza) is a pelagic cherty-limestone unit with a laterally thinning megabreccia body recording Midian-Dzhulfian block-faulting on a sinking NE slope. Conodonts date it ?late Murgabian to Midian - Gondolella phosphoriensis at the base, Sweetognathus cf. hanzongensis with G. bitteri and G. phosphoriensis in Member 2 (late Murgabian-Midian), and G. bitteri + G. phosphoriensis into Member 3 (early Late Guadalupian/Midian). It rests with a sharp base (reworked fusulinids) on the Panjshah Formation and is overlain by the Wirokhun Formation.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani (1997): the Kundil Fm. cherty limestones carry huge megabreccia bodies up to 100 m thick whose clasts contain reworked Sakmarian fusulinids, recording block-faulting and erosion of strata lying ~600 m lower in the Chapursan sequence; the unit passes up from late Murgabian-Midian ash-grey siltstones (bryozoan-brachiopod, reworked fusulinids, rare conodonts) and its upper part yields late Midian conodonts. Constrains the age to the late Middle-Late Permian and documents the syn-depositional extensional tectonics.", "source": "gaetani-1997-karakorum-block" } ], "thickness": "cherty limestone about 100–120 m (Wirokhun Saddle / Borom gullies west of Sost), with a laterally thinning megabreccia body in the middle–upper part", "lithologyType": "chert", "lat": 36.71, "lng": 74.77, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "lakhra-formation", "name": "Lakhra Formation", "age": "Paleocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Grey, thin- to thick-bedded nodular, sandy and locally argillaceous fossiliferous limestone with sandstone and shale interbeds in the upper part.", "description": "Lakhra Formation It was named by Ahmad and Ghani (Written communication in 1971 to Cheema et al. 1977) after Lakhra of Laki Range. It includes the upper Ranikot limestone of Vredenburg (1906) and upper Ranikot of lator workers, upper Ranikot formation of HSC (1961). It consists of dominant limestone with minor shale. It is correlated with Dungan Limestone of western Kirthar and Sulaiman basin. Its lower contact with Bara Formation is transitional and upper contact with Sohnar Gaj Formation is disconformable. For fossils pl. see the Dungan Formation in western Kirthar. Its age is Late Paleocene.", "fossils": [ "Foraminifera", "Corals", "Molluscs" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Bara Formation", "underlies": "Laki Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sindh" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Eastern Kirthar (Sindh)", "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Cheema et al. (1977)", "epoch": "Paleocene", "typeLocality": "Southern Lakhra anticline", "thickness": "50–242 m", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The upper, marine-limestone unit of the Paleocene Ranikot Group in the Kirthar/Sindh region.", "plainSummary": "The top, limestone unit of the Paleocene Ranikot Group, rich in foraminifera, corals and molluscs.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "brohi-2012-dimension-stone", "malik-1989-coal" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Brohi, I.A., Solangi, S.H., Bablani, S.A., Agheem, M.H., Sahito, A.G. & Brohi, A.U. (2012). Geological and Stratigraphical Studies of Dimension and Cut Stone Deposits Around Khanu Brohi and Khadhar Areas, District Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 44(4), 623-628.", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Malik, I.A. (1989). Geodynamics and Coal Deposits of Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 12-43.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 } ], "coordinates": "25.5458, 68.0042", "thicknessM": 146, "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) treat the Lakhra Formation (Shah 1977) as part of the upper Dungan Formation (limestone and shale), yielding larger benthonic foraminifera (Miscellanea miscella, Discocyclina ranikotensis, Lockhartia haimei, Ranikothalia nuttalli, Assilina dandotica) indicating a late Thanetian to early Ilerdian age (Late Paleocene to earliest Eocene), with nannofossil Zones NP4-NP9 and planktonic Zones P3-P7. Extends the curated Paleocene age into the earliest Eocene.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 242 m at type section; 135 m northern flank; 50 m at Bara Nai. Type locality: Lakhra-Bholari section, southern flank of the Lakhra anticline, Laki Range. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Brohi et al. (2012): around Khanu Brohi and Khadhar (Laki Range, District Jamshoro, Sindh) the Paleocene Lakhra Formation (upper Ranikot Group) yields dimension- and cut-stone-quality limestone — very hard, thick- to massive-bedded, sugary-textured, orange-yellow to pinkish-yellow (medium quality) — worked for decoration and construction; a distinctive Lakhra limestone bed also serves as the local marker for the Paleocene–Eocene boundary.", "source": "brohi-2012-dimension-stone" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Malik (1989): the Late Paleocene Lakhra Formation forms the Lakhra coalfield - a broad, tectonically undisturbed anticline (~64 x 16 km) at the 'Hinge Line' of the Indo-Pakistan Plate - with five seams and reserves ~498 Mt, the largest single field, though high in pyritic sulphur (5,742-10,620 BTU/lb).", "source": "malik-1989-coal" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 25.5458, "lng": 68.0042, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "landai-formation", "name": "Landai Formation", "age": "Triassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "description": "Landai formation is named by DiPietro et al. (1999) for amphibolite, garnetiferous schistose marble and white to grey marble occurs east of Indus river, SE of Besham. Sharp contact with Mansehra granite and an unconformable or faulted contact with underlying Tanawal formation, eastward in contact with Banna formation. DiPietro et al. (1999) mentioned the similarity with Kashala and Duma formations and may be Late Paleozoic to Triassic in age.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Tanawal Formation" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "DiPietro et al. (1999)", "reviewStatus": "published", "geologicalSignificance": "A Triassic unit of the Swat/Indus syntaxis area (DiPietro et al., 1999).", "plainSummary": "A Triassic unit of the Swat area.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "landikotal-formation", "nomenclaturalStatus": "redefined", "name": "Landikotal Formation", "description": "Landikotal formation is originally named by Stauffer (1968) as Landikotal slates while Shah (1969) renamed as Landikotal formation due to heterogeneous lithology like slate, phylite, limestone, quartzite, sandstone and in places dolomite, intruded by basic dykes and sills. 28", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Spin Rag Quartzite" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "introducedBy": "Stauffer (1968)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Ordovician–Silurian", "lithology": "Phyllite and slate with subordinate limestone, dolomite and quartzite, intruded by basic dykes and sills.", "thickness": "about 1,600 m", "typeLocality": "Landi Kotal, Khyber Pass", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thick, unfossiliferous phyllite-and-slate sequence of the Khyber Agency that extends from Jamrud across the border into Afghanistan; part of it is correlated with the Afghan 'Lower Formation', whose conodonts indicate a Late Ordovician to Late Silurian (Middle Ludlovian) age, and its upper part is correlated with the upper Panjpir Formation of Nowshera.", "plainSummary": "A thick Ordovician–Silurian phyllite-and-slate unit of the Khyber Pass, reaching into Afghanistan.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "low", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "34.0988, 71.1411", "thicknessM": 1600, "age": "Ordovician–Silurian", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) COMPETING INTERPRETATION: the book assigns the Landi Kotal Formation a Precambrian–Cambrian age (Khan 1989; possibly Cambrian–Ordovician per Kazmi), not the curated 'Silurian'. As the oldest, unfossiliferous unit of the Khyber sequence this older assignment is plausible; recorded as a note pending reconciliation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.0988, "lng": 71.1411, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "langrial-limestone", "name": "Langrial Limestone", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara Sub-Basin", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "lithology": "Limestone.", "typeLocality": "Langrial, Hazara", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A mapped limestone unit of the Hazara stratigraphic succession; its precise age and stratigraphic relations are not well established.", "plainSummary": "A limestone unit of the Hazara area near Langrial.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "33.933, 73.117", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Data-quality flag (reviewer audit, 2026-07-30): Kazmi & Jan (1997) carry \"Langrial Limestone\" only inside a historical correlation table (after Marks & Mohammad Ali 1962) as a superseded MEMBER-level subdivision of the Precambrian Hazara Formation — no descriptive text, age or type section. It is a Hazara/foreland unit, NOT a Karakoram unit as currently clustered in the DB. Recommend reclassifying (informal member of the Hazara Formation; correct the regional tag) or removal.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill: the Langrial Limestone is a Late Precambrian unit of the Hazara Group (a member alongside the Miranjani Limestone; Latif 1970), Hazara/foreland — not Karakoram. Blank age gap-filled to Late Precambrian; the earlier note that it is a member of the Hazara Formation/Group and misclustered stands.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "age": "Late Precambrian (Neoproterozoic)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 33.933, "lng": 73.117, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "lashkargaz-formation", "name": "Lashkargaz Formation", "age": "Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "description": "Lashkargaz formation is named after the Lashkargaz village in the upper Yarkhun valley 10km ESE of Baroghil Pass by Gaetani et al. (1995) and he presented members of siltites, packstone, wackstone, shales and marls of Early Permian age. 16", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Lashkargaz", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Gircha Formation", "underlies": "Gharil Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1995)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early–Middle Permian", "lithology": "Thick succession of shale with subordinate sandstone and limestone; in ascending order siltstone with phosphatic nodules, oncoidal limestone, shale, dolomite with fusulinids, and grey cherty limestone and dolomite.", "thickness": "up to 1000 m", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Baroghil-region (Upper Yarkhun) equivalent of the Chapursan Group; a fossil-rich late Early to Middle Permian shelf succession overlying the Gircha Formation.", "plainSummary": "The Baroghil-area counterpart of the Chapursan Group — a thick, fossil-rich Permian shale-and-limestone succession.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548", "year": 1995 } ], "coordinates": "36.8300, 73.4800", "thicknessM": 1000, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19): the Lashkargaz Formation is Permian, ~150-200 m (Lasht/Siru) to ~400 m (Lashkargaz/Baroghil). Corroborates the Permian age.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Lashkargaz Formation ranges from the Sakmarian (Member 1) to the Kungurian–Roadian (Member 4), i.e. late Early to earliest Middle Permian. Five members (Gaetani et al. 1995, emended Leven et al. 2007) totalling >1000 m, dominated by fusulinid-rich packstones — one of the richest fossil units of the Western Karakoram — deposited on a progressively deeper carbonate ramp. Type area SW of Lashkargaz; former Member 5 is now part of the Ini Sar Formation.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Lashkargaz Formation is formally named here (Chapursan Group), with its type section at Lashkargaz in the Upper Yarkhun area (base missing beneath the Yarkhun braided plain; lowest part measured in the Baroghil East section). It exceeds ~1,000 m eastward and is arranged in four members: (1) siltstones with phosphatic nodules and crinoidal/marly interbeds (~300 m at Baroghil E); (2) a carbonate member with fusulinid-rich packstones and oncoidal wackestones (108 m at Baroghil E, 368 m at Lashkargaz); (3) a renewed terrigenous member of two quartzarenite horizons with oncoidal packstones (80-144 m); and (4) a fusulinid- and chert-bearing carbonate member (224 m at Baroghil, up to 450 m at Lashkargaz) capped by Tubiphytes-Porifera buildups. It overlies the Gircha Formation and is overlain by the Gharil Formation.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Lashkargaz Formation spans the Sakmarian to the Kubergandian (possibly Murgabian at its top). Member 1 carries the Hunzina electa brachiopod range zone (Sakmarian, with the conodont Adetognathus paralautus); Member 2 a Chalaroschwagerina-Pamirina fusulinid assemblage suggesting Artinskian; the Orthothetina convergens-Aldina exilis zone (?Bolorian); and lower Member 4 the Waagenoconcha macrotuberculata-Callytharrella sinensis zone with Parafusulina (Skinnerella) fusulinids and Sweetognathus aff. whitei conodonts indicating the Kubergandian, with transitional Gondolella idahoensis/phosphoriensis forms near the top pointing to Kubergandian-Murgabian.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 36.83, "lng": 73.48, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "litra-formation", "name": "Litra Formation", "age": "Miocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "lithology": "Greenish-grey sandstone with subordinate conglomerate and mudstone.", "description": "Introduced by Hemphill and Kidwai (1973), type section at Litra Nala, the Litra Formation is grey calcareous sandstone with subordinate maroon shale and conglomerate. Its lower contact with the Vihowa Formation and upper contact with the Chaudhwan Formation are disconformable. It is rich in continental vertebrates: Raza et al. (2002) reported gomphotheres, hipparionine horses (Hipparion appearing at about 10.7 Ma in the lower part), bovids, giraffids and suids, and Malkani (2014) described the proboscidean Gomphotherium buzdari. Miocene.", "fossils": [ "Middle Siwalik mammals (incl. hipparionine horses)" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Vihowa Formation", "underlies": "Chaudhwan Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "coordinates": "31.0167, 70.4167", "introducedBy": "Hemphill and Kidwai (1973)", "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Miocene", "thickness": "~430 m (Litra Nala)", "typeLocality": "Litra Nala, Sulaiman Range", "geologicalSignificance": "The middle unit of the Sulaiman molasse (Vihowa Group), equivalent to the Middle Siwalik; the appearance of three-toed hipparionine horses in its lower part marks a Late Miocene age.", "plainSummary": "The middle Sulaiman 'Siwalik' sandstone — the arrival of three-toed Hipparion horses dates it to the Late Miocene.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2022-nsulaiman", "malkani-kirthar-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "malkani-gsp-ir-2017", "hemphill-kidwai-1973" ], "citations": { "epoch": [ "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "thickness": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "typeLocality": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "lithology": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "overlies": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "underlies": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "environment": [ "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "fossils": "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005", "geologicalSignificance": [ "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "plainSummary": "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. et al. (2018). Tectonic Map of Sulaiman Fold Belt, Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan.", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331158873", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Lindsay, E.H., Flynn, L.J. et al. (2005). Miocene stratigraphy and mammal fauna from the Sulaiman Range, Southwestern Himalayas, Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018202004431", "year": 2005 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Ilyas, M., Yasin, R., Abbas, A., Samiullah, K., Raza, T., Hassan, S.S.E., Fazal, R.M., Noor, A. & Malik, A. (2022). Geology of Northern Sulaiman Foldbelt, Shirani and Waziristan Regions (South Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa): New Tomistominae (Miocene False Gharial) from Sakhi Sarwar Area of Dera Ghazi Khan (South Punjab), Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 12(6), 521-564.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2022.126025", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Khosa, M.H., Alyani, M.I., Somro, N., Zafar, T., Arif, J. & Aleem, M.Z. (2017). Revised Stratigraphic Setup and Mineral Deposits of Kirthar Basin (Lower Indus Basin), Pakistan. Lasbela University Journal of Science and Technology, VI, 54-84.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Mahmood, Z., Somro, N. & Shaikh, S.I. (2017). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Kirthar Basin, Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Information Release No. 1010.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 } ], "thicknessM": 430, "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "fossils", "note": "Malkani et al. (2022, OJG 12:521-564): the friable greenish-grey sandstone of the Litra Formation in the Sakhi Sarwar area (Dera Ghazi Khan, South Punjab) yielded the new Miocene tomistomine 'false gharial' Sakhibaghoon khizari (Gavialidae/Tomistominae) — reported as the first tomistomine from Indo-Pakistan (a mid-rostrum: premaxillae, maxillae, heterodont teeth, elongate nasal) — and, near Mahoi, the proboscidean Gomphotherium buzdari. NOTE: these are Malkani-corpus taxa; the identifications are attributed, not independently corroborated.", "source": "malkani-2022-nsulaiman" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B) NAMED the Litra Formation as the middle Siwalik unit, type section at Litra Nala. Late Pliocene (Hipparion cf. antelopinum horse tooth); friable light-grey/brown sandstone with upper conglomerates, ~5,560 ft; equivalent to the Nagri and Chinji formations of the eastern ranges. Hosts uraniferous sandstone near Raki Munh (speculatively tied to dispersed tuffaceous material).", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Three-toed hipparionine horses (Hipparion) first appear in the lower Litra Formation, dating it to the Late Miocene; the middle Litra shows substantial faunal turnover (open-country bovids, suids and giraffids) comparable to the ~7.5-7.0 Ma community restructuring on the Potwar Plateau (Raza et al. 2002).", "source": "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 31.0167, "lng": 70.4167, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "lowara-mena-formation", "name": "Lowara Mena Formation", "age": "Late Devonian to Carboniferous", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous", "lithology": "Slate, phyllite, quartzite and dolomitic limestone (inferred).", "description": "The Lowara Mena Formation (Khan et al. 1989) consists of slates, phyllites, quartzite and dolomitic limestone; its age is inferred as Carboniferous on the basis of superposition (Khan, M.A. 1970). It is a synonym of the Warran Ghundai Formation.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "published", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Carboniferous slate-phyllite-quartzite-and-dolomitic-limestone unit of the Nowshera/Peshawar Paleozoic area.", "plainSummary": "A Carboniferous slate-and-quartzite unit of the Nowshera/Peshawar area.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the Lowara Mena Formation (type Lowara Mena, Ghundai Sar area, Khyber Agency) is phyllites with interbedded limestones, slaty shales, graphitic/mica schists, crinoidal limestones and quartzite (crinoid columns, brachiopods), gradational over the underlying Ghundai Sar Formation; Late Devonian–Carboniferous (Khan et al. 1989) / Middle Devonian–Early Carboniferous (Khan A.B. et al. 1970). Refines the curated 'Carboniferous'. DUPLICATE FLAG: the book states the Lowara Mena Formation is the same unit as the 'Warren Ghundai Formation' of Khan M.A. (1970), with the senior name Lowara Mena taking precedence — so this record and 'warran-ghundai-formation' are likely synonyms to be merged.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "lupghar-formation", "name": "Lupghar Formation", "age": "Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "description": "Lupghar formation is named after Lupghar valley, a tributary of Chapursan by Gaetani et al. (1995) and he presented lower member includes shale, muds and sandstone with phosphatic nodules, and upper member bioclastic and oolitic limestone and dolomite of Early Permian.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Lupghar valley", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Gircha Formation", "underlies": "Panjshah Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1995)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Permian", "lithology": "Lower member of interbedded shale, mudstone and sandstone with phosphatic nodules; upper member of thick-bedded bioclastic and oolitic limestone and dolomite.", "thickness": "about 300–380 m", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Lower formation of the Chapursan Group in the Upper Hunza region; rests on the Gircha Formation and is conformably overlain by the Panjshah Formation.", "plainSummary": "A lower Permian shale-to-limestone unit of the Chapursan Group in upper Hunza.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Nicora, A., Henderson, C., Cirilli, S., Gale, L., Rettori, R., Vuolo, I. & Atudorei, V. (2013). Refinements in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic stratigraphy of Karakorum, Pakistan. Facies, 59, 915-948.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0346-9", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548", "year": 1995 } ], "thicknessM": 340, "coordinates": "36.72, 74.45", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2013), citing Gaetani et al. (1995): shallow-water carbonate intercalations prevailed during the Artinskian in the Lupghar Formation, with a sedimentary gap recognised toward the top of the Lower Permian — consistent with the curated Early Permian (Artinskian) assignment.", "source": "gaetani-2012-karakorum" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Lupghar Formation is formally named here (Chapursan Group), separated from the lower part of the informal 'Panjshah fm.' of Gaetani et al. (1990) because of a probable hiatus between its members 2 and 3; the composite type section runs along both sides of Lupghar valley near Raminji (Upper Hunza/Chapursan). It comprises two members - a lower mixed terrigenous-carbonate Member 1 (cyclothems 7-20 m thick, max ~210 m) and a carbonate-dominated Member 2 (bioclastic and oolitic calcarenites passing up to peritidal dolostones and subtidal limestones, 150-280 m) - for a total of about 300-380 m.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Lupghar Formation is mostly Sakmarian - Member 1 carries the Hunzina electa brachiopod range zone (with Permochonetes pamiricus, Cleiothyridina ailakensis, Trigonotreta paucicostulata) correlated to the Sakmarian of SE Pamir, Central Elburz and Western Australia; the base of Member 2 yields a Pseudofusulina plena-P. incompta fusulinid assemblage, and an early Artinskian age cannot be excluded for the upper part of Member 2. It overlies the Gircha Formation and is overlain by the Panjshah Formation.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 36.72, "lng": 74.45, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "lupsuk-formation", "name": "Lupsuk Formation", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous", "age": "Carboniferous", "references": [ { "citation": "Gaetani, M. et al. (2004); Angiolini, L. et al. (1999). Twin Valley Member, Late Carboniferous (Moscovian brachiopods).", "year": 2004 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Zanchi, A., Angiolini, L., Olivini, G., Sciunnach, D., Brunton, H., Nicora, A. & Mawson, R. (2004). The Carboniferous of the Western Karakoram (Pakistan). Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 23(2), 275-305.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(03)00137-8", "year": 2004 } ], "lithology": "Quartzarenite, microconglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and limestone, with a cliff-forming carbonate upper part.", "typeLocality": "Lupsuk glacier, north of Karambar Pass", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (2004)", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Carboniferous clastic–carbonate unit of the upper Karambar region; its cliff-forming carbonate upper part is separately named the Twin Valley Member.", "plainSummary": "A Carboniferous sandstone-and-limestone unit whose upper carbonate forms the Twin Valley Member.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2004-carboniferous", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thickness": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thicknessM": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "epoch": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "members": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "coordinates": "36.92, 73.70", "thickness": "~250 m (Karambar sheet)", "thicknessM": 250, "epoch": "Late Carboniferous", "members": [ "twin-valley-member" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19): the Lupsuk Formation is Upper Carboniferous, ~250 m in the Karambar sheet, and CONTAINS the Twin Valleys Member (bioclastic limestone) — now wired as a member. Thickness and Late-Carboniferous epoch gap-filled.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Lupsuk Formation carries two brachiopod assemblages — a basal spiriferid-dominated Serpukhovian fauna and an upper assemblage referred to the latest Carboniferous. About 400 m of fine arenites, siltstones, slates, hybrid calcarenites and thin conglomerates (Karambar Unit; Gaetani et al. 2004b), recording renewed coarse terrigenous input in shore-face to fore-delta settings; contains the Twin Valleys Member and sulphate nodules at the top.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2004) — DEFINES the Lupsuk Formation (new name; Lupsuk Glacier / Ribat valley, Karambar Unit): subarkoses to feldspathic quartzarenites in thick beds alternating with dark shales and siltstones, up to ~400 m thick, dated Serpukhovian to Moscovian (uppermost Carboniferous) — a syn-rift terrigenous phase between the Ribat Formation and the basal quartzarenites of the Gircha Formation. Corroborates the curated Carboniferous age and adds the definitional source.", "source": "gaetani-2004-carboniferous" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lat": 36.92, "lng": 73.7, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "lwarani-mela-limestone", "name": "Lwarani Mela Limestone", "description": "Lwarani Mela limestone is named after the Lwarai Mela village, 4Km NE of Baraghat by Tahirkheli et al. (1975) for the limestone with some slates. Baraghat slates is named after the Baraghat village by Tahirkheli et al. (1975) for slates and phyllites. Barai quartzite is named after the Barai village about 2.4km NE of Baraghat village by Tahirkheli et al. (1975) for the quartzites.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Lwarai Mela, Malakand area", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "Tahirkheli et al. (1975)", "reviewStatus": "published", "lithology": "Limestone.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A limestone unit of the Malakand/Swat area (Tahirkheli et al., 1975).", "plainSummary": "A limestone unit of the Malakand area at Lwarai Mela.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "thickness": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "thicknessM": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Late Paleozoic", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Late Paleozoic", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill: the Lwarai Mela Limestone (type Lwarai Mela Village, ~4 km NE of Baraghat) is ~51 m of brownish-grey, thin-bedded to massive, banded limestone with subordinate slaty shale, intruded by dolerite sills and unfossiliferous — the base of the late-Palaeozoic Khyber Bara-Valley sequence (Lwarai Mela Limestone → Baraghat Slates → Barai Quartzite → Spinkai Formation; Tahirkheli et al. 1975). Conformably(?) overlain by the Baraghat Slates; in thrust contact with the Murree Formation to the south. NOTE: distinct from the Lowara Mena Formation (Devonian–Carboniferous phyllite, Ghundai Sar) despite the similar name — the book indexes them separately.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Thickness surfaced from the age note: the Lwarai Mela Limestone is ~51 m of brownish-grey banded limestone with subordinate slaty shale (Kazmi & Abbasi 2008).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "thickness": "~51 m", "thicknessM": 51, "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "mahandri-formation", "name": "Mahandri Formation", "lithology": "Kamalban quartz-mica schist, quartzite, calc-schist and marble.", "description": "Mahandri formation consists of Kamalban quartz mica schist, quartzite, calc schist and marble. Jared quartzite is named after the Jared village near Mahandri by Chaudhry et al. (1986) for the earlier Jured series of Wadia (1930).", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Jared, Kaghan valley", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara Sub-Basin", "introducedBy": "Chaudhry et al. (1986)", "reviewStatus": "published", "geologicalSignificance": "A metasedimentary schist-quartzite-marble unit of the Kaghan valley (Chaudhry et al., 1986).", "plainSummary": "A schist-and-marble metamorphic unit of the Kaghan valley near Jared.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "34.6800, 73.5700", "age": "Precambrian (tentative)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill: the Mahandri (Mahandari) Formation (Kaghan Valley) is tentatively Precambrian — calc-schists, quartz-mica schists and marbles. Blank age gap-filled to Precambrian (tentative).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.68, "lng": 73.57, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "malandrai-member", "name": "Malandrai Member", "description": "The Malandrai Member (greenschist), named after the Malandrai Kandao locality 12 km NE of Rustam, is the upper member of the Duma Formation. That formation - named after Duma village on the right side of the Indus gorge, 46 km ENE of Rustam, by Dipietro et al. (1995) - was organized by Kazmi and Abbasi (2008) into three members: the lower Karapa greenschist (named by Dipietro et al. 1999), the middle Duma marble member (the Duma formation of Dipietro et al. 1999), and the upper Malandrai Member.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Duma, Malakand area", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Duma Formation" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "member", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "DiPietro et al. (1995)", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "geologicalSignificance": "A mapped member of the Duma Formation in the Malakand/Swat area (DiPietro et al., 1995); its lithology and age are not well established.", "plainSummary": "A member of the Duma Formation in the Malakand area.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Late Carboniferous", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill: the Malandrai Member (a.k.a. Malandrai Greenschist; type Malandrai Kandao, 12 km NE of Rustam) is the lower member of the Duma Formation — greenschist interlayered with minor argillite, phyllite, calcite/dolomitic marble and graphitic phyllite. It overlies the Carboniferous Jafar Kandao Formation along an erosional unconformity, constraining it to the Late Carboniferous. Parent unit: Duma Formation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "manglour-formation", "name": "Manglour Formation", "lithology": "Granoblastic, locally mylonitised quartz-mica-garnet schist (feldspathised and tourmalinised), in three main varieties — quartz-feldspar schist, quartz-mica-kyanite schist and quartz-mica-garnet schist — with thin graphitic and hornblende schist.", "description": "Manglour formation is named after the Manglaur village, 6km ENE of Mingora by Kazmi et al. (1984c). It is exposed Afghan border to Swat and Besham areas. It consists of crystalline schists, quartzite and marble (DiPeitro 1990).", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Manglaur village, Swat", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Marghazar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "Kazmi et al. (1984c)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Precambrian", "geologicalSignificance": "The Precambrian crystalline schist that constitutes the Swat Nappe; intruded by the Swat Granite Gneiss and overlain unconformably by the Alpurai Group. Its age is uncertain but is tentatively taken as Precambrian on its resemblance to the Tanawal Formation and the correlation of the Swat Granite Gneiss with the Mansehra Granite.", "plainSummary": "The Precambrian schist basement of the Swat Nappe (the Manglaur Schist), beneath the Alpurai-Group cover.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-06-29", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "coordinates": "34.8085, 72.4304", "age": "Proterozoic (undifferentiated)", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.8085, "lng": 72.4304, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "margach-formation", "name": "Margach Formation", "age": "Devonian–Carboniferous", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian–Carboniferous", "lithology": "About 200 m of slate, siltstone, sandstone and limestone.", "description": "Margach formation is named after the Margach cattle shelter on the north side of the Ribat River along Zoe glacier by Gaetani et al. (2004), consists of 200m slates, siltstone, sandstone and limestone. It overlies the Shogram formation and its age is Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous by Gaetani et al. (2004).", "fossils": [ "Brachiopods (spiriferids, productoids)", "Conodonts", "Receptaculites" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Shogram Formation", "underlies": "Ribat Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (2004)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous", "thickness": "about 200 m", "typeLocality": "Margach cattle shelter, north side of the Ribat River along Zoe glacier", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous mixed clastic–carbonate unit overlying the Shogram Formation in the upper Yarkhun/Karambar region.", "plainSummary": "A Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous sandstone-and-limestone unit above the Shogram Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2004-carboniferous", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "fossils": "gaetani-2004-carboniferous", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Zanchi, A., Angiolini, L., Olivini, G., Sciunnach, D., Brunton, H., Nicora, A. & Mawson, R. (2004). The Carboniferous of the Western Karakoram (Pakistan). Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 23(2), 275-305.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(03)00137-8", "year": 2004 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "thicknessM": 200, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, full text, Fig. 19): dark grey-black splintery siltstone/shale of a muddy shelf, Lower Carboniferous; thickness ~100 m (Lashkargaz/Baroghil sheet) to 200-300 m (Karambar sheet) - NOT the ~300 m single figure from the earlier snippet; age ?Famennian-earliest Tournaisian. Corroborates the Devonian-Carboniferous age.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Margach Formation is ?Famennian–earliest Tournaisian; a small brachiopod assemblage in the third lithozone of the Karambar type section (Ribat Valley; Gaetani et al. 2004b) suggests an early–middle Tournaisian age, with no Famennian evidence. About 294 m in three lithozones (siltstones/slates with rare bioclastic limestones and a Receptaculites bed, passing up to progradational arenites); a muddy shallow-marine flat, gradational above the Shogram Formation.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani, Zanchi, Angiolini et al. (2004) — the primary paper that DEFINES the Margach Formation (new name; type section on the north side of the Ribat valley, Karambar thrust sheet): prevailing dark shales with subordinate fine subarkoses and quartzarenites, up to ~300 m thick, dated by brachiopod and conodont biostratigraphy to mid-Famennian to middle Tournaisian (latest Devonian to ?early middle Tournaisian) — recording the early-rifting passive margin of the Northern Karakoram Terrane. Corroborates the curated Devonian–Carboniferous age; adds the definitional source (previously carried only on Zanchi & Gaetani 2011).", "source": "gaetani-2004-carboniferous" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Surfaced from the age notes into fossils[]: the Margach Formation is dated by brachiopod and conodont biostratigraphy (Gaetani et al. 2004b); the third lithozone of the Karambar type section carries a small brachiopod assemblage and a Receptaculites bed (Zanchi & Gaetani 2011). Body-fossil content, not a trace assemblage.", "source": "gaetani-2004-carboniferous" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "marghazar-formation", "name": "Marghazar Formation", "age": "Carboniferous", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous", "description": "Marghazar formation is named after the Marghazar locality near Saidu, in Swat for the biotite schist, psammitic schist, calcite –phlogopite marble and minor garnet schist and amphibolite, exposed in the flanks of Loe Sar dome in Swat and extends from near Manglaur southward up to Jawar, westward up to 7km east of Chakdarra. Its age is constrained by the underlying Cambrian Swat granite gneiss and overlying Triassic Kashala formation.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Stream valley north and south of Marghazar village, Lower Swat.", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Manglour Formation", "underlies": "Kashala Formation" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "reviewStatus": "published", "lithology": "Garnetiferous schist, amphibolite, hornblende schist, psammitic schist and phlogopite marble.", "geologicalSignificance": "The basal formation of the Alpurai Group, resting unconformably on the Manglaur Formation and Swat Granite Gneiss and overlain by the Kashala Formation; tentatively assigned a Carboniferous age (Pogue et al., 1992), with the overlying part of the group being Mesozoic.", "plainSummary": "The lowest Alpurai-Group unit — garnet schist, amphibolite and marble — tentatively Carboniferous, above the Manglaur Schist.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "dipietro-1993", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "anczkiewicz-1998-swat-suture", "tahirkheli-1993-warsak" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "dipietro-1993", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "introducedBy": "dipietro-1993" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Baseline age 'Cambrian–Triassic' is over-broad; Kazmi & Jan (1997), after Pogue et al. (1992), tentatively assign the Marghazar Formation a Carboniferous age (the overlying Kashala Formation yields Late Triassic conodonts). Age needs review.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED by DiPietro et al. (1993, full text): the Marghazar Formation (subunits Am1-Am4) of the Alpurai Group unconformably overlies the Ilam gneiss and Manglaur formation in central Lower Swat; Carboniferous or younger. Corroborates the Carboniferous age. Distinct from the Karakoram Margach Formation.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "age", "note": "DiPietro et al. (1993): Late Carboniferous (Westphalian) or younger, constrained by conodont dating of the correlative Jafar Kandao Formation and Karapa greenschist.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "DiPietro et al. (1993): the only Alpurai Group formation containing amphibolites — a phlogopite-bearing marble forms discontinuous layers at the base and a persistent 20-50 m amphibolite horizon caps the formation; interpreted as a rift facies correlated with the Panjal Traps of western India.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Anczkiewicz et al. (1998): the Marghazar Formation forms the lower part of the Alpurai Schists - amphibolites and metapelites with granitoid sills/dikes and metabasaltic amphibolites, intruded by tourmaline-garnet microgranites (e.g. the Amlukdarra granite); its Middle Carboniferous to Permian levels are intruded by the Early Permian Swat granite.", "source": "anczkiewicz-1998-swat-suture" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Tahirkheli, Khan & Mian (1993): the amphibolite marker horizon in the upper part of the Marghazar Formation (Lower Swat) is correlated with the Warsak basic rocks and the Karapa Greenschist - i.e. with the Permo-Triassic Panjal volcanics - as part of an initial-rift-stage continental-tholeiite suite of the northern Indian plate margin.", "source": "tahirkheli-1993-warsak" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993). Stratigraphy south of the Main Mantle Thrust, Lower Swat, Pakistan. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds), Himalayan Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74, 207-220.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1993.074.01.15", "year": 1993 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Anczkiewicz, R., Burg, J.-P., Hussain, S.S., Dawood, H., Ghazanfar, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Indus Suture in the Lower Swat, Pakistan, NW Himalaya. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 16(2-3), 225-238.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-9547(98)00003-8", "year": 1998 }, { "citation": "Tahirkheli, T., Khan, M.A. & Mian, I. (1993). The Warsak basic rocks: Initial-rift stage continental tholeiites of Permo-Triassic 'Panjal' affinity. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 26, 17-33.", "year": 1993 } ], "coordinates": "34.7000, 72.3600", "introducedBy": "DiPietro (1990)", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.7, "lng": 72.36, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "marpo-sandstone", "name": "Marpo Sandstone", "age": "Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "lithology": "20–100 m of red sandstone and siltstone; the base has ostracod-bearing grey marl interbedded with red siltstone and overlain by polymict conglomerate, passing up into red shaly sandstone.", "description": "Marpo sandstone is named by Gaetani et al. (1990b) and consists of 20-100m sandstone and siltstones and exposed in the Aghil pass and Shaksgam valley and age is middle Jurassic.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Tekri Formation", "underlies": "Bdongo-La Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1990b)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Middle Jurassic", "thickness": "20–100 m", "typeLocality": "Aghil Pass region and Shaksgam valley, eastern Karakoram", "environment": [ "fluvial", "marginal marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Middle Jurassic red-bed sandstone unit overlying the Tekri Formation in the Aghil Pass and Shaksgam region.", "plainSummary": "A Middle Jurassic red sandstone unit of the Aghil Pass and Shaksgam area, above the Tekri Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "thicknessM": 60, "coordinates": "36.15, 76.55", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 36.15, "lng": 76.55, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "mekhband-formation", "name": "Mekhband Formation", "age": "Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "description": "Mekhband formation is named by DiPietro and Isachsen (2001). It is exposed as allochthonous slices on the flanks of Pinjkora anticline in Malakand area. It is similar to Marghazar formation in Malakand areas. It conformably overlies the Proterozic Pinjkora complex and intruded by 278Ma Chakdarra orthogneiss, showing earliest Permian or older.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Pinjkora Complex" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "DiPietro and Isachsen (2001)", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "geologicalSignificance": "A Permian unit of the Swat/Indus syntaxis area (DiPietro and Isachsen, 2001).", "plainSummary": "A Permian unit of the Swat area.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "dipietro-isachsen-2001", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Corroborated by DiPietro & Isachsen (2001, full text): the Mekhband formation (Malakand slice) unconformably overlies the Pinjkora complex and is INTRUDED by the ~278 Ma Chakdarra orthogneiss - so it predates the early Permian and lithologically resembles the Marghazar/Kashala (Alpurai Group) rocks. This implies the dataset s \"Permian\" age is TOO YOUNG; recommend reviewing toward pre-Late-Palaeozoic (author to confirm).", "source": "dipietro-isachsen-2001" } ], "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "mekhtar-formation", "name": "Mekhtar Formation (or Mekhtar Sandstone)", "age": "Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Sandstone with subordinate shale (Mekhtar Sandstone).", "description": "Mekhtar Formation (or Mekhtar Sandstone) Mekhtar Formation (or Mekhtar Sandstone or it is commonly called as lower Goru sandstone) is upgraded by Malkani and Mahmood (2016b) as formation (from previous Mekhtar member) due to its wide occurrence and lateral extension in the Eastern Sulaiman and also Eastern Kirthar basins (subsurface). It is not exposed in the Kirthar basin but found in subsurface, however it is exposed in Mekhtar and Murgha Kibzai areas of Sulaiman basin. Malkani (2010a) established three members of Sembar formation. But here the Middle Sandstone and upper shale and marl are considered as Mekhtar Formation. Its type locality is near the Mekhtar town just south of Mekhtar on Chamalang Mekhtar road (39F/7). At type locality it is round about 100m thick lensoid shape. This sandstone is oil producing/reservoir rocks in Kirthar basin commonly called Lower Goru Sandstone. Actually it is a Mekhtar Formation. It mostly consists of sandstone (Pab like) with some shale and marl. The lower contact with Sembar is gradational and sharp marked on Sandstone facies variation from Shale facies of Sembar. The upper contact with Goru Formation is also sharp. According to law of superposition its age can be considered as Early Cretaceous.", "thickness": "about 100m", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Goru Formation", "overlies": "Sembar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Western Kirthar (Balochistan)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Cretaceous sandstone unit of the Loralai–Mekhtar area of the eastern Balochistan fold belt.", "plainSummary": "A Cretaceous sandstone of the Loralai-Mekhtar area.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "malkani-2019-cretaceous" ], "citations": { "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2019). Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9, 671-673.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2019.910071", "year": 2019 } ], "thicknessM": 100, "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Malkani (2019) equates the Mekhtar Sandstone with the lower Goru sandstone (quartzose sandstone) within the Lower Cretaceous Parh Group of the Sulaiman-Kirthar basins.", "source": "malkani-2019-cretaceous" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "mina-formation", "name": "Mina Formation", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Marine alternating green shale and fine-grained sandstone.", "description": "Mina Formation (previous Panjgur formation and lower part of Shagala formation in northern Balochistan) is named by Malkani (2014c) after the Mina village on the Shagala-Zhob road which is about 30Km southwest of Zhob. It consists of marine alternating green shale and sandstone. The sandstone is fine to coarse grained, gritty, thin to thick bedded, grey to greenish grey and weathers light grey and at places black desert varnish on its surface. It is about 2000m thick in the northern Balochistan Basin and 1000-2000m thick in the area between the Khwaja Amran Range and Jangal. This formation shows the marine conditions in all Balochistan basins. Its upper contact with Continental Shagala formation is disconfirmable while lower contact with Murgha Faqirzai shale is confirmable. Its age is Early Eocene.", "thickness": "about 2000m", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Murgha Faqirzai Formation", "underlies": "Shagala Formation" }, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Kakar-Khurasan Basin", "introducedBy": "Malkani (2014)", "environment": [ "marine", "deep marine" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Eocene", "typeLocality": "Mina village, Shagala–Zhob road", "synonyms": [ "Panjgur Formation (in part)" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Eocene flysch sandstone-shale unit of the Kakar-Khurasan basin, the northern correlative of the Makran Panjgur Formation.", "plainSummary": "An Eocene green shale-and-sandstone flysch of northern Balochistan, equivalent to the Makran Panjgur Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "malkani-2020-balochistan" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 } ], "thicknessM": 2000, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Second Malkani reference (2020, same author - not independent): the Mina Formation (Mina village, Shagala-Zhob road) is marine alternating green shale and sandstone, ~2000 m (north Balochistan) to 1000-2000 m, Early Eocene, coeval with the Panjgur Formation.", "source": "malkani-2020-balochistan" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "miranjani-limestone", "name": "Miranjani Limestone", "age": "Precambrian", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "description": "The Miranjani Limestone is a named limestone unit within the Hazara Group (Latif, 1970) of the Hazara region. The enclosing Hazara succession (Hazara Formation of Calkins et al., 1969) is a Late Precambrian sequence of slate, phyllite, shale and limestone with graphitic layers, correlated with the Dogra Slates.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara Sub-Basin", "synonyms": [ "Salkhala Formation" ], "introducedBy": "Calkins et al. (1969)", "reviewStatus": "published", "lithology": "Limestone (locally dolomitic).", "typeLocality": "Miranjani, Hazara (the Galis area)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Precambrian limestone of the Hazara metasedimentary succession (Calkins et al., 1969).", "plainSummary": "A Precambrian limestone of the Hazara hills near Miranjani.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-06-29", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "coordinates": "34.1050, 73.4033", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 34.105, "lng": 73.4033, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "murgha-faqirzai-formation", "name": "Murgha Faqirzai Formation", "age": "Paleocene–Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Shale with minor sandstone and shelly limestone.", "description": "Murgha Faqirzai Formation is named after the village of Murgha Faqirzai about 25 km north of Muslimbagh (34M/16; HSC, 1961). It is mapped by HSC (1961) in the northern and southern Balochistan Basin and also in Indus Suture. It comprises shale with minor sandstone and shelly limestone. The shale is pale greenish grey and calcareous. Pencil cleavage is the typical feature of this shale observed in the metamorphosed area. The sandstone is green to grey, calcareous and ripple marked. Thin shelly limestone beds are found in the base and top for fossil collection source. The source of this formation is mostly Hinterland and partially Indus Suture. The tentative thickness ranges from 400-1200m. The lower contact with the Nisai formation and upper contact with Shagala formation seems to transitional and conformable. HSC (1961) reported Paleocene-Eocene assemblage like lower part of Siahan shale represents Discocyclina cf. D. ranikoti, Nummulites globules, N. irregularis and middle Eocene assemblage (lowewr part of Nauroz formation includes Nummulites atacicus, Assilina granulose and Dictyoconoides cooki . According to fossils and stratigraphic position, its age is supposed to be Late Paleocene-Early Eocene.", "thickness": "400-1200m", "fossils": [ "Dictyoconoides cooki" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Nisai Limestone", "underlies": "Mina Formation" }, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Kakar-Khurasan Basin", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Paleocene–Early Eocene", "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "typeLocality": "Murgha Faqirzai village, north of Muslimbagh", "environment": [ "marine", "deep marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Paleocene–Eocene flysch shale of the Kakar-Khurasan basin and Indus Suture; the northern equivalent of the Makran Hoshab/Siahan shales, recording early flysch deposition in the back-arc.", "plainSummary": "A Paleocene–Eocene flysch shale of northern Balochistan, equivalent to the Makran Hoshab shale.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "kakar-kasi-2016-khojak", "yaseen-2019-shaigalu", "kasi-2012-pishin", "ashraf-2010-multanai" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Kakar, D.M., Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Mohibullah, M. & Khan, S. (2016). Petrography and whole-rock geochemistry of the Oligocene–Miocene Khojak Formation, Khojak-Pishin Belt, Pakistan: implications on provenance and source-area weathering. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 49(2).", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Yaseen, W., Khan, A.S., Sohail, K., Farooq, U., Usman, M. & Ghani, M. (2019). Modal composition and provenance of Shaigalu Sandstones, Pishin-Katawaz Basin, northern Balochistan, Pakistan. Bahria University Research Journal of Earth Sciences (BURJES), 4(2), 70-77.", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Ashraf, M., Nizami, A.R. & Butt, A.A. (2010). Petrographic and biostratigraphic studies on sedimentary sequences of Multanai area, Pishin Basin, Balochistan, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 45, 25-36.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2010 } ], "coordinates": "31.0542, 67.7789", "thicknessM": 800, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997) RANK FLAG: the book treats this as the lower 'Murgha Faqirzai Member' of the Khojak Formation — grey-green-brown calcareous/arenaceous shale with turbidites, prodelta laminated mudstones and hummocky sandstones — not a stand-alone formation; charts label it Oligocene.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORROBORATES the rank flag: following Qayyum et al. (1996, 1997) the book subdivides the Khojak Formation into a lower Murgha Faqirzai Member (shale; 1,941 m at Rud Faqirzai) and an upper Shaigalu Member (sandstone) — so Murgha Faqirzai is a MEMBER of the Khojak Formation, not a stand-alone formation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Competing interpretation — Kakar et al. (2016) and Yaseen et al. (2019), following Qayyum et al. (1996), treat the Murgha Faqirzai as the LOWER MEMBER of the Oligocene–Early Miocene Khojak Formation (regularly bedded sandstone and shale; distal turbidites in the Makran equivalent), rather than a separate Paleocene–Eocene formation. The curated formation rank and age are retained; the member usage within the Khojak Formation is recorded as an alternative.", "source": "kakar-kasi-2016-khojak" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Kasi et al. (2012): the Murgha Faqirzai Member (lower, shale-dominant member of the Khojak Formation), named after Murgha Faqirzai village of Qila Saifullah District, has its reference section at the Rud Faqirzai section where it is ~2,000 m thick (Hunting Survey Corporation 1960); Ashraf et al. (2010) record ~1,200 m in the Murgha Faqirzai stream section. It rests conformably and transitionally on the Nisai Formation and passes up transitionally into the Shaigalu Member.", "source": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Ashraf et al. (2010) and Hunting Survey Corporation (1960): the member yields Oligocene foraminifera (Nummulites fichteli — a diagnostic Oligocene index — with N. intermedius and Lepidocyclina dilatata) plus molluscs and echinoids, while Nummulites perforatus in the lower beds indicates an Eocene age for the base; greenish-grey calcareous/arenaceous shale with turbidite and prodelta sandstone.", "source": "ashraf-2010-multanai" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 31.0542, "lng": 67.7789, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "musakhel-group", "name": "Musakhel Group", "age": "Permian–Triassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "lithology": "Marine limestone and marl (Mianwali), fluvio-deltaic sandstone and shale (Tredian) and dolomitic limestone (Kingriali).", "description": "Named by Shah (2009) after the Nammal Gorge near Musakhel, the Musakhel Group comprises the Triassic Mianwali, Tredian and Kingriali formations. It is paraconformable on the Zaluch Group and disconformable below the Surghar Group. The basal Mianwali Formation (Kummel, 1966) spans the Permian–Triassic boundary and has three members (Kathwai, Mittiwali, Narmia), with earliest-Scythian ammonites (Ophiceras) and a rich micro- and palynofauna.", "thickness": "2m", "fossils": [ "Ammonoids (Ceratites)", "Bivalves" ], "typeLocality": "Tredian hills in Mianwali district by Gee", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Kohat-Potwar Basin", "introducedBy": "Shah (2009)", "environment": [ "marine", "deltaic" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early–Late Triassic", "geologicalSignificance": "The Triassic succession of the Salt Range and Trans-Indus ranges, comprising the Mianwali, Tredian and Kingriali formations; paraconformable on the Permian Zaluch Group and recording the Early Triassic marine recovery after the end-Permian extinction.", "plainSummary": "The Triassic Musakhel Group of the Salt Range — the Mianwali, Tredian and Kingriali formations — recording marine life's recovery after the end-Permian extinction.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 2, "members": [ "mianwali-formation", "tredian-formation", "kingriali-formation" ], "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "nakanai-ghar-formation", "name": "Nikanai Ghar Formation", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Saidu Formation" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "lithology": "Marble (the Nikanai Ghar Marble).", "synonyms": [ "Nikanai Ghar Formation", "Nikanai Ghar Marble", "Nakanai Ghar Formation" ], "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The marble at the top of the Alpurai Group, a Triassic component of the Mesozoic cover of the Swat Nappe; it overlies the Saidu Formation.", "plainSummary": "The Triassic Nikanai Ghar Marble capping the Alpurai Group.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "dipietro-1993", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "afrasiab-2024-nikanaighar", "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "dipietro-1993", "typeLocality": "dipietro-1993", "thickness": "dipietro-1993", "thicknessM": "dipietro-1993" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993). Stratigraphy south of the Main Mantle Thrust, Lower Swat, Pakistan. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds), Himalayan Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74, 207-220.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1993.074.01.15", "year": 1993 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Afrasiab, Nazir-ur-Rehman, Shah, A.H., Rehman, A., Anees, S.A., Rehan, S., Mehmood, K. & Zaman, I. (2024). Petrographic Analysis and physico-mechanical Properties of Nikanai Ghar Formation, Swabi, North-western Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 57(2), 94-113.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0915:PAMSOT>2.3.CO;2", "year": 1992 }, { "citation": "Hussain, A., DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 18, 25-35.", "year": 1998 } ], "age": "Triassic", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Nikanai (Ghar) Formation (Ahmad et al. 1987; type section in the Nikanai Ghar Mountain, southern Swat). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "DiPietro et al. (1993): thick-bedded dark grey to white marble and dolomitic marble (at least 1200 m in the south), distinguished from the Kashala Formation by the near-absence of micaceous rock; the lower contact with the Kashala Formation is gradational.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Thickness surfaced from the lithology note: the Nakanai Ghar Formation is at least 1200 m of thick-bedded marble and dolomitic marble in the south (DiPietro et al. 1993).", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Afrasiab et al. (2024): petrography of the Nikanai Ghar Formation marble ('Bando Obo marble') near Swabi Town (Swabi-Mardan Road, ~32 deg 36' N) confirms a calcite-dominated marble, divided by texture into fine-, medium- and coarse-grained (equi-granular to sub-equi-granular) varieties. A Lower-Swat/Swabi exposure additional to the curated Jafar Sar type area.", "source": "afrasiab-2024-nikanaighar" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Afrasiab et al. (2024): physico-mechanical testing (UCS, UTS, specific gravity, shear strength, porosity, water absorption) evaluates the Nikanai Ghar marble at Swabi as a building/dimension stone; strength varies with texture, the fine-grained variety having the highest unconfined compressive strength (~21.8 MPa). Records an economic (dimension-stone) use for the unit.", "source": "afrasiab-2024-nikanaighar" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Pogue, Harris & Hussain (1992): the Nikanai Ghar Formation (~1,050 m of white-to-grey marble weathering to distinctive white cliffs) overlies the Carnian Kashala Formation and is assigned a Late Triassic and Jurassic(?) age - but the Jurassic part rests only on a single questionable palaeoniscoid fish tooth and is explicitly tentative.", "source": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hussain, DiPietro & Pogue (1998): the Nikanai Ghar Formation (white-to-grey thick-bedded marble and dolomitic marble with thin calcareous-schist beds) forms the upper third of the former Lower Swat-Buner Schistose Group at Nikanai Ghar mountain, southern Swat; it overlies the Carnian Kashala Formation and is tentatively Late Triassic and Jurassic(?) on palaeoniscoid fish teeth.", "source": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin" } ], "introducedBy": "DiPietro (1990)", "typeLocality": "Stream valleys on the south side of Jafar Sar, south-central Lower Swat.", "thickness": "at least ~1200 m", "thicknessM": 1200, "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "naran-formation", "name": "Naran Formation", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara Sub-Basin", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "era": "Paleozoic", "lithology": "Metapelitic to metagreywacke gneiss.", "typeLocality": "Naran area, Upper Kaghan valley", "introducedBy": "Greco et al. (1989)", "geologicalSignificance": "The Lower Paleozoic cover sequence of the Sharda Group basement in the Upper Kaghan/Naran area (Greco et al., 1989); part of the inverted-metamorphic Kaghan nappe pile.", "plainSummary": "A Lower Paleozoic metamorphic cover unit of the Naran area in the Upper Kaghan valley.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "34.9042, 73.6586", "age": "Early Paleozoic", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Naran formation / \"Naran garnetiferous calc-pelites\" (Greco et al. 1993; Kaghan Valley). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Naran Formation (Greco et al. 1989; Kaghan/Naran area, Sharda zone) is the Lower Palaeozoic cover of the pre-Permian basement — metapelitic–metagreywacke gneisses with thick amphibolite layers and diorite dykes, interpreted as products of a Late Pan-African orogenic event, on which the later Palaeozoic–Mesozoic sequence (e.g. the overlying Burawai Formation) was deposited. Consistent with the curated Early Palaeozoic age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 34.9042, "lng": 73.6586, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "naril-group", "name": "Naril Group", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "azad-kashmir" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Upper Neelam Valley", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "introducedBy": "Malik et al. (1996)", "geologicalSignificance": "A group-level unit of the Upper Neelam Valley (Malik et al., 1996); its lithology and age are not well established in the baseline.", "plainSummary": "A poorly characterised group of the Upper Neelam Valley.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "low", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Precambrian (pre-Cambrian basement; tentatively correlated with the ~1850 Ma Iskere Gneiss)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill: the Naril Group (Malik et al. 1996; type Naril Village, N of Kel, Neelum Valley) is banded granulitic gneiss basement (quartz-feldspar-biotite-garnet, intruded by amphibolite-grade dolerite) of the Higher/Lesser Himalayan Crystalline zones; it is intruded by leucogranites like the Cambrian Mansehra Granite, so it is pre-Cambrian and tentatively correlated with the ~1850 Ma Iskere Gneiss of the Nanga Parbat area. Unconformably overlain by the Kundalshahi Group. (Distinct from the Oligocene Nari Formation of Sindh/Balochistan.)", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "nilawahan-group", "name": "Nilawahan Group", "age": "Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "lithology": "Gondwana glacial-to-fluvial clastics: Tobra tillite and diamictite, Dandot and Warchha sandstones, and Sardhai shale.", "description": "Nilawahan Group was proposed by Gee (in Pascoe 1959). It consists of following 3 formations. Tobra Formation: It was named after the Tobra village in the eastern Salt Range (Shah, 1977) for the Talchir boulder bed of Gee (in Pascoe, 1959). It consists of Tillitic facies in eastern Salt Range, fresh water facies of siltstone and shale with pollen and spore flora, and a complex facies of diamictite, sandstone and boulder beds increase in westernsalt range and Khisor range. The lower part of the formation in Zaluch Nala contains pollen and spores such as Punctatisporites cf. P. gretensis, Leiotriletes spp., Acanthotriletes cf. A. tereteangulatus, Apicnlatisporites sp., Protohaploxypinus sp., Striatopodocarpitrs sp., Potonieisporites sp. Kraeuselisporites sp., Nuskoisporites sp . On the basis of Protohaploxypinus sp. and Striatopodocarpitrs sp., the age is considered to be Early Permian deduced by Balme (in Teichert 1967). Warcha Sandstone: Warcha group was named after the Warcha gorge in the Salt Range by Noetling (1901) and Warcha Formation was named by Hussain (1967). It consists of speckled sandstone with some shale. It is lateral variation of Dandot formation exposed only in limited areas of eastern Salt Range while Warcha has vast exposure, so Warcha name is adopted here for Dandot Formation. Now Dandot is being considered junior synonym of Warcha formation. The basal p", "fossils": [ "Protohaploxypinus sp", "Chonetes sp", "Eurydesma", "Conularia" ], "typeLocality": "Tobra", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Baghanwala Formation", "underlies": "Amb Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Kohat-Potwar Basin", "introducedBy": "Gee (in Pascoe 1959)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Permian (Cisuralian)", "environment": [ "glacial", "fluvial", "paralic" ], "economicImportance": "The Warchha Sandstone is a dimension/building stone; the group carries Gondwana fire-clay and coal locally.", "geologicalSignificance": "The Lower Permian Gondwana succession of the Salt Range, comprising the Tobra, Dandot, Warchha and Sardhai formations; records Gondwanan glaciation (the Tobra tillite) and post-glacial clastic deposition, with cool-climate palynofloras.", "plainSummary": "The Early Permian Nilawahan Group of the Salt Range — Tobra (glacial tillite), Dandot, Warchha and Sardhai — recording the Gondwana ice age and its aftermath.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "thickness": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "members": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "overlies": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "underlies": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Comprises four formations: Tobra, Dandot, Warchha and Sardhai (Kazmi & Jan 1997). Dandot is sometimes treated as a junior synonym / lateral equivalent of the Warchha Sandstone.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "members", "note": "Ghazi et al. (2012), full text: the Nilawahan Group (~350 m, Early Permian, Salt Range) comprises FOUR formations in ascending order — Tobra (Asselian), Dandot (Sakmarian), Warchha Sandstone (Artinskian), Sardhai (Kungurian). Adds the Dandot Formation, which was missing from the members list.", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "overlies", "note": "Ghazi et al. (2012): the Nilawahan Group unconformably overlies the Cambrian sequence (uppermost Cambrian = Baghanwala Formation) after a prolonged Palaeozoic non-deposition, and is unconformably overlain by the Tethyan shallow-marine carbonates of the Zaluch Group (basal unit Amb Formation).", "source": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012" }, { "field": "members", "note": "Gee (1989): the Early Permian Nilawahan Group of the Salt Range comprises, in ascending order, the Tobra, Dandot, Warchha and Sardhai formations — glacial to shallow-marine and continental clastics deposited after the base-Permian unconformity.", "source": "gee-1989-saltrange" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Ghazi, S., Mountney, N.P., Butt, A.A. & Sharif, S. (2012). Stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework of the Early Permian sequence in the Salt Range, Pakistan. Journal of Earth System Science, 121(5), 1239-1255.", "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12040-012-0225-3", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 } ], "thickness": "~350 m (Salt Range)", "thicknessM": 350, "members": [ "tobra-formation", "dandot-formation", "warcha-formation", "sardhi-formation" ], "tier": 1, "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "owsi-nala-limestone", "name": "Owsi Nala Limestone", "age": "Middle to Late Silurian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Silurian", "lithology": "Limestone with shale intercalations.", "description": "Owsi Nala limestone consists of limestone and shale intercalations. Mafic intrusions produced soapstone lenses. On the basis of superposition age is Middle to upper Silurian age (Khan, M.A. 1970). Kandar phyllite consists of phyllite, phyllitic schists interbedded with limestone and mafic sills which have produced soapstone. Middle to upper Silurian (Khan, M.A. 1970).", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Spin Rag Quartzite" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "published", "typeLocality": "Owsi Nala, Khyber area", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Silurian limestone-and-shale unit of the Khyber area.", "plainSummary": "A Silurian limestone-and-shale unit of the Khyber area at Owsi Nala.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "thickness": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "thicknessM": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the Owsi (spelled 'Oosi') Nala Limestone is Unit 2 of Khan M.A.'s (1970) Ali Masjid Group in the Ghundai Sar area, Khyber Agency — 30 m of light grey lithographic limestone with shale interbeds and large angular clasts from the underlying Spin Rag Quartzite (soapstone lenses where mafic intrusions occur), unfossiliferous; a Middle to Upper Silurian age is inferred from superposition. Conformably overlies the Spin Rag Quartzite and is conformably overlain by the Kandar Phyllite. Refines the curated 'Silurian'.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Thickness surfaced from the age note: the Owsi (Oosi) Nala Limestone is 30 m of light-grey lithographic limestone with shale interbeds (Kazmi & Abbasi 2008).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "thickness": "~30 m", "thicknessM": 30, "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "panjal-formation", "name": "Panjal Formation", "lithology": "Moderately metamorphosed lava flows and tuffs ('greenstones'; the Panjal volcanics), together with black agglomeratic slate — Carboniferous shale, slate and phyllite with quartzose agglomeratic sandstone.", "description": "Named by Chaudhry et al. (1986) for the upper volcano-sedimentary unit of the Panjal succession (Lydekker, 1878; Wadia, 1931), the Panjal Formation is exposed along the northern and eastern margins of the Hazara–Kashmir Syntaxis between the Murree and Panjal faults, and around Nosehri, Lamnian and Forward Kahota in Azad Kashmir. Associated Panjal-Trap dolerite dykes and gabbro–norite bodies intrude the older Proterozoic sequences.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "azad-kashmir" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis, Kaghan Nappe And Nosehri Area Of Lower Neelum And Lamnian Area Of Upper Jhelum, Azad Kashmir", "introducedBy": "Calkins et al. (1969)", "environment": [ "volcanic", "marine" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous–Permian", "epoch": "Early Permian", "age": "Early Permian (~290 Ma)", "references": [ { "citation": "Shellnutt, J. G. et al. (2011). U–Pb zircon ages constrain the Panjal Traps to the Early Permian (~288–289 Ma).", "year": 2011, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280534350_Multiple_mantle_sources_of_the_Early_Permian_Panjal_Traps_Kashmir_India" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "year": 1975 }, { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ghazanfar, M. & Hussain, M.S. (1989). Petrography, Metamorphism, Nature and Origin of Agglomeratic Slate in Kaghan Valley, District Mansehra, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 61-70.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Tahirkheli, T., Khan, M.A. & Mian, I. (1993). The Warsak basic rocks: Initial-rift stage continental tholeiites of Permo-Triassic 'Panjal' affinity. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 26, 17-33.", "year": 1993 } ], "typeLocality": "Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis (Nosehri, lower Neelum; Lamnian, upper Jhelum)", "geologicalSignificance": "The Panjal volcanic-and-agglomeratic-slate sequence exposed around the apex of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis (the 'Panjal System' of Lydekker, 1878); Calkins et al. (1969) applied the name to both the greenstone lava flows/tuffs and the agglomerate slate, dated Carboniferous to Permian on rare fossils.", "plainSummary": "The Carboniferous–Permian Panjal volcanics ('greenstones') and agglomerate slate of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "calkins-1975-hazara", "chaudhry-1989-agglomeratic-slate", "tahirkheli-1993-warsak", "ghazanfar-chaudhry-1985-kaghan" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "calkins-1975-hazara", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Calkins et al. (1975): the Panjal Formation wraps around the apex of the Hazara–Kashmir syntaxis as two mapped units — a lower 'Agglomeratic Slate' (black carbonaceous slate, glassy quartzose agglomeratic sandstone with volcanic, quartz, slate and dolomite fragments, minor tuff) and an extensive volcanic greenstone of metamorphosed intermediate-to-mafic lava flows and tuffs (chlorite–epidote–feldspar, amygdaloidal, locally amphibolite in the Manda Kuchha syncline). Wadia's (1931) ~9,000 ft (2,700 m) estimate at Paras is probably exaggerated by folding and faulting. Age Carboniferous–Permian (late-Carboniferous–Permian fauna in western Kashmir) ranging to Triassic in eastern Kashmir.", "source": "calkins-1975-hazara" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Chaudhry et al. (1989): in the Kaghan Valley the Panjal Formation overlies the Agglomeratic Slate (Chushal Formation) and, together with it and associated metabasites showing relic pillow structures, constitutes the Panjal series.", "source": "chaudhry-1989-agglomeratic-slate" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Tahirkheli, Khan & Mian (1993): the Warsak basic rocks near Peshawar are continental tholeiites of Permo-Triassic 'Panjal' affinity, extending the Panjal rift-volcanic province (widespread in the Zanskar and Pir Panjal ranges) into the Peshawar-Swat-Ambela region through correlatives such as the Karapa Greenschist and the Marghazar amphibolite marker horizon.", "source": "tahirkheli-1993-warsak" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "In the Bhunja–Batakundi section of the Kaghan Valley the Panjal volcanics are dark greyish-green, fine-grained greenstones with chlorite porphyroblasts and altered pillow structures near Bhunja, with associated Shino, Sing and Bhunja marble/limestone bands (Ghazanfar & Chaudhry, 1985).", "source": "ghazanfar-chaudhry-1985-kaghan" } ], "synonyms": [ "Panjal System", "Panjal Traps", "Panjal Volcanic Series", "Agglomeratic Slate" ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "sources": [ "badshah-2000-spinghar" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Badshah, M.S., Gnos, E., Jan, M.Q. & Afridi, M.I. (2000). Stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of the northwestern Indian plate and Kabul Block. In: Khan, M.A., Treloar, P.J., Searle, M.P. & Jan, M.Q. (eds) Tectonics of the Nanga Parbat Syntaxis and the Western Himalaya. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 170, 467-476.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2000.170.01.24", "year": 2000 } ], "introducedBy": "Badshah et al. (2000)", "confidence": "low", "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": "primary", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "id": "daradar-dolomite", "name": "Daradar Dolomite", "description": "A Siluro-Devonian siliceous dolomite of the Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range on the NW Indian-plate margin, introduced by Badshah et al. (2000). White to greyish-white and hard, it overlies the Spinghar Crystalline unit, is cut by dolerite intrusions, and carries talc (soapstone) and silver-rich lead-copper mineralisation along fracture zones. It is correlated with Silurian-Devonian rocks of the Khyber Agency.", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Silurian–Devonian", "age": "Silurian to Devonian (correlation)", "lithology": "Siliceous, white to greyish-white, hard dolomite (up to ~19 wt% MgO) with dolerite intrusions; talc/soapstone along fractures and intrusive contacts.", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "basin": "NW Indian plate margin", "region": "Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range", "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "typeLocality": "Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range, NW Pakistan–SE Afghanistan border region.", "economicImportance": "Hosts talc (soapstone) along fracture zones and mafic-intrusion contacts, and silver-rich lead-copper mineralisation in the western Spinghar (Neemtota).", "geologicalSignificance": "Overlies the Spinghar Crystalline basement and is disconformably(?) overlain by the Spinghar Quartzite; forms south-facing cliffs in the Spinghar nappe (Badshah et al. 2000).", "citations": { "age": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "lithology": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "environment": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "typeLocality": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "economicImportance": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "geologicalSignificance": "badshah-2000-spinghar" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "One of six lithostratigraphic units defined for the Spinghar / South Waziristan area (with Spinghar Quartzite, Sikaram Series, Makai Limestone, Wana Schist and Kaniguram Slate) in the tectonostratigraphic framework of the NW Indian plate and Kabul block (Badshah et al. 2000).", "source": "badshah-2000-spinghar" } ], "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "sources": [ "badshah-2000-spinghar", "rehman-2022-kurram-waziristan" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Badshah, M.S., Gnos, E., Jan, M.Q. & Afridi, M.I. (2000). Stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of the northwestern Indian plate and Kabul Block. In: Khan, M.A., Treloar, P.J., Searle, M.P. & Jan, M.Q. (eds) Tectonics of the Nanga Parbat Syntaxis and the Western Himalaya. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 170, 467-476.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2000.170.01.24", "year": 2000 } ], "introducedBy": "Badshah et al. (2000)", "confidence": "medium", "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": "primary", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "id": "spinghar-quartzite", "name": "Spinghar Quartzite", "description": "A Siluro-Devonian bedded quartzite of the Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range, introduced by Badshah et al. (2000) and correlated with the Siluro-Devonian Spinrag Quartzite at Jamrud in the Khyber Agency. White to grey-white with grit and conglomerate at the base, it is imbricated and locally split into two horizons by graphitic phyllites of the Sikaram Series.", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Silurian–Devonian", "age": "Silurian to Devonian (correlation)", "lithology": "White to grey-white, bedded quartzite with basal grit and conglomerate; locally imbricated.", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "basin": "NW Indian plate margin", "region": "Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range", "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "typeLocality": "Eastern Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range, NW Pakistan.", "geologicalSignificance": "Tectonic contacts with the underlying Daradar Dolomite and overlying Sikaram Series; unconformable contact with the Makai Limestone (Badshah et al. 2000). Equivalent to the Spinrag Quartzite of the Khyber Agency.", "citations": { "age": [ "badshah-2000-spinghar", "rehman-2022-kurram-waziristan" ], "lithology": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "environment": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "typeLocality": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "geologicalSignificance": "badshah-2000-spinghar" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Silurian-Devonian age independently corroborated by Rehman et al. (2022), who map the Spin Ghar (Spinghar) Quartzite as a Silurian-Devonian unit of the thrust basement in the Kurram-North Waziristan region.", "source": "rehman-2022-kurram-waziristan" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "sources": [ "badshah-2000-spinghar", "rehman-2022-kurram-waziristan" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Badshah, M.S., Gnos, E., Jan, M.Q. & Afridi, M.I. (2000). Stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of the northwestern Indian plate and Kabul Block. In: Khan, M.A., Treloar, P.J., Searle, M.P. & Jan, M.Q. (eds) Tectonics of the Nanga Parbat Syntaxis and the Western Himalaya. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 170, 467-476.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2000.170.01.24", "year": 2000 } ], "introducedBy": "Badshah et al. (2000)", "confidence": "low", "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": "primary", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "id": "sikaram-series", "name": "Sikaram Series", "description": "A thick, dominantly pelitic metasedimentary succession forming the summit of Sikaram Sar (4755 m) in the western Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range, introduced by Badshah et al. (2000). Claystone and carbonaceous shale below pass up into slate and graphitic schist (with garnet porphyroblasts at Hussain Mela). It is lithologically similar to the Landikotal Slate of the Khyber Agency and is bracketed between Siluro-Devonian and Triassic in age.", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Silurian–Triassic", "age": "Siluro-Devonian to Triassic (uncertain; Triassic Lithodendroid fossils reported in eastern Spinghar by Griesbach 1892)", "lithology": "Claystone and carbonaceous shale (lower) passing up into slate and graphitic schist; quartz-mica schist boudins with garnet porphyroblasts locally.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "basin": "NW Indian plate margin", "region": "Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range", "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "group", "typeLocality": "Summit of Sikaram Sar (4755 m), western Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range, NW Pakistan.", "geologicalSignificance": "Several thousand metres thick in the west, thinning to a few metres in central Spinghar; has thrust contacts with the Daradar Dolomite and the Spinghar Crystalline unit (Badshah et al. 2000).", "citations": { "age": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "lithology": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "environment": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "typeLocality": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "geologicalSignificance": "badshah-2000-spinghar" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Formally described among the Spinghar / South Waziristan lithostratigraphic units of the NW Indian-plate margin (Badshah et al. 2000).", "source": "badshah-2000-spinghar" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Age remains unsettled: Rehman et al. (2022) assign a Precambrian age to the Sikaram Slate in the thrust basement, diverging from the Siluro-Devonian-to-Triassic correlation of Badshah et al. (2000). The value here retains the type-area correlation; the Precambrian alternative is recorded pending resolution.", "source": "rehman-2022-kurram-waziristan" } ], "lithologyType": "claystone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "sources": [ "badshah-2000-spinghar", "rehman-2022-kurram-waziristan" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Badshah, M.S., Gnos, E., Jan, M.Q. & Afridi, M.I. (2000). Stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of the northwestern Indian plate and Kabul Block. In: Khan, M.A., Treloar, P.J., Searle, M.P. & Jan, M.Q. (eds) Tectonics of the Nanga Parbat Syntaxis and the Western Himalaya. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 170, 467-476.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2000.170.01.24", "year": 2000 } ], "introducedBy": "Badshah et al. (2000)", "confidence": "low", "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": "primary", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "id": "makai-limestone", "name": "Makai Limestone", "description": "A tentatively Cretaceous, several-hundred-metre-thick siliceous limestone of the Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range, introduced by Badshah et al. (2000). Greenish-grey to dark grey and thinly bedded, with basal conglomerate and grit marking a transgressive unconformity over older Spinghar units; its overturned top is sheared (calcareous mylonites) against the Miocene Murree Formation along the basal thrust of the Spinghar nappe.", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "age": "Cretaceous (tentative)", "lithology": "Greenish-grey to dark grey, thinly bedded, siliceous limestone with basal conglomerate and grit; strongly folded, locally sheared to calcareous schist/mylonite.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "basin": "NW Indian plate margin", "region": "Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range", "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "typeLocality": "Spinghar (Safed Koh) Range, NW Pakistan.", "geologicalSignificance": "Unconformably overlies the Sikaram Series, Spinghar Quartzite, Daradar Dolomite and Spinghar Crystalline unit (transgressive basal conglomerate); its sheared top against the Miocene Murree Formation marks the basal thrust of the Spinghar nappe (Badshah et al. 2000).", "citations": { "age": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "lithology": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "environment": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "typeLocality": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "geologicalSignificance": "badshah-2000-spinghar" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Formally described among the Spinghar / South Waziristan lithostratigraphic units of the NW Indian-plate margin (Badshah et al. 2000).", "source": "badshah-2000-spinghar" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Age disputed: Rehman et al. (2022) map the Makai Limestone as a Precambrian unit of the thrust basement, conflicting with the tentative Cretaceous assignment of Badshah et al. (2000). Retained as Cretaceous (tentative) after the type-area describer; the Precambrian alternative is flagged as an unresolved divergence.", "source": "rehman-2022-kurram-waziristan" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "sources": [ "badshah-2000-spinghar" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Badshah, M.S., Gnos, E., Jan, M.Q. & Afridi, M.I. (2000). Stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of the northwestern Indian plate and Kabul Block. In: Khan, M.A., Treloar, P.J., Searle, M.P. & Jan, M.Q. (eds) Tectonics of the Nanga Parbat Syntaxis and the Western Himalaya. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 170, 467-476.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2000.170.01.24", "year": 2000 } ], "introducedBy": "Badshah et al. (2000)", "confidence": "low", "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": "primary", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "id": "wana-schist", "name": "Wana Schist", "description": "A tentatively Palaeozoic schist-and-phyllite unit of the Wana area, South Waziristan, introduced by Badshah et al. (2000). Greenish-grey and dark, medium- to thin-bedded schists and phyllites form an open north-trending anticline flanked by Mesozoic sedimentary rocks; low-greenschist-facies metamorphism is attributed to southward thrusting of the Zhob-Waziristan-Khost ophiolite complex and Kurram Group onto the Indian margin.", "era": "Paleozoic", "age": "Palaeozoic (tentative)", "lithology": "Medium- to thin-bedded greenish-grey and dark schists and phyllites; intensely folded (box and chevron folds, kink bands, crenulation cleavage, intrafolial quartz veins); low greenschist facies.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "basin": "NW Indian plate margin", "region": "Wana, South Waziristan", "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "formation", "typeLocality": "Wana area, South Waziristan, NW Pakistan.", "geologicalSignificance": "Its greenschist-facies metamorphism records southward obduction of the Zhob-Waziristan-Khost ophiolite complex and the Kurram Group nappe onto the Indian margin (Badshah et al. 2000).", "citations": { "age": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "lithology": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "environment": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "typeLocality": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "geologicalSignificance": "badshah-2000-spinghar" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Medium- to thin-bedded greenish-grey and dark schists and phyllites covering a large area of the Spinghar / South Waziristan zone (Wana Schist, Pw; Badshah et al. 2000).", "source": "badshah-2000-spinghar" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "sources": [ "badshah-2000-spinghar" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Badshah, M.S., Gnos, E., Jan, M.Q. & Afridi, M.I. (2000). Stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of the northwestern Indian plate and Kabul Block. In: Khan, M.A., Treloar, P.J., Searle, M.P. & Jan, M.Q. (eds) Tectonics of the Nanga Parbat Syntaxis and the Western Himalaya. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 170, 467-476.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2000.170.01.24", "year": 2000 } ], "introducedBy": "Badshah et al. (2000)", "confidence": "low", "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": "primary", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "id": "kaniguram-slate", "name": "Kaniguram Slate", "description": "A tentatively Triassic slate unit of the Kaniguram-Makin area, South Waziristan, introduced by Badshah et al. (2000). Greenish-grey and black, fine-grained, intensely fractured and splintery slates occupy the northeastern areas near the southern ophiolite contact and a narrow strip along the western ophiolite margin; they may be equivalent to the Tani Formation of the Waziristan-Khost-Kurram region.", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "age": "Triassic (tentative; possibly equivalent to the Tani Formation)", "lithology": "Greenish-grey and black, fine-grained, intensely fractured, splintery, thin- to thick-bedded slate.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "basin": "NW Indian plate margin", "region": "Kaniguram–Makin area, South Waziristan", "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "formation", "synonyms": [ "Tani Formation (possible equivalent)" ], "typeLocality": "Kaniguram–Makin area, South Waziristan, NW Pakistan.", "geologicalSignificance": "Occupies structural positions near the southern and western contacts of the Zhob-Waziristan-Khost ophiolite; possibly equivalent to the Tani Formation of the Waziristan-Khost-Kurram region (Badshah et al. 2000).", "citations": { "age": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "lithology": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "environment": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "synonyms": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "typeLocality": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "geologicalSignificance": "badshah-2000-spinghar" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Greenish-grey to black, fine-grained, intensely fractured, splintery, thin- to thick-bedded slates (Kaniguram Slate, Trk; Mesozoic) of the Spinghar / South Waziristan zone (Badshah et al. 2000).", "source": "badshah-2000-spinghar" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "panjal-group", "name": "Panjal Group", "lithology": "A thick sequence comprising the Chushal and Panjal formations (agglomeratic slate and Panjal volcanic greenstones).", "description": "Panjal Group is being named by Chaudhry et al. (1986) after the Panjal. This group consists of thick sequence of Chushal and Panjal formations.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "azad-kashmir" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis, Kaghan Nappe And Nosehri Area Of Lower Neelum And Lamnian Area Of Upper Jhelum, Azad Kashmir", "introducedBy": "Chaudhry et al. (1986)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous–Permian", "epoch": "Early Permian", "age": "Early Permian (~290 Ma)", "references": [ { "citation": "Shellnutt, J. G. et al. (2011). U–Pb zircon ages constrain the Panjal Traps to the Early Permian (~288–289 Ma).", "year": 2011, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280534350_Multiple_mantle_sources_of_the_Early_Permian_Panjal_Traps_Kashmir_India" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (2004). Tectonostratigraphic subdivisions of the Himalaya: A view from the west. Tectonics, 23, TC5001.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/2003TC001554", "year": 2004 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "geologicalSignificance": "A group of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis comprising the Chushal Formation (Late Carboniferous agglomeratic slate) and the Panjal Formation (Carboniferous–Permian volcanics), representing the late-Paleozoic volcanic-and-slate succession of the region.", "plainSummary": "The Carboniferous–Permian Panjal Group — the Chushal and Panjal formations — of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "dipietro-pogue-2004", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "members": [ "chushal-formation", "panjal-formation" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Corroborated by DiPietro & Pogue (2004, Fig. 3): the Panjal volcanics/metavolcanics are a Permian unit of the Hazara Syntaxis / Kashmir Lesser Himalaya. Consistent with the dataset s Early Permian age.", "source": "dipietro-pogue-2004" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Panjal formation'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "panjshah-formation", "name": "Panjshah Formation", "age": "Middle Permian (Wordian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "description": "Panjshah formation is named after Panjshah village in the lower part of Chapursan valley by Gaetani et al. (1995), presented lower member include shales, siltstone and feldspathic quartzites and upper member include limestone and marl of Late Permian age.", "fossils": [ "Stenoscisma armenica", "Chapursania tatianae", "Retimarginifera sp.", "Elivina chapursani", "Darbandia vagabunda", "Anchorhynchia cimmerica" ], "typeLocality": "Panjshah", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Lupghar Formation", "underlies": "Kundil Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1995)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Guadalupian", "lithology": "Lower part of interbedded dark shale, siltstone and cross-laminated feldspathic quartzarenite; upper part of fossiliferous dark grey limestone and marl interbedded with marly limestone.", "thickness": "about 230–260 m", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Middle formation of the Chapursan Group; its fauna indicates a Kubergandian–Murgabian (Middle Permian) to Late Permian range, and it is conformably overlain by the Late Permian Kundil Formation.", "plainSummary": "A Middle–Late Permian shale-and-limestone unit of the Chapursan Group, sitting between the Lupghar and Kundil formations.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "angiolini-karakorum-brach", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "angiolini-karakorum-brach" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "angiolini-karakorum-brach", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "angiolini-karakorum-brach" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Angiolini, L. Permian Brachiopods from Karakorum (Pakistan). Part 3. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. https://doi.org/10.13130/2039-4942/5438", "url": "https://doi.org/10.13130/2039-4942/5438" }, { "citation": "Angiolini, L. (1996). Permian Brachiopods from Karakorum (Pakistan). Part 3. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 102(1). https://doi.org/10.13130/2039-4942/5438", "url": "https://doi.org/10.13130/2039-4942/5438", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548", "year": 1995 } ], "thicknessM": 245, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "fossils", "note": "Member 2 (upper part, Late Wordian / Guadalupian) yields the Elivina chapursani-Chapursania tatianae Assemblage Zone (Angiolini), correlated with the Gnishik Formation of Armenia and the basal Takhtabulak Formation of SE Pamir; a transitional Tethyan-Gondwanan-Cimmerian (Transhimalayan Province) fauna. Corrected the spelling 'Chapursania talianae' to 'Chapursania tatianae' and added the three new species.", "source": "angiolini-karakorum-brach" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Panjshah Formation (Chapursan Group) is emended here to comprise only the former member 3 of the informal 'Panjshah fm.' of Gaetani et al. (1990), now subdivided into two members; the type section lies above the Panjshah Shrine in the lower Chapursan valley. Member 1 (70-100 m) is calcareous siltstones and marls with lenticular mature feldspathic quartzarenites; Member 2 (up to ~160 m in lower Chapursan, ~130 m in Shimshal) is a terrigenous-carbonate unit with three fossiliferous limestone horizons. Its sharp top is drawn at the first channelized calcarenites-rudites with reworked fusulinids of the overlying Kundil Formation.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Panjshah Formation spans the Kubergandian to Murgabian and possibly Midian - Member 1 carries the Waagenoconcha (Gruntoconcha) macrotuberculata-Callytharrella sinensis brachiopod assemblage zone (C. sinensis indicating Kubergandian), and Member 2 the Stenoscisma armenica-Chapursania tatianae zone (suggesting Midian or younger), though conodonts at the base of the overlying Kundil Formation still indicate late Murgabian-early Midian. Solitary Paracaninia corals of cold-water Gondwanan affinity (shared with the Tethys Himalaya and Lhasa Plate) occur in Member 2.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Refined from \"Permian\" to Upper Wordian (Guadalupian, Middle Permian): the brachiopod assemblage from Member 2 of the Panjshah Formation (Stenoscisma armenica, Chapursania tatianae, etc.) is attributed to the upper Wordian and indicates Cimmerian (Neotethyan) palaeobiogeographic affinity (Angiolini 2001).", "source": "angiolini-karakorum-brach" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "pir-sabak-formation", "name": "Pir Sabak Formation", "age": "Devonian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian", "description": "Pir Sabak formation of Shah, 1977 include dolomite/limestone. Pre late Devonian age by Shah (1977).", "fossils": [ "Corals" ], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "published", "lithology": "Limestone and dolomite.", "introducedBy": "Shah (1977)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The upper limestone/dolomite unit of the Nowshera Formation reef complex (originally the Pir Sabak Formation of Shah, 1977); its corals indicate a pre-Late Devonian age.", "plainSummary": "The upper limestone-and-dolomite part of the Nowshera reef complex, with pre-Late Devonian corals.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Pir Sabak formation'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "purit-formation", "name": "Purit Formation", "age": "Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Dominantly red shales with subordinate sandstone and conglomerate.", "description": "Purit formation (1km thick) with Drosh Gol, SE of Kawash type section, consists of dominantly red shales with subordinate sandstones and conglomerates. It is underlain by Gawuch formation and overlain by Drosh formation. According to Pudsey et al. (1985), this formation was mapped as part of the Reshun formation by Calkins et al. (1981), who failed to recognized the Naz Bar fault as an important suture. This formation is 1000m thick in the southeast and wedges out half way through the Shishi valley. The age of the formation on the basis of presence of Orbitolina is Early Cretaceous.", "thickness": "about 1,000 m", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Gawuch Formation", "underlies": "Drosh Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Cretaceous", "typeLocality": "Drosh Gol, SE of Kawash", "environment": [ "marine", "marginal marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Cretaceous red-bed unit of the Chitral arc sequence, between the Gawuch and Drosh formations.", "plainSummary": "A Cretaceous red-shale unit of the Chitral arc, between the Gawuch and Drosh formations.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "coordinates": "35.5500, 71.8500", "thicknessM": 1000, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Purit Formation (Cretaceous; type section Drosh Gol) is ~1 km of red calcareous shale with subordinate lithic-feldspathic sandstone and polymict conglomerate (andesite/limestone/volcanic clasts), overlying the Gawuch Formation and overlain by the Drosh Formation in the Chitral Kohistan arc — possibly part of the Yasin Group.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 35.55, "lng": 71.85, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "rajawal-formation", "name": "Rajawal Formation", "lithology": "Batal and Rajwal quartzites, Paludaran graphitic schist, quartz-mica schist, gneiss, pegmatite, aplite and granite gneiss.", "description": "The Rajawal Formation consists of Batal quartzites, Paludaran graphitic schist and Rajwal quartzites, quartz-mica schist, gneisses, pegmatites, aplites and granite gneiss. It is one of the three formations into which Chaudhry et al. (1986) divided the Kaghan Group (described by Ghazanfar et al. 1985 for metapelites, schists, quartzites, marbles, metaconglomerates, pegmatite and amphibolites up to garnet grade, exposed between Mahandri and Batal). A related division, the Kaghan pelites, consists of greenish-grey garnetiferous schist, quartz-mica schist, graphite schist, marble and gypsum.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara Sub-Basin", "reviewStatus": "published", "geologicalSignificance": "A quartzite-and-schist metasedimentary unit of the Batal–Rajwal area in the Kaghan nappe sequence.", "plainSummary": "A quartzite-and-graphitic-schist metamorphic unit of the Kaghan nappe.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Late Proterozoic (Neoproterozoic)", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill: the Rajawal (Rajwal) Formation (Chaudhry et al. 1986; Kaghan Valley between Mahandri and Batal) comprises Batal quartzites, Paludaran graphitic schist and Rajwal quartzites with quartz-mica-schists, gneisses, pegmatites and granite-gneiss — a subunit of the Kaghan Group, the local equivalent of the Salkhala Formation, considered Late Proterozoic. Overlain by the Jared quartzites (≈ Tanawal Formation).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "rakhi-gaj-formation", "name": "Rakhi Gaj Formation", "age": "Paleocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "70° 04' 40'' E) where it consists of thick and resistant beds of sandstone with minor shale.", "description": "Introduced by Williams (1959) as the lower Rakhi Gaj shales and formalized by Shah (2002), type section at Rakhi Gaj Nala, the Rakhi Gaj Formation is the middle unit of the Sangiali Group. Malkani (2010) recognized two members — a lower Girdu Member (about 100 m of grey, glauconitic and hematitic sandstone with minor shale) and an upper Bawata Member. The glauconitic–hematitic sandstones around Fort Munro and Rakhi Gaj carry notable iron and potash.", "thickness": "about 100m", "fossils": [ "Globogerina pseudobulloides", "Howecythereis multispinosa", "Paracypris rectoventra" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Sangiali Formation", "underlies": "Dungan Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "introducedBy": "Malkani (2010a)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Middle Paleocene", "typeLocality": "Rakhi Nala, Sulaiman Range", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Middle Paleocene unit forming the middle part of the Sangiali Group (Sangiali–Rakhi Gaj–Dungan) of the Sulaiman basin.", "plainSummary": "A Middle Paleocene unit in the Rakhi Nala area, the middle of the Sulaiman Paleocene (Sangiali) succession.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "malkani-2019-cretaceous", "malkani-2016-indus-sealevel", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2019). Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9, 671-673.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2019.910071", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2016). Revised stratigraphy of Indus Basin (Pakistan): Sea level changes. In: Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific — Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608, Novosibirsk 2016, Abstract Volume, pp. 97-99.", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "29.9539, 70.1917", "thicknessM": 100, "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Glauconitic and hematitic sandstone (Gorge beds) with anomalous iron (14-21%) and probable potash; prospective for uranium; thin aragonite in associated shale.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Malkani (2019) reports Deccan volcanic dust in the Rakhi Gaj Formation (grey-green sandstone and shale) at its Rakhi Gaj section, Dera Ghazi Khan; it forms the middle unit of the Early Paleocene Sangiali Group, recording the earliest-Paleocene transgression above the latest-Cretaceous Vitakri beds.", "source": "malkani-2019-cretaceous" }, { "field": "members", "note": "Malkani (2016) subdivides the Rakhi Gaj Formation into a Girdu Member (glauconitic and hematitic sandstone) and a Bawata Member (alternating shale and sandstone), within his Paleocene Sangiali Group. Recorded for provenance; member units not created in the dataset.", "source": "malkani-2016-indus-sealevel" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents as 'Rakhi Guj Formation'). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 29.9539, "lng": 70.1917, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "rakhshani-formation", "name": "Rakhshani Formation", "age": "Paleocene (Danian-Thanetian; ~65.2-56.0 Ma)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous–Paleogene", "lithology": "Shale and sandstone with grey-black clayey limestone beds (lower); conglomerate, basaltic-andesitic lava flows, tuffs and volcanic agglomerates.", "description": "Named after the Rakhshani belt at the eastern end of the Dalbandin valley (HSC, 1961), the Rakhshani Formation is a turbidite sequence of interbedded sandstone, shale, mudstone and limestone with andesitic lava flows and volcaniclastics. It yields foraminifera (e.g. Alveolina vredenburgi, Miscellanea miscella), bivalves and gastropods, with Danian fossils in the lower beds indicating a Late Cretaceous–Paleocene age. It correlates with the Jabrai Formation of the Nisai Group.", "fossils": [ "Alveolina vredenburgi", "Flosculina globosa", "Miscellanea miscella", "Saudia labyrinthica" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Humai Formation", "underlies": "Saindak Formation" }, "provinces": [ "chagai-hills" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Chagai-Raskoh Magmatic Arc", "environment": [ "marine", "volcanic-arc" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Paleocene", "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "typeLocality": "Rakhshani area, eastern Dalbandin valley (Chagai-Raskoh)", "geologicalSignificance": "An early flysch succession of the Chagai–Raskoh arc spanning the Cretaceous–Paleocene; its Juzzak Formation is one of the sedimentary wall rocks to the arc's porphyry copper systems.", "plainSummary": "A Cretaceous–Paleocene flysch of the Chagai–Raskoh arc, part of the host succession for the region's copper deposits.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "chagai-porphyry-2008", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "chagai-porphyry-2008" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Perelló, J., Razique, A., Schloderer, J. et al. (2008). The Chagai Porphyry Copper Belt, Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. Economic Geology, 103(8), 1583-1612.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2113/gsecongeo.103.8.1583", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "thickness": "150-2400 m", "thicknessM": 1600, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 150 m to >1,600 m; >2,400 m south of Rabat (thickest). Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Rakhshani Formation (Paleocene; Chagai and Ras Koh, forming the bulk of the Ras Koh Range) is green-grey medium-coarse sandstone with lava flows, tuffs and agglomerates and subordinate argillaceous limestone, conformably overlying the Cretaceous Humai Formation (or Kuchakki Volcanic Group / Kharan Formation) and overlain by the Eocene Saindak Formation; forams Alveolina vredenburgi, Miscellanea miscella.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "rawat-formation", "name": "Rawat Formation", "age": "Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "lithology": "Slate, limestone, siltstone and quartzite.", "description": "Rawat formation is named after the Rawat village. It consists of slates, limestones, siltstone and quartzites. The Permian fossils are reported by Hayden (1915).", "fossils": [ "Permian invertebrates" ], "typeLocality": "Rawat village, upper Yasin/Darkot region", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "reviewStatus": "published", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Permian unit of the Darkot Group (its Northern Stack, with the White Marble); Permian fossils were reported by Hayden (1915).", "plainSummary": "A Permian slate-and-limestone unit of the Darkot Group in the upper Yasin region.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "fossils": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, full text): splintery dark slates and dark limestones with silty/arenitic interbeds, upper Darkot Valley S of the Karakoram Batholith; Permian fusulinids reported nearby (Hayden 1915); includes the Darband Fm as a member. Corroborates the Permian age.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Rawat Formation (Le Fort & Gaetani 1998; Darkot Group) is Late Palaeozoic — dark slates and limestones with bryozoan/brachiopod fragments and, in the Darkot area, Permian fusulinids (Hayden 1915). Several hundred metres of splintery dark slates and dark limestones with silty/arenitic interbeds; the Darband Fm. of Pudsey & Gupta (1985) is here included as a member of the Rawat Formation.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "introducedBy": "Le Fort & Gaetani (1998)", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "ribat-formation", "name": "Ribat Formation", "description": "", "fossils": [ "Conodonts (Gnathodus, Siphonodella lobata)", "Brachiopods (spiriferids, productoids)", "Crinoids" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Margach Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous", "epoch": "Early Carboniferous", "age": "Early Carboniferous", "references": [ { "citation": "Gaetani, M. et al. (2004). Northern Karakoram sedimentary belt.", "year": 2004 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Zanchi, A., Angiolini, L., Olivini, G., Sciunnach, D., Brunton, H., Nicora, A. & Mawson, R. (2004). The Carboniferous of the Western Karakoram (Pakistan). Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 23(2), 275-305.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(03)00137-8", "year": 2004 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "lithology": "Fossiliferous limestone and marl.", "typeLocality": "Ribat River, upper Karambar region", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (2004)", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early Carboniferous fossiliferous-limestone unit overlying the Margach Formation.", "plainSummary": "An Early Carboniferous limestone-and-marl unit above the Margach Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2004-carboniferous", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "fossils": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, full text, Fig. 19): Lower Carboniferous crinoidal-to-marly limestones overlying the Margach Fm; thickness 70-120 m (Lashkargaz/Baroghil) to >350 m (Karambar). Corroborates the Early Carboniferous age.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Ribat Formation spans the late Tournaisian–Bashkirian in the Karambar type section (conodonts Gnathodus spp., Siphonodella lobata; a rich spiriferid–productoid brachiopod fauna), reduced to middle–late Tournaisian along the Yarkhun River. Grey crinoidal limestones and marls of a fully marine, high-productivity carbonate shelf; overlain with a gentle angular unconformity by the Gircha Formation.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2004) — DEFINES the Ribat Formation (new name; type section on the south side of the Ribat valley): grey crinoidal limestones passing up to dark marly limestones and marls, at least ~300 m thick (reduced to <100 m in the Baroghil–Lashkargaz Unit), dated late Tournaisian to Bashkirian (i.e. into the Pennsylvanian) — a fully marine carbonate ramp/shelf phase. Refines the curated 'Early Carboniferous' (the unit's top reaches the Bashkirian); adds the definitional source.", "source": "gaetani-2004-carboniferous" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Surfaced from the age/lithology notes into fossils[]: the Ribat Formation's grey crinoidal limestones carry conodonts (Gnathodus spp., Siphonodella lobata) and a rich spiriferid–productoid brachiopod fauna dating the late Tournaisian–Bashkirian span (Zanchi & Gaetani 2011; Gaetani et al. 2004). Crinoids are the rock-forming bioclasts of the crinoidal limestone.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "thickness": ">300 m in the Karambar Unit (Ribat Valley type section), reduced to <100 m in the Baroghil-Lashkargaz Unit (upper part eroded/non-deposited before the Gircha Fm.)", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "saidu-formation", "name": "Saidu Formation", "age": "Triassic–Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic–Jurassic", "description": "The Saidu Formation is named by Kazmi et al. (1986) for a thick sequence of grey to dark-grey calcareous and pelitic schist (graphitic and chloritic) exposed south of the MMT in the vicinity of Saidu and elsewhere in the Swat area, with a thrusted contact against melanges of the Indus Suture zone. About 30 km south of Saidu the Saidu schist is replaced by the Nakanai Ghar formation (named after the Nikanai Ghar range in southern Swat by Palmer-Rosenberg 1985 for marble, dolomitic marble, schist and quartzite), which overlies the Kashala formation and is tentatively assigned a Late Triassic to Jurassic age (Pogue et al. 1962).", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Nikanai Ghar range, southern Swat", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kashala Formation", "underlies": "Nikanai Ghar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "Kazmi et al. (1986)", "reviewStatus": "published", "lithology": "Calcareous and pelitic schist (the Saidu Schist).", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A schist unit of the upper Alpurai Group lying between the Kashala Formation and the Nikanai Ghar Formation; part of the Mesozoic (Triassic–Jurassic) cover of the Swat Nappe.", "plainSummary": "A Triassic–Jurassic schist unit (the Saidu Schist) of the upper Alpurai Group.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "dipietro-1993", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "anczkiewicz-1998-swat-suture" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": "dipietro-1993", "thicknessM": "dipietro-1993", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993). Stratigraphy south of the Main Mantle Thrust, Lower Swat, Pakistan. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds), Himalayan Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74, 207-220.", "year": 1993 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Anczkiewicz, R., Burg, J.-P., Hussain, S.S., Dawood, H., Ghazanfar, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Indus Suture in the Lower Swat, Pakistan, NW Himalaya. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 16(2-3), 225-238.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-9547(98)00003-8", "year": 1998 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED by DiPietro et al. (1993, full text): the Saidu Formation of the Alpurai Group (Triassic or younger), interpreted as shelf drowning beneath the MMT suture melange. Corroborates the Triassic-Jurassic age.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Saidu schist'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "DiPietro et al. (1993) attribute the name and type section (road cuts ~1 km north of Saidu) to Martin et al. (1962), with Kazmi et al. (1984); formalised at formation rank by DiPietro (1990). (Canonical retains 'Kazmi et al. (1986)'.)", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "DiPietro et al. (1993): graphitic phyllite (up to ~1000 m) interpreted as recording drowning of the shelf beneath the advancing Main Mantle Thrust melange; may correlate with the Lamayuru Formation of western India.", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Thickness surfaced from the geological-significance note: the Saidu Formation is up to ~1000 m of graphitic phyllite (DiPietro et al. 1993).", "source": "dipietro-1993" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Anczkiewicz et al. (1998): the Saidu Schists (graphitic phyllites and marbles) are the uppermost Indian-plate unit in Lower Swat and the only one not reaching amphibolite grade (greenschist facies only), assigned Triassic or younger. Their basal contact is a normal shear zone: the grade contrast with the amphibolite-grade Alpurai Schists below implies a minimum 4-5 km of vertical offset, i.e. emplacement by extensional (normal) faulting on the reactivated suture.", "source": "anczkiewicz-1998-swat-suture" } ], "thickness": "up to ~1000 m", "thicknessM": 1000, "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "sakhi-sarwar-formation", "name": "Sakhi Sarwar Formation", "age": "Holocene", "era": "Quaternary", "period": "Quaternary", "epoch": "Holocene", "description": "Sakhi Sarwar Formation It was named by Malkani (2012h) for the varicoloured clays, sandstone, siltstone and conglomerate. Its lower contact with Dada Formation and upper contact with subrecent at places is angular and at places transitional. Its age is Holocene.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Dada Formation", "underlies": "subrecent deposits" }, "provinces": [ "sindh" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Eastern Kirthar (Sindh)", "introducedBy": "Malkani (2012h)", "reviewStatus": "published", "lithology": "Mud and sandstone with poorly developed conglomerate.", "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Holocene molasse unit of the Sakhi Sarwar Group (with the Dada Formation), among the youngest foreland deposits of the Sulaiman–Kirthar region.", "plainSummary": "A very young (Holocene) mud-and-sand molasse, one of the last foreland deposits of the region.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "malkani-2020-balochistan" ], "citations": { "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 } ], "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Second Malkani reference (2020, same author - not independent): the Sakhi Sarwar Formation is mud and sandstone with poorly developed conglomerate (mud-dominant in valley centres), Pleistocene-Holocene, of the Sakhi Sarwar Group (with the Dada Formation), concealed in places by Subrecent-Recent fluvial/eolian/colluvial deposits.", "source": "malkani-2020-balochistan" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "sakhi-sarwar-group", "name": "Sakhi Sarwar Group", "age": "Pleistocene–Holocene", "era": "Quaternary", "period": "Quaternary", "lithology": "Conglomerate, mud and sandstone (molasse).", "description": "The Sakhi Sarwar Group is a Pleistocene-Holocene unit of the Balochistan basin (Malkani 2014c), synonymous with the Bostan Formation. It comprises the Dada Formation and the Sakhi Sarwar Formation (mud and sandstone with poorly developed conglomerate, mud-dominant in valley centres), concealed at places in valleys and plains by Subrecent and Recent mud flows and fluvial, eolian and colluvial deposits. Malkani (2014c) placed it at the top of his revised stratigraphy of the Kakar Khorasan basin, above the Oligocene-Pliocene Vihowa Group (synonym of the Malthanai / Dasht Murgha group) and the Cretaceous-Eocene Nisai and Shagala groups.", "thickness": "2000m", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Kakar-Khurasan Basin", "synonyms": [ "Boston Formation" ], "introducedBy": "Malkani (2012)", "environment": [ "fluvial", "alluvial" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Pleistocene–Holocene", "geologicalSignificance": "The youngest foreland succession of the Sulaiman/Kirthar region, comprising the Dada and Sakhi Sarwar formations; conglomeratic to muddy molasse capping the basin fill.", "plainSummary": "The Pleistocene–Holocene Sakhi Sarwar Group — the Dada and Sakhi Sarwar formations — the youngest gravels and muds of the foreland.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "usgs-ofr-94-689" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Current record lists Cretaceous–Holocene, which is too broad; Malkani defines the Sakhi Sarwar Group as Pleistocene–Holocene.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "members", "note": "Corroborated by USGS OFR 94-689: the group's molasse — the Dada Conglomerate (Pleistocene; ~1000 m in the Urak area, HSC 1961) and the Bostan Formation (= Boston) — is mapped in the Sibi-Urak trough, resting with angular unconformity on older strata. Lifts this record off the single (Malkani 2017) baseline.", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 } ], "thicknessM": 2000, "members": [ "dada-formation", "sakhi-sarwar-formation" ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "savoia-formation", "name": "Savoia Formation", "description": "The Savoia Formation is named after the Savoia glacier, a tributary of the Godwin-Austen glacier in the Baltoro basin, by Desio (1963) for 1000 m of schist, marl and conglomerate. It is associated with the Sarpo Lago slate (named after the Sarpo Lago valley on the northern slope of the Karakoram by Desio 1963), mainly slates with intercalations of gneiss of upper Palaeozoic age.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Desio (1963)", "reviewStatus": "published", "lithology": "About 1000 m of schist, marl and conglomerate.", "thickness": "about 1000 m", "typeLocality": "Savoia glacier, a tributary of the Godwin-Austen (Baltoro) glacier", "geologicalSignificance": "A thick metasedimentary schist–marl–conglomerate unit of the Baltoro region of the central Karakoram; its precise age is not established.", "plainSummary": "A thick (about 1000 m) metasedimentary unit of the Baltoro glacier region.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "thicknessM": 1000, "coordinates": "35.846335, 76.465002", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Type-locality coordinate set from reviewer-supplied GPS (35.846335 N, 76.465002 E), Shaksgam/K2-Baltoro area, eastern Karakoram.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill: the Savoia Formation ('Savoia calc-schist', Desio 1963; Shaksgam/Baltoro) is referred to the Cretaceous–Eocene metamorphic suite, though it is unfossiliferous and Searle regards its age as unknown. Blank age gap-filled to Cretaceous–Eocene (uncertain).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "age": "Cretaceous–Eocene (uncertain; unfossiliferous)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous–Paleogene", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 35.846335, "lng": 76.465002, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "sewakht-formation", "name": "Sewakht Formation", "age": "Devonian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian", "lithology": "Green schist, micritic limestone, chert, dolomite, carbonate phyllite, sandstone and breccia.", "description": "Named by Leake et al. (1989) for greenschist-facies limestone, dolomitic carbonate and sandstone in Chitral, the Sewakht Formation may be the western continuation of the Owir Formation and is associated with Late Devonian (Receptaculites-bearing) faunas.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Owir An and named by Shah", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Leake et al. (1989)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Devonian", "synonyms": [ "Owir Formation" ], "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Devonian unit exposed south-west of Shogram, above the Reshun Thrust and in the same tectonostratigraphic position as the Shogram Formation, with which it is correlated; the related Owir Formation yields the alga Receptaculites neptuni.", "plainSummary": "A Late Devonian greenschist-and-limestone unit correlated with the Shogram Formation, southwest of Shogram.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Sewakht Formation (Leake et al. 1989; Arkari Valley) comprises greenschists, limestone/dolomite carbonates and sandstones, defined north of the Cretaceous Krinj Limestone; it may correlate with the western continuation of the Devonian Owir Series.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "shagai-formation", "name": "Shagai Limestone", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Ali Masjid Formation", "overlies": "Nowshera Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Silurian–Devonian", "epoch": "Silurian(?)–Early Devonian", "lithology": "Grey to black, partly brown limestone, thin- to thick-bedded, locally dolomitic and highly fractured, with thinly laminated limestone and sheared shale at the top.", "typeLocality": "1 km northeast of Shagai, Khyber Pass", "introducedBy": "Stauffer (1968)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A largely unfossiliferous limestone of the Khyber Agency, exposed between the eastern Khyber Pass, Shagai Fort and Ali Masjid and in tectonic contact with the Khyber carbonate complex; its conformable contact beneath the Late Devonian Ali Masjid Formation makes it Silurian(?) to Early Devonian.", "plainSummary": "A grey-to-black Silurian–Early Devonian limestone of the Khyber Pass, below the Ali Masjid Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "thicknessM": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Molloy, P.D., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (1997). Late Devonian-Tournaisian conodonts from the eastern Khyber region, north-west Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 103(2), 123-148.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "34.0172, 71.2800", "age": "Silurian(?)–Early Devonian", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): named the 'Shagai Limestone' (Stauffer 1968b) — a rank/name correction for the DB record — this grey-to-black, locally dolomitic, thin- to thick-bedded/massive limestone (unfossiliferous, capped by laminated limestone and sheared shale) is considered Silurian(?) to Early Devonian (Shah et al. 1970), matching the curated age. Type locality 1 km NE of Shagai (Khyber Pass, between Shagai Fort, Ali Masjid and Tauda Mela); in tectonic contact with the overlying Khyber carbonate complex and in conformable contact with the overlying Late Devonian Ali Masjid Formation.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Molloy, Talent & Mawson (1997): the Shagai Limestone is a persistent unit of up to ~33 m of limestones (with subordinate shale) whose stratigraphic position lies below the Ali Masjid Formation and above the Landi Kotal Formation in the Khyber sequence (Stauffer 1968a; Shah 1977; Shah et al. 1980). Consistent with the curated Silurian(?)–Early Devonian age; the unit itself yielded no diagnostic conodonts in this study.", "source": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) COMPETING INTERPRETATION (not applied): the book (Pogue et al. 1999) treats the Shagai Limestone as Precambrian (older than the ~750 Ma Khyber Limestone) and places it in its Precambrian chapter, versus the classic Silurian(?)–Early Devonian age. The curated Silurian–Devonian age is retained (consistent with the adjacent conodont-dated Ali Masjid Formation); the Precambrian reassignment is noted as an unresolved alternative.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Thickness surfaced from the age note: the Shagai Limestone is a persistent unit up to ~33 m of limestones with subordinate shale (Molloy, Talent & Mawson 1997).", "source": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997" } ], "thickness": "up to ~33 m", "thicknessM": 33, "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 34.0172, "lng": 71.28, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "shagala-formation", "name": "Shagala Formation", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Sandstone and shale with local conglomerate and limestone; sandstone fine to coarse, gritty, grey-green to brown.", "description": "Shagala Formation is named after the militia post of Shagala about 50Km southwest of Zhob (39A/16). It consists of sandstone and shale but at places conglomerate and limestone. The sandstone is fine to coarse grained, gritty, thin to thick bedded, grey to greenish grey, brown and weathers light grey, brown, rusty with patches of black desert varnish on its surface. In the central and eastern part of Kaker Khurasan range the sandstone is more coarsely grained and thick bedded than western part. It shows the source from the Indus Suture, however the western part may have northern and northwestern source. Some sandstone is pebbly, red and maroon. Cross bedded and ripple marks are common. The shale is maroon, red ochre type, grey, greenish grey and calcareous. The red and maroon color is dominant in the Kaker Khurasan area while grey to greenish grey shale color is dominate in the southern Balochistan basin. It is 3000m thick and only exposed in the northern Balochistan Basin (Kakar-Khorasan range). This formation shows the continental (Molasse) conditions in the Kaker Khurasan range. Continental vertebrate bones of rhinoceros, horses, crocodiles, wood fossils, etc (Malkani et al. 2013; Malkani 2014f) are also found in the Kaker Khurasan areas. Recently Malkani et al. (2013) found a baluchithere Pakitherium shagalai with his baby. Pakitherium shagalai Malkani et al. 2013 --a ba", "thickness": "3000m", "fossils": [ "Pakitherium shagalai" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Mina Formation" }, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Kakar-Khurasan Basin", "environment": [ "marine", "molasse" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Eocene", "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "typeLocality": "Shagala militia post, southwest of Zhob", "geologicalSignificance": "An Eocene sandstone-shale (molasse-flysch) unit of the Kakar-Khurasan basin, recording uplift and clastic shedding from the Indus Suture to the east.", "plainSummary": "An Eocene sandstone-and-shale molasse of the Zhob area, shed from the rising Indus Suture.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "malkani-2020-balochistan", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "malkani-2020-balochistan", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "thicknessM": 3000, "synonyms": [ "Shaigalu Formation", "Shagalu Formation" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Yields continental vertebrate fossils in the Kakar-Khorasan area, including the baluchithere rhinocerotoid Pakitherium shagalai (Malkani 2020) — a geoheritage/palaeontological asset. Molasse red sandstone/shale, ~3000 m thick in the Kakar-Khorasan range.", "source": "malkani-2020-balochistan" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997) RANK/NAMING FLAG: the book treats this as the upper 'Shaigalu Member' (Cheema 1977) of the Khojak Formation — grey-green-brown cross-bedded calcareous micaceous sandstone with conglomerate, multicoloured mudstones, paleosols and rare coal (an upper deltaic-plain deposit) — not a stand-alone formation or group. The DB spellings 'Shagala Formation'/'Shagala Group' should be reconciled with 'Shaigalu Member'.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORROBORATES the rank/naming flag: the book treats 'Shaigalu' as the upper Shaigalu Member (sandstone; formerly HSC 1960 'Shaigalu Sandstone') of the Khojak Formation — not a stand-alone 'Shagala Formation/Group'. Reconcile the DB spellings 'Shagala Formation'/'Shagala Group' with the Shaigalu Member of the Khojak Formation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "shagala-group", "name": "Shagala Group", "description": "Shagala Group was named by (Malkani 2014c). It includes the Murgha Faqirzai, Mina and Shagala formations (Malkani 2014c).", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Kakar-Khurasan Basin", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Late Paleocene–Eocene", "age": "Paleocene–Eocene", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. (2014). Revised stratigraphy of Balochistan basin.", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "introducedBy": "Malkani (2014)", "lithology": "Flysch shale and sandstone with subordinate limestone (Murgha Faqirzai shale and Mina/Panjgur sandstone).", "environment": [ "deep marine", "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Paleocene–Eocene flysch succession of the Kakar-Khurasan (back-arc) basin, comprising the Murgha Faqirzai and Mina formations (with the Shagala molasse); the northern equivalent of the Makran Hoshab–Panjgur flysch.", "plainSummary": "The Paleocene–Eocene Shagala Group — the Murgha Faqirzai shale and Mina sandstone — northern Balochistan's version of the Makran flysch.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "malkani-2020-balochistan", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "members": [ "murgha-faqirzai-formation", "mina-formation", "shagala-formation" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Second Malkani reference (2020, same author - not independent): the Shagala Group (Paleocene-Eocene) comprises the Murgha Faqirzai, Mina and Shagala formations of the Kakar-Khorasan (back-arc) basin, correlated with the Chamalang (Ghazij) and Kahan groups of the Sulaiman basin.", "source": "malkani-2020-balochistan" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997) RANK/NAMING FLAG: this record duplicates 'shagala-formation'; the book knows only the 'Shaigalu Member' (Cheema 1977) of the Khojak Formation — upper deltaic-plain cross-bedded calcareous micaceous sandstone with conglomerate, multicoloured mudstones, paleosols and rare coal — not a stand-alone group. The 'Shagala Formation'/'Shagala Group' DB duplicates should be merged and reconciled with 'Shaigalu Member'.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "shaheed-ghat-formation", "name": "Shaheed Ghat Formation", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Grey to olive-green laminated shale with marl, locally with nummulite-, gastropod- and bivalve-bearing layers.", "description": "Named by Siddiqui and others (in Shah, 2002) for the upper Rakhi Gaj and the green nodular shales of Eames (1952), type locality at Shaheed Ghat in the Zinda Pir area, the Shaheed Ghat Formation is mainly grey calcareous shale and mudstone with minor silt and sand and thin upper limestone beds bearing nummulites, gastropods and lamellibranchs; about 500 m thick. Its lower contact with the Dungan Formation and upper contact with the Toi (or Drug) Formation are conformable.", "thickness": "340–680 m", "fossils": [ "Nummulites", "Gastropods", "Bivalves" ], "typeLocality": "Shaheed Ghat, 5 km southwest of Zinda Pir", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Dungan Formation", "underlies": "Drug Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "coordinates": "30.4, 70.4667", "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Shah (1987)", "epoch": "Early Eocene", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The lowest unit of the Eocene Ghazij Group in the Sulaiman Range, a laminated marine shale resting on the Dungan Formation.", "plainSummary": "A laminated Early Eocene marine shale, the base of the Ghazij Group above the Dungan limestone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 510, "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Thin aragonite beds (Rakhni, Sham, Kulchas, Phailawagh and other Dera Bugti areas).", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 30.4, "lng": 70.4667, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "shahkot-formation", "name": "Shahkot Formation", "age": "Precambrian", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "lithology": "Limestone, argillite and shale, with a basal cherty limestone and thin discontinuous algal limestone in the upper part.", "description": "Shahkot formation consists of limestone and phyllite of Lower Paleozoic age (Tahirkheli, 1970). Hussain et al. (1989) declared as Precambrian.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Uch Khattak Formation", "overlies": "Manki Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "published", "thickness": "about 300 m", "typeLocality": "Gandghar and Attock-Cherat Ranges", "introducedBy": "Tahirkheli (1970)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Precambrian limestone-argillite-shale unit of the Attock-Cherat and Gandghar Ranges, conformable with the underlying Manki Formation and the overlying Uch Khattak Formation.", "plainSummary": "A Late Precambrian limestone-and-shale unit of the Attock-Cherat hills, above the Manki slates.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Hylland, M.D., Riaz, M. & Ahmad, S. (1988). Geology of the Southern Gandghar Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, Vol. 21, pp. 1-14.", "year": 1988 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 300, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "overlies", "note": "Lower contact completed: the Shahkot Formation conformably (gradationally) overlies the Manki Formation; ~300 m thick, with a ~100 m fine- to medium-grained cherty basal limestone (white chert patches) passing up into laminated argillite/shale with a thin algal-limestone bed near the top.", "source": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "shaksgam-formation", "name": "Shaksgam Formation", "age": "Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "description": "Shaksgam formation is named after the Shaksgam valley north of K2 between Karakoram and Aghil ranges by Auden (1938), represents 600-1000m thick limestone, marl, siltstone and sandstone of Lower to Permian age.", "thickness": "600–1000 m", "fossils": [ "Parafusulina sp.", "Paraschwagerina sp.", "Neoschwagerina sp." ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Staghar Cherty Limestone" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Auden (1938)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Permian", "lithology": "Thick-bedded fossiliferous limestone with marl, siltstone and sandstone; cherty nodules occur near the top.", "typeLocality": "Shaksgam valley, north of K2, between the Karakoram and Aghil ranges", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The principal Permian carbonate of the eastern Karakoram (Shaksgam–Aghil region); its fusulinid-bearing limestones are capped by cherty limestone (named the Staghar Cherty Limestone) and are overlain by Triassic rocks.", "plainSummary": "The main Permian limestone of the eastern Karakoram, north of K2, packed with fusulinid microfossils.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 800, "coordinates": "36.027717, 76.469298", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Type-locality coordinate set from reviewer-supplied GPS (36.027717 N, 76.469298 E), Shaksgam valley, eastern Karakoram.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 36.027717, "lng": 76.469298, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chak-102-conglomerate", "name": "Chak 102 Conglomerate", "lithology": "Conglomerate, dull rusty brown, with slate intercalations; pebbles of quartzite, slate and limestone in a calcareous matrix.", "description": "The Chak 102 Conglomerate is a conglomerate unit of the Sharban Group of the Kirana area (the group named by Alam et al. 1992), overlying the Hadda quartzite. Associated units of the group include the Hadda quartzite (named after Hadda canal rest house; quartzites, slates, conglomerates and lava flows) and the Sharban Formation (named after Sharaban hill about 18 km SE of Sargodha; dominant conglomerates with minor lenses of fine-grained quartzite).", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Sharban hill, about 18 km SE of Sargodha", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Hadda Quartzite" }, "provinces": [ "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "introducedBy": "Alam et al. (1992)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "environment": [ "marginal marine", "metamorphic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A conglomeratic unit of the Sharban Group within the Precambrian Kirana Complex of the Indo-Pakistan shield basement.", "plainSummary": "A Precambrian conglomerate of the Kirana basement, SE of Sargodha.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thicknessM": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "overlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "31.9369, 72.7781", "age": "Neoproterozoic", "synonyms": [ "Sharaban Conglomerate", "Sharaban Formation", "Sharban Formation" ], "thickness": "190 m", "thicknessM": 190, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "name", "note": "Renamed from 'Sharaban Formation/Conglomerate' to the Chak 102 Conglomerate, the upper formation of the Sharaban Group in the revised Kirana Complex scheme of Chaudhry, Ahsan & Rehman (2022, Table 4). It overlies the Hadda Quartzite. Old names retained as synonyms.", "source": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Sharaban conglomerate (Alam 1987; Shah names this unit \"Sharaban conglomerate\"). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lat": 31.9369, "lng": 72.7781, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "sharban-group", "name": "Sharaban Group", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "introducedBy": "Alam et al. (1992)", "lithology": "Quartzites, slates, conglomerates and lava flows (includes the Hadda quartzite and the Sharban Formation).", "environment": [ "marginal marine", "metamorphic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "One of the two subdivisions (with the Kirana Group) of the Precambrian Kirana Complex of the Indo-Pakistan shield, comprising the Hadda quartzite and the Sharban Formation.", "plainSummary": "A Precambrian subdivision of the Kirana basement — the Hadda quartzite and Sharban Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "members": [ "chak-102-conglomerate", "hadda-quartzite" ], "age": "Neoproterozoic", "synonyms": [ "Sharban Group" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Revised Kirana Complex scheme (Chaudhry, Ahsan & Rehman 2022, Table 4): the Sharaban Group (upper Machh Super Group) comprises the Chak 102 Conglomerate over the Hadda Quartzite.", "source": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the book spells this 'Sharaban' and treats it as a FORMATION within the Kirana Group (one of five — Hachi, Taguwali, Asianwala, Hadda and Sharaban; Alam 1983), NOT a stand-alone group — a rank correction for the DB record. The Kirana Group (>2,330 m of phyllites, slates, quartzites and subordinate conglomerates and volcanics) of the Kirana Hills yields a Rb/Sr date of 870 ± 40 Ma (Davies & Crawford 1971), consistent with the curated Neoproterozoic age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "typeLocality": "Kirana Hills, Punjab platform (Sargodha High region), central Pakistan.", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "sharda-group", "nomenclaturalStatus": "redefined", "name": "Sharda Group", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara Sub-Basin", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "era": "Precambrian", "lithology": "High-grade garnetiferous calc-pelitic gneiss, pelitic gneiss (with kyanite and sillimanite), graphitic gneiss and marble, with sheet granites and amphibolite.", "typeLocality": "Upper Kaghan valley, north of the Batal Fault", "introducedBy": "Ghazanfar and Chaudhry (1986)", "geologicalSignificance": "The high-grade (upper-amphibolite-facies) basement–cover sequence of the Upper Kaghan valley, north of the Batal Fault (MCT?), assigned a Middle Proterozoic to Archaean age (Chaudhry and Ghazanfar, 1987) and previously called the Salkhala Formation. It is thrust southward over the lower-grade Kaghan Group, producing an inverted metamorphic sequence, and comprises the Naran and Burawai formations together with the Dadar Granite Migmatite Complex and Saiful Muluk Granite Gneiss.", "plainSummary": "The high-grade gneiss-and-marble basement of the Upper Kaghan valley, thrust over the lower-grade Kaghan Group.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "spencer-1989-babusar-mmt" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Spencer, D.A., Ghazanfar, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1989). Deformation on the Main Mantle Thrust Zone at Babusar Pass, NW Himalaya Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 44-60.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 1989 } ], "age": "Middle Proterozoic to Archaean", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Sharda Group (Ghazanfar & Chaudhry 1986; considered Middle Proterozoic to Archaean by Chaudhry & Ghazanfar 1987 — agreeing with the curated age) occupies the north-eastern Kaghan Valley and forms a Higher Himalayan crystalline nappe of garnetiferous calc-pelitic and pelitic gneisses (with kyanite and sillimanite), marbles, amphibolites and abundant sheet granites, metamorphosed to sillimanite grade. Along the Batal–Luat Fault (an MCT analogue) the high-grade Sharda Group is thrust southwards over the greenschist-facies Kaghan Group, producing a sharp inverted metamorphic gradient; it was previously lumped with the Salkhala Formation.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Spencer, Ghazanfar & Chaudhry (1989): at Babusar Pass the Sharda Group is the Indian-plate footwall of the Main Mantle Thrust - amphibolite-facies marbles, amphibolites, quartz-feldspar gneisses and garnet-mica, graphitic and chloritic schists preserving a pre-collisional kyanite-sillimanite, upper-amphibolite metamorphism (retrogressed during obduction). It is structurally overridden, along the Babusar Thrust, by the Babusar Ultramafic Melange and then the Kohistan Arc (via the Tatabai and Kohistan thrusts) of the Indus Suture Melange Group, across a metamorphic break down to lower greenschist facies.", "source": "spencer-1989-babusar-mmt" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "shekhai-formation", "name": "Shekhai Formation", "age": "Precambrian", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "lithology": "Limestone and marble (locally oolitic, grey to light-brown and pink) with subordinate quartzite and shale; brecciated white marble is locally associated with igneous dykes.", "description": "Shekhai formation consists of dolomitic limestone with quartzite and slaty shales with igneous intrusions (Tahirkheli, 1970). Hussain et al. (1989) declared as Precambrian. Dolerite dykes and sills are commonly found in this block.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Uch Khattak Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "published", "typeLocality": "Gandghar Range", "introducedBy": "Tahirkheli (1970)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Precambrian limestone-and-marble unit at the top of the Attock-Cherat/Gandghar basement succession, overlying the Uch Khattak Formation.", "plainSummary": "A Late Precambrian limestone-and-marble unit capping the Attock-Cherat basement, above the Uch Khattak Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "drewes-2078h", "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "economicImportance": "drewes-2078h", "thickness": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "thicknessM": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Drewes, H., Ahmad, Z. & Khan, R. (2007). Resource Evaluation of Selected Minerals and Industrial Commodities of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan. Chapter H of Regional Studies of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan (P.D. Warwick & B.R. Wardlaw, eds.), U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2078-H, 22 p.", "year": 2007 }, { "citation": "Hylland, M.D., Riaz, M. & Ahmad, S. (1988). Geology of the Southern Gandghar Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, Vol. 21, pp. 1-14.", "year": 1988 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "economicImportance": "A source of cement rock — the Precambrian Shekhai Limestone is quarried, for example, at the Cherat lime plant about 30 km southeast of Peshawar.", "thickness": "at least 300 m", "thicknessM": 300, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "thickness", "note": "Outcrop width implies a thickness of at least 300 m; the true thickness is uncertain because the top is either truncated by the Baghdarra fault or not exposed. A pink-and-white quartzite bed up to 1 m thick marks the base, conformable on the Uch Khattak Formation.", "source": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "shigar-group", "nomenclaturalStatus": "superseded", "supersededBy": "Skardu Group", "name": "Shigar Group", "age": "Cretaceous–Eocene", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous–Paleogene", "lithology": "Siltstones, schists, slates and phyllites with quartzitic sandstone intercalations (Katzarah schists).", "description": "Named by Desio for a sequence of siltstone, schist, slate and phyllite with quartzitic sandstone intercalations exposed between the Shigar River and the Indus near Skardu (the high-grade Katzarah schists), the Shigar Group also includes the Tsordas and Skoyo gneisses and the Askore Amphibolite (Desio, 1963–1978). Cretaceous–Eocene.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "introducedBy": "Desio (1978)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Cretaceous–Eocene", "environment": [ "marine", "metamorphic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Desio's original grouping of the high-grade metasediments between the Shigar and Indus rivers (the Katzarah schists); largely superseded by / overlapping the Skardu Group.", "plainSummary": "The Shigar Group — Desio's name for the Katzarah metasediments between the Shigar and Indus rivers.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "hanson-1989-shigar" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Hanson, C.R. (1989). The northern suture in the Shigar valley, Baltistan, northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 203-215.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p203", "year": 1989 } ], "members": [ "katzarah-formation" ], "coordinates": "35.427046, 75.730494", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Type-locality coordinate set from reviewer-supplied GPS (35.427046 N, 75.730494 E), Shigar valley, Skardu, Baltistan.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hanson (1989): the Shigar Valley is crossed by the Northern Suture (Main Karakoram Thrust), a large southwest-verging reverse fault carrying pods of serpentinised ultramafic rock that separates the Paleozoic Asian-plate Daltumbore Formation (northeast) from the Cretaceous Ladakh-Kohistan arc Bauma-Harel Formation (southwest). Metamorphic isograds are cut by the suture, showing regional (high-temperature, low-to-moderate-pressure) metamorphism predated Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene suturing.", "source": "hanson-1989-shigar" } ], "lithologyType": "siltstone", "lat": 35.427046, "lng": 75.730494, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "shittinbar-formation", "name": "Shittinbar Formation", "age": "Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Terrigenous alternation of sandstone and pelite.", "description": "Named by Le Fort and Pêcher (2001) for an alternation of terrigenous sandstone and pelite in the Karakoram of upper Hunza–Chitral, the Shittinbar Formation is overlapped by the Darkot Group and the Chalt Formation.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Le Fort and Pechner", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Southern Metamorphic Belt", "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Le Fort and Pechner (2001)", "geologicalSignificance": "A Cretaceous terrigenous unit of the southern metamorphic belt whose outcrop area is overlapped by the Darkot Group and the Chalt Formation.", "plainSummary": "A Cretaceous sandstone-and-pelite unit of the southern Karakoram metamorphic belt.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the Shittinbar Formation (Hunza-Nagar region, Karakoram Metamorphic Complex / Hushe area) is 'a rather monotonous terrigenous formation of dominant sandy and pelitic alternance' (Le Fort & Pecher 2001), mapped over ground also covered by the Darkot Group (Ivanac et al. 1956) and the Chait Formation (Desio 1964). The book gives NO age for it — so the curated 'Cretaceous' is not corroborated here; its Karakoram-metamorphic-complex context suggests an older (Palaeozoic–Mesozoic) unit, flagged for a better-constrained source. Age not changed.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "singhie-shales", "name": "Singhie Shales", "lithology": "Black, splintery shales and occasional siltstones; several hundred metres thick, passing upward into the Permian sandstone sequence.", "description": "Singhie shales (Baltoro formation ) is named after the Singhie glacier in the upper Shaksgam valley between Karakoram and Aghil ranges by Desio (1963), consists of black shales (like Pasu slates). It is exposed north of Karakoram Batholith in Shaksgam-Baltoro region of eastern Karakoram. Various names like Shimshal shale, Baltoro shale, Rimo shale, Sarpo Laggo slates, Doksam sequence are adapted by different authors at different places.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "synonyms": [ "Baltoro formation" ], "introducedBy": "Desio (1963)", "reviewStatus": "published", "geologicalSignificance": "Black shales of the Baltoro Formation, named by Desio (1963) after the Singhie glacier in the upper Shaksgam valley between the Karakoram and Aghil ranges; exposed north of the Karakoram Batholith in the Shaksgam-Baltoro region of the eastern Karakoram and equivalent to the Pasu Slates. Under review; age not constrained and left unset.", "plainSummary": "Black shales of the eastern Karakoram (Shaksgam-Baltoro), named after the Singhie glacier and equivalent to the Pasu Slates; of uncertain age.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "rolfo-2014", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "rolfo-2014", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "rolfo-2014", "period": "rolfo-2014", "epoch": "rolfo-2014", "thickness": "rolfo-2014", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Rolfo, F., Groppo, C. & Gaetani, M. (2014). A geological cross-section north of Karakorum, from Yarkand to K2. Journal of the Virtual Explorer, 47, Paper 1. https://doi.org/10.3809/jvirtex.2014.00336", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3809/jvirtex.2014.00336", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Early Permian (Cisuralian)", "period": "Permian", "epoch": "Early Permian", "thickness": "several hundred metres", "tier": 1, "era": "Paleozoic", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Singhie Shales (Desio 1936; Shaksgam–Baltoro region of the eastern Karakoram, north of the Karakoram Batholith) are a thick sequence of well-cleaved black carbonaceous shales — the equivalent of the Pasu Slates of Upper Hunza (also Shimshal/Baltoro/Rimo shales). The book infers a CARBONIFEROUS age because they underlie the Permian Shaksgam Formation, conflicting with the curated 'Early Permian (Cisuralian)'. As the book is unfossiliferous-inferred and dated 1997, the conflict is flagged for reconciliation rather than overwriting the curated age.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the Singhie Shales (Desio 1963; Singhie Glacier, upper Shaksgam Valley) are a thick sequence of well-cleaved black shales corresponding to the Passu Slates of upper Hunza (also the Shimshal/Baltoro/Rimo shales, Sarpo Laggo slate). The book assigns no explicit stage but, by correlation with the Passu Slate (Permian–Carboniferous), places them in the Permian–Carboniferous — it does not resolve the curated 'Early Permian (Cisuralian)' versus a Carboniferous alternative, so the conflict remains open.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "skardu-group", "name": "Skardu Group", "description": "Skardu group : The Tsordas, Katzarah, Skoyo, Burji and Deosai formations are considered under Skardu group (Malkani and Mahmood 2016a). But here the Katzarah, Skoyo, Burji and Deosai formations are considered under Skardu group.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous–Paleogene", "epoch": "Cretaceous–Eocene", "introducedBy": "Malkani & Mahmood (2016)", "lithology": "Metasedimentary schists, slates, phyllites, quartzite and limestone.", "environment": [ "marine", "metamorphic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The metasedimentary group of the Ladakh arc near Skardu, comprising the Katzarah, Skoyo, Burji and Deosai formations; the eastern, deformed equivalent of the Kohistan-arc cover sequence.", "plainSummary": "The Skardu Group — Katzarah, Skoyo, Burji and Deosai — the metamorphosed cover of the Ladakh arc near Skardu.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "cronin-1989-skardu" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Cronin, V.S. (1989). Structural setting of the Skardu intermontane basin, Karakoram Himalaya, Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 183-201.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p183", "year": 1989 } ], "members": [ "katzarah-formation", "burji-formation" ], "age": "Cretaceous–Eocene", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Data-quality flag (reviewer audit, 2026-07-30): Kazmi & Jan (1997) describe no formal \"Skardu Group\" — \"Skardu\" is used only as a town/region name. The Skardu-region arc tectonostratigraphy is formalised there as the Burji Formation (Upper Cretaceous fossils), Katzarah Formation, Bauma-Harel Formation and Deosai Volcanics. This record appears to be a place-name-derived conflation of those units; recommend re-mapping to the actual formations or removal.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORROBORATES the flag: the book recognises no formal 'Skardu Group'. The Skardu-arc succession is formalised as the separate Burji (Upper-Cretaceous-fossil-bearing limestone), Katzarah (~1,500 m metasediments) and Bauma-Harel formations; the only group name in this context is Desio's (1963) Cretaceous–Eocene 'Shigar Group'. Recommend re-mapping the 'Skardu Group' record onto these formations.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Cronin (1989): the metasedimentary rocks around Skardu are overlain, in the Skardu intermontane basin, by the ~1.3-km-thick late Cenozoic Bunthang Sequence (~3.2–0.73 Ma; now recorded as a separate unit). The basin lies in the 'Skardu quiet zone' — a low-seismicity domain of the Himalayan thrust prism dominated by strike-slip, extensional and rotational tectonics — and its basin phase is linked to ponding of the Indus during uplift of the Nanga Parbat–Haramosh syntaxis.", "source": "cronin-1989-skardu" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "bunthang-sequence", "name": "Bunthang Sequence", "description": "An up to ~1.3-km-thick upper Cenozoic sedimentary sequence filling the Skardu intermontane basin along the Indus River in the Karakoram Himalaya, Baltistan. Named by Cronin (1982) from the Balti name of its largest outcrop, it records a lake/basin phase between about 3.2 and 0.73 Ma, when uplift of the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh syntaxis downstream ponded the Indus at Skardu.", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene–Quaternary", "epoch": "Pliocene–Pleistocene", "age": "~3.2–0.73 Ma (Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene)", "lithology": "Upper Cenozoic fluvio-lacustrine intermontane-basin fill.", "environment": [ "lacustrine", "fluvial" ], "basin": "Skardu intermontane basin", "region": "Skardu, Baltistan (Karakoram Himalaya)", "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "sequence", "nomenclaturalStatus": "informal", "thickness": "~1.3 km", "thicknessM": 1300, "typeLocality": "Skardu Basin along the Indus River near Skardu, Baltistan; largest outcrop at Bunthang.", "introducedBy": "Cronin (1982)", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "geologicalSignificance": "Records a late Pliocene–Pleistocene ponding of the Indus River in the Skardu intermontane basin, attributed to differential uplift of the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh syntaxis downstream — a sensitive record of vertical tectonic movement in the Karakoram Himalaya (Cronin 1989).", "sources": [ "cronin-1989-skardu" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Cronin, V.S. (1989). Structural setting of the Skardu intermontane basin, Karakoram Himalaya, Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 183-201.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p183", "year": 1989 } ], "citations": { "age": "cronin-1989-skardu", "lithology": "cronin-1989-skardu", "environment": "cronin-1989-skardu", "thickness": "cronin-1989-skardu", "thicknessM": "cronin-1989-skardu", "typeLocality": "cronin-1989-skardu", "introducedBy": "cronin-1989-skardu", "geologicalSignificance": "cronin-1989-skardu" }, "confidence": "medium", "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": "primary", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "sobrah-formation", "name": "Sobrah Formation", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Manki Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "geologicalSignificance": "A formation of the Nowshera/Peshawar Paleozoic area; its lithology and age are not well established in the baseline.", "plainSummary": "A poorly characterised formation of the Nowshera/Peshawar Paleozoic area.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "period": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "age": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "lithology": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "typeLocality": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "overlies": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Hylland, M.D., Riaz, M. & Ahmad, S. (1988). Geology of the Southern Gandghar Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, Vol. 21, pp. 1-14.", "year": 1988 } ], "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "age": "Precambrian", "lithology": "Thin limestone unit overlying the Manki Formation near Tarbela Dam.", "typeLocality": "Near Tarbela Dam, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Characterised from Hylland, Riaz & Ahmad (1988): a thin limestone overlying the Manki Formation near Tarbela Dam, considered correlative with the Precambrian Shekhai Formation on lithologic grounds (K.R. Pogue, pers. comm.). This supersedes the baseline 'age not well established' note; kept under review because the correlation rests on a personal communication.", "source": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "sohnari-formation", "name": "Sohnari Formation", "age": "Late Paleocene (to earliest Eocene)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Lateritic clay and mud with subordinate sandstone.", "description": "Named by Outerbridge et al. (1989) after the Sohnari member of HSC (1961) for the basal Laki laterite of Nuttall (1925), the Sohnari Formation consists of lateritic clay, ochre, shale, yellow arenaceous limestone, sandstone and lignitic coal. Its lower contact with the Lakhra Formation and upper contact with the Laki Formation are disconformable. It correlates with the Early Eocene Chamalang (Ghazij) Group and the Nammal Formation. Early Eocene.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Lakhra Formation", "underlies": "Laki Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sindh" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Eastern Kirthar (Sindh)", "introducedBy": "Outerbridge et al (1989)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Eocene", "environment": [ "continental", "paralic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal lateritic unit of the Eocene Laki Group in Sindh, recording subaerial weathering at the Paleocene–Eocene transition.", "plainSummary": "A lateritic clay unit at the base of the Eocene Laki Group, marking a weathering surface.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Sohnari Member of the Laki Formation (named with a designated type section in Shah 2009). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997) RANK FLAG: the book describes this as the 'Sonhari Member' of the (Early Eocene) Laki Formation — ~30 m of coal-bearing sandstone and lateritic clay of the Meting coal-field, near the contact with the underlying Upper Paleocene Lakhra Formation — not as a stand-alone formation; deposited in brackish-water coastal swamps.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORRECTION: the Sohnari Formation (originally the Sohnari Member of the Laki Formation / basal Laki laterite, elevated to formation by Outerbridge 1989) is middle–late Paleocene, not Eocene as previously recorded (unsourced). Age corrected to Late Paleocene (passing up into the earliest Eocene Laki).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Thickness surfaced from the rank note: the Sonhari (Sohnari) unit is ~30 m of coal-bearing sandstone and lateritic clay of the Meting coal-field (Kazmi & Jan 1997, who treat it as the Sonhari Member of the Laki Formation).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "thickness": "~30 m", "thicknessM": 30, "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "spingwar-formation", "name": "Spingwar Formation", "age": "Triassic–Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "lithology": "Interbedded grey to black crystalline limestone, oolitic and shelly in places, with calcareous shale and sandstone interbeds in the lower part.", "description": "Named by Williams (1959) as the Spingwar Member of the Shirinab Formation (type section north of Zamari Tangi, northwest of Loralai) and raised to formation rank by Shah (2009), the Spingwar Formation is grey-to-greenish shale with marl and limestone and local igneous sills near the Western Indus Suture, ranging from about 140 to 665 m across measured sections. It rests conformably on the Triassic Wulgai Formation and passes up into the Anjira/Loralai limestone. Ammonites, brachiopods, bivalves and crinoids indicate a Late Triassic–Early Jurassic age (Fatmi, 1977).", "fossils": [ "Ammonites, brachiopods, bivalves, crinoids, corals" ], "typeLocality": "Spingwar, 35 km northwest of Loralai", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Anjira Formation/Loralai Formation", "overlies": "Wulgai Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Western Kirthar (Balochistan)", "coordinates": "30.5478, 68.3211", "introducedBy": "Williams (1959)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Jurassic (Liassic)", "thickness": "600–1,800 m", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The basal member of the Jurassic Shirinab Formation; its ammonites indicate an Early Jurassic (Liassic) age.", "plainSummary": "The lowest part of the Jurassic Shirinab Formation — a thick crystalline limestone dated by ammonites to the Early Jurassic.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "kazmi-jan-1997", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "fossils": "gsp-shah-2009", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "name", "note": "Spingwar is the basal MEMBER of the Shirinab Formation (with the Loralai and Anjira members), not a separate formation (Williams 1959).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "USGS OFR 94-689 records that the Spingwar Formation, originally named by Williams (1959) and designated the lower member of the Shirinab Formation by Fatmi (1977), is now the lower formation of the Alozai Group (Fatmi, in press); it is locally intruded by diabase sills, with an exposed thickness of ~1,300-2,000 m (Hunting Survey Corporation 1961).", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 1200, "synonyms": [ "Spingwar Member (basal Shirinab Formation, with the Loralai and Anjira members; Williams 1959)" ], "tier": 1, "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 30.5478, "lng": 68.3211, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "spinkai-formation", "name": "Spinkai Formation", "lithology": "Limestone and shale.", "description": "Spinkai formation is named after the Spinkai village in the upper part of Baraghat nala by Tahirkheli et al. (1975). It is exposed in the north of Bara valley, extending eastward from Spinkai to Mughabagh Kandao and Chora Hoda valley. It consists of limestone and shale.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Spinkai, Malakand area", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "introducedBy": "Tahirkheli et al. (1975)", "reviewStatus": "published", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A limestone-and-shale unit of the Malakand/Swat area (Tahirkheli et al., 1975).", "plainSummary": "A limestone-and-shale unit of the Malakand area near Spinkai.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "thickness": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "thicknessM": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill: the Spinkai Formation (type Spinkai Village, upper Baraghat Nala) is ~90 m of white-to-grey siliceous, dolomitic and cherty limestone with subordinate shale, referred to the Permian on corals (Tahirkheli et al. 1975); gradational lower contact with the Barai Quartzite, faulted upper contact against granite/granite-gneiss. REGION FLAG: the book places this unit in the Khyber Bara Valley, not Waziristan as this record is tagged — a possible name/region collision to reconcile.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Thickness surfaced from the age note: the Spinkai Formation is ~90 m of siliceous, dolomitic and cherty limestone with subordinate shale (Kazmi & Abbasi 2008).", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "thickness": "~90 m", "thicknessM": 90, "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "staghar-cherty-limestone", "name": "Staghar Cherty Limestone", "age": "Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "description": "Staghar Cherty limestone is named by Gaetani et al. (1995) for the upper cherty limestone of Shaksgam formation. Its age is Late Permian. Following Triassic rocks have been reported;", "fossils": [ "Conodonts (Late Permian: Gondolella)", "Radiolaria", "Sponge spicules" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Shaksgam Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1995)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Permian", "lithology": "Cherty limestone.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The uppermost Late Permian cherty limestone capping the Shaksgam Formation in the eastern Karakoram.", "plainSummary": "The cherty limestone that forms the top of the Shaksgam Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Staghar Cherty Limestone (named by Gaetani et al. 1990b) is Late Permian — it yields a Late Permian conodont assemblage (Gondolella bitteri, Gondolella liangshanensis). It is a cherty limestone with sponge spicules, radiolaria and redeposited fusulinids that caps the Shaksgam Formation (whose main body is Lower–Middle Permian) in the Shaksgam–Baltoro region of the eastern Karakoram.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "typeLocality": "Shaksgam region north of K2, eastern Karakoram — the cherty limestone at the top of the Shaksgam Formation (originally described by Desio 1980).", "lithologyType": "chert", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "sulaiman-group", "name": "Sulaiman Group", "age": "Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "lithology": "Crystalline and oolitic shelf limestone (Shirinab members and Chiltan) with an overlying ironstone (Dilband).", "description": "The Sulaiman Group (Pinfold, 1939, as 'Sulaiman limestone'; formally described by Williams, 1959; extended by Malkani, 2010) comprises the Jurassic Spingwar, Loralai, Takatu/Chiltan and Dilband formations, with its type section in the gorge between Mughal Kot and Dhana Sar. These are dominantly pericratonic marine-shelf carbonates sloping westward from the Indo-Pakistan margin, with igneous rocks near the Western Indus Suture.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Alozai is located in Western Indus Suture", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "coordinates": "31.4333, 70.0167", "introducedBy": "Pinfold (1939)", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "carbonate platform" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early–Late Jurassic (to earliest Cretaceous)", "economicImportance": "The Chiltan Limestone is a gas reservoir; the Dilband Formation hosts Pakistan's largest iron-ore deposit.", "geologicalSignificance": "The Jurassic carbonate succession of the Sulaiman/Kirthar region, comprising the Spingwar, Loralai and Anjira members (Shirinab Formation) and the thick Chiltan Limestone, with the overlying Early Cretaceous Dilband ironstone; the principal Jurassic platform carbonate and a deep gas reservoir.", "plainSummary": "The Jurassic Sulaiman Group — the Shirinab members (Spingwar, Loralai, Anjira), the thick Chiltan Limestone and the Dilband ironstone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-15", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "members": [ "spingwar-formation", "loralai-formation", "chiltan-limestone", "dilband-formation" ], "tier": 1, "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 31.4333, "lng": 70.0167, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "surghar-group", "name": "Surghar Group", "age": "Early–Middle Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "lithology": "Terrestrial sandstone, shale, fire-clay and glass sand (Datta), marl-shale-limestone (Shinawari) and the massive Samana Suk Limestone.", "description": "Named by Shah (1980) after the Surghar Range, the Surghar Group as used here comprises the Jurassic Datta, Shinawari and Samana Suk formations (the Cretaceous units of Shah's original five-formation group are placed in a separate group). The basal Datta Formation (Danilchik, 1961) is terrestrial sandstone, shale and fire clay of Early Jurassic age; the Shinawari Formation (Fatmi, 1977) is alternating marl, shale and limestone with an Early–Middle Jurassic fauna; and the Samana Suk Formation (Davies, 1930) is bedded limestone.", "fossils": [ "Ammonites (Bouleiceras)", "Brachiopods", "Bivalves" ], "typeLocality": "Data Nala in Surghar range by Danilchik", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Kohat-Potwar Basin", "introducedBy": "Shah (1980)", "environment": [ "continental", "shallow marine" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early–Middle Jurassic", "economicImportance": "The Datta Formation is Pakistan's main source of refractory fire-clay and glass/silica sand; the Samana Suk Limestone is a building stone.", "geologicalSignificance": "The Jurassic succession of the Surghar, Salt Range and Trans-Indus ranges, comprising the Datta, Shinawari and Samana Suk formations; records the terrestrial-to-marine Jurassic of the Indian-plate margin, with economically important Datta fire-clay and glass sand.", "plainSummary": "The Jurassic Surghar Group — the Datta (fire-clay and glass-sand), Shinawari and Samana Suk formations — spanning river plains to shallow Jurassic seas.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "osm-gazetteer" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "coordinates": "osm-gazetteer" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Restricted here to the three Jurassic formations (Datta, Shinawari, Samana Suk); the Cretaceous Chichali and Lumshiwal formations of Shah's (1980) original five-formation group are placed in a separate group.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Geocoded (low confidence) from the published type locality \"Data Nala in Surghar range by Danilchik\" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Data Nala, Surghar Range.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "members": [ "datta-formation", "shinawari-formation", "samana-suk-formation" ], "tier": 1, "coordinates": "32.9000, 71.3000", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 32.9, "lng": 71.3, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "surgun-group", "name": "Surgun Group", "age": "Late Palaeozoic to Mesozoic (cover sequence)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous–Mesozoic", "description": "Surgun group is named after Surgan village in the Neelam valley of Azad Kashmir by Malik et al. (1996) for thick cover metasediments like mica schists, paragneisses, marble, quartzites and metaconglomerates unconformably overlying the Precambrian basement and Pre Himalayan cover sequence. This group is divided into units A,B and C age range from Late Proterozoic to Mesozoic. Unit A resembles to Tanawal formation (Malik et al. (1996).", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Surgan, Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis area", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "azad-kashmir" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis, Kaghan Nappe And Nosehri Area Of Lower Neelum And Lamnian Area Of Upper Jhelum, Azad Kashmir", "introducedBy": "Malik et al. (1996)", "reviewStatus": "published", "geologicalSignificance": "A Precambrian group-level unit of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis / Neelum region (Malik et al., 1996); its lithology is not well established in the baseline.", "plainSummary": "A Precambrian group of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis / Neelum region.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "34.77, 74.19", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORRECTION: the Surgun Group (Malik et al. 1996; Neelum Valley) is the Late Palaeozoic–Mesozoic cover sequence deposited over the Precambrian crystalline basement — not 'Precambrian' as previously recorded (unsourced). Age corrected.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lat": 34.77, "lng": 74.19, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "taguwali-formation", "name": "Taguwali Formation", "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.", "description": "Taguwali formation is named after the Taguwali village by Alam et al. (1992) and it consists of cross bedded quartzites, phyllite and slates in the lower part, slates in the middle part and phyllites and slates in the upper part. Asianwala quartzite is named after Asianwala canal rest house by Alam et al. (1992). It consists of quartzite with subordinate intercalations of slate. It has gradational contact with the underlying Taguwali formation. No fossils are reported.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Taguwali village (Kirana Hills)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Asianwala Formation", "overlies": "Chak 112 Conglomerates" }, "provinces": [ "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "introducedBy": "Alam et al. (1992)", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Neoproterozoic", "environment": [ "marine", "metamorphic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A low-grade metasedimentary unit of the Precambrian Kirana Complex — a rare exposure of the Indian-shield basement that underlies the Punjab plains, cropping out in the Kirana Hills near Sargodha and Chiniot.", "plainSummary": "A Precambrian quartzite-slate unit of the Kirana Hills — part of the ancient basement poking through the Punjab plains.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thickness": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thicknessM": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "overlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-08", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "31.9333, 72.7000", "age": "Neoproterozoic", "thickness": "1210 m", "thicknessM": 1210, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Taguwali Formation is the second of the five formations of the Precambrian Kirana Group (Alam 1983; Kirana Hills near Sargodha; Rb-Sr 870 ± 40 Ma) — unfossiliferous metasediment/metavolcanic basement of the buried Sargodha ridge; the book gives no separate per-formation description.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Chaudhry, Ahsan & Rehman (2022): the Tuguwali Formation (Tuguwali Phyllite) is light-grey phyllite with minor conglomerates of quartzite; its lower part is fine-grained with cross-bedded quartzite. Recorded thickness ~1190 m. It is the middle unit of the Kirana Group (Machh Super Group), between the Chak 112 Conglomerate below and the Asianwala Formation above.", "source": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lat": 31.9333, "lng": 72.7, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "talar-formation", "name": "Talar Formation", "age": "Late Miocene (Messinian; ~6.7-5.3 Ma)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "lithology": "Clayey sandstone; sandstone, shale and mudstone.", "description": "Talar Formation is named after the Talar gorge (31 K/10; HSC, 1961). It is considered equilent to Hinglaj group of HSC (1961). It consists of sandstone, shale, mudstone and shelly limestone. Its lower contact with Parkini and Chatti formations is transitional but at places sharp. The fossils like gastropods (Mollusks) and lamellibranches are common. The microforms are Miocene age diagnostic (HSC 1961). The age of the formation is Late Miocene to Early Pliocene.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Makran Flysch Province, Balochistan Basin", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Parkini Formation", "underlies": "Chatti Formation" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Makran-Siahan Basin, Wazhdad Arc And Mashkel/Kharan Basin", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Miocene", "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "synonyms": [ "Hinglaj Group (in part)" ], "environment": [ "shallow marine", "shelf" ], "economicImportance": "A potential shallow RESERVOIR unit of the Makran, with stacked sandstones above the deeper turbidite reservoirs.", "geologicalSignificance": "A Miocene–Pliocene shallow-marine sandstone capping the regressive Makran succession, recording the final shoaling of the accretionary wedge to near sea level.", "plainSummary": "A Miocene–Pliocene shallow-marine sandstone capping the Makran sequence — a potential reservoir.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022", "osm-gazetteer", "indplex-geolex", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "makran-prospectivity-2022", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359468233", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "coordinates": "25.9842, 62.5113", "thickness": "not less than 5000 m", "thicknessM": 5000, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Age set to Late Miocene (Messinian) per the Age Span in the Indian Plate Lexicon (compiler N.K. Siddiqui); conformably overlies the Parkini Fm and is overlain by the Hinglaj/Chatti formations.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Shah (2009) absorbs the 'Talar sandstone' into the Hinglaj Formation. Kept separate here as a distinct Late Miocene Makran unit (Hunting Survey 1961 and modern usage); Hinglaj's own type thickness is in fact measured at Talar.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Talar Formation is a Makran-basin sandstone cited as a hydrocarbon reservoir ('Talar and Panjgur sandstones'); the Makran stratigraphic charts label it Plio-Pleistocene, younger than the curated Late Miocene (Messinian) — recorded as a note pending a fuller source.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the Talar Formation (type Talar gorge, south Makran; up to ~5,000 m of soft cross-bedded sandstone, shale, mudstone and shelly limestone) is assigned a Miocene–Pliocene age on molluscs (nannofossils place it in the Pliocene; Harms et al. 1984), transitional over the Parkini Formation and conformably overlain by the Chatti Mudstone. This is broader/younger than the curated 'Late Miocene (Messinian)' (from indplex-geolex) — recorded as a note; the precise lexicon age is retained pending reconciliation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "The Pliocene Talar Formation comprises medium- to coarse-grained sandstones with minor mudstone/shale whose upper part has shallow reservoir potential, above the deeper Panjgur turbidite play (Cromie et al. 2022).", "source": "makran-prospectivity-2022" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 25.9842, "lng": 62.5113, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "tekri-formation", "name": "Tekri Formation", "age": "Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "description": "Tekri formation is named by Gaetani et al. (1990b) for oncolitic limestone and bioclastic packstones of middle Jurassic age, exposed in the Shaksgam region of eastern Karakorams.", "fossils": [ "Sponges", "Gastropods", "Ostreids", "Foraminifera" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Aghil Limestone", "underlies": "Marpo Sandstone" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1990b)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Middle Jurassic", "lithology": "Grey mudstone/wackestone with rare dark chert, oncolitic limestone and bioclastic packstone.", "typeLocality": "Shaksgam region, eastern Karakoram", "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Middle Jurassic shallow-marine carbonate unit of the Shaksgam region that has a gradational contact with the underlying Aghil Limestone.", "plainSummary": "A Middle Jurassic limestone unit of the Shaksgam region, above the Aghil Limestone.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "rolfo-2014", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": "rolfo-2014", "thicknessM": "rolfo-2014", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Rolfo, F., Groppo, C. & Gaetani, M. (2014). A geological cross-section north of Karakorum, from Yarkand to K2. Journal of the Virtual Explorer, 47, Paper 1. https://doi.org/10.3809/jvirtex.2014.00336", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3809/jvirtex.2014.00336", "year": 2014 } ], "thickness": "about 300 m", "thicknessM": 300, "lithologyType": "mudstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "thalle-limestone", "name": "Thalle Limestone", "description": "Thalle limestone is named after the Thalle valley, NE of Khapalu.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Thalle valley, northeast of Khapalu, Skardu district", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Ordovician", "age": "Ordovician", "references": [ { "citation": "Rolland, Y. et al. (2000); Le Fort, P. & Pêcher, A. (2001). Lower Ordovician graptolites/crinoids in Karakoram marble horizons.", "year": 2001 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 } ], "lithology": "Crystalline limestone (marble).", "geologicalSignificance": "A poorly characterised crystalline-limestone (marble) unit of the Thalle valley; its age and stratigraphic relations are not well established (limestone and schist of the Thalle valley have been variously dated as Lower Paleozoic).", "plainSummary": "A marble unit of the Thalle valley near Khapalu; little is firmly known about it.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16", "tier": 1, "coordinates": "35.319442, 76.168635", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Type-locality coordinate set from reviewer-supplied GPS (35.319442 N, 76.168635 E), Thalle valley, Baltistan.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 35.319442, "lng": 76.168635, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "thelichi-formation", "name": "Thelichi Formation", "age": "Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Slates, marbles, metavolcanics and laminated sandstone.", "description": "Thelichi formation is named by Tahirkheli (1982) and consists of slates, marbles, metavolcanics and laminated sandstone of Middle Cretaceous to Lower Late Cretaceous. It is correlated with Yasin group of Hunza valley. Kalam group (Cretaceous) metasedimentary vast sequence named by Matsushita (1965) after Kalam area. Tahirkheli (1979) divided this group into Karandoki slates, Besham Banda limestone and Shou quartzites.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Gashu-confluence volcanics" }, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "introducedBy": "Tahirkheli (1982)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Middle–Late Cretaceous", "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "marine" ], "synonyms": [ "correlated with the Yasin Group" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The upper part of the Jaglot Group of the Kohistan arc, recording Cretaceous arc volcanism and marine sedimentation; correlated with the fossiliferous Yasin Group of the Hunza valley.", "plainSummary": "The Cretaceous upper Jaglot Group of the Kohistan arc — slates, marbles and metavolcanics, equivalent to the Yasin Group.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "treloar-1996-kohistan", "khan-1997-gilgit", "yamamoto-2011-thelichi", "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "synonyms": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "low", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya: implications for magmatic and tectonic arc-building processes. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Khan, T., Jan, M.Q., Khan, M.A. & Kausar, A.B. (1997). High-grade metasedimentary rocks (Gilgit Formation) in the vicinity of Gilgit, Kohistan, northern Pakistan. Journal of Mineralogy, Petrology and Economic Geology, 92, 465-479.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2465/ganko.92.465", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Yamamoto, H., Rehman, H.U., Kaneko, Y. & Kausar, A.B. (2011). Tectonic stacking of back-arc formations in the Thelichi section (Indus valley) of the Kohistan arc, northern Pakistan. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 40, 417-426.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2010.09.006", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Khan, T., Khan, M.A. & Jan, M.Q. (1994). Geology between Gilgit and Chilas, Kohistan, N. Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 27, 99-112.", "year": 1994 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Treloar et al. (1996) treat the Thelichi Formation (the 'Thelichi Volcanic sequence' near Jaglot in the Indus Valley and W/SW of Gilgit; Khan 1994) as a volcanic constituent of the mid-Cretaceous Jaglot Group.", "source": "treloar-1996-kohistan" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Khan T. et al. (1997) / Yamamoto et al. (2011): the Thelichi Formation is the uppermost (Khan) — but structurally lowest (Yamamoto) — unit of the Jaglot Group, composed of metavolcaniclastic, metavolcanic, metapelitic and metacalcareous rocks; together with the Gashu-Confluence Volcanics it is correlated with the Chalt Volcanics and the Albian–Aptian Yasin Group.", "source": "yamamoto-2011-thelichi" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Khan T. et al. (1994): the Thelichi Formation comprises a volcanic basal part overlain by more than 1 km of turbidites (slates, marbles and metasandstones) with a thick marble unit in the middle; it is the uppermost unit of the Jaglot Group in the Gilgit–Chilas mapping.", "source": "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas" } ], "thickness": "a volcanic basal part overlain by >1 km of turbidites, with a thick marble unit in the middle", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "tilgram-formation", "name": "Tilgram Formation", "description": "The Tilgram Formation comprises high-grade metamorphic rocks. In the Mangora-Daggar area it is structurally overlain, across a major Main Central Thrust (MCT), by the Girarai formation (named by Chaudhry et al. 1992 for calc schist, graphitic schist and intercalated thin marble horizons, with its upper contact against the Tursak formation).", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Girarai Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "introducedBy": "Chaudhry et al. (1992)", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "geologicalSignificance": "A formation of the Nowshera/Peshawar Paleozoic area (Chaudhry et al., 1992); its lithology and age are not well established in the baseline.", "plainSummary": "A formation of the Nowshera/Peshawar Paleozoic area.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "toi-formation", "name": "Toi Formation", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Interbedded coarse, pebbly, cross-bedded sandstone and brown mudstone, siltstone, shale and conglomerate, with locally developed coal seams.", "description": "Formalized by Shah (2002) and named after the Toi River near Mughal Kot, the Toi Formation is sandstone with greenish-grey shale and rubbly marl/limestone plus some sub-bituminous coal, about 600 m thick at the type section and up to about 1200 m at Kingri, Bahlol and Chamalang. Its lower contact with the Shaheed Ghat Formation is conformable and its upper contact with the Kingri Formation is disconformable. As part of the Eocene Chamalang Group, it is not correlated with the Vihowa/Siwalik molasse.", "thickness": "up to ~1,196 m (Moghal Kot)", "fossils": [ "Freshwater bivalves", "Gastropods", "Plant remains" ], "typeLocality": "Toi Nala, Sulaiman Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Drug Formation", "underlies": "Baska Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "coordinates": "31.4833, 70.1167", "environment": [ "fluvial", "deltaic" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Shah (1987)", "epoch": "Early Eocene", "economicImportance": "Contains locally developed coal seams.", "geologicalSignificance": "A thick, coal-bearing fluvio-deltaic clastic unit of the Ghazij Group, recording terrestrial influx into the Eocene Sulaiman basin between marine units.", "plainSummary": "A thick Early Eocene sandstone-and-mudstone with coal, recording rivers and deltas building into the Eocene sea.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 1196, "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 31.4833, "lng": 70.1167, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "tursak-formation", "name": "Tursak Formation", "age": "Silurian–Devonian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Silurian–Devonian", "description": "Named by Chaudhry et al. (1992) for white-to-black marble with subordinate calc- and graphitic schist, the Tursak Formation is Lower–Middle Palaeozoic in age.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Girarai Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "introducedBy": "Chaudhry et al. (1992)", "reviewStatus": "published", "geologicalSignificance": "A Silurian–Devonian formation of the Bampokha Group, exposed in the Lesser Himalaya south of the Main Central Thrust.", "plainSummary": "A Silurian–Devonian formation of the Bampokha Group, Lesser Himalaya.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-15", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 } ], "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "twin-valley-member", "name": "Twin Valley Member", "age": "Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous", "lithology": "Cliff-forming carbonate with sharp lateral facies variations.", "description": "Named by Gaetani et al. (2004) after the Twin Valleys at the head of the Karambar River, the Twin Valley Member is the cliff-forming upper carbonate of the Lupsuk Formation, with sharp lateral facies changes. It overlies a Moscovian brachiopod fauna and is Late Carboniferous in age (Angiolini et al., 1999).", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Twin valleys at the head of the Karambar River", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "rank": "member", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (2004)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Late Carboniferous", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Late Carboniferous cliff-forming carbonate upper part of the Lupsuk Formation; it overlies a Moscovian brachiopod fauna (Angiolini et al., 1999).", "plainSummary": "The Late Carboniferous carbonate cap of the Lupsuk Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gaetani-2004-carboniferous", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thickness": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Zanchi, A., Angiolini, L., Olivini, G., Sciunnach, D., Brunton, H., Nicora, A. & Mawson, R. (2004). The Carboniferous of the Western Karakoram (Pakistan). Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 23(2), 275-305.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(03)00137-8", "year": 2004 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, full text, Fig. 19): the Twin Valleys Member is a 30-100 m bioclastic limestone WITHIN the Lupsuk Formation (~250 m, Karambar sheet), UPPER CARBONIFEROUS (above a Moscovian/Kasimovian fauna; Angiolini et al. 1999). Age/rank conflict confirmed - reconcile the dataset s Devonian-Carboniferous to Upper Carboniferous, member of the Lupsuk Fm (author to confirm).", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Age corrected from \"Devonian–Carboniferous\" to \"Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian)\" per Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19, North Karakoram Terrain correlation chart); author-approved 2026-07-17.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Twin Valleys Member (within the Lupsuk Formation) is inferred Late Carboniferous because it lies above a Moscovian/Kasimovian brachiopod fauna (Angiolini et al. 1999); no macrofossils occur in the member itself. 30–100 m of massive bioclastic limestone (bryozoans, crinoids, brachiopods, corals), capped by terrigenous beds ascribed to the Gircha Formation.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2004) — DEFINES the Twin Valleys Member, a local bioclastic-limestone intercalation up to ~100 m thick within the Lupsuk Formation (Twin Valleys / Lupsuk Glacier sections), of post-Moscovian (Late Carboniferous / Pennsylvanian) age. Corroborates the curated Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) age; adds the definitional source and confirms the member-of-Lupsuk relationship.", "source": "gaetani-2004-carboniferous" } ], "thickness": "30 to 100 m (sharp lateral thickness variation)", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "uch-khattak-formation", "name": "Uch Khattak Formation", "age": "Precambrian", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "lithology": "Limestone, argillite and shale; a lower stromatolite-bearing limestone is overlain by laminated argillite and shale, with an intraformational conglomerate carrying clasts of the Manki and Shahkot formations.", "description": "Uch Khattak formation consists of rubbly limestone with minor shales (Tahirkheli, 1970). Hussain et al. (1989) declared as Precambrian.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Shahkot Formation", "underlies": "Shekhai Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "published", "thickness": "200–250 m", "typeLocality": "Attock-Cherat and Gandghar Ranges", "introducedBy": "Tahirkheli (1970)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Precambrian limestone-argillite-shale unit conformable between the Shahkot and Shekhai formations; its lower limestone carries stromatolites and it contains a conglomerate with clasts of the underlying units.", "plainSummary": "A Late Precambrian limestone-and-shale unit with stromatolites, between the Shahkot and Shekhai formations.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Hylland, M.D., Riaz, M. & Ahmad, S. (1988). Geology of the Southern Gandghar Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, Vol. 21, pp. 1-14.", "year": 1988 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 225, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Contains a diagnostic intraformational conglomerate with clasts of both the Manki and Shahkot Formations, demonstrating that the Uch Khattak is younger than both; the same conglomerate is traced into the Attock-Cherat Range just west of the Indus River. Distinctive basal limestone (10-70 m) of bluish- to dark-gray carbonate in a wavy meshwork of brown clayey material, locally stromatolitic.", "source": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "vidiakot-formation", "name": "Vidiakot Formation", "age": "Ordovician", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Ordovician", "lithology": "Fine-grained slate and siltstone with fine sandstone intercalations.", "description": "Vidiakot formation consists of fine grained slates and siltstone with fine sandstone intercalations. Its age Lower Ordovician.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Yarkhun Formation", "underlies": "Chilmarabad Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Ordovician", "geologicalSignificance": "A Lower Ordovician fine-clastic unit of the lower Paleozoic succession of the western Karakoram-Hindukush.", "plainSummary": "Early Ordovician slates and siltstones of the western Karakoram.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gaetani-chitral-1996", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "talent-gaetani-1999", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "introducedBy": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "environment": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thickness": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thicknessM": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M. and others (1996). Reconnaissance geology in Upper Chitral, Baroghil and Karambar districts (northern Karakorum, Pakistan). Geologische Rundschau, 85, 683-704.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02440105", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999). Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts from the Western Karakoram and Hindu Kush, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 105(2), 201-226.", "year": 1999 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Le Fort, P., Tanoli, S., Angiolini, L., Nicora, A., Sciunnach, D. & Khan, A. (1996). Reconnaissance geology in Upper Chitral, Baroghil and Karambar districts (northern Karakorum, Pakistan). Geologische Rundschau, 85, 683-704.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02440105", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, full text, Fig. 19): the Vidiakot Formation (~500 m in the Axial sheet) is Ordovician (above the Yarkhun Fm, Baroghil Group), black splintery shales/siltstones with recrystallized dolostone. Corroborates the Ordovician age.", "source": "gaetani-chitral-1996" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Vidiakot Formation (upper Baroghil Group) begins near the Arenig–Llanvirn boundary (acritarch assemblage VK3) and is supposed to span the rest of the Ordovician and at least part of the Silurian — poorly preserved orthoceratid cephalopods in upper carbonate lenses tentatively suggest a Silurian age (evidence poor). At least 400–500 m of black splintery slates with dolostone lenses; an outer-shelf mud with reappearing carbonate toward the top.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Talent et al. (1999): the Vidiakot Formation is INTRODUCED here for the upper, finer-grained part of the former Yarkhun Formation (Gaetani et al. 1996) — shales, siltstones and arkosic sandstones of the Vidiakot section yielding Early Ordovician (Arenig) acritarchs (nitidus/gibberulus to hirundo Graptolite Zone; Amerise et al. 1998). It sits between the restricted (lower, coarser) Yarkhun Formation and the Chilmarabad Formation, the three together = Tahirkheli's Baroghil Formation/Group. Corroborates the curated Ordovician age and adds the definitional source.", "source": "talent-gaetani-1999" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Thickness surfaced from the age note: the Vidiakot Formation is ~500 m in the Axial sheet — at least 400–500 m of black splintery slates with dolostone lenses (Zanchi & Gaetani 2011).", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "typeLocality": "Type section along the Vidiakot ridge (Baroghil side), Axial Unit; named after the Vidiakot ridge, crops out between the Paur Gol and Chilmarabad.", "introducedBy": "Quintavalle et al. (2000)", "environment": [ "marine", "outer shelf" ], "thickness": "400–500 m", "thicknessM": 500, "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "vihowa-formation", "name": "Vihowa Formation", "age": "Miocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "lithology": "Grey and brown sandstone with subordinate red to brownish-red sandy siltstone; mudstone-rich in the lower part.", "description": "Introduced by Hemphill and Kidwai (1973), type section at Vihowa Rud, the Vihowa Formation is red-to-maroon shale with grey-white calcareous sandstone and conglomerate plus silica sands, about 400–700 m thick. Its lower contact with the Chitarwata Formation and upper contact with the Litra Formation are disconformable. It is rich in continental vertebrates (Hemphill & Kidwai, 1973).", "thickness": "~700 m (type section, Vihowa Road)", "fossils": [ "Lower Siwalik mammals (e.g. Eotragus)" ], "typeLocality": "Vihowa Road, Sulaiman Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chitarwatta Formation", "underlies": "Litra Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "coordinates": "31.0667, 70.2667", "introducedBy": "Hemphill and Kidwai (1973)", "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "late Early–Middle Miocene", "geologicalSignificance": "The lower unit of the Siwalik-equivalent molasse (Vihowa Group) of the Sulaiman Range, equivalent to the Kamlial–Chinji formations of the Potwar; its fluvial channel-floodplain deposits and Lower Siwalik mammal fauna record establishment of the Himalayan foreland river system by about 17 Ma.", "plainSummary": "The lowest of the Sulaiman 'Siwalik' river deposits, full of Lower Siwalik mammal fossils, laid down as the foreland rivers got going ~17 million years ago.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "citations": { "epoch": [ "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "thickness": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "typeLocality": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "lithology": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "overlies": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "underlies": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "environment": [ "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "fossils": "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005", "geologicalSignificance": [ "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" ], "plainSummary": "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005", "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. et al. (2018). Tectonic Map of Sulaiman Fold Belt, Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan.", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331158873", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Lindsay, E.H., Flynn, L.J. et al. (2005). Miocene stratigraphy and mammal fauna from the Sulaiman Range, Southwestern Himalayas, Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018202004431", "year": 2005 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "thicknessM": 700, "economicImportance": "Oligocene-Miocene coal showings; part of the uranium- and silica-sand-bearing Vihowa Group.", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "synonyms", "note": "Shah (2009) designates Vihowa Rud as the type locality of the Chitarwatta Formation; this is a locality coincidence, not synonymy. The Vihowa Formation is kept as a distinct Miocene lower-Siwalik-equivalent unit (Flynn et al. 2005).", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B) NAMED the Vihowa Formation as the lower Siwalik unit of the Sulaiman-Waziristan region, type section at Vihowa Rud. Probable Pliocene; grey/brown massive crossbedded sandstone with red sandy siltstone, derived-foraminifera fragments and basal pebble conglomerate, ~1,410-2,300 ft; disconformable on the Chitarwata (or, where absent, on the Drazinda Shale Member).", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "The fluvial channel-floodplain system was fully established in the late early Miocene; the lower Vihowa records diversification of the small boselaphine bovid Eotragus at ~17 Ma, and its fauna closely matches the Middle-Late Miocene Lower Siwaliks of the Potwar Plateau (Raza et al. 2002).", "source": "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 31.0667, "lng": 70.2667, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "vihowa-group", "name": "Vihowa Group", "age": "Oligocene–Pliocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene–Neogene", "lithology": "Fluvial sandstone, mudstone and conglomerate (molasse).", "description": "Introduced by Malkani (2009), the Vihowa Group (type section at Vihowa Rud) comprises the Chitarwata, Vihowa, Litra and Chaudhwan formations — molasse deposited by river systems following the collision of the Indo-Pakistan and Asian plates. Oligocene–Pliocene.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Litra Formation" }, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Kakar-Khurasan Basin", "introducedBy": "Malkani (2014)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Oligocene–Pliocene", "synonyms": [ "Talar Group", "Hinglaj Group (in part)" ], "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Oligocene–Pliocene molasse of the Sulaiman foreland, comprising the Chitarwata, Vihowa, Litra and Chaudhwan formations; the Sulaiman equivalent of the Siwalik Group, yielding rich Miocene–Pliocene mammal faunas.", "plainSummary": "The Oligocene–Pliocene Vihowa Group — Chitarwata, Vihowa, Litra and Chaudhwan — the Sulaiman version of the Siwaliks, full of fossil mammals.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "kazmi-jan-1997", "era": "kazmi-jan-1997", "period": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": "gsp-malkani-2017", "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "malkani-2010-sulaiman" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "year": 2010 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "coordinates": "31.0667, 70.2667", "members": [ "chitarwata-formation", "vihowa-formation", "litra-formation", "chaudhwan-formation" ], "thickness": "430-700 m thick. m", "thicknessM": 565, "typeLocality": "Vihowa Rud-type section", "economicImportance": "Clay deposits; primary and secondary uranium mineralization; silica sand (Zinda Pir, Dera Bugti); ochre / iron; building sandstone and construction aggregate.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) RANK/DUPLICATE FLAG: the book knows only the Vihowa FORMATION (~18–11 Ma, latest Early–Middle Miocene; the lower unit of the Siwalik Group in the Sulaiman foldbelt), not a 'Vihowa Group'. This record duplicates 'vihowa-formation' and its 'Oligocene–Pliocene' range is too broad — recommend merging into the Vihowa Formation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 31.0667, "lng": 70.2667, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "wakai-limestone", "name": "Wakai Limestone", "age": "Paleocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Limestone, marl and shale (reefal in part).", "description": "Wakai limestone is named after Koh-i-Wakai in the valley of Tagrana Kaur (31 J/11; HSC, 1961). It consists of limestone, marl and shale. The age of formation is interpreted as Paleocene. The formation is important for petroleum prospecting and source, if it has large subsurface extension.", "fossils": [], "typeLocality": "Koh-i-Wakai, Tagrana Kaur valley", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Siahan Formation" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Makran-Siahan Basin, Wazhdad Arc And Mashkel/Kharan Basin", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Paleocene–Early Eocene", "introducedBy": "HSC (1961)", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "reef" ], "economicImportance": "Identified as a potential petroleum source/reservoir carbonate in the Makran if it has significant subsurface extent.", "geologicalSignificance": "A Paleocene–Early Eocene reefal carbonate at the base of the Makran succession, recording shallow-marine conditions before the onset of deep-marine flysch deposition in the accretionary wedge.", "plainSummary": "A Paleocene–Eocene reefal limestone at the base of the Makran sequence, before the deep-sea flysch took over.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "economicImportance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "makran-prospectivity-2022" ], "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 2, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359468233", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997) RANK FLAG: the book treats 'Wakai' as an Eocene Member of the Kharan Formation, not a stand-alone limestone formation; the DB rank/name should be reviewed.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) REVISES the earlier rank flag: the book does NOT place 'Wakai' in the Kharan Formation; rather, Cheema et al. (1977) subsumed the old HSC (1960) 'Wakai limestone' (a massive, brecciated, reefoid limestone at Wakai/Wakabi) into the Nisai Formation. So the Wakai limestone is best treated as part of the (Eocene–Oligocene) Nisai Formation, not the Kharan Formation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "warran-ghundai-formation", "name": "Warran Ghundai Formation", "description": "", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "under-review", "lithology": "Slate, phyllite, quartzite and dolomitic limestone.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A slate-phyllite-quartzite-and-dolomitic-limestone unit of the Nowshera/Peshawar Paleozoic area.", "plainSummary": "A slate-phyllite-quartzite-dolomite unit of the Nowshera/Peshawar area.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Molloy, P.D., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (1997). Late Devonian-Tournaisian conodonts from the eastern Khyber region, north-west Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 103(2), 123-148.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "age": "Late Devonian (?late Famennian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Molloy, Talent & Mawson (1997): a spot sample of crinoidal limestone overlying the main limestone development near Gundhai Sar — 'perhaps from the Warran Ghundai Formation of Khan (1970)' — was reported by Pogue et al. (1992, tab. 1, no. 22) to yield conodonts indicative of the late Famennian expansa Zone, coeval with part of the Ali Masjid sequence at Misri Khel. Period gap-filled to Devonian on this (tentative) attribution; the identification of the sampled horizon with the Warran Ghundai Formation is not certain and bed-by-bed conodont sampling at Gundhai Sar is still needed.", "source": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) DUPLICATE FLAG: the book treats the 'Warren Ghundai Formation' of Khan M.A. (1970) as a junior synonym of the Lowara Mena Formation (Ghundai Sar area, Khyber; Late Devonian–Carboniferous phyllite/limestone), with the senior name Lowara Mena taking precedence. This record and 'lowara-mena-formation' are therefore likely the same unit and should be merged/reconciled. (Consistent with the late Famennian expansa-Zone conodonts reported near Gundhai Sar by Pogue et al. 1992 / Molloy et al. 1997.)", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "wirokhun-formation", "name": "Wirokhun Formation", "age": "Latest Permian–Early Triassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "lithology": "Dark shale and marl interbedded with grey mudstone, thin-bedded cherty limestone, tuff and black shale.", "description": "Wirokhun formation is named after the Wirokhun gorge, a tributary of Kundil valley (a tributary of Chapursan) by Gaetani et al. (1995) and consists of shale, mudstone, marl and limestone of Late Permian to Early Triassic. Urdok conglomerate is named after the Urdok glacier north of the Gasherbrum ridge by Desio (1963). Desio (1964, 1969) mapped this conglomerate broadly from western Karakoram to eastern Karakoram like Baltoro Kangri peak (7312m), Abruzzi glacier and western margin of South Gasherbrum glacier, surrounding the Gasherbrum I, II and III peaks, and in the ridge west of Urdok glacier. Fluvial and Late Cretaceous in age (Gaetani 1990b).", "fossils": [ "Neospathodus dieneri", "Hindeodus parvus", "Isarcicella isarcica", "Gondolella carinata" ], "typeLocality": "Wirokhun gorge", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kundil Formation", "underlies": "Borom Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1995)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Triassic", "geologicalSignificance": "A laterally restricted unit recognised on the ridges between the Borom and Kundil valleys (tributaries of the Chapursan) that straddles the Permian–Triassic boundary; its conodonts indicate an Early Triassic (Dienerian) top, and it conformably underlies the Lower Triassic Borom Formation.", "plainSummary": "A thin, local unit spanning the Permian–Triassic boundary in the Chapursan valley, passing up into the Borom Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "perri-molloy-talent-2004", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" ], "citations": { "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Baseline age 'Permian–Cretaceous' is over-broad and appears to bundle the separately named Urdok conglomerate; the Wirokhun Formation proper is latest Permian to Early Triassic. Flag for Phase-6 cleanup.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Straddles the Permian–Triassic boundary; the sourced age is latest Permian to Early Triassic (Malkani, 2017). The single era badge is set to Mesozoic (period Triassic) — the interval into which the unit extends and by which it is defined — while the full range is kept in the age line. A boundary-convention call, open to revision.", "source": "gsp-malkani-2017" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2013): the Wirokhun Formation is mostly Induan (Griesbachian), with the Permian–Triassic boundary in its lowermost part; the first Triassic conodonts appear ~3 m above the base. A Hindeodus parvus → Isarcicella isarcica succession defines early Griesbachian (Parvus Zone) to late Griesbachian (Staschei/Isarcica zones); Early Triassic pioneer palynomorphs (Lundbladispora brevicula, Densoisporites nejburgi) co-occur with rare reworked Permian forms. The lowermost Triassic records a large negative δ13C excursion; earliest-Triassic sedimentation rate >20 m/Myr; CAI 5.", "source": "gaetani-2012-karakorum" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Perri, Molloy & Talent (2004): in the Chapursan and Shimshal valleys the Permian–Triassic boundary occurs within the much thinner (~60 m) Wirokhun Formation (Zanchi & Gaetani 1994; Gaetani et al. 1995), which has yielded Neospathodus dieneri and Gondolella carinata (Nicora in Gaetani et al. 1995) — indicative of a slightly younger horizon and a deeper (more open) Early Triassic sea than the earliest-Triassic Sakirmul and Torman Gol conodont faunas of the Zait Limestone / Ailak platform. Corroborates the curated Latest Permian–Early Triassic age.", "source": "perri-molloy-talent-2004" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1995): the Wirokhun Formation is a pelagic bathyal succession spanning the Dzhulfian to the Dienerian (Early Triassic), so that the Permian-Triassic boundary lies within it - specifically in its third, largely shaly lithozone, linked to a largely anoxic stratified oceanic event in the eastern Tethys. Four conodont assemblages track it upward: (1) Gondolella orientalis-Hindeodus minutus-G. subcarinata; (2) G. subcarinata subcarinata / changxingensis; (3) Iranognathus cf. unicostatus with the G. subcarinata group; and (4) Neospathodus dieneri-Gondolella carinata at the top confirming early Dienerian. It overlies the Kundil Formation and is overlain by the Borom Formation.", "source": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Nicora, A., Henderson, C., Cirilli, S., Gale, L., Rettori, R., Vuolo, I. & Atudorei, V. (2013). Refinements in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic stratigraphy of Karakorum, Pakistan. Facies, 59, 915-948.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0346-9", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Perri, M.C., Molloy, P.D. & Talent, J.A. (2004). Earliest Triassic conodonts from Chitral, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 110(1), 467-478.", "year": 2004 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548", "year": 1995 } ], "thickness": "≤50–60 m (fault-disrupted; reference-section calcareous-marl interval 25.2 m at Wirokhun Saddle, base 4,414 m)", "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "wulgai-formation", "name": "Wulgai Formation", "age": "Triassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "description": "Wulgai Formation Wulgai is named by Williams 1959 after Wulgai village for variegated shale with medium bedded limestone of Middle to Late Triassic age exposed in the Western Indus Suture regions like Shirinab area of Mastung and Kalat, Khanozai, Zhob, etc. It is 180 m thick in the Trakai-Gwal section. Its lower contact with Gwal is sharp with fossiliferous conglomeratic and dense limestone and upper contact with Spingwar formation seems to be conformable. The fossils like radiolarian, conodonts and some Spiriferinid brachiopods in basal limestone indicates Middle Triassic age and Holobia, 70 Daonella (Bivalves) and ammonites like Cladescites, Jovites, Arietoceltites, Anatomites, Juvavites, Arcetes indicating Late Triassic.", "thickness": "180 m", "fossils": [ "Daonella" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Spingwar Formation", "overlies": "Gwal Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kirthar-range" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Kirthar Basin", "region": "Western Kirthar (Balochistan)", "reviewStatus": "published", "introducedBy": "Williams (1959)", "epoch": "Triassic", "lithology": "Indurated dark-grey mudstone and shale with intercalations of thin limestone, calcareous mudstone and sandstone.", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Triassic mudstone-shale unit of the Balochistan ophiolite-and-thrust belt (Zhob, Kalat, Khuzdar), also encountered in Lower Indus wells; the base of the Mesozoic succession there.", "plainSummary": "A Triassic dark mudstone-and-shale, the base of the Mesozoic sequence in western Balochistan.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "razzaq-2024-tj" ], "citations": { "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "plainSummary": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "synonyms": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "razzaq-2024-tj", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "fossils": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "name", "note": "Previously mapped as the Alozai Group, Shirinab Formation or Winder Group (HSC 1960).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Type-section thickness (Shah, 2009): 180 m in the Trakai-Gwal section. Recorded from the GSP lexicon (Memoir 22); the existing thickness field is retained.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Razzaq Manan et al. (2024): the Wulgai Formation is the oldest (Triassic) succession of the Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt, with three microfacies — radiolaria-bearing packstone, arenaceous calcisiltite and lithoclastic rudstone — recording a shallowing-upward passage from deep-marine (below the CCD) through lower-slope turbidites to upper-slope, high-energy conditions. Radiolarite-dominated deposition marks the near-cessation of carbonate sedimentation during the deeper Triassic before the shallower Jurassic carbonates.", "source": "razzaq-2024-tj" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "year": 2023 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Razzaq Abdul Manan, Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Kasi, A.K., Ali, S.H., Farooqui, M.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2024). Deposition and diagenesis of the Triassic-Jurassic limestone successions of the northwestern passive margin of the Indian plate, Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt, Pakistan. Carbonates and Evaporites, 39, 104.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-024-01019-3", "year": 2024 } ], "thicknessM": 180, "synonyms": [ "Alozai Group / Shirinab Formation / Winder Group (earlier mappings, HSC 1960)", "Wulagai" ], "tier": 1, "typeLocality": "Tarkai-Gwal section, Axial Belt", "economicImportance": "Part of the frontier Triassic–Jurassic carbonate petroleum play of the Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt; dolomitization of the Wulgai Formation carbonates has locally produced secondary porosity.", "lithologyType": "mudstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "yarkhun-formation", "name": "Yarkhun Formation", "age": "Ordovician (Early Ordovician)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Ordovician", "lithology": "About 170 m of arkosic sandstone interbedded with siltstone and black slate.", "description": "Yarkhun formation consists of 170m arkosic sandstone interbedded with siltstone and black slate. It is Silurian age.", "fossils": [ "Conodonts (Baltoniodus cf. medius)", "Acritarchs", "Trace fossils (Cruziana, Planolites)" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Ishkarwaz Granite", "underlies": "Vidiakot Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "reviewStatus": "published", "thickness": "about 170 m", "geologicalSignificance": "A Silurian siliciclastic unit of the lower Paleozoic succession of the upper Yarkhun (Hindukush) region.", "plainSummary": "A Silurian sandstone–siltstone–slate unit of the upper Yarkhun valley.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "gaetani-chitral-1996", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "talent-gaetani-1999", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thickness": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "thicknessM": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "typeLocality": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "introducedBy": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "environment": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "fossils": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M. and others (1996). Reconnaissance geology in Upper Chitral, Baroghil and Karambar districts (northern Karakorum, Pakistan). Geologische Rundschau, 85, 683-704.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02440105", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999). Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts from the Karakoram Terrane, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia (1999).", "year": 1999 }, { "citation": "Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999). Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts from the Western Karakoram and Hindu Kush, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 105(2), 201-226.", "year": 1999 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Le Fort, P., Tanoli, S., Angiolini, L., Nicora, A., Sciunnach, D. & Khan, A. (1996). Reconnaissance geology in Upper Chitral, Baroghil and Karambar districts (northern Karakorum, Pakistan). Geologische Rundschau, 85, 683-704.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02440105", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "thicknessM": 170, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "CONFIRMED against Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, full text, Fig. 19): the Yarkhun Formation (~170 m) is the basal unit of the Baroghil Group and sits at the LOWER ORDOVICIAN level of the North Karakoram Terrain correlation chart. The dataset lists Silurian — this should be corrected to (Lower) Ordovician (author to confirm).", "source": "gaetani-chitral-1996" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Age corrected from \"Silurian\" to \"Ordovician (Early Ordovician)\" per Zanchi & Gaetani (2011, Fig. 19, North Karakoram Terrain correlation chart); author-approved 2026-07-17.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Yarkhun Formation (lower unit of the Baroghil Group) is restricted to the Arenig (Early Ordovician) — acritarch assemblages VK1–VK2 and conodonts (Baltoniodus sp. cf. B. medius) span the nitidus to hirundo graptolite zones, with an overlying conodont level reaching the latest Arenig–lower Llanvirn. About 180 m of grey subarkoses/litharenites with Cruziana and Planolites, recording transgression on a peneplaned crystalline basement.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Yarkhun Formation appears (after Tahirkheli 1982) as flaggy quartzites, slates and thin dolomitic limestones in the upper Yarkhun Valley (south of Baroghil Pass), intruded by the pre-Ordovician Ishkarwaz Granite and overlain across an angular unconformity by a dolomitic bed with Ordovician conodonts — implying a pre-Ordovician basement age here; the running text proposes the name 'Chikar Formation' for the same sequence (Le Fort et al. 1994). (The curated Arenig/Early-Ordovician age follows the later Zanchi & Gaetani 2011 definition, which is retained.)", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Talent, Gaetani, Mawson, Molloy & Conaghan (1999), 'Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts [from the Karakoram Terrane], northernmost Pakistan' (RIPS) — the primary conodont study underpinning the Early Ordovician age of the Yarkhun Formation, cited by Perri et al. (2004) for the NE-Chitral stratigraphy. NOTE: the supplied PDF of this 1999 paper is a scanned image with no text layer and could not be machine-read in this environment (no OCR), so only its title-level content (Early Ordovician conodonts, Karakoram Terrane) is used here to corroborate the curated Early Ordovician age; its detailed zonation is not yet incorporated and the paper is flagged for re-supply as a text-layer PDF.", "source": "talent-gaetani-1999" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Talent et al. (1999) — FULL TEXT (supersedes the earlier title-level note): the Yarkhun Formation includes Early Ordovician (Arenig) horizons, confirmed both by acritarch floras (late-early Arenig nitidus/gibberulus Graptolite Zone to late Arenig hirundo Zone; Amerise et al. 1998, from the Vidiakot section) and by a small Ordovician conodont fauna (2.5 km WNW of the Ishkarwaz bridge, upper Yarkhun valley). Importantly, this paper INTRODUCES the Vidiakot Formation for the upper, finer-grained part of the former Yarkhun Formation and RESTRICTS the Yarkhun Formation to the stratigraphically lower, coarser (terrigenous) part; together with the overlying Chilmarabad Formation these three correspond to Tahirkheli's (1982, 1996) Baroghil Formation and perhaps warrant group status (the dataset's Baroghil Group). Corroborates the curated Early Ordovician (Arenig) age.", "source": "talent-gaetani-1999" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Surfaced from the age notes into fossils[]: the Yarkhun Formation carries Early Ordovician (Arenig) conodonts (Baltoniodus sp. cf. B. medius) and acritarch assemblages VK1–VK2 (Zanchi & Gaetani 2011; Talent et al. 1999, after Amerise et al. 1998). Cruziana and Planolites are kept explicitly labelled as trace fossils (ichnofossils), not body fossils.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "epoch": "Early Ordovician", "typeLocality": "Type section on the SE side of the Vidiakot ridge (Quintavalle et al., 2000), between the Yarkhun River and the Vidiakot gully, Axial Unit; rests with basal non-conformity on the Karakoram crystalline basement (Ishkarwaz-type granodiorite).", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1996)", "environment": [ "shallow marine", "siliciclastic shelf" ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "yashkuk-formation", "name": "Yashkuk Formation", "age": "Jurassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "description": "Yashkuk formation is named after Yashkuk village at the confluence of Chapursan River and Yashkuk Yaz glacier by Gaetani et al. (1990a) for reddish sandstone with many sedimentary structures. It is middle to upper Liassic. The Mesozoic terrestrial strata of Karakoram (for example Fig.6) are significant for the exploration of Mesozoic vertebrates for Paleobiogeographic link. Pakistan is lucky to include both Laurasian and Gondwanan blocks along with Tethyan deposits.", "fossils": [ "Benthic foraminifera", "Calcareous algae", "Nannofossils", "Ostracods" ], "typeLocality": "Yashkuk, confluence of the Chapursan River and Yashkuk Yaz glacier, upper Hunza", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Ashtigar Formation", "underlies": "Reshit Formation" }, "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1990a)", "environment": [ "fluvial", "shallow marine" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Jurassic (Middle–Late Liassic)", "lithology": "A lower unit of fine-grained, reddish, cross-laminated and ripple-marked sandstone with mud cracks and raindrop prints, overlain by pelite, marly limestone, oolitic calcarenite and oncoidal/cherty limestone.", "geologicalSignificance": "A Middle to Upper Liassic (Early Jurassic) unit recording a shift from a fluvial meander-belt setting in its lower red-bed part to an open-lagoon marine transgression in its upper carbonate part; it overlies the scoured top of the Ashtigar Formation.", "plainSummary": "An Early Jurassic unit that passes up from river-laid red sandstones into shallow-marine limestones, above the Ashtigar Formation.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "overlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "underlies": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "osm-gazetteer" ], "thickness": "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Nicora, A., Henderson, C., Cirilli, S., Gale, L., Rettori, R., Vuolo, I. & Atudorei, V. (2013). Refinements in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic stratigraphy of Karakorum, Pakistan. Facies, 59, 915-948.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0346-9", "year": 2013 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 } ], "coordinates": "36.816267, 74.366690", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Type-locality coordinate set from reviewer-supplied GPS (36.816267 N, 74.366690 E), Chapursan valley, upper Hunza.", "source": "osm-gazetteer" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2013): the base of the Yashkuk Formation is dated as Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic; Gaetani et al. 1993), consistent with the curated Early Jurassic assignment. Its basal erosional contact and gentle angular unconformity seal the mildly folded Ashtigar shale, so the molassic Yashkuk clastics bracket Cimmerian deformation between the latest Triassic and the Pliensbachian.", "source": "gaetani-2012-karakorum" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011): the Yashkuk Formation is Toarcian–Aalenian (Gaetani et al. 1993), its base dated to the latest Pliensbachian; introduced by Gaetani et al. (1990a). Fine-grained red and green litharenites, siltstones and shales, 10–300 m thick, deposited on continental distal alluvial fans recording dismantling of the Cimmerian orogenic belt.", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "thickness": "about 150 m (basal ~2 m polymictic conglomerate overlain by shale, siltstone and molassic red sandstone)", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 36.816267, "lng": 74.36669, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "yasin-group", "name": "Yasin Group", "description": "", "fossils": [ "Orbitolina", "Rudists (Hippurites)" ], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "reviewStatus": "published", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Aptian–Albian", "age": "Cretaceous", "references": [ { "citation": "Pudsey, C. J. (1986); Ivanac, J. F. et al. (1956). Yasin Group shelly limestones, Albian–Aptian fossils.", "year": 1986 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya: implications for magmatic and tectonic arc-building processes. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 } ], "introducedBy": "Ivanac et al. (1956)", "lithology": "Lavas, tuffs and agglomerates with lenses and beds of fossiliferous massive and shaly limestone.", "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "shallow marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) volcaniclastic and reefal-limestone succession of the Kohistan arc; its Orbitolina-bearing limestones date the arc's shallow-marine phase and trace it as an arcuate belt from Yasin through Gilgit to Ladakh.", "plainSummary": "The Cretaceous Yasin Group — arc lavas and tuffs with Orbitolina-bearing reef limestone — dating the Kohistan arc's shallow-marine stage.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "treloar-1996-kohistan", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "gsp-malkani-2017", "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "epoch": "kazmi-jan-1997", "introducedBy": "kazmi-jan-1997", "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Treloar et al. (1996): the turbiditic Yasin Group is Albian–Aptian (c. 114 Ma; faunal age, Pudsey 1986) and overlies the Chalt Volcanic Group, recording back-arc crustal stretching preceding suturing to Asia.", "source": "treloar-1996-kohistan" } ], "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "zait-limestone", "name": "Zait Limestone", "age": "Triassic", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "lithology": "Massive black dolomitic limestone with a 6 m pisolitic ironstone bed.", "description": "Zait limestone is named by Talent et al. (1979) exposed in the Chitral area and consists of fossiliferous limestone. Tahirkheli (1982) mentioned Triassic age on the base of fossils.", "fossils": [ "Conodonts", "Isarcicella isarcica", "Isarcicella staeschei", "Hindeodus parvus" ], "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "introducedBy": "Talent et al. (1979)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early Triassic", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Early Triassic dolomitic limestone with a distinctive pisolitic-ironstone bed, exposed on the left bank of the Mastuj valley between Tormal Gol and Zait; it overlies Early Devonian sandstones within the area mapped as the Shogram Formation.", "plainSummary": "An Early Triassic black dolomitic limestone in the Mastuj valley, with a marker ironstone bed.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "gsp-shah-2009", "perri-molloy-talent-2004", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "era": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "period": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "epoch": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": "perri-molloy-talent-2004", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 3, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Perri, M.C., Molloy, P.D. & Talent, J.A. (2004). Earliest Triassic conodonts from Chitral, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 110(1), 467-478.", "year": 2004 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Zait formation'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Perri, Molloy & Talent (2004): a sample from near Torman (Dorman) Gol in the Mastuj valley (central Chitral) yielded earliest-Triassic (Scythian/Induan) conodonts of the Isarcicella isarcica Zone (Is. isarcica, Is. staeschei, Is. lobata, Is. turgida, Hindeodus parvus), confirming that the Zait Limestone (formally named by Talent et al. 1982; >600 m thick, Karakoram Terrane / Northern Sedimentary Belt) includes earliest-Triassic horizons — carbonate tracts here had previously been mapped as Permian or Cretaceous. The Zait Limestone is interpreted as part of the same Late Permian–Triassic 'Ailak–Zait Carbonate Platform' as the Ailak Dolomite, extending the platform at least 110 km farther SW than formerly supposed. The restricted-marine isarcicellid/hindeodid fauna (lacking gondolellids) contrasts with the more open-marine, gondolellid-bearing P–T sections of the Salt Range and Trans-Indus Ranges on the Indian block.", "source": "perri-molloy-talent-2004" } ], "thickness": "more than 600 m", "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "zaluch-group", "name": "Zaluch Group", "age": "Permian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "lithology": "Marine limestone, dolomite, sandstone and shale — the Amb, Wargal and Chhidru formations (formerly the lower, middle and upper Productus Limestone).", "description": "Named by Teichert (1966) after the Zaluch Nala, the Zaluch Group comprises the Amb, Wargal and Chidru formations (formerly the lower, middle and upper 'Productus Limestone'). It ranges from Early to Late Permian, marked by Monodiexodina kattaensis in the lower part and Cyclolobus oldhami near the top (Shah, 2009). The basal Amb Formation (Teichert, 1966; type at Amb village) is fusulinid-bearing sandstone, limestone and shale with abundant brachiopods and a Glossopteris–Gangamopteris flora.", "fossils": [ "Brachiopods (productids)", "Fusulinids", "Bryozoa" ], "typeLocality": "Amb", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "rank": "group", "basin": "Kohat-Potwar Basin", "introducedBy": "Teichert (1966)", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Early–Late Permian (Cisuralian–Lopingian)", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "economicImportance": "The Productus limestones are used for cement and building stone.", "geologicalSignificance": "The marine Permian succession of the Salt Range, comprising the Amb, Wargal and Chhidru formations (the classic 'Productus Limestone'); its richly fossiliferous beds span the Early to latest Permian and provide a key section for Permian biostratigraphy and the Permian–Triassic transition.", "plainSummary": "The Permian Zaluch Group of the Salt Range — the Amb, Wargal and Chhidru formations, the famous fossil-rich 'Productus Limestone' that reaches the great end-Permian extinction boundary.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997", "osm-gazetteer", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "gee-1989-saltrange" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "environment": "kazmi-jan-1997", "fossils": "kazmi-jan-1997", "economicImportance": "kazmi-jan-1997", "geologicalSignificance": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "plainSummary": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "osm-gazetteer" ], "description": "gsp-malkani-2017", "members": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ], "typeLocality": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "year": 2026 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "year": 1989 } ], "coordinates": "32.5084, 71.9365", "members": [ "amb-formation", "wargal-limestone", "chhidru-formation" ], "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "members", "note": "Gee (1989): the Late Permian Zaluch Group of the Salt Range comprises the Amb, Wargal and Chhidru formations — the 'Lower', 'Middle' and 'Upper Productus Limestone' of earlier usage — a predominantly calcareous, fossil-rich (coral, bryozoa, brachiopod, mollusc) succession.", "source": "gee-1989-saltrange" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 32.5084, "lng": 71.9365, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "zurati-formation", "name": "Zurati Formation", "age": "Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "lithology": "Shale and sandstone (flysch).", "description": "Zurati formation is named after the Zurati Koh and Tank e Zurati M/11 by Hafez et al, 1995. Hunting Survey Corporation 1961 gave the composite name as Panjgur and Siahan shale. Hafeez et al 1992 separated the Siahan shale and Panjgur formation, but one unit arises complication exist in between these two formation. So it was named as Zurati formation. It comprises sandstone, shale, slates, and minor siltstone. The lower contact with the Wazhdad volcaniclastic formation and upper contact with the Hoshab shale is gradational and confirmable. Fossils are not observed but according to law of superposition, it seems to be middle to late Eocene age.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Siahan Formation", "underlies": "Hoshab Formation" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "region": "Makran-Siahan Basin, Wazhdad Arc And Mashkel/Kharan Basin", "reviewStatus": "published", "epoch": "Eocene", "introducedBy": "Hafeez et al. (1992)", "typeLocality": "Zurati Koh / Tank-e-Zurati", "environment": [ "deep marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "An Eocene flysch unit of the Makran wedge intermediate between the Siahan and Hoshab shales; originally grouped within the HSC 'Panjgur and Siahan shale'.", "plainSummary": "An Eocene deep-sea shale-and-sandstone of the Makran wedge, between the Siahan and Hoshab shales.", "sources": [ "gsp-malkani-2017", "malkani-2020-balochistan" ], "citations": { "era": "gsp-malkani-2017", "period": "gsp-malkani-2017", "epoch": "gsp-malkani-2017", "introducedBy": "gsp-malkani-2017", "typeLocality": "gsp-malkani-2017", "lithology": "gsp-malkani-2017", "environment": "gsp-malkani-2017", "overlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "underlies": "gsp-malkani-2017", "geologicalSignificance": "gsp-malkani-2017", "plainSummary": "gsp-malkani-2017", "age": [ "gsp-malkani-2017" ] }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "tier": 2, "references": [ { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "year": 2017 }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Second Malkani reference (2020, same author as the 2017 baseline - not independent): the Zurati Formation = the Wazhdad Volcaniclastic Group (named after Zurati Koh, 31 M/11) - tuff, agglomerate, tuff breccia and tuffaceous sandstone/shale, dark green, ~1200-1500 m, Early-Late Eocene, of the Wazhdad magmatic arc.", "source": "malkani-2020-balochistan" } ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-memoir" }, { "id": "khojak-formation", "name": "Khojak Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Late Eocene to Early Miocene (mainly Oligocene)", "age": "Late Eocene to Early Miocene, mainly Oligocene (Priabonian-Chattian; ~35.8-23.0 Ma)", "lithology": "Shale, sandstone and siltstone of mainly turbiditic and deltaic origin (Katawaz remnant ocean); locally carbonaceous with lignite lenses.", "description": "A thick Oligocene flysch-molasse succession of shale, sandstone and siltstone of turbiditic and deltaic origin, deposited in the Katawaz remnant ocean. Subdivided into the lower Murgha Faqirzai member (shale-dominated, ~1200 m at its type section) and the upper Shaigalu member (sandstone and shale, up to ~6000 m estimated). Widely exposed in the Axial Belt and the Chagai-Raskoh Magmatic Province. Named by Vredenburg (1909); type locality at Nauroz, 30 km NE of Kharan, Kalat.", "thickness": "900-1500 m (around the type locality); members up to several thousand m", "thicknessM": 1200, "typeLocality": "Nauroz, 30 km NE of Kharan (Kalat)", "introducedBy": "Vredenburg (1909)", "economicImportance": "Locally carbonaceous, with lenses of lignite.", "fossils": [ "Lepidocyclina dilatata", "Nummulites fichteli", "Nummulites intermedius", "Nummulites vascus", "Nummulites atacicus", "Assilina granulosa", "Dictyoconoides cooki" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kharan Formation", "underlies": "Hinglaj Formation" }, "members": [ "murgha-faqirzai-formation", "shaigalu-member" ], "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh", "chagai-hills" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Two members per the lexicon: the lower Murgha Faqirzai member (a unit here) and the upper Shaigalu member (not yet a separate unit).", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Independently corroborated (Malkani 2020, Balochistan Basin, independent of the Indian Plate Lexicon; and the strong independent literature Qayyum, Niem & Lawrence on the Katawaz remnant ocean, and Kassi et al. in J. Himalayan Earth Sci.): an Oligocene-Miocene monotonous sandstone-shale turbidite/deltaic sequence ~6000-6300 m thick, with a lower Murgha Faqirzai Member and upper Shaigalu Member, deposited by the Khojak submarine fan. Lifts this record off the indplex-only source; add Qayyum et al. and Kassi et al. as further independent references after PDF confirmation.", "source": "malkani-2020-balochistan" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents as 'Khojak formation'). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Khojak Formation (Eocene to Early Miocene; type Khojak) is >6,300 m of shale, sandstone and siltstone with subordinate limestone/conglomerate — a lower Murgha Faqirzai Member (prodelta turbidites) and an upper Shaigalu Member (deltaic-plain cross-bedded sandstone) — deposited in the Katawaz-Makran Sea delta-deep-sea-fan system fed by the rising Himalaya; conformable on the Nisai Formation and overlain transitionally by the Hinglaj Formation; larger forams (Nummulites atacicus, N. fichteli) and molluscs.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "members", "note": "Kakar et al. (2016) and Yaseen et al. (2019, after Qayyum et al. 1996): in the Khojak–Pishin flysch belt the Khojak Formation comprises two members — a lower Murgha Faqirzai Member (regularly bedded sandstone and shale; distal turbidites in the Makran equivalent) and an upper Shaigalu Member (fluvial- to wave-dominated deltaic sandstone). Age Late Eocene to Early Miocene, mainly Oligocene, from fossils in the middle and upper parts.", "source": "kakar-kasi-2016-khojak" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Kakar et al. (2016): a deltaic to submarine-fan (deep-marine turbidite) succession of the Katawaz remnant-ocean basin (Pishin–Katawaz / Khojak–Pishin flysch belt); the sandstones are recycled-orogen detritus derived from the early Himalayan orogen, moderately weathered (CIA ≈ 77).", "source": "kakar-kasi-2016-khojak" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Kakar et al. (2016): the Khojak Formation reaches ~6,300 m in the Khojak–Pishin flysch belt — considerably thicker than the ~1,200 m recorded here for other sections. The curated thickness is retained pending a section-specific review; the flysch-belt figure is noted as a regional maximum.", "source": "kakar-kasi-2016-khojak" }, { "field": "members", "note": "Kasi et al. (2012): the Khojak Formation comprises two members — the lower Murgha Faqirzai Member and the upper Shaigalu Member; the Shaigalu Member is added here to complete the previously single-member list. The curated type locality (Nauroz, near Kharan) reflects a Makran-area usage; in the Pishin Belt the formation is named after the Khojak Pass near Chaman.", "source": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Qayyum et al. (2001): detrital-modes analysis shows the Paleogene Khojak Formation is a recycled-orogen sandstone (modal Qt60F9L31 — subangular quartz with abundant lithics and minor feldspar, a few samples transitional magmatic-arc), deposited as a delta-submarine-fan complex in the Katawaz remnant ocean and recording early Himalayan orogeny and unroofing.", "source": "qayyum-2001-khojak-provenance" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2020-balochistan", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "kakar-kasi-2016-khojak", "yaseen-2019-shaigalu", "waliullah-gsp-pishin", "kasi-2012-pishin", "qayyum-2001-khojak-provenance" ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "members": "kasi-2012-pishin", "environment": "kakar-kasi-2016-khojak", "synonyms": "kasi-2012-pishin", "geologicalSignificance": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Kakar, D.M., Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Mohibullah, M. & Khan, S. (2016). Petrography and whole-rock geochemistry of the Oligocene–Miocene Khojak Formation, Khojak-Pishin Belt, Pakistan: implications on provenance and source-area weathering. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 49(2).", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Yaseen, W., Khan, A.S., Sohail, K., Farooq, U., Usman, M. & Ghani, M. (2019). Modal composition and provenance of Shaigalu Sandstones, Pishin-Katawaz Basin, northern Balochistan, Pakistan. Bahria University Research Journal of Earth Sciences (BURJES), 4(2), 70-77.", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Waliullah, Khan, J.A. & Akhtar, W. Preliminary geology and mineral potential of the Karezat and Barshor quadrangles (toposheets 34 N/6 and 5), district Pishin, Balochistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta (abstract)." }, { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2012 } ], "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "tier": 1, "environment": [ "deltaic", "submarine fan", "deep marine" ], "synonyms": [ "Khojak Shale" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Oligocene–Early Miocene flysch/molasse of the Khojak–Pishin (Katawaz) belt, exceeding ~6,300 m in the Chaman area. Named after the Khojak Pass near Chaman and first mapped as the 'Khojak Shale' by Vredenburg (1909); divided into a lower shale-dominant Murgha Faqirzai Member and an upper sandstone-dominant Shaigalu Member (Hunting Survey Corporation 1960), together deposited in a wave-modified, fluvial-dominated delta system.", "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "hinglaj-formation", "name": "Hinglaj Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Late Oligocene to Pliocene", "age": "Late Oligocene to Pliocene (Aquitanian-Piacenzian; ~23.0-2.58 Ma)", "lithology": "Dominantly sandstone with shale, subordinate shelly limestone and minor conglomerate; grey to brown, fine- to coarse-grained, gritty to pebbly, usually calcareous.", "description": "A thick arenaceous succession dominated by sandstone with shale, subordinate shelly limestone and minor conglomerate, restricted to the Axial Belt (Arenaceous Zone) and the Makran Flysch Province, where its lower coeval facies is the Talar Formation. Best exposed in the Hinglaj hills. Named by Vredenburg (1906).", "thickness": "3030-4545 m (4000 m at Hinglaj hills; 4545 m at Talar, 3030 m at Jiwani)", "thicknessM": 4000, "typeLocality": "Hinglaj hills, Makran Flysch Province", "introducedBy": "Vredenburg (1906)", "fossils": [ "Assilina mamilla", "Fasciolites borealis", "Discocyclina undulata", "Lepidocyclina blanfordi", "Lepidocyclina dilatata", "Nummulites atacicus", "Nummulites fichteli", "Nummulites intermedius", "Spiroclypeus sp." ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Khojak Formation", "underlies": "Chatti Formation" }, "provinces": [ "makran", "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "overlies", "note": "Conformably (transitional) on the Khojak Fm in the Axial Belt (on the Nari Fm north of Bela), and on the Talar/Parkini Fms in the Makran Flysch Province; overlain by the Gwadar Fm (Axial Belt) or the Chatti Fm (Makran).", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents as 'Hinglaj formation'). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Hinglaj Formation (Miocene to Pleistocene; type Hinglaj Mountains) is 3,303 to >4,545 m of cross-stratified calcareous sandstone with mudstone, shale, shelly limestone and minor conglomerate — a lower Parkini Mudstone Member and an upper Chatti Mudstone Member — forming the bulk of the Neogene Makran/Balochistan succession; it rests transitionally on the Oligocene Khojak Formation and is unconformably overlain by the Gwadar Formation; forams, gastropods and bivalves.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Sheikh, Khan & Farooqui (2006, JHES 39:15-38) analysed a 1,443 m section of the Hinglaj Formation near Nal (Ornach-Nal fault, southern Balochistan) and recognised twelve lithofacies interpreted as a foreshore-beach to shoreface environment with a steep depositional slope and no back-barrier; they record seven transgressive-regressive complexes and note the formation extends from Nal through the Bela area to SW of Ormara. Depositional environment added from this source; the type locality remains the Hinglaj hills.", "source": "sheikh-2006-hinglaj" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "sheikh-2006-hinglaj" ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "environment": "sheikh-2006-hinglaj" }, "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "environment": [ "foreshore beach", "shoreface", "shallow marine" ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kharan-formation", "name": "Kharan Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Early to Middle Eocene", "age": "Early to Middle Eocene (Ypresian-Lutetian; ~56-41.0 Ma)", "lithology": "Reefoid, clay-rich limestone (medium to dark grey, fetid on fresh surface) with thin calcareous shale and calcareous sandstone intercalations.", "description": "A highly fossiliferous, reefoid, clay-rich limestone with calcareous shale and sandstone intercalations that become dominant in the central Raskoh Range. Restricted to the Chagai-Raskoh Magmatic Province. Named by the Hunting Survey Corporation (1960); type locality near Jalwar, Kharan district.", "thickness": "90-600 m", "thicknessM": 350, "typeLocality": "Near Jalwar, Kharan district (Chagai-Raskoh)", "introducedBy": "Hunting Survey Corporation (1960)", "fossils": [ "Assilina granulosa", "Assilina exponens", "Assilina elliptica", "Fasciolites oblonga", "Discocyclina ranikotensis", "Flosculina globosa", "Lituonella douvillei", "Opertorbitolites douvillei" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Rakhshani Formation", "underlies": "Khojak Formation" }, "provinces": [ "chagai-hills" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2020-balochistan", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex" }, "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "year": 2020 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Independently corroborated (Malkani 2020, Balochistan Basin — independent of the Indian Plate Lexicon; and Geotectonics 2025, DOI 10.1134/S0016852125700049, on the Eocene Kharan Limestone of the Raskoh Range): Early-Middle Eocene foraminiferal/argillaceous limestone near Kharan, treated as a synonym/equivalent of the Nisai (Robat) limestone. Lifts this record off the indplex-only source. Literature-search-derived.", "source": "malkani-2020-balochistan" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Kharan Formation (Early to Middle Eocene; type section near Jalwar) is 90–600 m of grey argillaceous fossiliferous reefoid limestone with calcareous shale and sandstone (including the Wakai Member), conformably overlying the Rakhshani Formation and overlain transitionally by the Khojak Formation; forams Assilina granulosa/exponens, Orbitolites complanatus.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "bugti-formation", "name": "Bugti Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene-Neogene", "epoch": "Oligocene to Miocene", "age": "Oligocene to Miocene (Rupelian-Aquitanian; ~33.9-20.45 Ma)", "lithology": "Coarse-grained sandstone. It is composed of bright and varicolored sandstones with common interbeds of ferruginous conglomerates and yellow and red sandy silts. Some of the sandstones are pure white and soft with no apparent bedding; such beds increase in number upwards. Conglomerates occur in lower section where lenticular beds of tuff and ash are also present.", "description": "Coarse-grained sandstone. It is composed of bright and varicolored sandstones with common interbeds of ferruginous conglomerates and yellow and red sandy silts. Some of the sandstones are pure white and soft with no apparent bedding; such beds increase in number upwards. Conglomerates occur in lower section where lenticular beds of tuff and ash are also present. Restricted to Bugti area. It is best developed on both flanks of Zin anticline and is not recognized in Sulaiman Range foothills.", "thickness": "Attains a maximum thickness of 300 m on the flanks of Zin anticline and gradually wedges out in all directions. m", "thicknessM": 300, "typeLocality": "North of Gandoi Post", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Drazinda Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "fossils": "gsp-shah-2009", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "tier": 1, "fossils": [ "Very rich vertebrate fauna ('Bugti Beds')" ], "introducedBy": "(formalized from 'Bugti Beds'; = upper 'Upper Nari' Pilgrim 1908, 'Bugti Bone deposits' Cooper 1924)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Author/introducer from Shah (2009), GSP Memoir 22.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "gwadar-formation", "name": "Gwadar Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Quaternary", "period": "Quaternary", "epoch": "Middle Pleistocene", "age": "Early Pleistocene probably (Gelasian-Calabrian; ~2.03-1.39 Ma)", "lithology": "Sandy claystone. Combined Gwadar and overlying/coeval Ormara Fm are predominantly sandy clay, 60-900 m thick", "description": "Sandy claystone. Combined Gwandar and overlying/coeval Ormara Fm are predominantly sandy clay, 60-900 m thick v", "typeLocality": "Gwandar hammerhead section within Makran Flysch Province (MFP) of the Balochistan Basin", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chatti Formation", "underlies": "Ormara Formation" }, "provinces": [ "makran" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "kazmi-jan-1997", "thicknessM": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents as 'Gwadar formation'). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Gwadar Formation (Late Pliocene to Pleistocene; Gwadar Peninsula) is 60–900 m of soft, poorly-bedded buff sandy clay with subordinate sandstone and conglomerate, unconformably overlying the Hinglaj Formation and overlain (angular unconformity) by the Jiwani Formation; forms a flat rocky marine platform; forams, bivalves, gastropods.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Thickness surfaced from the age note: the Gwadar Formation is 60–900 m of soft buff sandy clay with subordinate sandstone and conglomerate (Kazmi & Jan 1997); it thickens strongly laterally, so thicknessM is the range midpoint and the range string is the reliable figure.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "thickness": "60–900 m", "thicknessM": 480, "lithologyType": "claystone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "haro-conglomerate", "name": "Haro Conglomerate Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Quaternary", "period": "Quaternary", "epoch": "Pleistocene", "age": "Pleistocene (Gelasian–Calabrian; ~2.58–0.77 Ma)", "lithology": "Conglomerate and coarse-grained sandstone.", "description": "Conglomerate and coarse-grained sandstone. Axial Belt and Kakar-Khorasan Province (Balochistan Basin, between Afghanistan and Axial Belt)", "thickness": "600-1,500 m thick. m", "thicknessM": 1050, "typeLocality": "Gesh Kaur near Kharan-type section", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Bostan Formation" }, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh", "chagai-hills" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "citations": { "age": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "era": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents as 'Haro conglomerate'). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Haro Conglomerate (Pleistocene; type locality Kech Valley, Kharan District) is 150 m to >900 m of conglomerate with subordinate sandstone and mudstone (rounded pebbles/boulders), deformed and resting unconformably on Neogene or older deposits — the Balochistan-Basin equivalent of the Lei Conglomerate, related to the last major Himalayan orogenic episode.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORRECTION: the Haro Conglomerate is Pleistocene (the Balochistan-basin equivalent of the Lei Conglomerate). The previous age label 'Miocene' contradicted its own numeric range (Gelasian–Calabrian, ~2.58–0.77 Ma, which is Pleistocene) — the label is corrected to Pleistocene.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "isha-formation", "name": "Isha Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "Middle to Late Jurassic", "age": "Middle to Late Jurassic (Bathonian-Kimmeridgian; ~168.17-149.24 Ma)", "lithology": "The formation typically consists of thick bedded to massive limestone with minor shale intercalations. Limestone. At the type locality, the limestone is mostly dark grey to blue in color, and weathers to light grey and to brownish colors. At places, the limestone is thin to thick bedded, hard and contains some secondary calcite veins, chert nodules, ooides, pisolite and pellets. Its texture varie…", "description": "The formation typically consists of thick bedded to massive limestone with minor shale intercalations. Limestone. At the type locality, the limestone is mostly dark grey to blue in color, and weathers to light grey and to brownish colors. At places, the limestone is thin to thick bedded, hard and contains some secondary calcite veins, chert nodules, ooides, pisolite and pellets. Its texture varies from fine grained, sublithographic to oolitic, reefoid and shelly. In the upper part, the limestone is fairly jointed, fractured and calcite veins are present in these openings. The limestone forms …", "thickness": "100 m at the type locality. m", "thicknessM": 100, "typeLocality": "Isha Check Post, North Waziristan", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Sarobi Formation", "underlies": "Chashmai Kharsai Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "ahmad-kurram-2000", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Ahmad, S., Ali, F., Rehman, N. & Gul, J. (2000). Lithostratigraphy of the Kurram Group along the Mirali-Miran Shah Road, North Waziristan Agency, NWFP, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 33, 79-86.", "url": "https://ojs.uop.edu.pk/jhes/article/view/1531", "year": 2000 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "underlies": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "introducedBy": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED by Ahmad et al. (2000): the Isha Formation is the upper Jurassic limestone/shale unit (Isha Check Post area), disconformably overlain by the Cretaceous (Chashmai Kharsai, Marsi Khel, Zerghar). North Waziristan, not Zhob.", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "provinces", "note": "Province corrected from zhob-muslim-bagh to sulaiman: Ahmad et al. (2000) place this unit in NORTH WAZIRISTAN (Mirali-Miran Shah-Razmak), part of the western Axial/Sulaiman belt - not the Zhob-Muslimbagh area. (A dedicated Waziristan province could be added later.)", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "underlies", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2000): the Isha Formation (limestone) grades up from the Sarobi Formation (gradational lower contact) and is DISCONFORMABLY overlain by the Cretaceous Chashmai Kharsai Formation. Name introduced herein after the Isha check post.", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" } ], "introducedBy": "Ahmad et al. (2000)", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kharari-formation", "name": "Kharari Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic-Jurassic", "epoch": "Late Triassic (?) to Early Jurassic", "age": "Late Triassic (?) to Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian; ~201.36-196.18 Ma)", "lithology": "Sandy limestone. Anwar et al. (1991) described the lithology to consist of limestone, dolomite, sandstone, siltstone and shale in the type locality. The sandstone is grey, light grey, purplish brown, weathering brownish grey, thin to medium bedded, fine to medium grained, well sorted, quartzose, micaceous, gritty, cross bedded, fragmentary and friable. The limestone is grey to brownish grey, weat…", "description": "Sandy limestone. Anwar et al. (1991) described the lithology to consist of limestone, dolomite, sandstone, siltstone and shale in the type locality. The sandstone is grey, light grey, purplish brown, weathering brownish grey, thin to medium bedded, fine to medium grained, well sorted, quartzose, micaceous, gritty, cross bedded, fragmentary and friable. The limestone is grey to brownish grey, weathering brown, laminated to thin bedded, flaggy, micritic and unfossiliferous. The siltstone is greenish grey to brownish grey and weathers brown. The shale is black to greenish grey, weathering browni…", "thickness": "248-824 m", "thicknessM": 536, "typeLocality": "Kharari Nai, Mor Range (35K/16", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Fatmi et al. (1990), from Kharrari Nai (Mor Range), Windar area (previously in Hunting's 'Windar group'/'Zidi formation')", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "khaskheli-basalt", "name": "Khaskheli Basalt Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Cretaceous-Paleogene", "epoch": "Maastrichtian to Danian", "age": "Maastrichtian to Danian (Maastrichtian-Danian; ~67.88-64.73 Ma)", "lithology": "Basalt. These lava flows occur at the base of Khadro Formation and were originally included in the same formation. In the outcrops in Laki Range they have a small vertical extent, and are interbedded with mudstone and claystone. However, the wells drilled to the east of the Kirthar fold belt and those drilled in the Badin area encountered much larger thickness of basalts with lesser sedimentary i…", "description": "Basalt. These lava flows occur at the base of Khadro Formation and were originally included in the same formation. In the outcrops in Laki Range they have a small vertical extent, and are interbedded with mudstone and claystone. However, the wells drilled to the east of the Kirthar fold belt and those drilled in the Badin area encountered much larger thickness of basalts with lesser sedimentary influx within, and overlain by Khadro Fm. In view of their subsurface lateral extent to the east and much increased thickness, they are being proposed as a formation. In the type locality, these basalt…", "thickness": "27-177 m", "thicknessM": 102, "typeLocality": "Bara Nai, northern Laki Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Khadro Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sindh" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "N.K. Siddiqui, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. (written communication, 1987) — split from the Khadro Formation", "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kohat-formation", "name": "Kohat Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Middle Eocene", "age": "Middle Eocene (Lutetian-Bartonian; ~46.66-38.54 Ma)", "lithology": "Limestone and Claystone. It consists of interbedded nummulitic limestone and shale, and is subdivided into two members:Kaladhand Member: It is composed predominantly of limestone, which is light grey, hard, compact and thin bedded with shale intercalations, particularly in the lower part. It contains abundant diagnostic Early Eocene forams, such as Orbitolites complanatus, Alveolina oblonga, Lind…", "description": "Limestone and Claystone. It consists of interbedded nummulitic limestone and shale, and is subdivided into two members:Kaladhand Member: It is composed predominantly of limestone, which is light grey, hard, compact and thin bedded with shale intercalations, particularly in the lower part. It contains abundant diagnostic Early Eocene forams, such as Orbitolites complanatus, Alveolina oblonga, Linderina burgesi and Assilina pustulosa. It is essentially a cliff-forming sequence, but in places becomes more shaly and forms steep slopes.Sadkal Member: It is mainly comprised of greenish grey, calcar…", "thickness": "37-170 m in western Ko-MP, and only as thin slivers in Kalachitta area m", "thicknessM": 104, "typeLocality": "Kohat-Khushalgarh Highway section", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kuldana Formation", "underlies": "Murree Formation" }, "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "yaseen-2007-kohat", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "ahmad-2016-nummulitid-kohat", "mirza-2006-kohat" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Yaseen, A., Munir, M., Rehman, O. & Mirza, K. (2007). Microfacies Analysis of the Middle Eocene Kohat Formation, Shekhan Nala, Kohat Basin, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 42, 15-24.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2007 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "environment": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "fossils": [ "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "ahmad-2016-nummulitid-kohat" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "fossils": [ "Assilina exponens", "Nummulites beaumonti", "Assilina cancellata", "Assilina papillata", "Assilina laminosa" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) assign the Kohat Formation to shallow benthonic Zones SBZ14-SBZ16 (Lutetian-Bartonian, Middle Eocene), on Assilina exponens (Akhtar & Butt 2001) and foraminifera of intermediate age between SBZ10 and SBZ17 (Weiss 1993). It marks the last episode of marine sedimentation in the Kohat area, Kala Chitta and Hazara ranges, overlain by non-marine Miocene Murree molasse. Consistent with the curated Middle Eocene (Lutetian-Bartonian) age.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Kohat Formation (Eocene) is 50–170 m of grey-to-cream massive nodular limestone and olive shale with a lower Kaladhand Limestone, middle Sadkal Shale and upper Habib Rahi Limestone member; it rests conformably on the Kuldana Formation and is overlain unconformably by the Neogene; foraminifera include Assilina spp., Lockhartia hunti and Nummulites mammilla.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Yaseen et al. (2007), Middle Eocene Kohat Formation at Shekhan Nala (Kohat Basin): larger foraminifera Nummulites beaumonti, N. mamillatus, Assilina exponens and Alveolina elliptica confirm a Middle Eocene age. Expands the recorded fauna beyond the single Assilina exponens.", "source": "yaseen-2007-kohat" }, { "field": "environment", "note": "Yaseen et al. (2007): the Kohat Formation at Shekhan Nala comprises three microfacies (bioclastic wackestone, bioclastic packstone, bioclastic grainstone) and four lithofacies from base to top - TS-1 calcareous shale interbedded with fossiliferous limestone, TS-2 nummulitic shale and limestone, TS-3 highly fossiliferous limestone, TS-4 massive nodular limestone - indicating deposition in shallow-marine settings. The formation is divided (Meissner et al. 1974) into the Kaladhand, Sadkal (= Nummulitic Shales of Pinfold 1918) and Habib Rahi members.", "source": "yaseen-2007-kohat" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): in the Kohat-area Eocene succession the Middle Eocene Kohat Limestone marks the culmination of a second Kohat transgression (restricted to NW Pakistan), overlain by the Upper Eocene Kohat Formation shales (Chharat Group); the underlying Middle Eocene Mami Khel red beds prograded over the deepest part of the Kohat basin before that second transgression.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Ahmad, Kroon, Rigby & Khan (2016, Stratigraphy 13(4)) document the Kohat Formation in the Sheikhan Nala section (Kohat Basin) as hosting their upper three nummulitid Benthic Foraminiferal Zones - BFZ 4 (FO Assilina exponens; 32 m), BFZ 5 (FO Nummulites beaumonti; 9 m) and BFZ 6 (range of Assilina cancellata; 28 m) - with a figured LBF assemblage of Assilina exponens, A. laminosa, A. papillata, A. cancellata, Nummulites beaumonti, N. acutus, Alveolina elliptica and A. spinosa. This constrains the formation to the Middle-Upper Lutetian (middle Eocene), consistent with the curated age.", "source": "ahmad-2016-nummulitid-kohat" }, { "field": "age", "note": "In the Kohat Basin the top of the Kohat Formation (BFZ 6, Upper Lutetian ~ SBZ 16 / Assilina gigantea Zone of Schaub 1981) records the final cessation of marine sedimentation and closure of the eastern Tethys seaway at ~41.2 Ma, per Ahmad et al. (2016).", "source": "ahmad-2016-nummulitid-kohat" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Biostratigraphy at Shekhan Nala (Mirza et al., 2006): larger benthic foraminifera (Nummulites mamillatus/atacicus/globulus/subirregularis, Assilina exponens/granulosa/spinosa/dandotica, Operculina, Discocyclina, Dictyoconoides, Alveolina) confirm an early Middle Eocene (Lutetian) age. Three members — Kaladhand Limestone, Sadkal Shale (a foraminiferal biolithite) and Habib Rahi Limestone (karstified top); a shallow-marine inner-neritic carbonate bank marking the terminal Eocene marine phase, capped unconformably by the Murree Formation.", "source": "mirza-2006-kohat" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "malikhore-formation", "name": "Malikhore Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "Early Jurassic", "age": "Early Jurassic (Sinemurian-Pliensbachian; ~196.18-184.2 Ma)", "lithology": "Oolitic limestone. Anwar et al. (1991) described the lithology in the type section to be mainly composed of thick-bedded limestone with subordinate calcareous shale/marl as thin partings. The limestone is grey to greyish brown, weathering to brown, thick bedded to massive, biomicritic and hard, peletic, oolitic, coquinoidal and shelly with frequent bioturbated mottled beds. The shale is black, fi…", "description": "Oolitic limestone. Anwar et al. (1991) described the lithology in the type section to be mainly composed of thick-bedded limestone with subordinate calcareous shale/marl as thin partings. The limestone is grey to greyish brown, weathering to brown, thick bedded to massive, biomicritic and hard, peletic, oolitic, coquinoidal and shelly with frequent bioturbated mottled beds. The shale is black, fissile and carbonaceous. The formation is highly resistant which forms steep slopes or cliffs. The formation is exposed in southern Axial Belt; northward it extends up to west of Khuzdar town.", "thickness": "136-387 m", "thicknessM": 262, "typeLocality": "Malikhore village (35 I/9, 27 km WNW of Khuzdar", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kharari Formation", "underlies": "Anjira Formation" }, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "margala-hill-limestone", "name": "Margala Hill Limestone", "rank": "formation", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Eocene", "age": "Early Eocene (Ypresian)", "lithology": "Grey to dark grey (weathering pale grey), nodular, medium- to thick-bedded and massive limestone with subordinate marl and shale.", "description": "The Margala Hill Limestone (also spelled Margalla Hill Limestone) is an Early Eocene (Ypresian) shallow-marine carbonate named after the Margalla Hills near Islamabad and described from southeastern Hazara and the Kala Chitta Range by Latif (1970); it was formalised in Shah (1977). It consists of grey to dark grey, nodular, medium- to thick-bedded and massive limestone with subordinate marl and shale, resting transitionally on the Patala Formation and passing up conformably into the Chorgali Formation. Reported thickness ranges from about 73 m (Battlian, Muzaffarabad) to about 136 m (Kohala-Bala, Haripur). Its larger benthic foraminifera (Nummulites, Assilina, Lockhartia, Operculina, Alveolina and miliolids) with dasycladalean algae, bivalves and echinoids indicate deposition on a gentle homoclinal carbonate ramp and support an age spanning shallow-benthic zones SBZ 8-11. Note on nomenclature: the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan tradition (Shah 1977, 2009; Latif 1970) treats it as a valid, distinct formation and the lateral facies equivalent of the Sakesar Limestone, whereas GSP Memoir Vol. 24 (Malkani and Mahmood, 2017) treats it as a synonym of the Sakesar Formation. Part of the Chharat Group.", "thickness": "~73 m (Battlian, Muzaffarabad) to ~136 m (Kohala-Bala, Haripur); locally thinner", "thicknessM": 90, "typeLocality": "Margalla Hills near Islamabad; described from southeastern Hazara and the Kala Chitta Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Patala Formation", "underlies": "Chorgali Formation", "lowerContact": "conformable", "upperContact": "conformable" }, "provinces": [ "hazara", "potwar", "kohat", "azad-kashmir" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "drewes-2078h", "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir", "khaskheli-2022-kalachitta-margalla" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Drewes, H., Ahmad, Z. & Khan, R. (2007). Resource Evaluation of Selected Minerals and Industrial Commodities of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan. Chapter H of Regional Studies of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan (P.D. Warwick & B.R. Wardlaw, eds.), U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2078-H, 22 p.", "year": 2007 }, { "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Munir, M.-H., Baig, M.S. & Mirza, K. (2005-2006). Upper Cretaceous of Hazara and Paleogene Biostratigraphy of Azad Kashmir, North West Himalayas, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 69-87.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2006 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Latif, M. A. (1970). Explanatory notes on the geology of south-eastern Hazara, and Micropalaeontology of the Galis Group of Hazara. Jahrbuch der Geologischen Bundesanstalt, Sonderband 15.", "year": 1970 }, { "citation": "Shah, S. M. I. (ed.) (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 12.", "year": 1977 }, { "citation": "Biostratigraphy of Early Eocene Margala Hill Limestone in the Muzaffarabad area (Kashmir Basin, AJK). Pakistan Journal of Geology, 1(2), 16-20. Battlian section ~73 m; Patala and Chorgali contacts.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://ideas.repec.org/a/zib/zbnpjg/v1y2017i2p16-20.html" }, { "citation": "Sedimentological and diagenetic analysis of Early Eocene Margalla Hill Limestone, Shahdara area, Islamabad: implications for reservoir potential. Carbonates and Evaporites. Homoclinal ramp; five microfacies.", "year": 2022, "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13146-022-00822-0" }, { "citation": "Depositional and diagenetic modeling of the Margala Hill Limestone, Hazara area: reservoir characterization using outcrop analogues. Margala Hill carbonates are the lateral facies equivalent of the Sakesar Limestone; mid-ramp.", "year": 2023, "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2949891023001719" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.", "year": 2017, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315834725_Stratigraphy_of_Pakistan" } ], "citations": { "age": [ "gsp-shah-2009" ], "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": [ "gsp-shah-2009" ], "thickness": [ "gsp-shah-2009" ], "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": [ "gsp-shah-2009" ], "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": [ "gsp-shah-2009" ], "environment": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "fossils": [ "gsp-shah-2009" ], "coordinates": [ "gsp-shah-2009" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Fractured carbonate hydrocarbon reservoir and outcrop analogue in the Kala Chitta-Margalla-Hazara petroleum province; also one of the principal cement-rock (limestone) sources of the Potwar Plateau area, quarried in large quantity where close to markets or rail lines (Drewes and others, 2007); used locally as building and aggregate stone.", "environment": [ "Shallow marine carbonate ramp", "Homoclinal ramp (proximal outer to inner ramp)", "Mid-ramp to lagoonal" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) assign the Margala Hill Formation to shallow benthonic Zones SBZ8-SBZ11 (early-middle Ypresian, Early Eocene) on larger benthonic foraminifera (Latif 1970, 1976; Akhtar & Butt 1999, 2001). It overlies the Patala Formation unconformably (hiatus equivalent to upper Zone P5-P6a) in the Kala Chitta and Hazara ranges. Consistent with the curated Early Eocene (Ypresian) age.", "source": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Margalla Hill Limestone (Early Eocene; type locality Burjianwala) is 80–120 m of grey medium-bedded to massive nodular limestone with subordinate marl and shale, conformably overlying the Patala Formation and succeeded by the Chor Gali Formation; rich larger-foram fauna (Assilina granulosa/spinosa, Discocyclina, Lockhartia, Nummulites atacicus).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Surfaced into fossils[] (field was previously empty): rich larger-foram fauna — Assilina granulosa/spinosa, Discocyclina, Lockhartia, Nummulites atacicus (Kazmi & Jan 1997); Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) assign shallow benthic zones SBZ8–SBZ11 (early–middle Ypresian) on these larger benthonic foraminifera.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Munir, Baig & Mirza (2005-06): the basal Margala Hill Limestone of Azad Kashmir carries earliest-Eocene Nummulites atacicus and N. mammillatus marking the top of the Paleocene-Eocene boundary interval, within the Paleocene-Early Eocene shallow-marine larger-benthic-foraminiferal succession (Lockhart-Patala-Margala Hill-Chorgali).", "source": "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Eocene Margalla Hill Limestone is listed among the Potwar producing reservoir formations (with the Bhadrar and Chorgali); in the Margalla Hill interval oil and gas has been produced from eight fields across the Potwar area. Craig et al. treat the Sakesar and Margalla Hill limestones as lateral/nomenclatural equivalents of the early Eocene outer-shelf carbonate.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Munir et al. (2006): Early Eocene (Ypresian) thick-bedded to massive nodular fetid limestone rich in larger foraminifera — Nummulites atacicus, N. mamillatus, Assilina granulosa/spinosa/laminosa/subspinosa and Rotalia trochidiformis; its base marks the Paleocene–Eocene boundary (first appearance of N. atacicus and N. mamillatus; extinction of Miscellanea miscella and Lockhartia haimei).", "source": "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir" }, { "field": "fossils", "source": "khaskheli-2022-kalachitta-margalla", "note": "Khaskheli, Khan & Ghafari (2022): a ~52 m Margalla Hill Limestone section in the core of the Kahi Synclinorium (eastern Kala Chitta Range, Nizampur) yielded 16 larger-benthic-foraminiferal species - Nummulites globulus, N. atacicus, Miscellanea miscella, M. julietta, Assilina spinosa, A. subspinosa, A. laminosa, Lockhartia conditi, L. haimei, L. conica, Ranikothalia sahni, R. sindensis, Discocyclina sp., Rotalia trochidiformis, Kathina selveri and Operculina patalensis." }, { "field": "age", "source": "khaskheli-2022-kalachitta-margalla", "note": "Khaskheli et al. (2022): a Nummulites globulus/N. atacicus assemblage biozone (defined on first and last occurrences) in the Kala Chitta Margalla Hill Limestone is correlated to Shallow Benthic Zone SBZ-8 of Serra-Kiel et al. (1998) - early Eocene (Ilerdian) - consistent with the curated Ypresian age." }, { "field": "environment", "source": "khaskheli-2022-kalachitta-margalla", "note": "Khaskheli et al. (2022): in the Kahi section the Margalla Hill Limestone is ~52 m of reddish-yellow to grey nodular limestone, thin- to thick-bedded, with greenish-grey and reddish-brown shale and marl interbeds in the lower part and highly fossiliferous tempestite beds in the middle and upper part; its lower contact is transitional/conformable with the late Paleocene Patala Formation and the upper contact is not preserved there." } ], "fossils": [ "Nummulites mamillatus", "Nummulites atacicus", "Assilina spinosa", "Assilina laminosa", "Assilina granulosa", "Assilina exponens", "Lockhartia tipperi", "Lockhartia conditi", "Alveolina", "Operculina", "Miliolids", "Gastropods", "Echinoids" ], "basin": "Kohat-Potwar Basin", "region": "Hazara and Kala Chitta ranges; Margalla Hills (Islamabad); Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis", "geologicalSignificance": "The Hazara and Kala Chitta representative of the Early Eocene Tethyan carbonate shelf, laterally equivalent to the Sakesar Limestone; its larger foraminifera define shallow-benthic zones SBZ 8-11 and it caps the marine Paleogene of the northern Greater Indus Basin before molasse sedimentation.", "coordinates": "33.73, 73.05", "lat": 33.73, "lng": 73.05, "introducedBy": "Latif (1970); formalised in Shah (1977), Stratigraphy of Pakistan (GSP Memoir 12)", "synonyms": [ "Margalla Hill Limestone (alternative spelling)", "Sakesar Limestone (lateral facies equivalent; treated as a synonym in GSP Memoir Vol. 24)" ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "marsikhel-formation", "name": "Marsikhel Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Early to Middle Cretaceous", "age": "Early to Middle Cretaceous (Barremian-Albian; ~126.5-106.85 Ma)", "lithology": "Clayey limestone. It consists of light grey to dark grey, thin to medium-bedded limestone and greenish grey shale. In the lower portion, the limestone is micritic and arenaceous at places, and within the limestone alternate layers of light green shale are present, which are rich in belemnites. Ferruginous and calcareous sandstone is also present near the base.", "description": "Clayey limestone. It consists of light grey to dark grey, thin to medium-bedded limestone and greenish grey shale. In the lower portion, the limestone is micritic and arenaceous at places, and within the limestone alternate layers of light green shale are present, which are rich in belemnites. Ferruginous and calcareous sandstone is also present near the base. Reported only from Kurram Agency area in North Waziristan.", "thickness": "250 m thick at the type locality. m", "thicknessM": 250, "typeLocality": "Marsi Khel village", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Zerghar Formation", "overlies": "Chashmai Kharsai Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "ahmad-kurram-2000" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Ahmad, S., Ali, F., Rehman, N. & Gul, J. (2000). Lithostratigraphy of the Kurram Group along the Mirali-Miran Shah Road, North Waziristan Agency, NWFP, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 33, 79-86.", "url": "https://ojs.uop.edu.pk/jhes/article/view/1531", "year": 2000 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009", "fossils": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "coordinates": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "introducedBy": "Ahmad et al. (2000)", "fossils": [ "Belemnites" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "underlies", "note": "Indian Plate Lexicon (N.K. Siddiqui): Marsikhel Formation is conformably overlain by the Zerghar Formation (upper contact) and conformably underlain by the Chashmai Kharsai Formation (lower contact). The lower contact (overlies = Chashmai Kharsai Fm, an Early Cretaceous belemnite-shale unit distinct from the Eocene Chashmai Formation) is not yet wired because that unit is not in the dataset — pending its creation.", "source": "indplex-geolex" }, { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED by Ahmad et al. (2000): the Marsi Khel Formation is a Cretaceous unit of the North Waziristan succession (type at Marsi Khel village), with Chashmai Kharsai and Zerghar. North Waziristan, not Zhob.", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "provinces", "note": "Province corrected from zhob-muslim-bagh to sulaiman: Ahmad et al. (2000) place this unit in NORTH WAZIRISTAN (Mirali-Miran Shah-Razmak), part of the western Axial/Sulaiman belt - not the Zhob-Muslimbagh area. (A dedicated Waziristan province could be added later.)", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "overlies", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2000): the Marsikhel Formation (belemnitic shale and limestone) conformably overlies the Chashmai Kharsai Formation and is conformably overlain by the Zerghar Formation. Name after Marsi Khel village. (introducedBy corrected 'Ahmed' -> 'Ahmad'.)", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2000): type locality near Marsi Khel village, North Waziristan — 33°02'30\"N, 70°10'30\"E (= 33.0417, 70.1750).", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" } ], "coordinates": "33.0417, 70.1750", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 33.0417, "lng": 70.175, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "moro-formation", "name": "Moro Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian", "age": "Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) (Maastrichtian; ~70.02-67.88 Ma)", "lithology": "Pelagic marl. It consists of grey, medium to thick bedded, grey to dark grey marl, dark grey to grey green calcareous shale and minor sandstone and volcanic conglomerate of mottled appearance (only in the lower part). Limestone is the dominant lithology in the Sulaiman Province where it contains chert lenses, while marl is dominant in Sanjawi area (Sulaiman Province) and the Axial Belt. In the Ki…", "description": "Pelagic marl. It consists of grey, medium to thick bedded, grey to dark grey marl, dark grey to grey green calcareous shale and minor sandstone and volcanic conglomerate of mottled appearance (only in the lower part). Limestone is the dominant lithology in the Sulaiman Province where it contains chert lenses, while marl is dominant in Sanjawi area (Sulaiman Province) and the Axial Belt. In the Kirthar Province, shale constitutes the main rock type. The formation is recognized in the Sulaiman and Kirthar provinces and the Axial Belt. It conformably overlies Pab Sandstone Fm; where Pab is not d…", "typeLocality": "Moro River section in Kirthar Range, between Johan and Bibi Nani", "introducedBy": "Hunting Survey Corporation (1960)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Parh Limestone", "underlies": "Khadro Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sindh", "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "malkani-2019-cretaceous", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "umar-2024-cretaceous" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2019). Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9, 671-673.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2019.910071", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "malkani-2019-cretaceous", "thicknessM": "malkani-2019-cretaceous", "environment": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "fossils": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "geologicalSignificance": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, "confidence": "medium", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Independently corroborated (Malkani 2019, Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Pakistan, OJG — independent of the Indian Plate Lexicon; and a Rakhi Nala provenance study): Upper Cretaceous, ~110-140 m of mainly fine- to coarse-grained sandstone with minor siltstone/mudstone/limestone (iron-cemented sandstone at top), type/reference section Rakhi Nala, eastern Sulaiman Range; deltaic-to-marine. Lifts this record off the indplex-only source. Literature-search-derived.", "source": "malkani-2019-cretaceous" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Moro Formation (Maastrichtian; Kirthar-Sulaiman region) is a lower limestone (locally with volcanic conglomerate), a middle marly-shaly unit and an upper limestone — a lateral facies of the Pab Sandstone, 'essentially the same as the Bibai Formation of Kazmi (1955)', resting conformably/gradationally on the Pab (or Fort Munro/Parh) and overlain by the Dungan Formation; foraminifera include Omphalocyclus macropora and Orbitoides.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "Thickness surfaced from the lithology note: the Moro Formation is ~110–140 m of mainly sandstone with minor siltstone/mudstone/limestone at Rakhi Nala (Malkani 2019, Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Pakistan — independent of the Indian Plate Lexicon). thicknessM is the range midpoint.", "source": "malkani-2019-cretaceous" } ], "thickness": "~110–140 m", "thicknessM": 125, "environment": [ "shallow marine", "open shelf" ], "fossils": [ "Orbitoides", "Orbitella", "bivalves", "brachiopods", "gastropods" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Maastrichtian fossiliferous limestone-and-shale unit of the Kirthar–Sulaiman belt, the local uppermost-Cretaceous marine record. It rests disconformably (oxidised erosional contact, basal conglomerate) on the Parh Limestone or Fort Munro Formation and is conformably overlain by the Pab Formation in the Spera Ragha–Chinjun area.", "lithologyType": "marl", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "sarobi-formation", "name": "Sarobi Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "Early to Middle Jurassic", "age": "Early to Middle Jurassic (Pliensbachian-Bajocian; ~192.9-168.17 Ma)", "lithology": "Clayey limestone. The formation comprises a sequence of alternating limestone and shale. At the type locality, its lower part is predominantly limestone, while the upper part is shale. The limestone is thin bedded, occasionally thick bedded, micritic and grey to dark grey; it weathers to brownish grey and yellowish brown color. The limestone is very hard and forms ridges. It is fine crystalline t…", "description": "Clayey limestone. The formation comprises a sequence of alternating limestone and shale. At the type locality, its lower part is predominantly limestone, while the upper part is shale. The limestone is thin bedded, occasionally thick bedded, micritic and grey to dark grey; it weathers to brownish grey and yellowish brown color. The limestone is very hard and forms ridges. It is fine crystalline to fairly coarse grained, with shelly, oolitic, peletic and pisolitic interbeds. The shale is flaky, slaty, splintery, papery and black on fresh surface and weathers to greenish grey, dark grey and bro…", "thickness": "400+ m", "typeLocality": "North of Sarobi village, along Isha-Razmak road", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Isha Formation", "overlies": "Spalga Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "ahmad-kurram-2000", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Ahmad, S., Ali, F., Rehman, N. & Gul, J. (2000). Lithostratigraphy of the Kurram Group along the Mirali-Miran Shah Road, North Waziristan Agency, NWFP, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 33, 79-86.", "url": "https://ojs.uop.edu.pk/jhes/article/view/1531", "year": 2000 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "introducedBy": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "coordinates": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "coordinates", "note": "PROPOSED type coordinate (author to confirm): the Sarobi Formation (alternating limestone and shale) is exposed N of Sarobi village on the Isha-Razmak road, ~35 km SE of Miran Shah; Sarobi village lat 32 deg 54' 20\" N, long 70 deg 06' 35\" E = 32.9056, 70.1097 (Ahmad et al. 2000). Jurassic; corroborates the age. North Waziristan, not Zhob.", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "provinces", "note": "Province corrected from zhob-muslim-bagh to sulaiman: Ahmad et al. (2000) place this unit in NORTH WAZIRISTAN (Mirali-Miran Shah-Razmak), part of the western Axial/Sulaiman belt - not the Zhob-Muslimbagh area. (A dedicated Waziristan province could be added later.)", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "overlies", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2000): the Sarobi Formation (alternating limestone and shale) rests on the Spalga Formation across a thrust/faulted lower contact and grades upward into the Isha Formation.", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2000): type section north of Sarobi village along the Isha-Razmak road, ~35 km SE of Miran Shah — 32°54'20\"N, 70°06'35\"E (= 32.9056, 70.1097).", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" } ], "coordinates": "32.9056, 70.1097", "introducedBy": "Ahmad et al. (2000)", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lat": 32.9056, "lng": 70.1097, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "shirinab-group", "name": "Shirinab Formation", "rank": "group", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic-Jurassic", "epoch": "Early Jurassic (Pre-Toarcian); maybe into late Triassic", "age": "Early Jurassic (Pre-Toarcian). Keeping in view the enormous thickness of the formation, it is believed that it may extend into the Triassic (Rhaetian-Pliensbachian; ~203.55-184.2 Ma)", "lithology": "Limestone. In the type area, the formation consists of limestone with subordinate marl and shale. The limestone is thin- to thick-bedded, grey to dark grey, ash grey, weathers rusty brown to brownish grey, mottled, sub-lithographic, micritic to biomicritic with shelly, oolitic, peletic and pisolitic interbeds. It is also crinoidal, platy, flaggy, dolomitized and argillaceous at places. Coquina be…", "description": "Limestone. In the type area, the formation consists of limestone with subordinate marl and shale. The limestone is thin- to thick-bedded, grey to dark grey, ash grey, weathers rusty brown to brownish grey, mottled, sub-lithographic, micritic to biomicritic with shelly, oolitic, peletic and pisolitic interbeds. It is also crinoidal, platy, flaggy, dolomitized and argillaceous at places. Coquina beds are common. The marl is greenish grey and nodular. The shale dominates the upper part and is buff, maroon, greenish grey to brown, calcareous, and ranges from soft flaky to hard fissile. The format…", "thickness": "230- >1,000 m More than 1,000 m in the Kallat section, and 230 m (measured, base not exposed) in the Gurruk-Ziarat section. m", "thicknessM": 1000, "typeLocality": "Shirinab River section", "introducedBy": "Hunting Survey Corporation (1960)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Malikhore Formation", "underlies": "Chiltan Limestone" }, "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "members": [ "spingwar-formation", "loralai-formation", "anjira-formation" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "usgs-ofr-94-689", "gsp-shah-2009", "kadri-1995", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "razzaq-2024-tj" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kadri, I.B. (1995). Petroleum Geology of Pakistan. Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Karachi.", "year": 1995 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Razzaq Abdul Manan, Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Kasi, A.K., Ali, S.H., Farooqui, M.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2024). Deposition and diagenesis of the Triassic-Jurassic limestone successions of the northwestern passive margin of the Indian plate, Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt, Pakistan. Carbonates and Evaporites, 39, 104.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-024-01019-3", "year": 2024 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "razzaq-2024-tj", "members": "indplex-geolex", "environment": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "economicImportance": "kadri-1995", "fossils": "gsp-shah-2009", "geologicalSignificance": "razzaq-2024-tj" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "tier": 1, "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine" ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "environment", "note": "Gap-fill (environment field was empty). USGS OFR 94-689 describes the Shirinab Formation as thin- to medium-bedded limestone (fine to coarse grained, shelly, oolitic, pisolitic, pelitic) interbedded with calcareous fissile shale, >1,500 m thick in the Quetta Valley (Khan et al. 1986) — a shallow-marine shelf-carbonate succession.", "source": "usgs-ofr-94-689" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Shirinab Formation (as presently recognised Early Jurassic/Lower Jurassic; 1,500–3,000 m of interbedded limestone and shale in Kalat/Quetta/Zhob/Loralai) is subdivided into the Spingwar (Liassic, ammonite-dated, type at Spingwar), Loralai and Anjira Members (Williams 1959); it grades down into the Triassic Wulgai Formation and up into the Middle Jurassic Takatu Limestone. The original HSC (1960) 'Shirinab Formation' lumped undifferentiated Jurassic-Triassic-Permian rocks; near Khuzdar it was renamed the Ferozabad Group.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "economicImportance": "Dark Loralai and Anjira members indicate source-rock richness (need TOC/maturity testing).", "fossils": [ "Lower Toarcian ammonites (Bouleiceras, Protogrammoceras); brachiopods, corals" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Early–Middle Jurassic deep-to-shallow carbonate-platform succession of the Sulaiman–Kirthar belt (with the Spingwar, Loralai and Anjira members), deposited on the northwestern passive margin of the Indian Plate within the Palaeo-Tethys and passing upward into the shallower Chiltan Limestone.", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "spalga-formation", "name": "Spalga Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "epoch": "Late Triassic", "age": "The assigned Late Triassic age is based on stratigraphic position and lithological similarity to Late Triassic rocks of the Axial Belt (Carnian-Norian; ~237-216.52 Ma)", "lithology": "Fine-grained sandstone. The formation consists of sandstone, siltstone and shale. The sandstone is light to dark grey and weathers to rusty brown color. It is fine to medium grained, thin to medium bedded and exhibit circular rims due to color variation called as liasegang. Slump structures and worm burrows are commonly found in the sandstone beds. The shale is greenish grey and weathers to brown…", "description": "Fine-grained sandstone. The formation consists of sandstone, siltstone and shale. The sandstone is light to dark grey and weathers to rusty brown color. It is fine to medium grained, thin to medium bedded and exhibit circular rims due to color variation called as liasegang. Slump structures and worm burrows are commonly found in the sandstone beds. The shale is greenish grey and weathers to brownish grey with well developed fissility planes. The siltstone is greenish grey to dark grey and weathers rusty brown. So far reported from Miran Shah area only, in the northern extremity of the Axial B…", "typeLocality": "Spalga village, 17 km SE of Miran Shah, in the northern extremity of the Axial Belt", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Sarobi Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "ahmad-kurram-2000", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Ahmad, S., Ali, F., Rehman, N. & Gul, J. (2000). Lithostratigraphy of the Kurram Group along the Mirali-Miran Shah Road, North Waziristan Agency, NWFP, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 33, 79-86.", "url": "https://ojs.uop.edu.pk/jhes/article/view/1531", "year": 2000 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "introducedBy": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "coordinates": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED by Ahmad et al. (2000, full text): the Spalga Formation is the oldest (Triassic) unit of the North Waziristan succession (Mirali-Miran Shah-Razmak), in thrust contact below the Jurassic. Corroborates the Late Triassic age. NOTE: this is North Waziristan, NOT Zhob - province corrected.", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "provinces", "note": "Province corrected from zhob-muslim-bagh to sulaiman: Ahmad et al. (2000) place this unit in NORTH WAZIRISTAN (Mirali-Miran Shah-Razmak), part of the western Axial/Sulaiman belt - not the Zhob-Muslimbagh area. (A dedicated Waziristan province could be added later.)", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "underlies", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2000): the Triassic Spalga Formation (oldest unit; lower contact not exposed) is overlain across a THRUST/faulted contact by the Jurassic Sarobi Formation — the Triassic–Jurassic boundary is a thrust throughout the mapped area. Name introduced herein after Spalga village.", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "coordinates", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2000): type locality near Spalga village, 17 km SE of Miran Shah — 32°55'45\"N, 70°07'45\"E (= 32.9292, 70.1292).", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" } ], "coordinates": "32.9292, 70.1292", "introducedBy": "Ahmad et al. (2000)", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lat": 32.9292, "lng": 70.1292, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "sui-main-limestone", "name": "Sui Main Limestone Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Early Eocene (Ypresian)", "age": "Early Eocene (Ypresian) (Ypresian; ~56-52.83 Ma)", "lithology": "Limestone. At its type section Sui Main Limestone is composed entirely of limestone with minor dolomite, calcareous shales and marls. The limestone is creamy white to dirty white to off white in color. It is firm to moderately hard, occasionally soft, sub blocky to blocky, micro to cryptocrystalline and chalky in parts. The proposed formation represents a rich bioclastic limestone. It consists mo…", "description": "Limestone. At its type section Sui Main Limestone is composed entirely of limestone with minor dolomite, calcareous shales and marls. The limestone is creamy white to dirty white to off white in color. It is firm to moderately hard, occasionally soft, sub blocky to blocky, micro to cryptocrystalline and chalky in parts. The proposed formation represents a rich bioclastic limestone. It consists mostly of fine grained lime wackstone, packstone and grainstone. Sedimentary structures are almost entirely of burrows, bioturbation and nodular bedding, although vugs occur rarely. Pyrite crystals are …", "thickness": "152-486 m", "thicknessM": 319, "typeLocality": "Well Sui-36", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "kadri-1995", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "siddiqui-sml-2004" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Kadri, I.B. (1995). Petroleum Geology of Pakistan. Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Karachi.", "year": 1995 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Siddiqui, N.K. (2004). Sui Main Limestone: Regional geology and the analysis of original pressures of a closed-system reservoir in central Pakistan. AAPG Bulletin, 88(7), 1007-1035.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1306/012004200150", "year": 2004 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "economicImportance": [ "kadri-1995", "siddiqui-sml-2004" ], "geologicalSignificance": "siddiqui-sml-2004", "environment": "siddiqui-sml-2004" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "economicImportance": "Major gas reservoir at the Sui, Kandhkot and related fields; named by PPL. Subsurface type section at Sui.", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Eocene Sui Main Limestone is referred to informally as the 'Sui Main/Habib Rahi Limestone' and equated with the Habib Rahi Limestone — an important petroleum reservoir in the Kirthar depression and Sukkur Rift zone; the book does not describe it as a separately named formation.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Corroborated by Siddiqui (2004), AAPG Bulletin: the Sui Main Limestone is lower Eocene (Ypresian), consistent with the dataset's existing assignment. A closed-system carbonate reservoir; the paper analyses its original formation pressures across the central Indus fields.", "source": "siddiqui-sml-2004" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Siddiqui (2004) quantifies the reservoir: >20 tcf recoverable gas across 14 discovered fields, the most prolific reservoir south of ~29°N. Recorded alongside the existing Sui/Kandhkot note; the field is not overwritten.", "source": "siddiqui-sml-2004" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "The lower Eocene (Ypresian) Sui Main Limestone is the most prolific gas reservoir in Pakistan south of ~29°N, with recoverable reserves exceeding 20 tcf across 14 discovered fields; it is a closed-system reservoir that does not crop out, and its chronostratigraphic equivalent on the Kirthar/Punjab platform is the (non-reservoir) Laki Formation (Siddiqui 2004).", "source": "siddiqui-sml-2004" } ], "environment": [ "shallow marine", "carbonate platform" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The lower Eocene (Ypresian) Sui Main Limestone is the most prolific gas reservoir in Pakistan south of ~29°N, with more than 20 tcf of recoverable gas across 14 discovered fields (Siddiqui 2004). It does not outcrop anywhere in Pakistan and is known only in the subsurface; reservoir-quality carbonate development is restricted, diminishing northward as clastic influx increases toward the Sulaiman Range and the Jaisalmer basin.", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "takatu-limestone", "name": "Takatu Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "Middle Jurassic (Toarcian to Bathonian)", "age": "Middle Jurassic (Toarcian to Bathonian). [NOTE: Upper Mazar Drik Member extends into Early Callovian] (Toarcian-Callovian; ~184.2-163.41 Ma)", "lithology": "Reef limestone. It is typically a massive, thick to very thick bedded dark limestone that gives a fetid smell on broken surface. The color varies from dark to very light grey and brown to brownish grey; intraformational conglomerates have been found in the Takatu Range. The texture varies from fine grained, sub-lithographic to oolitic. At places the limestone is reefal or biohermal. The massive m…", "description": "Reef limestone. It is typically a massive, thick to very thick bedded dark limestone that gives a fetid smell on broken surface. The color varies from dark to very light grey and brown to brownish grey; intraformational conglomerates have been found in the Takatu Range. The texture varies from fine grained, sub-lithographic to oolitic. At places the limestone is reefal or biohermal. The massive mound shaped body, which forms the main mass of Takatu Peak represents a bioherm, devoid of bedding and composed largely of algal limestone. At Ziarat the bioherm is composed of algae, sponges and othe…", "thickness": "757-1,818 m", "thicknessM": 1288, "typeLocality": "Dara Manda Nallah", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Shirinab Formation", "underlies": "Sembar Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman", "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "thickness": "indplex-geolex", "thicknessM": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "underlies": "indplex-geolex" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Takatu Limestone (Middle Jurassic; type section Dara Manda south of Bostan; named Chiltan Limestone by HSC 1960, renamed by Shah 1987) is 750–1,800 m of massive dark-to-cream sublithographic to oolitic limestone, locally reefal, conformably overlying the Shirinab Formation and overlain by the Callovian–Bathonian Mazar Drik Formation.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "zerghar-formation", "name": "Zerghar Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Middle to Late Cretaceous", "age": "Middle to Late Cretaceous (Albian-Campanian; ~106.85-72.17 Ma)", "lithology": "Limestone. It is mainly a limestone with interbedded shale. The limestone varies in color from brown to yellowish grey on fresh surface, and on weathered surface it is dull brown. It is fine grained and thin to thick bedded. On broken surface, the impurities of iron, oxide are visible as cementing material. The limestone is highly fossiliferous and worm burrows are also present. The shale is gree…", "description": "Limestone. It is mainly a limestone with interbedded shale. The limestone varies in color from brown to yellowish grey on fresh surface, and on weathered surface it is dull brown. It is fine grained and thin to thick bedded. On broken surface, the impurities of iron, oxide are visible as cementing material. The limestone is highly fossiliferous and worm burrows are also present. The shale is greenish grey to rusty brown in color and contains belemnites.", "typeLocality": "NE of Miran Shah town (close to Isha section)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Marsikhel Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "indplex-geolex", "ahmad-kurram-2000", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org" }, { "citation": "Ahmad, S., Ali, F., Rehman, N. & Gul, J. (2000). Lithostratigraphy of the Kurram Group along the Mirali-Miran Shah Road, North Waziristan Agency, NWFP, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 33, 79-86.", "url": "https://ojs.uop.edu.pk/jhes/article/view/1531", "year": 2000 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "citations": { "age": "indplex-geolex", "epoch": "indplex-geolex", "period": "indplex-geolex", "lithology": "indplex-geolex", "typeLocality": "indplex-geolex", "overlies": "indplex-geolex", "introducedBy": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED by Ahmad et al. (2000): the Zerghar Formation is one of the three Cretaceous units (with Chashmai Kharsai and Marsi Khel) disconformably overlying the Jurassic Isha Formation, NE of Miran Shah. Corroborates the Middle-Late Cretaceous age. North Waziristan, not Zhob.", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "provinces", "note": "Province corrected from zhob-muslim-bagh to sulaiman: Ahmad et al. (2000) place this unit in NORTH WAZIRISTAN (Mirali-Miran Shah-Razmak), part of the western Axial/Sulaiman belt - not the Zhob-Muslimbagh area. (A dedicated Waziristan province could be added later.)", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the book describes a 'Zarghar Khel Formation' (Waziristan) of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age — differing from this record's Middle–Late Cretaceous (Albian–Campanian) lexicon age and possibly a name/spelling variant. Recorded as a note; the precise lexicon age is retained pending reconciliation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" }, { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2000): the Zerghar Formation (limestone; youngest unit, upper contact not exposed) conformably overlies the Marsikhel Formation. Name introduced herein after Zerghar mountain, ~5-6 km NE of Miran Shah.", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" } ], "introducedBy": "Ahmad et al. (2000)", "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "kathwai-member", "name": "Kathwai Member", "rank": "member", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "epoch": "Early Triassic", "age": "Early Triassic", "lithology": "Brown thin-bedded limestone (upper, ~3 ft) over reddish-brown massive calcareous dolomite (lower, ~7 ft), commonly crossbedded; base lateritic (a break in sedimentation).", "description": "Basal member of the Mianwali Formation (Kummel & Teichert 1966): a thin brown limestone over a reddish-brown massive calcareous dolomite with a lateritic base. Its lower contact with the Zaluch Group is sharp and disconformable. ~10 ft thick SE of Paniala, Khisor Range.", "thickness": "~10 ft (3 m) SE of Paniala", "thicknessM": 3, "introducedBy": "Kummel & Teichert (1966)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chhidru Formation", "underlies": "Mittiwali Member" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B, 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "citations": { "epoch": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "age": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "lithology": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "thickness": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "thicknessM": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "introducedBy": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "overlies": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "underlies": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Kathwai Member of the Mianwali Formation (Kummel 1966). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B), Paniala area: the basal Mianwali (Kathwai) Member is ~10 ft - a thin brown limestone over reddish-brown massive calcareous crossbedded dolomite that resembles sandstone in outcrop (dolomite confirmed in thin section by C. Teichert); its sharp, believed-disconformable base on the Zaluch Group (a lateritic red bed) marks a break in sedimentation.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "mittiwali-member", "name": "Mittiwali Member", "rank": "member", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "epoch": "Early Triassic", "age": "Early Triassic", "lithology": "Brownish-gray ammonite-bearing limestone (upper), greenish-brown calcareous micaceous sandstone with green shale (middle), argillaceous limestone (base).", "description": "Middle member of the Mianwali Formation: ammonite-rich limestone, sandstone and shale, sharp on the Kathwai Member. 239 ft thick at Spinnagara Nala.", "thickness": "239 ft (73 m) at Spinnagara Nala", "thicknessM": 73, "introducedBy": "Kummel & Teichert (1966)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kathwai Member", "underlies": "Narmia Member" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B, 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "citations": { "epoch": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "age": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "lithology": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "thickness": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "thicknessM": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "introducedBy": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "overlies": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "underlies": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Mittiwali Member of the Mianwali Formation (Kummel 1966). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B), Spinnagara Nala: the Mittiwali Member is ~239 ft - ammonite-rich brownish-grey brecciated sandy limestone (upper) over calcareous micaceous sandstone and green shale (middle) and finely crystalline argillaceous limestone (base); sharp contact on the Kathwai Member.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "narmia-member", "name": "Narmia Member", "rank": "member", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "epoch": "Early-Middle Triassic", "age": "Early-Middle Triassic", "lithology": "Gray-brown crystalline argillaceous limestone with abundant ammonites and interbedded fine- to medium-grained calcareous sandstone.", "description": "Upper member of the Mianwali Formation: ammonite-bearing limestone and sandstone, transitional on the Mittiwali Member. 249 ft thick at Spinnagara Nala.", "thickness": "249 ft (76 m) at Spinnagara Nala", "thicknessM": 76, "introducedBy": "Kummel & Teichert (1966)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Mittiwali Member", "underlies": "Landa Member" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B, 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "citations": { "epoch": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "age": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "lithology": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "thickness": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "thicknessM": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "introducedBy": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "overlies": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "underlies": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Narmia Member of the Mianwali Formation (Kummel 1966). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B), Spinnagara Nala: the upper Mianwali (Narmia) Member is ~249 ft of grey-brown crystalline argillaceous limestone and calcareous sandstone with abundant ammonites (in the limestone); transitional on the Mittiwali Member.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "landa-member", "name": "Landa Member", "rank": "member", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "epoch": "Triassic", "age": "Triassic", "lithology": "Fine-grained greenish-gray sandstone, siltstone and green/gray shale; plant fossils common, brachiopods near the top.", "description": "Lower member of the Tredian Formation (Kummel 1966): sandstone, siltstone and shale with plant fossils; its base placed at the top of the uppermost Narmia limestone. 115 ft thick at Spinnagara Nala.", "thickness": "115 ft (35 m) at Spinnagara Nala", "thicknessM": 35, "introducedBy": "Kummel & Teichert (1966)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Narmia Member", "underlies": "Khatkiara Sandstone Member" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B, 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "citations": { "epoch": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "age": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "lithology": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "thickness": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "thicknessM": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "introducedBy": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "overlies": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "underlies": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Landa Member (Kummel 1966; lower member of the Tredian Formation). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the 'Landa Member' (Kummel 1966) is the lower part of the Middle Triassic Tredian Formation — 19–29 m of nonmarine variegated micaceous sandstone with ripple marks and slump structures interbedded with shale, above the Mianwali Formation and below the Khatkiara Member. (The book treats it as a member of the Tredian Formation.)", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B), Spinnagara Nala: the basal Tredian (Landa) Member is ~115 ft of fine greenish-grey sandstone, siltstone and shale with common plant fossils (and brachiopods near the top); the plant fragments (Sitholey 1943) suggest possible nonmarine deposition within the otherwise shallow-marine Triassic.", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "khatkiara-sandstone", "name": "Khatkiara Sandstone Member", "rank": "member", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Triassic", "epoch": "Triassic", "age": "Triassic", "lithology": "Brown and white soft friable micaceous sandstone, fine to medium grained; dolomitic near the top with thin gray/black shale; disconformable conglomeratic base.", "description": "Upper member of the Tredian Formation: friable micaceous sandstone with a disconformable conglomeratic base; forms cliffs with the overlying Kingriali Dolomite. 150 ft thick SE of Paniala.", "thickness": "150 ft (46 m) SE of Paniala", "thicknessM": 46, "introducedBy": "Kummel & Teichert (1966)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Landa Member", "underlies": "Kingriali Formation" }, "provinces": [ "salt-range", "kohat", "potwar" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B, 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "year": 1973 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "citations": { "epoch": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "age": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "lithology": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "thickness": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "thicknessM": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "introducedBy": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "overlies": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "underlies": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Khatkiara Member, upper member of the Tredian Formation (Danilchik & Shah 1967). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the 'Khatkiara Member' (Danilchik et al. 1967) is the upper part of the Middle Triassic Tredian Formation — 38–59 m of massive-to-thick-bedded sandstone with thin dolomite interbeds above the Landa Member, grading up into the Kingriali Formation.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Hemphill & Kidwai (1973, USGS PP 716-B): the Khatkiara Sandstone Member (upper Tredian; name of Danilchik & Shah 1973 replacing Gee's 'Kingriali sandstone') is ~150 ft of brown/white soft friable micaceous sandstone, dolomitic near the top with grey/black shale; its base is disconformable (a basal conglomerate with limonitized plant fragments).", "source": "hemphill-kidwai-1973" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "manki-formation", "name": "Manki Formation", "age": "Precambrian", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "lithology": "Argillite, slate and phyllite, dark greenish-gray to dark gray (weathering olive-gray to reddish-brown); commonly with two cleavage sets giving a splintery texture, graded bedding the only sedimentary structure observed. Metamorphic grade increases northward, argillite/slate passing into phyllite with extensive quartz veining, chevron folds and kink bands.", "description": "Thick basal argillaceous unit of the southern Gandghar Range and northern Attock-Cherat Range. Originally 'Manki Slate' of Tahirkheli (1970); assigned a probable Proterozoic age by Hylland, Riaz & Ahmad (1988) on the basis of its correlation with the Hazara Formation, the lack of fossils and the gradational nature of the succession contacts (Tahirkheli, 1971, had favoured a Paleozoic assignment). Outcrop width implies a thickness in excess of 1000 m, though isoclinal folding makes this uncertain.", "fossils": [], "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Shahkot Formation" }, "provinces": [ "khyber" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "reviewStatus": "published", "thickness": "in excess of 1000 m", "thicknessM": 1000, "typeLocality": "Southern Gandghar Range and northern Attock-Cherat Range, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", "introducedBy": "Tahirkheli (1970)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Thick basal argillite-slate-phyllite unit of the Attock-Cherat / Gandghar basement succession; correlated with the Hazara Formation and gradational into the overlying Shahkot Formation. Displays a northward increase in metamorphic grade, reaching greenschist facies in the Gandghar Range.", "plainSummary": "The thick basal slate-and-phyllite unit beneath the Shahkot limestones in the Attock-Cherat and Gandghar hills.", "sources": [ "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "pogue-1999-himalayan-foothills" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Hylland, M.D., Riaz, M. & Ahmad, S. (1988). Geology of the Southern Gandghar Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, Vol. 21, pp. 1-14.", "year": 1988 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Hylland, M.D., Yeats, R.S., Khattak, W.U. & Hussain, A. (1999). Stratigraphic and structural framework of Himalayan foothills, northern Pakistan. In: Macfarlane, A., Sorkhabi, R.B. & Quade, J. (eds) Himalaya and Tibet: Mountain Roots to Mountain Tops. Geological Society of America Special Paper 328, 257-274.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0-8137-2328-0.257", "year": 1999 } ], "citations": { "lithology": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "thickness": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "thicknessM": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "typeLocality": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "introducedBy": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "underlies": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "environment": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "geologicalSignificance": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "age": [ "gsp-shah-2009" ] }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Manki Formation (Precambrian by lithologic correlation with the Hazara Formation, Hussain et al. 1990) is ≥950 m of dark grey thin-bedded argillite, slate and phyllite (two cleavages; grade increasing northward with quartz veins) in the Attock-Cherat and Gandghar Ranges — base not exposed, grading up into the Shahkot Formation, and thrust westward over the Dakhner Formation.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Pogue et al. (1999): the Manki Formation is >1,000 m of argillite, slate, phyllite and argillaceous meta-siltstone overlying the Gandaf Formation in the Gandghar Range and forming the oldest exposures in the Attock–Cherat Range; it is overlain by the limestone-and-argillite Shahkot, Utch Khattak (stromatolitic) and Shekhai formations.", "source": "pogue-1999-himalayan-foothills" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "bibai-formation", "name": "Bibai Formation", "age": "Late Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "lithology": "Two zones. Upper zone: thick volcanic-boulder conglomerate interbedded with ash beds and tuff, interfingering with coarse sandstone, argillaceous tuff and mudstone. Lower zone: interbedded agglomerate, tuff and basalt lava flows; its basal part is interbedded with the Parh Limestone.", "description": "Upper Cretaceous volcanic unit of the Kach-Ziarat area northeast of Quetta, forming part of the Bibai and Gogai nappes. Named by Kazmi (1979) after Bibai Peak in the Gogai area. Mapped northeast of Quetta; in the eastern part of the USGS OFR 94-689 map area it is included in the lower part of the Mughal Kot Formation of the Mona Jhal Group. Records Late Cretaceous volcanism on the deforming northern margin of the Indo-Pakistan plate.", "fossils": [ "bivalves", "brachiopods", "gastropods" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Parh Limestone", "underlies": "Pab Sandstone" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "rank": "formation", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin", "reviewStatus": "published", "thickness": "up to ~3,000 m (Ziarat region)", "thicknessM": 3000, "typeLocality": "Bibai Peak, Gogai area, northeast of Quetta, Balochistan", "introducedBy": "Kazmi (1979)", "environment": [ "marine", "volcanic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A thick Late Cretaceous volcanic succession (basalt lava flows, agglomerate, tuff and volcanic-boulder conglomerate) of the Kach-Ziarat region, part of the Bibai-Gogai nappes. Its basal lavas are interbedded with the pelagic Parh Limestone, dating submarine-to-subaerial volcanism along the Indian plate margin immediately before the Maastrichtian Mughal Kot clastic wedge.", "plainSummary": "A thick pile of Late Cretaceous lavas, tuff and volcanic conglomerate around Bibai Peak northeast of Quetta — the volcanic component that locally forms the base of the Mughal Kot succession.", "sources": [ "usgs-ofr-94-689", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "umar-2024-cretaceous", "maldonado-2011-quetta-mb-sibi" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "year": 2024 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Mengal, J.M., Khan, S.H. & Warwick, P.D. (2011). Summary of the Stratigraphy and Structural Elements Related to Plate Convergence of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi Region, Balochistan, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1224.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20111224", "year": 2011 } ], "citations": { "age": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "lithology": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "thickness": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "thicknessM": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "typeLocality": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "introducedBy": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "overlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "underlies": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "environment": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "geologicalSignificance": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "description": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "fossils": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-09", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Bibai Formation ('Bibai Volcanics' of Kazmi 1955, 1979b) is Late Cretaceous — interlayered Parh Limestone in its lower part yields Globotruncana lapparenti and G. linnei (Campanian), while the upper part carries Omphalocyclus macropora and Baculites binodosus (Early–Middle Maastrichtian; Kazmi 1955); Sawada et al. (1994) report a 71.4 ± 3.4 Ma age for the lower volcanics.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the lower Bibai comprises basaltic lava flows (locally altered to laterite between Kach and Loralai) and tuffs, interlayered with thick volcanic boulder conglomerate (the Kahan Conglomerate Member of Williams 1959); the upper part is mudstone and ash beds with subordinate sandstone. Volcanism was initially submarine (pillow lavas) then subaerial (Kazmi 1984), and geochemistry indicates within-plate alkali basalt — possibly hot-spot magmatism linked to the break-up of Gondwana (Sawada et al. 1992; Siddiqui et al. 1994). The book quotes a thickness of ~30 to 610 m (cf. the curated ~3,000 m Ziarat figure).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Bibai Formation of the Zhob thrust belt lies unconformably on the eroded Parh Limestone (its basal part locally interlayered with Parh) and grades up into the Dungan Formation; it is carried over the autochthonous Sulaiman fold belt on the Bibai Thrust and is correlated with the Mughal Kot Formation (Ziarat) and the Moro Formation, with the Porali Agglomerates and Bela Volcanics as further equivalents.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "members", "note": "Umar et al. (2024, after Kassi et al. 2009; Shah et al. 2021): the Bibai Formation of the Kach–Chinjun area (IESZ, western SFTB) is divided into four members — Chinjun Volcanics (>500 m in-situ mafic volcanics with pillow structures and dolerite dykes), Kahan Conglomerate (>1000 m), Ahmadun (volcanic breccia/conglomerate/sandstone/mudstone with basaltic flows) and Kach Mudstone (fossiliferous turbiditic mudstone). The in-situ basalts conformably overlie the Parh Limestone and underlie the Pab Formation.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Umar et al. (2024, after Mahoney et al. 2002; Siddiqui et al. 1996): radiometric dating places the Bibai submarine volcanism in the Late Campanian–Early Maastrichtian (73.4±2.0, 72±2.1 and 71.4±3.4 Ma); geochemistry indicates a hotspot-related (Deccan-linked) origin.", "source": "umar-2024-cretaceous" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Maldonado et al. (2011, USGS): the Upper Cretaceous Bibai Formation of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi region is mapped as divided into an upper and a lower zone.", "source": "maldonado-2011-quetta-mb-sibi" } ], "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "mazar-drik-formation", "name": "Mazar Drik Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "Middle Jurassic", "age": "Middle Jurassic (late Bathonian–early Callovian)", "lithology": "Interbedded grey limestone and dark shale.", "thickness": "less than 30 m at Mazar Drik (Marri hills type area)", "thicknessM": 30, "description": "A thin Middle Jurassic (Upper Bathonian–Lower Callovian) unit of interbedded grey limestone and dark shale, less than 30 m thick in its Mazar Drik (Marri hills) type area, resting transitionally on the Chiltan Limestone (Kadri, 1995). Its upper part carries an early Callovian fauna. Shah (2009) treats the interval as a member of the Takatu Limestone.", "fossils": [ "Early Callovian fauna (upper part)" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Chiltan Limestone" }, "environment": [ "marine" ], "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "sources": [ "kadri-1995", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Kadri, I.B. (1995). Petroleum Geology of Pakistan. Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Karachi.", "year": 1995 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 } ], "confidence": "high", "tier": 2, "citations": { "age": "kadri-1995", "epoch": "kadri-1995", "lithology": "kadri-1995", "thickness": "kadri-1995", "thicknessM": "kadri-1995", "overlies": "kadri-1995", "fossils": [ "gsp-shah-2009" ] }, "reviewStatus": "published", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Mazar Drik Member'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Mazar Drik Formation (Callovian to Late Bathonian; type Mazar Drik, Marri Hills) is ~30 m of interbedded grey limestone and dark shale, conformable on the Takatu Limestone and disconformably overlain by the Sembar Formation; a rich Middle-Jurassic ammonite fauna (Macrocephalites, Indocephalites, Bullatimorphites bullatus).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" } ], "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "siwalik-group", "name": "Siwalik Group", "rank": "group", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Miocene–Pleistocene", "age": "Miocene–Pleistocene", "lithology": "Sandstones with alternating argillaceous (mudstone/siltstone) bands — fluvial outwash molasse.", "thickness": "up to ~4,500 m in foredeep areas (Sulaiman Foredeep, Sibi and Karachi Troughs, Karachi Embayment)", "thicknessM": 4500, "description": "The Siwalik Group is the Miocene–Pleistocene fluvial molasse of the Himalayan foreland: sandstones with alternating argillaceous bands deposited by the river system draining between the rising Himalayan front and the Arabian Sea (Kadri, 1995). It reaches up to ~4,500 m in the foredeeps. Its lower contact is mostly conformable, but unconformable in the western Kirthar and eastern Sulaiman areas. In the Upper Indus (Potwar) it comprises the Chinji, Nagri, Dhok Pathan and Soan formations.", "members": [ "chinji-formation", "nagri-formation", "dhok-pathan-formation", "soan-formation" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The classic molasse archive of Himalayan foreland-basin sedimentation and a world-renowned Neogene vertebrate-fossil succession; its fluvial sandstones are also important shallow aquifers and the youngest fill of the Indus foredeep.", "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "provinces": [ "potwar", "sulaiman", "kirthar-range", "sindh" ], "sources": [ "kadri-1995", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "flynn-2016-siwalik", "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "gill-1951-siwalik" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Kadri, I.B. (1995). Petroleum Geology of Pakistan. Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Karachi.", "year": 1995 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Flynn, L.J., Pilbeam, D., Barry, J.C., Morgan, M.E. & Raza, S.M. (2016). Siwalik synopsis: a long stratigraphic sequence for the Later Cenozoic of South Asia. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 15(7), 877-887.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2015.09.015", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "year": 2018 }, { "citation": "Gill, W.D. (1951). The stratigraphy of the Siwalik Series in the Northern Potwar, Punjab, Pakistan. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 107, 375-394.", "year": 1951 } ], "confidence": "high", "tier": 2, "citations": { "age": "kadri-1995", "epoch": "kadri-1995", "lithology": "kadri-1995", "thickness": "kadri-1995", "thicknessM": "kadri-1995", "members": "kadri-1995", "geologicalSignificance": "kadri-1995" }, "reviewStatus": "published", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents as 'Siwalik Group'). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Siwalik Group is the Neogene molasse of the rising Himalaya (Chinji, Nagri, Dhok Pathan and Soan formations, capped by the Lei Conglomerate) — red/brown clays and thick cross-bedded sandstones passing up into conglomerate; it overlies the Rawalpindi Group in the Kohat-Potwar region and the Gaj Formation in the Kirthar/Sulaiman ranges, and carries a rich mammalian fauna including hominoid primates (earliest remains ~14.5 Ma).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Flynn et al. (2016): the Siwalik Group of the Potwar Plateau is one of the world's longest continuous continental mammal records — dominantly fluvial floodplain silts and sands dated by palaeomagnetic reversal stratigraphy to a resolution of ~100,000 years. Its formations (Kamlial, Chinji, Nagri, Dhok Pathan, Tatrot, and the Indian Pinjor) are distinguished chiefly by sand-body proportion, with vertical lithologic variation primarily tectonically controlled.", "source": "flynn-2016-siwalik" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Craig et al. (2018): the Middle Miocene-Early Pleistocene Siwalik Group (~6 km of fluvial sandstones, clays and conglomerates - Chinji, Nagri, Dhok Pathan and Soan formations plus the Lei Conglomerate in Kohat-Potwar) has poor reservoir quality and discontinuous seals, but its thick shales/clays form the ultimate regional overburden that matured the Palaeocene-sourced Potwar oils; most recent trap-forming compression was ~5-2 Ma.", "source": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Gill (1951), northern Potwar: the Siwalik stages were founded on the vertical predominance of clay or sandstone and only afterwards adopted as vertebrate-faunal zones, which lack sharp definition and are not everywhere fossiliferous, so their boundaries are mapped largely on lithology; the succession also shows marked lateral facies variation across the Potwar — a coarse channel facies along the line of the present Indus grading eastward into flood-plain deposits — which makes correlation by comparative lithology unreliable.", "source": "gill-1951-siwalik" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "chashmai-kharsai-formation", "name": "Chashmai Kharsai Formation", "rank": "formation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Early Cretaceous", "age": "Early Cretaceous", "lithology": "Belemnite-bearing shale.", "description": "An Early Cretaceous belemnite-bearing shale of the North Waziristan area, introduced by Ahmed et al. (2000) and recorded in Shah (2009). It is a distinct unit from the Eocene Chashmai Formation, with which the name \"Chashmai Kharsai\" has been confused in the baseline data.", "fossils": [ "Belemnites" ], "introducedBy": "Ahmad et al. (2000)", "environment": [ "marine" ], "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "sources": [ "gsp-shah-2009", "ahmad-kurram-2000" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Ahmad, S., Ali, F., Rehman, N. & Gul, J. (2000). Lithostratigraphy of the Kurram Group along the Mirali-Miran Shah Road, North Waziristan Agency, NWFP, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 33, 79-86.", "url": "https://ojs.uop.edu.pk/jhes/article/view/1531", "year": 2000 } ], "confidence": "high", "tier": 2, "citations": { "age": "gsp-shah-2009", "epoch": "gsp-shah-2009", "lithology": "gsp-shah-2009", "introducedBy": "gsp-shah-2009", "overlies": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "underlies": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "fossils": [ "gsp-shah-2009" ], "thickness": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "thicknessM": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "typeLocality": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "coordinates": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, "reviewStatus": "published", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "CONFIRMED by Ahmad et al. (2000): the Chashmai Kharsai Formation is the basal Cretaceous unit of the North Waziristan succession, disconformable on the Jurassic Isha Formation and overlain by the Marsi Khel and Zerghar formations.", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "overlies", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2000): the Chashmai Kharsai Formation disconformably overlies the Jurassic Isha Formation and grades conformably up into the Marsikhel Formation. (introducedBy attribution corrected 'Ahmed' -> 'Ahmad' per the paper's authorship.)", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" }, { "field": "thickness", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2000): the Chashmai Kharsai Formation is a belemnite-rich shale (dark green-grey, weathering rusty brown with a purple tint; alternating harder/softer shale with phosphatic nodules and glauconitic sandy layers) 30 m thick at its type locality (Chashmai Kharsai, 32°58′36″N, 70°05′30″E, along the Mirali–Miran Shah road), disconformably overlying the Isha Formation.", "source": "ahmad-kurram-2000" } ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Isha Formation", "underlies": "Marsikhel Formation" }, "thickness": "30 m at the type locality (disconformable contact above the Isha Formation).", "thicknessM": 30, "typeLocality": "Chashmai Kharsai, along the Mirali–Miran Shah road, North Waziristan Agency (32°58′36″N, 70°05′30″E).", "coordinates": "32.9767, 70.0917", "lithologyType": "shale", "lat": 32.9767, "lng": 70.0917, "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "hadda-quartzite", "name": "Hadda Quartzite", "rank": "formation", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "epoch": "Proterozoic", "age": "Proterozoic", "lithology": "Calcareous quartzite, dull rusty brown, fine-grained (shallow-marine to deltaic), with minor conglomerate beds and rare lava flows.", "thickness": "350 m", "thicknessM": 350, "description": "The lower formation of the Sharaban Group (Machh Super Group) in the Kirana Complex: a ~350 m calcareous quartzite of shallow-marine to deltaic character, overlain by the Chak 102 Conglomerate. Named the Hadda Quartzite (Heron, 1913); placed in the Sharaban Group by Alam (1987) and retained in the revised scheme of Chaudhry, Ahsan & Rehman (2022).", "introducedBy": "Heron (1913)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Chak 102 Conglomerate", "overlies": "Asianwala Formation" }, "synonyms": [ "Hadda Formation" ], "environment": [ "shallow marine", "deltaic" ], "provinces": [ "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "citations": { "lithology": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thickness": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thicknessM": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "introducedBy": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "underlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "epoch": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "age": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "overlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-08", "tier": 2, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Hadda Formation is the fourth of the five formations of the Precambrian Kirana Group (Alam 1983; Kirana Hills; Rb-Sr 870 ± 40 Ma); no separate per-formation lithology is given (group lithology: phyllite, slate, quartzite and volcanics).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Chaudhry, Ahsan & Rehman (2022): the Hadda Quartzite is dull rusty-brown, fine-grained and calcareous, with minor conglomerate beds, interpreted as shallow-marine to deltaic. In their revised scheme it is the lower unit of the Sharaban Group (Machh Super Group), overlain by the Chak 102 Conglomerate.", "source": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "epoch": "Proterozoic", "age": "Proterozoic", "provinces": [ "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "year": 2022 } ], "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "tier": 2, "id": "wad-sayyidan-formation", "name": "Wad Sayyidan Formation", "rank": "formation", "lithology": "Mafic volcanics and volcaniclastics (basalts and basaltic andesite) interbedded with slates, graphitic slates, dolomites and quartzwackes.", "thickness": "1054 m", "thicknessM": 1054, "introducedBy": "Hartsch et al. (2018)", "environment": [ "volcanic", "marine" ], "description": "Lower formation of the Hachi Volcanic Group, exposed at Wad Sayyidan and Gutti Sayyidan (Chiniot District): mafic volcanics and volcaniclastics interbedded with slates, graphitic slates, dolomite and quartzwacke. Its base is not exposed (Chaudhry, Ahsan & Rehman 2022; after Hartsch et al. 2018).", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Buland Hill Formation" }, "citations": { "lithology": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thickness": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thicknessM": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "introducedBy": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "underlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "environment": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "epoch": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "age": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "epoch": "Proterozoic", "age": "Proterozoic", "provinces": [ "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "tier": 2, "id": "buland-hill-formation", "name": "Buland Hill Formation", "rank": "formation", "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.", "thickness": "390 m", "thicknessM": 390, "introducedBy": "Hartsch et al. (2018)", "environment": [ "volcanic" ], "description": "Upper formation of the Hachi Volcanic Group, widely exposed at Buland Hill, Hachi Hill and Kirana Hill: predominantly acidic (rhyolitic) volcanics and volcanogenic slates intruded by dolerite. Unconformably overlain by the Machh Super Group.", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Wad Sayyidan Formation", "underlies": "Chak 112 Conglomerates" }, "citations": { "lithology": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thickness": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thicknessM": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "introducedBy": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "overlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "underlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "environment": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "epoch": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "age": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997) NAMING FLAG: 'Buland Hill' is treated as a locality (~5 km²) in the Kirana Hills, not a formal formation — predominantly rhyolitic flows, tuffs (some welded), breccia and concordant dolerite sheets (one rhyolite lens 90 m thick), a good example of bimodal continental magmatism of the Precambrian Kirana suite (~870 Ma). The DB 'Formation' rank should be reviewed.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORROBORATES the flag: 'Buland' appears only as one of the hills/localities (with Hachi, Sheikh, Hundawali, Chiniot) where volcanics dominate within the Kirana Hills — there is no 'Buland Formation' in the book. Supports treating 'Buland Hill' as a locality within the Hachi Formation, not a formal formation.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "epoch": "Proterozoic", "age": "Proterozoic", "provinces": [ "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "year": 2022 } ], "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-17", "tier": 2, "id": "chak-112-conglomerate", "name": "Chak 112 Conglomerates", "rank": "formation", "lithology": "Polymictic conglomerate with clasts of dolerite and acid volcanics.", "thickness": "2 m", "thicknessM": 2, "introducedBy": "Chaudhry et al. (1999)", "environment": [ "continental" ], "description": "The thin (~2 m) basal conglomerate of the Kirana Group, marking the unconformity on the underlying Hachi Volcanic Group: a polymictic conglomerate of dolerite and acid-volcanic clasts (Chaudhry et al. 1999; Khan 2000).", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Buland Hill Formation", "underlies": "Taguwali Formation" }, "citations": { "lithology": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thickness": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thicknessM": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "introducedBy": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "overlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "underlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "environment": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "epoch": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "age": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "epoch": "Proterozoic", "age": "Proterozoic", "provinces": [ "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-08", "tier": 2, "id": "asianwala-formation", "name": "Asianwala Formation", "rank": "formation", "lithology": "Quartzite with subordinate quartz wackes/arenaceous slates, gritty quartzites and slates; often cross-bedded and ripple-marked.", "thickness": "250 m", "thicknessM": 250, "introducedBy": "Heron (1913)", "environment": [ "shallow marine" ], "synonyms": [ "Asianwala Quartzite" ], "description": "Upper formation of the Kirana Group: cross-bedded, ripple-marked quartzite with subordinate quartz wacke and slate (Heron 1913; revised Chaudhry et al. 2022). Overlain by the Hadda Quartzite of the Sharaban Group.", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Taguwali Formation", "underlies": "Hadda Quartzite" }, "citations": { "lithology": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thickness": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "thicknessM": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "introducedBy": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "overlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "underlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "environment": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "epoch": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "age": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation. Shah lists this unit as 'Asianwala quartzite'.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Asianwala Formation is the third of the five formations of the Precambrian Kirana Group (Alam 1983; Kirana Hills; Rb-Sr 870 ± 40 Ma); no separate per-formation description is given.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Chaudhry, Ahsan & Rehman (2022): the Asianwala Formation (Asianwala Quartzite) is light-grey to dirty-white, mottled-brown, medium- to coarse-grained quartzite with conglomerates of slate; recorded thickness ~248 m. It is the uppermost unit of the Kirana Group (Machh Super Group).", "source": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Precambrian", "epoch": "Proterozoic", "age": "Proterozoic", "provinces": [ "indo-pakistan-shield" ], "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "gsp-shah-2009" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "year": 2022 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 } ], "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-08", "tier": 2, "id": "machh-super-group", "name": "Machh Super Group", "rank": "supergroup", "lithology": "Metasedimentary succession (conglomerate, quartzite, phyllite, slate) unconformably overlying the Hachi Volcanic Group.", "introducedBy": "Chaudhry et al. (1999)", "members": [ "kirana-group", "sharban-group" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Proterozoic metasedimentary supergroup of the Kirana Complex, unconformably overlying the Hachi Volcanic Group; comprises the Kirana and Sharaban groups and is correlated with the Marwar Super Group of India (Chaudhry et al. 1999).", "description": "A Proterozoic metasedimentary supergroup of the Kirana Complex, unconformably overlying the Hachi Volcanic Group and comprising the Kirana Group and the Sharaban Group; unconformably overlain by the Salt Range Formation.", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Hachi Volcanic Group" }, "citations": { "lithology": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "introducedBy": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "members": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "overlies": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "geologicalSignificance": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "epoch": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "age": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "introducedBy", "note": "Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22, which describes it as Machh Super Group (Chaudhry et al. 1999; discussed in Shah 2009). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.", "source": "gsp-shah-2009" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Chaudhry, Ahsan & Rehman (2022) revise the Proterozoic Kirana Complex (Sargodha-Chiniot area) into a lower Hachi Volcanic Group (Wad Syyidan and Buland Hill formations) and an overlying Machh Super Group, the latter comprising the Kirana Group (Chak 112 Conglomerate, Tuguwali Formation, Asianwala Formation) and the Sharaban Group (Hadda Quartzite, Chak 102 Conglomerate). The whole sequence is unconformably overlain by the Late Proterozoic-Cambrian Salt Range Formation.", "source": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "alozai-group", "name": "Alozai Group", "rank": "group", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "Early–Middle Jurassic", "age": "Middle and Early Jurassic", "lithology": "Jurassic shelf-carbonate and shale succession comprising the Loralai Formation over the Spingwar Formation.", "description": "A Jurassic group of the western Sulaiman / Balochistan transition comprising (in descending order) the Loralai Formation and the Spingwar Formation. Both were originally members of the Shirinab Formation (Williams, 1959; Fatmi, 1977); they were elevated to formation rank and grouped as the Alozai Group by Fatmi et al. (1990), as mapped by USGS OFR 94-689 (Maldonado, Khan & Mengal, 1994) and adopted by Shah (2009). Kadri (1995) still lists them as Shirinab members.", "introducedBy": "Fatmi et al. (1990)", "members": [ "loralai-formation", "spingwar-formation" ], "provinces": [ "sulaiman" ], "basin": "Balochistan Basin", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "usgs-ofr-94-689", "gsp-shah-2009", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "waliullah-gsp-pishin", "zulfiqar-ali-2021-zhob" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p.", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "year": 2009 }, { "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "year": 1994 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Waliullah, Khan, J.A. & Akhtar, W. Preliminary geology and mineral potential of the Karezat and Barshor quadrangles (toposheets 34 N/6 and 5), district Pishin, Balochistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta (abstract)." }, { "citation": "Ali, H.M.Z., Zubair, M.I., Ali, H., Akbar, G. & Awan, A.A. (2021). Geology, geochemistry and petrographic studies of exposed rock units from Zhob and Qila Saifullah districts of Balochistan. Pakistan Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, Series A: Physical Sciences, 64A(3), 240-246.", "year": 2021 } ], "citations": { "lithology": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "introducedBy": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "members": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "age": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "epoch": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "synonyms": "waliullah-gsp-pishin" }, "confidence": "high", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "tier": 1, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997) NAMING FLAG: the book treats the 'Alozai Group' (HSC 1960; Wulgai section near Muslimbagh) as a superseded name — the rocks are re-mapped as the Triassic Wulgai Formation (dark mudstone/shale with thin limestone) and the Jurassic Shirinab Formation (Williams 1959, Fatmi 1977). The DB 'Alozai Group' should be reconciled with this two-formation revision.", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Usage varies in the Zhob–Pishin area: the GSP Karezat abstract (Waliullah et al.) applies the name at formation rank — 'Allozai Formation', a Triassic limestone/shale locally intruded by ophiolitic ultramafics (Khanozai–Torkhula segment) — implying the group may extend into the Triassic, whereas the curated record (after USGS OFR 94-689; Kazmi & Jan 1997) treats the Alozai Group as Lower–Middle Jurassic (Spingwar + Loralai formations). Recorded as an alternative; the curated Jurassic scope is retained.", "source": "waliullah-gsp-pishin" } ], "synonyms": [ "Allozai Formation" ], "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "gsp-lexicon" }, { "id": "manglaur-formation", "name": "Manglaur Formation", "age": "Late Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian", "era": "Precambrian", "period": "Ediacaran", "lithology": "Metamorphosed garnetiferous schist and micaceous quartzite, with thick interlayers of quartzite, feldspathic quartzite and tremolite marble near the top; minor graphitic schist, amphibolite and marble.", "description": "The oldest unit of the Lower Swat rock sequence (Indian plate, south of the Main Mantle Thrust). It comprises metasedimentary garnetiferous schist and micaceous quartzite, sandwiched within the Swat granitic gneiss and unconformably overlain by the Alpurai Group. Unfossiliferous, it is lithologically correlated with the Late Precambrian–Early Cambrian Tanawal Formation.", "thickness": "up to ~1500 m (maximum exposed, uncorrected for strain and folding)", "typeLocality": "Ridge north of Narbatawal, near Loe Sar, Lower Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.", "introducedBy": "DiPietro (1990)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Swat granitic gneiss", "underlies": "Alpurai Group", "lowerContact": "intrusive", "upperContact": "unconformity" }, "geologicalSignificance": "The basal unit of the Lower Swat sequence; intruded by the Late Cambrian–Early Ordovician Swat granitic gneiss and unconformably overlain by the Alpurai Group, it represents the Precambrian basement beneath the Palaeozoic–Mesozoic Alpurai shelf.", "provinces": [ "swat-malakand" ], "basin": "Northern Indus Suture", "region": "Malakand", "rank": "formation", "fossils": [], "synonyms": [ "Manglaur Schist" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "dipietro-1993", "kazmi-jan-1997", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "anczkiewicz-1998-swat-suture" ], "references": [ { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993). Stratigraphy south of the Main Mantle Thrust, Lower Swat, Pakistan. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74, 207-220.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1993.074.01.15", "year": 1993 }, { "citation": "DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993). Stratigraphy south of the Main Mantle Thrust, Lower Swat, Pakistan. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds), Himalayan Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74, 207-220.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1993.074.01.15", "year": 1993 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Anczkiewicz, R., Burg, J.-P., Hussain, S.S., Dawood, H., Ghazanfar, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Indus Suture in the Lower Swat, Pakistan, NW Himalaya. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 16(2-3), 225-238.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-9547(98)00003-8", "year": 1998 } ], "lastReviewed": "2026-08-10", "citations": { "age": [ "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "lithology": [ "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "thickness": [ "kazmi-jan-1997" ], "typeLocality": [ "kazmi-jan-1997" ] }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Manglaur Schist (age uncertain, tentatively Precambrian; type near Manglaur village, Swat) is quartz-feldspar, quartz-mica-garnet, quartz-mica-kyanite and graphitic schist with amphibolite and calc-silicate (two garnet generations = ≥two metamorphic events), forming crystalline basement of the Swat Nappe intruded by the Swat Granite Gneiss and unconformably overlain by the Late Palaeozoic Alpurai Group. Corroborates the curated Late Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian age (book flags it as uncertain).", "source": "kazmi-jan-1997" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Anczkiewicz et al. (1998): in Lower Swat the Manglaur Schists (quartz-mica-garnet schists and micaceous quartzites, amphibolite/kyanite facies; believed Precambrian to Early Cambrian) are the structurally lowest Indian-plate unit and the pre-intrusion country rock of the Swat granite-gneiss (Early Permian, U-Pb ~276 Ma).", "source": "anczkiewicz-1998-swat-suture" } ], "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "darwaz-an-formation", "name": "Darwaz An Formation", "description": "The Darwaz An Formation is an Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) carbonate lens exposed just east of the Darwaz Pass in the upper Yarkhun Valley — the only dated Jurassic succession there. Basal transgressive grey-brown sandstones pass up into grey wackestone–packstone and recrystallized limestone crowded with large to giant bivalves (pernids and ostreids) of the Lithiotis-facies, deposited in a confined lagoon within the Karakoram carbonate platform. It rests transgressively on the Ailak Formation and is overthrust by the Devonian Chilmarabad dolostones.", "age": "Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Jurassic", "epoch": "Early Jurassic (Liassic)", "lithology": "At the base, a few metres of thin grey-brown sandstones (locally present), overlain by medium-bedded grey limestone (wackestone to packstone) with seams of fragmentary bivalves, layers of turriculate gastropods and foraminifers; the upper part is medium- to thick-bedded recrystallized limestone spectacularly crowded with large to giant bivalves (up to 40 cm), including pernids and ostreids (some resembling Mytiloperna sp.) in Lithiotis-facies.", "thickness": "preserved thickness slightly less than 100 m", "typeLocality": "Dark grey limestone strip just east of the Darwaz Pass (Darwaz An), upper Yarkhun Valley, between the top of the Ailak Formation and the overthrusting Devonian Chilmarabad dolostones; the only dated Jurassic succession identified in the upper Yarkhun Valley.", "introducedBy": "Zanchi & Gaetani (2011)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Ailak Formation", "lowerContact": "unconformity", "upperContact": "fault" }, "fossils": [ "Large to giant bivalves (pernids, ostreids; Lithiotis-facies)", "Turriculate gastropods", "Thaumatoporella parvovesiculifera", "Amijiella amiji", "Pseudocyclammina liasica", "Siphovalvulina variabilis", "Planinvoluta carinata" ], "environment": [ "carbonate platform", "restricted", "confined lagoon" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic) confined-lagoon carbonate lens within the wider Karakoram platform; its basal sandstones form the transgressive tract of a sequence resting on the emerged Ailak dolostones. Assigned to the Lithiotis-facies (foraminiferal microfacies with Amijiella amiji and Pseudocyclammina liasica), and the only dated Jurassic unit in the upper Yarkhun Valley — it helps bracket Cimmerian deformation in the Baroghil area between the latest Triassic and the Pliensbachian.", "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "rank": "formation", "synonyms": [], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gaetani-2012-karakorum" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram Range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Nicora, A., Henderson, C., Cirilli, S., Gale, L., Rettori, R., Vuolo, I. & Atudorei, V. (2013). Refinements in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic stratigraphy of Karakorum, Pakistan. Facies, 59, 915-948.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0346-9", "year": 2013 } ], "citations": { "age": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "lithology": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thickness": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "typeLocality": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "fossils": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "environment": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "introducedBy": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani et al. (2013): the Darwaz An Formation (Zanchi & Gaetani 2011) is the dark grey limestone forming a strip just east of the Darwaz An, transgressively overlying the top of the Ailak dolostone and structurally underlying the overthrusted Devonian Chilmarabad dolostones. A few metres of well-sorted grey-brown subquartzarenites at the base mark the transgression after emersion of the Ailak platform, overlain by medium-bedded grey mudstone-wackestone (fragmentary bivalves, turriculate gastropods) with an oligotypic foraminiferal assemblage of Amijiella amiji (Hauraniidae), passing up into recrystallized bioclastic packstone crowded with large-to-giant bivalves up to 40 cm long (isognomonids, ostreids resembling Mytiloperna sp., and Liostrea) — a Lithiotis-facies typical of the Tethyan Lower Jurassic (cf. the Calcari Grigi Formation of the Southern Alps). Preserved thickness slightly less than 100 m. Amijiella amiji gives a Sinemurian-Bathonian range, but the Lithiotis facies is usually Pliensbachian — consistent with the curated Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) age. Adds the primary descriptive source (previously carried only on Zanchi & Gaetani 2011).", "source": "gaetani-2012-karakorum" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "vandanil-formation", "name": "Vandanil Formation", "description": "The Vandanil Formation is an Early Devonian (Pragian) carbonate-ramp succession about 625 m thick, recognised only in the Karambar Unit of the Karakoram, where it forms the thickest and most complete Devonian–Carboniferous section of the range. Five lithozones grade from high-energy bioclastic limestones through sheltered nodular limestones and slates to a coral–algal mound at the top; conodonts (Pandorinellina steinhornensis miae and others, identified by R. Mawson) date it to the Pragian. It overlies the Ordovician Vidiakot slates and is overlain by the peritidal Chilmarabad Formation.", "age": "Early Devonian (Pragian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian", "epoch": "Early Devonian", "lithology": "About 625 m in five lithozones: (1) grey slightly dolomitized limestone with crinoids, brachiopod and tabulate-coral fragments (~135 m); (2) light grey dolostones (~50 m); (3) grey carbonatic siltstones with nodular limestones and dolostone banks, capped by calcareous slates (~150 m); (4) grey nodular limestones rich in brachiopods, corals, crinoids and nautiloids (~120 m); (5) grey dolostones with massive mounds built by dendroid-to-phacelloid rugosans, tabulates and calcareous algae (~170 m).", "thickness": "about 625 m", "typeLocality": "Type section on the southeast side of the Ribat Bar, above the summer meadows of Vandanil, Karambar Unit; recognized only in the Karambar Unit.", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (2008)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Vidiakot Formation", "underlies": "Chilmarabad Formation", "lowerContact": "conformable", "upperContact": "conformable" }, "fossils": [ "Conodonts (Pandorinellina steinhornensis miae, Ozarkodina spp., Amydrotaxis spp.)", "Crinoids", "Brachiopods", "Tabulate corals", "Rugosans", "Calcareous algae", "Nautiloids" ], "environment": [ "marine", "carbonate ramp" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Pragian (Early Devonian) carbonate ramp in the Karambar Unit, the thickest and most complete Devonian–Carboniferous succession of the Karakoram; conodonts (R. Mawson in Gaetani et al. 2008) date it to the Pragian. It underlies the peritidal Chilmarabad Formation and overlies the Ordovician Vidiakot slates.", "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "rank": "formation", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "gaetani-2008-devonian" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram Range, Pakistan. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Sciunnach, D. & Talent, J.A. (2008). The Devonian of Western Karakorum (Pakistan). Acta Geologica Polonica, 58(3), 261-285.", "year": 2008 } ], "citations": { "age": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "lithology": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thickness": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "typeLocality": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "introducedBy": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "fossils": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "environment": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Gaetani, Mawson, Sciunnach & Talent (2008) — the primary paper that FORMALLY DEFINES the Vandanil Formation (type section at Vandanil, Karambar thrust sheet): ~625 m of dolostones and recrystallized limestones lying above the black shales/siltstones of the Baroghil Group. Its base (scree-covered) approximates latest Silurian or earliest Devonian; conodonts prove a Pragian age (late sulcatus to dehiscens Zone) in the 4th of its 5 lithozones, with a ?Givetian top below the Chilmarabad Formation upper-dolostone member. Corroborates the curated Early Devonian (Pragian) age and ~625 m thickness; adds the definitional source (previously carried only on Zanchi & Gaetani 2011).", "source": "gaetani-2008-devonian" } ], "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "tupop-formation", "name": "Tupop Formation", "description": "The Tupop Formation is a Late Cretaceous fluviatile red-conglomerate unit of the Chapursan Valley area (Sost Unit, Karakoram). It consists of channelised, clast-supported red cobble–pebble conglomerates with sandstone and red-shale interbeds and local basal rhyolitic ignimbrites; no fossils were found, so its age rests on regional correlation. It unconformably covers the Triassic Aghil Formation carbonates and is in turn unconformably overlain by the Campanian marls of the Darband Formation — the Reshun/Tupop unconformity marking an important Karakoram deformational event.", "age": "Late Cretaceous", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Late Cretaceous", "lithology": "Channelized red cobble–pebble conglomerates in amalgamated several-metre beds interbedded with sandstone and red shales; usually clast-supported with carbonate cement, clasts predominantly carbonate with subordinate terrigenous and few volcanic clasts. Basal rhyolitic ignimbrites (top of the Hidden Gorge) and a ~10 m dark red ignimbrite occur locally.", "thickness": "", "typeLocality": "Widely exposed west and south of Babaghundi Ziarat in the Chapursan Valley, along the Buattar valley and northward up the Irshad Uwin Valley (Sost Unit).", "introducedBy": "Gaetani et al. (1990a)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Aghil Limestone", "underlies": "Darband Formation", "lowerContact": "unconformity", "upperContact": "unconformity" }, "fossils": [], "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Late Cretaceous fluviatile red-conglomerate unit (age by correlation to the Chapursan Valley; no fossils found) that unconformably covers the Triassic Aghil Formation carbonates and is in turn unconformably covered by the Campanian marls of the Darband Formation. The Reshun/Tupop unconformity marks an important deformational event in the Karakoram.", "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "rank": "formation", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram Range, Pakistan. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "citations": { "age": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "lithology": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "typeLocality": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "introducedBy": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "environment": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-31", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) CORROBORATES the curated Cretaceous age: the Tupop Conglomerate (Gaetani et al. 1993; Kundil and Borom tributaries of the lower Chapursan Valley, upper Hunza) is a thick lithic conglomerate with clasts of limestone, sandstone, quartzite and felsic volcanics plus reworked Permian fusulinids and echinoderm fragments; it lacks age-diagnostic fossils but is bracketed (angular unconformities) between a Jurassic–Early Cretaceous sequence below and the Late Cretaceous (Campanian–early Maastrichtian) ~300 m Darband Formation above, giving an inferred Cretaceous age. The book calls it a 'conglomerate' rather than a 'formation'.", "source": "kazmi-abbasi-2008" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "ini-sar-formation", "name": "Ini Sar Formation", "description": "The Ini Sar Formation is a Middle Permian (Guadalupian) dolostone unit up to 370 m thick in the Baroghil-Lashkargaz Unit of the Karakoram, bracketed by two unconformities. A basal transgressive conglomerate and shore-facies calcarenites pass up into heavily dolomitised shallow-water carbonates; fusulinids of the Neoschwagerina simplex Zone (Schubertella, Yangchienia, Chusenella, Neoschwagerina) fix its Guadalupian age. Formerly merged with the Ailak Formation, it lies between the Lashkargaz and Ailak formations.", "age": "Middle Permian (Guadalupian; early Murgabian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "epoch": "Guadalupian", "lithology": "A basal few metres of polymictic conglomerate with carbonate pebbles up to 15 cm (fining up, <15 m), overlain by coarse grey calcarenites in 20-50 cm beds with siltstone intercalations; the bulk is monotonous light grey sucrosic dolostone in massive beds with rare ghosts of thin-shelled bioclasts. Up to 370 m.", "thickness": "up to 370 m", "typeLocality": "Forms a strip from Lashkargaz to the Baroghil Pass (Baroghil-Lashkargaz Unit), drastically reduced at the Baroghil Pass; type section figured after Leven et al. (2007).", "introducedBy": "Leven et al. (2007)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Lashkargaz Formation", "underlies": "Ailak Formation", "lowerContact": "unconformity", "upperContact": "unconformity" }, "fossils": [ "Fusulinids (Schubertella, Yangchienia, Chusenella, Neoschwagerina spp.)", "Brachiopods", "Crinoids", "Bryozoans", "Sphinctozoans" ], "environment": [ "marine", "shallow marine", "carbonate platform" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A Middle Permian (Guadalupian, Neoschwagerina simplex Zone) dolostone bracketed by two unconformities, recording basal transgression on a gently eroded surface followed by heavily dolomitized shallow-water carbonates. Formerly merged with the Ailak Formation (Gaetani et al. 1996); the topmost 40 m of the Baroghil East section were reassigned to it from the Lashkargaz Formation.", "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin", "region": "Central Karakoram Batholith", "rank": "formation", "synonyms": [], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "zanchi-gaetani-2011" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram Range, Pakistan. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "year": 2011 } ], "citations": { "age": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "lithology": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "thickness": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "typeLocality": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "introducedBy": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "fossils": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "environment": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "The type section and depositional environment of the Ini Sar Formation are described in the 1:100,000 geological map of the Central-Western Karakoram (Zanchi & Gaetani 2011).", "source": "zanchi-gaetani-2011" } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "kamila-amphibolite-belt", "name": "Kamila Amphibolite Belt", "description": "The Kamila Amphibolite Belt is the oldest part of the Kohistan island arc — a variably sheared, amphibolite-facies mixture of basic lavas (some pillowed), hyaloclastite and intrusive gabbros/diorites. It comprises two geochemical suites: an older high-Ti suite of transitional oceanic-type basalts (MORB-like, interpreted as magmatically thickened, possibly ocean-plateau, pre-arc crust) forming the basement, intruded by a low-Ti calc-alkaline suite marking the earliest true arc magmatism. Its southern part is the c. 20 km-wide, SW-vergent Kamila Shear Zone.", "age": "Early to mid-Cretaceous (transition from oceanic to arc magmatism inferred); hornblende Ar-Ar cooling ages c. 80-83 Ma record suturing-related deformation", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Amphibolite-facies basic lavas (some pillowed), hyaloclastite and breccias intruded by gabbros and diorites; two suites — a Ti-rich, HFSE/HREE-enriched high-Ti oceanic-type MORB suite and a Ti-poor, calc-alkaline low-Ti arc suite with a negative Nb anomaly.", "typeLocality": "Kamila area, Indus valley, Kohistan; forms the southern part of the arc (Kamila Shear Zone).", "introducedBy": "Treloar et al. (1989, 1996)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Jaglot Group", "upperContact": "intrusive" }, "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "oceanic", "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Demonstrates that the earliest part of Kohistan is oceanic basement, not subduction-related — the high-Ti basalts are pre-arc oceanic crust intruded by the first arc-type magmas. Amphibolitised Chilas Complex gabbronorites occur in its northern part.", "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "basin": "Kohistan Arc", "region": "Kohistan Batholith", "rank": "complex", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "treloar-1996-kohistan", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "anczkiewicz-1998-swat-suture", "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "ahmad-2025-kohistan-swat-kalam" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya: implications for magmatic and tectonic arc-building processes. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Anczkiewicz, R., Burg, J.-P., Hussain, S.S., Dawood, H., Ghazanfar, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Indus Suture in the Lower Swat, Pakistan, NW Himalaya. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 16(2-3), 225-238.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-9547(98)00003-8", "year": 1998 }, { "citation": "Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.", "year": 1984 } ], "citations": { "age": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "lithology": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "typeLocality": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "introducedBy": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "environment": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "geologicalSignificance": "treloar-1996-kohistan" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Anczkiewicz et al. (1998): in Lower Swat the Kamila unit (gabbro and gabbro-norite with cumulate textures) forms the base of the Kohistan Island Arc in the hanging wall of the Indus Suture / Main Mantle Thrust (Kohistan Thrust), recording southward thrusting; the arc accreted to Asia at ~102-75 Ma and was obducted onto the Indian plate at ~65-55 Ma.", "source": "anczkiewicz-1998-swat-suture" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Coward et al. (1984): the amphibolite belt (between the Chilas and Jijal complexes) contains banded amphibolites with or without garnet, hornblendites, hornblende schists, garnet and anorthositic gabbros, anorthosites, diorites, tonalites and granites, and thin garnet-quartzite and calc-silicate lenses; the proportion of true amphibolite is commonly low, and most intrusive rocks are concordant, parallel to the regional trend and intensely deformed, the coarser leucocratic types becoming augen gneisses.", "source": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Ahmad et al. (2025), from new 1:50,000 mapping of central Kohistan, describe the Kamila Amphibolite Belt as amphibolite-facies metagabbros, metadiorites, metatonalites and metavolcanics with minor metasediments (after Jan 1979b, 1988; Treloar et al. 1990), forming the southern part of the arc between the Chilas Complex and the Jijal-Sapat complexes.", "source": "ahmad-2025-kohistan-swat-kalam" } ], "lithologyType": "breccia", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "chalt-volcanic-group", "name": "Chalt Volcanic Group", "description": "The Chalt Volcanic Group is a mid-Cretaceous, pre-suturing accumulation of high-Mg volcanic rocks in the Hunza and nearby valleys of northern Kohistan (the Chalt Volcanics sensu stricto of Petterson et al. 1990). It ranges from high-Mg basalt/basaltic komatiite to high-Mg andesite and boninite, with subduction-related trace-element patterns, and marks the thermal climax of the first intra-arc/back-arc rifting phase. NOTE: this is a Kohistan arc unit, distinct from the Karakoram Chalt Formation.", "age": "Mid-Cretaceous (pre-suturing)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "A relatively thick, lava-dominated accumulation of high-Mg (MgO 6-15%) tholeiitic volcanic rocks — Mg-basalt to Mg-andesite and boninite (boninitic Si/Mg/Cr/Ni/Ti/Zr signatures, negative Nb anomalies, high LILE/HFSE), bimodal with volumetrically minor rhyolites; strongly deformed with stretched pillows.", "typeLocality": "Hunza Valley and nearby valleys, northern Kohistan (Chalt area).", "introducedBy": "Petterson et al. (1990); Treloar et al. (1996)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Jaglot Group", "underlies": "Yasin Group", "lowerContact": "conformable" }, "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "High-Mg/boninitic magmatism from decompression melting of depleted mantle at the peak of the first Kohistan extensional (intra-arc to back-arc rift) event; overlies the Jaglot Group and is overlain by the Albian-Aptian Yasin Group. On the revised map the formerly-lumped 'Western Volcanics' are reassigned to the Eocene Shamran Volcanic Group.", "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "basin": "Kohistan Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "rank": "group", "synonyms": [ "Chalt Volcanics" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "treloar-1996-kohistan", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "petterson-2010-kohistan", "petterson-windley-1985" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya: implications for magmatic and tectonic arc-building processes. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.", "year": 1984 } ], "citations": { "age": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "lithology": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "typeLocality": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "introducedBy": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "environment": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "geologicalSignificance": "treloar-1996-kohistan" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-08-20", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Coward et al. (1984): the Chalt Group forms the northern crust of the Kohistan arc, south of the northern suture - metagreywackes and slates, epidotic grits and tuffs, hornblende-bearing tuffs, chlorite schists, schistose amphibolites, amygdaloidal pillow-bearing basalts and fragmental basic volcanics, several kilometres thick (partly by fold/thrust repetition), folded by large upright tight-to-isoclinal folds and cut by thin granitic dykes and muscovite pegmatites.", "source": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Petterson (2010): the Chalt Volcanic Group is the northernmost Kohistan-wide conformable unit (~330 km E-W by up to 30 km N-S), a high-Mg tholeiitic (with boninitic affinity) lava-dominated intra-oceanic-arc pile intruded to the south by the Kohistan batholith; Petterson & Windley (1985) characterise the Chalt volcanics as basaltic tholeiites. Primary sources for the CVG lithology and tectonic setting.", "source": "petterson-2010-kohistan" } ], "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "kohistan-batholith", "name": "Kohistan Batholith", "description": "The Kohistan Batholith is the calc-alkaline gabbroic-to-granitoid plutonic suite intruding the northern Kohistan arc, divided (Petterson & Windley 1985) into three stages: Stage 1 plutons (c. 104 Ma) predate suturing to Asia and are deformed with the Jaglot Group, while Stage 2 (from c. 85 Ma) and Stage 3 (to c. 26 Ma) plutons postdate suturing. Its isotopic evolution records a shift from mantle-derived to increasingly crust-derived magmas, interpreted as arc thickening and lower-arc melting after suturing.", "age": "Cretaceous to Oligocene (c. 104-26 Ma; Stage 1 c. 104 Ma pre-suturing, Stages 2-3 c. 85-26 Ma post-suturing)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous-Paleogene", "lithology": "Calc-alkaline gabbroic to granitoid plutons — tonalites (e.g. the Matum Das Stage-1 tonalite), diorites, granodiorites, granites and granite sheets (e.g. Parri, Indus Confluence).", "typeLocality": "Northern Kohistan (Gilgit-Chalt-Hunza belt), intruding the Jaglot and Chalt sequences.", "introducedBy": "Petterson & Windley (1985)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "upperContact": "intrusive" }, "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "plutonic" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The principal arc-plutonic record of Kohistan; the deformed Stage-1 (pre-suturing) versus undeformed Stage 2-3 (post-suturing) plutons provide the main relative-dating framework for the arc. Stage-2 plutonism (from c. 85 Ma) was driven by heat from Chilas Complex emplacement.", "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "basin": "Kohistan Arc", "region": "Kohistan Batholith", "rank": "complex", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "treloar-1996-kohistan", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "khan-1989-chilas", "hanson-1989-shigar", "madin-1989-nangaparbat", "petterson-windley-1985", "petterson-2010-kohistan", "petterson-2018-kohistan-ladakh" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya: implications for magmatic and tectonic arc-building processes. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Khan, M.A., Jan, M.Q., Windley, B.F., Tarney, J. & Thirlwall, M.F. (1989). The Chilas mafic-ultramafic igneous complex; the root of the Kohistan island arc in the Himalaya of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 75-94.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p75", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Hanson, C.R. (1989). The northern suture in the Shigar valley, Baltistan, northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 203-215.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p203", "year": 1989 }, { "citation": "Madin, I.P., Lawrence, R.D. & Ur-Rehman, S. (1989). The northwestern Nanga Parbat-Haramosh massif; evidence for crustal uplift at the northwestern corner of the Indian craton. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 169-182.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p169", "year": 1989 } ], "citations": { "age": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "lithology": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "typeLocality": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "introducedBy": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "environment": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "geologicalSignificance": "treloar-1996-kohistan" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Khan et al. (1989): the Kohistan–Ladakh island arc formed by northward subduction of neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere in Late Jurassic to Cretaceous time and extends for at least 1,000 km across the western Himalaya, southern Karakoram and eastern Hindu Kush. It is juxtaposed against the Asian plate to the north along the Main Karakoram Thrust (MKT) and against the Indian plate to the south along the Main Mantle Thrust (MMT), and comprises calc-alkaline volcanics, intra-arc sediments (with Aptian–Albian fossils) and diorite–tonalite–granite plutons; the earliest tonalite–diorite plutons have isotopic ages of 110–95 Ma.", "source": "khan-1989-chilas" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Hanson (1989): in the Shigar-valley arc terrane two intrusive phases are exposed — a pre-tectonic, possibly tholeiitic phase about 100 Ma old, and a post-tectonic, calc-alkaline to subalkaline phase 40–60 Ma old — bracketing deformation along the Northern Suture. Madin et al. (1989) group the Mesozoic to middle-Cenozoic mafic metasedimentary and intrusive arc rocks obducted onto the Indian margin along the MMT as the 'Kohistan Sequence'.", "source": "hanson-1989-shigar" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Petterson & Windley (1985): Rb-Sr whole-rock isochrons date the arc-batholith in three stages — the deformed first-stage Matum Das tonalite at 102±12 Ma (intra-oceanic, pre-collision; initial 87Sr/86Sr 0.7039) and second-stage Gilgit granitoids at 54±4 Ma and 40±6 Ma (Andean-type, post-collision), with post-collisional Indus Confluence aplite-pegmatite sheets at 34±14 and 29±8 Ma; major deformation fell between 102 and 54 Ma. This is the primary source for the three-stage age model, reviewed and extended by Petterson (2010, 2018).", "source": "petterson-windley-1985" } ], "lithologyType": "igneous", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "shamran-volcanic-group", "name": "Shamran Volcanic Group", "description": "The Shamran Volcanic Group is an Eocene, post-suturing suite of highly evolved calc-alkaline volcanic rocks in Kohistan, including the Western Volcanics; it records mature Andean-type continental-margin volcanism during renewed extension (fore-arc collapse) at c. 58-40 Ma. On the revised map the formerly-'Chalt' Western Volcanics are reassigned to this group.", "age": "Eocene (Shamran volcanics c. 58 Ma, Western Volcanics c. 61 Ma; post-suturing)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Paleocene-Eocene", "lithology": "Highly evolved calc-alkaline volcanics spanning basaltic andesite to rhyolite with strong LILE enrichment and high LILE/HFSE; includes the bimodal Western Volcanics and the Shamran and Drosh volcanics.", "typeLocality": "Shamran area, Kohistan.", "introducedBy": "Treloar et al. (1996)", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "continental" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Post-suturing Andean-type arc volcanism (c. 58-40 Ma); separated on the revised map from the older, pre-suturing Chalt Volcanic Group with which it had been mapped, and correlated with the Utror, Mankial and Drosh volcanics.", "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "basin": "Kohistan Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "rank": "group", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "treloar-1996-kohistan", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "petterson-2010-kohistan" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 } ], "citations": { "age": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "lithology": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "typeLocality": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "introducedBy": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "environment": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "geologicalSignificance": "treloar-1996-kohistan" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Petterson (2010): the Shamran (Shamran/Teru) Volcanic Group is a post-suturing, highly evolved calc-alkaline volcanic-sedimentary unit of the Kohistan arc, younger than the intra-oceanic Chalt Volcanic Group. Primary review source for the Shamran/Teru succession.", "source": "petterson-2010-kohistan" } ], "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "peshmal-schists", "name": "Peshmal Schists", "description": "The Peshmal Schists are the basal quartz-bearing volcaniclastic sediments of the Jaglot Group in Swat (local name of Sullivan et al. 1993), indicating a subaerial quartz-rich terrigenous source; they preserve well-developed graded bedding and have a calc-alkaline arc-type provenance, recording the earliest stages of Jaglot back-arc basin growth.", "age": "Mid-Cretaceous (basal Jaglot Group)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "lithology": "Quartz-bearing volcaniclastic (superficially greywacke-like) sediments with well-developed graded bedding; calc-alkaline arc-type provenance.", "typeLocality": "Peshmal, Swat Valley.", "introducedBy": "Sullivan et al. (1993)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Jaglot Group", "upperContact": "conformable" }, "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "A named constituent of the newly-defined Jaglot Group (its basal unit in Swat); turbidites carried into a medium-to-deep-water back-arc basin during early crustal stretching.", "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "basin": "Kohistan Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "rank": "formation", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "treloar-1996-kohistan", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "year": 1996 } ], "citations": { "age": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "lithology": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "typeLocality": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "introducedBy": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "environment": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "geologicalSignificance": "treloar-1996-kohistan" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "gashu-confluence-volcanics", "name": "Gashu-Confluence Volcanics", "description": "The Gashu-Confluence Volcanics are the middle unit of the Jaglot Group of the Kohistan arc, between the Gilgit Formation and the Thelichi Formation. They comprise metavolcaniclastic, metavolcanic and metacalcareous rocks and, together with the Thelichi Formation, are correlated with the Chalt Volcanics and the Albian–Aptian Yasin Group. Defined by Khan T. et al. (1997) near the confluence of Gashu Gah and Sai Nala; Yamamoto et al. (2011) place them within a north-dipping tectonic stack recording closure of the Kohistan back-arc basin.", "age": "Cretaceous (Jaglot Group, Kohistan arc)", "era": "Mesozoic", "period": "Cretaceous", "epoch": "Early Cretaceous", "lithology": "About 0.5 km of volcaniclastics and massive to pillowed basalts (metavolcaniclastic, metavolcanic and metacalcareous rocks); conformable between the underlying Gilgit Formation and the overlying Thelichi Formation.", "thickness": "about 500 m (Khan T. et al. 1994)", "typeLocality": "Near the junction of Gashu Gah and Sai Nala, vicinity of Gilgit, Kohistan (Gilgit-Baltistan), northern Pakistan.", "introducedBy": "Khan T. et al. (1997)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Gilgit Formation", "underlies": "Thelichi Formation", "lowerContact": "conformable", "upperContact": "conformable" }, "fossils": [], "environment": [ "volcanic-arc", "marine" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The volcanic-dominated middle member of the Jaglot Group; correlated with the mid-Cretaceous Chalt Volcanics, it records arc/back-arc volcanism within the Cretaceous Kohistan back-arc succession.", "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "basin": "Kohistan Arc", "region": "Northern Greenstone Belt", "rank": "formation", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "khan-1997-gilgit", "yamamoto-2011-thelichi", "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Khan, T., Jan, M.Q., Khan, M.A. & Kausar, A.B. (1997). High-grade metasedimentary rocks (Gilgit Formation) in the vicinity of Gilgit, Kohistan, northern Pakistan. Journal of Mineralogy, Petrology and Economic Geology, 92, 465-479.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2465/ganko.92.465", "year": 1997 }, { "citation": "Yamamoto, H., Rehman, H.U., Kaneko, Y. & Kausar, A.B. (2011). Tectonic stacking of back-arc formations in the Thelichi section (Indus valley) of the Kohistan arc, northern Pakistan. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 40, 417-426.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2010.09.006", "year": 2011 }, { "citation": "Khan, T., Khan, M.A. & Jan, M.Q. (1994). Geology between Gilgit and Chilas, Kohistan, N. Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 27, 99-112.", "year": 1994 } ], "citations": { "age": "khan-1997-gilgit", "lithology": "yamamoto-2011-thelichi", "typeLocality": "khan-1997-gilgit", "introducedBy": "khan-1997-gilgit", "environment": "khan-1997-gilgit", "geologicalSignificance": "khan-1997-gilgit", "thickness": "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "lithologyType": "volcanic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "kargocha-formation", "name": "Kargocha Formation", "description": "The Kargocha Formation is the basal (oldest) Upper-Siwalik red-bed unit of the Trans-Indus Bhittani, Marwat and Khasor Ranges (Morris 1938; Munthe 1981). Magnetostratigraphy places its deposition in the Plio-Pleistocene — in the Khasor Range the oldest Kargocha red beds began at about 3.19 Ma (just before the Mammoth subchron), with the top of the formation at the base of the Gauss chron. Hemphill & Kidwai (1973) proposed renaming it the Chinji Formation, but Khan et al. (1988) reject this because it is Plio-Pleistocene (not the Miocene Chinji) and cannot be traced from the Chinji type section.", "age": "Pliocene (magnetostratigraphic; ~3.2 Ma and younger, to the base of the Gauss chron)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Pliocene", "lithology": "Red-bed facies (mudstone-dominated), the local Trans-Indus equivalent of the Chinji lithofacies; sediment-accumulation rate ~60 cm/1000 yr.", "typeLocality": "Bhittani, Marwat and Khasor Ranges, Trans-Indus, NW Pakistan (Morris 1938; Munthe 1981).", "introducedBy": "Morris (1938); usage of Munthe (1981)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Marwat Formation", "upperContact": "conformable" }, "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Records the onset of Trans-Indus Siwalik molasse deposition in the Plio-Pleistocene; its retention (over the Potwar Chinji name) documents that the Trans-Indus succession is a distinct, much younger basin fill than the Potwar type Siwaliks.", "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "basin": "Bannu Basin", "region": "Trans-Indus Ranges", "rank": "formation", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Khan, M.J., Opdyke, N.D. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1988). Magnetic stratigraphy of the Siwalik Group, Bhittani, Marwat and Khasor Ranges, and the timing of Neogene tectonics of the Trans Indus. Journal of Geophysical Research, 93(B10), 11773-11790.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/JB093iB10p11773", "year": 1988 } ], "citations": { "age": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "lithology": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "typeLocality": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "introducedBy": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "environment": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "geologicalSignificance": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "lithologyType": "mudstone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "marwat-formation", "name": "Marwat Formation", "description": "The Marwat Formation is the thick channel-sandstone Upper-Siwalik unit of the Trans-Indus ranges (paleo-Indus deposits, devoid of siltstone units), overlying the Kargocha Formation. Magnetostratigraphy shows its sandstones span the Gauss chron up through the Matuyama chron (medial-to-late Pliocene and Pleistocene); it reaches ~1800 m at Bain Pass and carries Pinjor-age vertebrate fossils. Hemphill & Kidwai (1973) proposed renaming it the Nagri Formation, rejected by Khan et al. (1988).", "age": "Pliocene to Pleistocene (magnetostratigraphic; Gauss through Matuyama chrons)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene-Quaternary", "epoch": "Pliocene-Pleistocene", "lithology": "Thick brown channel sandstones of the paleo-Indus, devoid of siltstone units (the local equivalent of the Nagri sandstone facies); sediment-accumulation rates ~65-102 cm/1000 yr within the Matuyama chron.", "thickness": "up to ~1800 m (Bain Pass section)", "typeLocality": "Marwat Range, Trans-Indus, NW Pakistan (Morris 1938; Munthe 1981).", "introducedBy": "Morris (1938); usage of Munthe (1981)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Kargocha Formation", "underlies": "Sheri Gasha Formation", "lowerContact": "conformable" }, "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "geologicalSignificance": "Records the medial-to-late Pliocene arrival of thick paleo-Indus channel sandstones in the Trans-Indus; contains Pinjor-age vertebrate fauna.", "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "basin": "Bannu Basin", "region": "Trans-Indus Ranges", "rank": "formation", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Khan, M.J., Opdyke, N.D. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1988). Magnetic stratigraphy of the Siwalik Group, Bhittani, Marwat and Khasor Ranges. Journal of Geophysical Research, 93(B10), 11773-11790.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/JB093iB10p11773", "year": 1988 } ], "citations": { "age": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "lithology": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "thickness": "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "typeLocality": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "introducedBy": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "environment": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "geologicalSignificance": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "sheri-gasha-formation", "name": "Sheri Gasha Formation", "description": "The Sheri Gasha Formation is an Upper-Siwalik unit of the Bhittani Range (~400 m thick) that conformably succeeds the Marwat Formation and is overlain by the Malagan Formation (Javed Khan & Opdyke 1981); it is Plio-Pleistocene. Hemphill & Kidwai (1973) proposed renaming it the Dhok Pathan Formation, rejected because it is far younger than the Miocene Dhok Pathan type section. (Khan et al. 1988 drop the name, listing the succession as Kargocha–Marwat–Malagan.)", "age": "Pliocene to Pleistocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene-Quaternary", "epoch": "Pliocene-Pleistocene", "lithology": "Sandstone with a higher siltstone/sandstone ratio than the underlying Marwat Formation (the local equivalent of the Dhok Pathan facies).", "thickness": "about 400 m", "typeLocality": "Bhittani Range, Trans-Indus, NW Pakistan (Morris 1938; Munthe 1981).", "introducedBy": "Morris (1938); usage of Munthe (1981)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Marwat Formation", "underlies": "Malagan Formation", "lowerContact": "conformable" }, "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The local Trans-Indus equivalent of the Dhok Pathan facies, Plio-Pleistocene rather than Miocene; not universally retained (dropped by Khan et al. 1988).", "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "basin": "Bannu Basin", "region": "Trans-Indus Ranges", "rank": "formation", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Javed Khan, M. & Opdyke, N.D. (1981). The magnetic polarity stratigraphy and correlation of the Upper Siwalik sediments from the Bhittani Range. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 24, 133-141.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9201(81)90144-1", "year": 1981 } ], "citations": { "age": "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "lithology": "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "thickness": "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "typeLocality": "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "introducedBy": "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "environment": "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "geologicalSignificance": "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "malagan-formation", "name": "Malagan Formation", "description": "The Malagan Formation is the youngest (uppermost) Upper-Siwalik unit of the Trans-Indus ranges — a thin unit of coarse brown sandstone and conglomerate of Brunhes age, overlain by Quaternary alluvium across a marked angular unconformity (Khan et al. 1988; Javed Khan & Opdyke 1981).", "age": "Pleistocene (Brunhes chron)", "era": "Quaternary", "period": "Quaternary", "epoch": "Pleistocene", "lithology": "Thin coarse brown sandstone and conglomerate; the uppermost Trans-Indus Siwalik unit.", "typeLocality": "Trans-Indus ranges (Garhi Landa and other Bhittani/Marwat sections), NW Pakistan (Munthe 1981).", "introducedBy": "Munthe (1981)", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Sheri Gasha Formation", "upperContact": "unconformity" }, "environment": [ "fluvial", "continental" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The youngest Siwalik molasse of the Trans-Indus, of Brunhes age; the angular unconformity beneath the overlying Bannu-plain alluvium constrains Trans-Indus folding to less than ~0.6-0.73 Ma (one of the world's youngest orogenic pulses, per the two papers).", "provinces": [ "kohat" ], "basin": "Bannu Basin", "region": "Trans-Indus Ranges", "rank": "formation", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Khan, M.J., Opdyke, N.D. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1988). Magnetic stratigraphy of the Siwalik Group, Bhittani, Marwat and Khasor Ranges. Journal of Geophysical Research, 93(B10), 11773-11790.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/JB093iB10p11773", "year": 1988 } ], "citations": { "age": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "lithology": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "typeLocality": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "introducedBy": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "environment": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "geologicalSignificance": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "sherwan-formation", "name": "Sherwan Formation", "description": "The Sherwan Formation is a Late Carboniferous dolostone unit of the Hazara Basin (Lesser Himalayan zone) near Sherwan and Abbottabad, notable for hosting economically important soapstone (talc). The host dolomite is dated to the Late Carboniferous by the alga Anthracoporella spectabilis; dolostone-hosted talc bodies (steatite, with brucite, magnesite, willemseite and montmorillonite, plus pyrite and hematite) formed by Permian hydrothermal and dynamic (greenschist-facies) metamorphic alteration of the dolomite along faults and folds, linked to Pre-Himalayan tectonics (Majeed et al. 2025).", "age": "Late Carboniferous (dolomite; hosted soapstone/talc altered in the Permian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Carboniferous", "epoch": "Pennsylvanian", "lithology": "Dolostone (dolomite), locally altered to dolostone-hosted soapstone (talc/steatite) with brucite, magnesite, willemseite, montmorillonite, pyrite and hematite.", "typeLocality": "Sherwan area near Abbottabad, Hazara (Lesser Himalaya); soapstone mined at the Khandakhu Mine, ~42 km from Abbottabad.", "introducedBy": "", "stratigraphicPosition": {}, "fossils": [ "Anthracoporella spectabilis (dasyclad alga, Late Carboniferous)" ], "environment": [ "marine", "carbonate platform" ], "economicImportance": "A premium soapstone (talc/steatite) source — the dolostone-hosted talc bodies are actively mined in the Sherwan area of Abbottabad (e.g. the Khandakhu Mine). Trace chromium levels bear on the industrial grade of the soapstone (Majeed et al. 2025).", "geologicalSignificance": "A dolomite-hosted talc deposit whose paragenesis records Permian hydrothermal and dynamic (greenschist-facies) metamorphic transformation of Late Carboniferous dolomite along faults and folds during Pre-Himalayan tectonics; the study resolves a long-standing controversy over the age of the Sherwan Formation.", "provinces": [ "hazara" ], "basin": "Hazara Basin", "region": "Lesser Himalaya", "rank": "formation", "reviewStatus": "published", "sources": [ "majeed-2025-sherwan-soapstone" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Majeed, K.U., Mughal, M.S., Kontakiotis, G., Ali, S.K., Akhtar, S., Janjuhah, H.T., Siddique, K., Besiou, E. & Antonarakou, A. (2025). Petrography and geochemistry of Late Carboniferous dolostone-hosted soapstone in the Sherwan Formation, Hazara Basin. Frontiers in Earth Science, 13, 1585240.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2025.1585240", "year": 2025 } ], "citations": { "age": "majeed-2025-sherwan-soapstone", "lithology": "majeed-2025-sherwan-soapstone", "typeLocality": "majeed-2025-sherwan-soapstone", "fossils": "majeed-2025-sherwan-soapstone", "environment": "majeed-2025-sherwan-soapstone", "economicImportance": "majeed-2025-sherwan-soapstone", "geologicalSignificance": "majeed-2025-sherwan-soapstone" }, "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "lithologyType": "dolomite", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "charun-quartzite", "name": "Charun Quartzite", "age": "Middle Devonian (uppermost beds mid-Givetian)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian", "epoch": "Middle Devonian", "lithology": "Quartzarenites, more heterolithic than the name implies (with subordinate finer clastics); deposited by turbidity currents.", "description": "The clastic unit underlying the Shogrâm Formation in the Reshun–Kurâgh area of Chitral (Karakoram), passing gradationally upward into it. About 100 m of quartzarenites, given its type section at Kurâgh Spur by Talent et al. (1999); its uppermost (mid-Givetian) beds are conodont-dated at the transition into the Shogrâm Formation.", "thickness": "about 100 m", "thicknessM": 100, "fossils": [ "Brachiopod moulds (poorly preserved)", "Conodonts (in beds transitional to the Shogrâm Formation)" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Devonian clastic unit beneath the Shogrâm Formation in the Reshun–Kurâgh area of Chitral, passing gradationally upward into it; its uppermost beds are dated to the Middle varcus Subzone (mid-Givetian) by conodonts in the transitional interval (Talent et al. 1999). May be a lateral equivalent of the Chilmarabad Formation of the upper Yarkhun valley (Gaetani et al. 2008); related to Givetian rifting.", "typeLocality": "Kurâgh Spur, ~7.5 km NE of Reshun, Chitral (type section designated by Talent et al. 1999, shared with the overlying Shogrâm Formation).", "coordinates": "36.2167, 72.1667", "stratigraphicPosition": { "underlies": "Shogram Formation" }, "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral", "karakoram" ], "plainSummary": "A ~100 m Devonian quartzite unit in Chitral that lies beneath, and grades up into, the Shogrâm Formation; its youngest beds are mid-Givetian in age.", "sources": [ "talent-gaetani-1999", "gaetani-2008-devonian", "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ], "citations": { "age": "talent-gaetani-1999", "era": "talent-gaetani-1999", "period": "talent-gaetani-1999", "epoch": "talent-gaetani-1999", "thickness": "talent-gaetani-1999", "thicknessM": "talent-gaetani-1999", "typeLocality": "talent-gaetani-1999", "coordinates": "talent-gaetani-1999", "lithology": "gaetani-2008-devonian", "geologicalSignificance": "talent-gaetani-1999", "fossils": [ "kazmi-abbasi-2008" ] }, "confidence": "high", "reviewStatus": "published", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-30", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "typeLocality", "note": "Talent et al. (1999) designate the Kurâgh Spur section as the type section of both the Charun Quartzite and the overlying Shogrâm Formation. Coordinates (36°13'N, 72°10'E) are the paper's stated Kurâgh Spur locality, author-approved for promotion 2026-07-30.", "source": "talent-gaetani-1999" } ], "references": [ { "citation": "Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999). Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts from the Western Karakoram and Hindu Kush, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 105(2), 201-226.", "year": 1999 }, { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Sciunnach, D. & Talent, J.A. (2008). The Devonian of Western Karakorum (Pakistan). Acta Geologica Polonica, 58(3), 261-285.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 } ], "lat": 36.2167, "lng": 72.1667, "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "shaigalu-member", "name": "Shaigalu Member", "description": "The upper member of the Khojak Formation in the Pishin–Katawaz flysch belt of northern Balochistan — dominantly sandstone with minor interbedded shale, deposited as fluvial- to wave-dominated deltaic sediment. Its sandstones are lithic arenites of recycled-orogen provenance.", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene–Neogene", "epoch": "Oligocene–Miocene", "age": "Oligocene to Early Miocene", "lithology": "Sandstone with minor interbedded shale (lithic arenite); fluvial- to wave-dominated deltaic.", "environment": [ "deltaic" ], "basin": "Pishin–Katawaz Basin", "region": "Khojak–Pishin flysch belt", "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Murgha Faqirzai Formation", "underlies": "Dasht Murgha Group" }, "sources": [ "yaseen-2019-shaigalu", "kakar-kasi-2016-khojak", "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "waliullah-gsp-pishin", "kasi-2012-pishin", "ashraf-2010-multanai" ], "citations": { "age": "yaseen-2019-shaigalu", "lithology": "yaseen-2019-shaigalu", "environment": "kakar-kasi-2016-khojak", "introducedBy": "kasi-2012-pishin", "typeLocality": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thickness": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thicknessM": "kasi-2012-pishin", "synonyms": "kasi-2012-pishin", "fossils": "ashraf-2010-multanai", "geologicalSignificance": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Upper member of the Khojak Formation (Qayyum et al. 1996; Kazmi & Abbasi 2008; Kakar et al. 2016; Yaseen et al. 2019), above the Murgha Faqirzai Member. The GSP Karezat abstract (Waliullah et al.) instead uses ‘Shaigalu Formation (Miocene)’ — a rank/age alternative.", "source": "kakar-kasi-2016-khojak" } ], "confidence": "medium", "reviewStatus": "published", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "introducedBy": "Hunting Survey Corporation (1960) as the 'Shaigalu sandstone'; formalised as the Shaigalu Member by Shah (2009)", "typeLocality": "Shaigalu militia post, ~50 km southwest of Zhob (reference section); up to ~3,950 m at the Manzakai section (Qayyum et al. 1996).", "thickness": "up to ~3,950 m (Manzakai section)", "thicknessM": 3950, "synonyms": [ "Shaigalu Sandstone" ], "fossils": [ "molluscs", "gastropods" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The upper, sandstone-dominant member of the Khojak Formation (Oligocene–Miocene), deposited in a wave-modified, fluvial-dominated delta system; its cross-bedded, upward-fining sandstone with multicoloured mudstones and palaeosols was correlated with the Murree Formation of the Potwar Basin by Shah (1977).", "references": [ { "citation": "Yaseen, W., Khan, A.S., Sohail, K., Farooq, U., Usman, M. & Ghani, M. (2019). Modal composition and provenance of Shaigalu Sandstones, Pishin-Katawaz Basin, northern Balochistan, Pakistan. Bahria University Research Journal of Earth Sciences (BURJES), 4(2), 70-77.", "year": 2019 }, { "citation": "Kakar, D.M., Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Mohibullah, M. & Khan, S. (2016). Petrography and whole-rock geochemistry of the Oligocene–Miocene Khojak Formation, Khojak-Pishin Belt, Pakistan: implications on provenance and source-area weathering. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 49(2).", "year": 2016 }, { "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "year": 2008 }, { "citation": "Waliullah, Khan, J.A. & Akhtar, W. Preliminary geology and mineral potential of the Karezat and Barshor quadrangles (toposheets 34 N/6 and 5), district Pishin, Balochistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta (abstract)." }, { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2012 }, { "citation": "Ashraf, M., Nizami, A.R. & Butt, A.A. (2010). Petrographic and biostratigraphic studies on sedimentary sequences of Multanai area, Pishin Basin, Balochistan, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 45, 25-36.", "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "year": 2010 } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "dasht-murgha-group", "name": "Dasht Murgha Group", "description": "A Middle–Upper Miocene fluvial siliciclastic succession of the Pishin Belt, northern Balochistan, introduced by Kasi (2012). Its reference section is in the Dasht Murgha Syncline north of Qila Saifullah, and it is divided into the Khuzhobai, Bahlol Nika and Sra Khula formations. Sandstones are lithic arenites to sublitharenites derived from pre-Miocene sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous sources.", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Middle–Late Miocene", "age": "Middle to Late Miocene", "lithology": "Interbedded sandstone (lithic arenite/sublitharenite), mudstone and conglomerate; fluvial.", "environment": [ "fluvial" ], "basin": "Pishin–Katawaz Basin", "region": "Pishin Belt (Qila Saifullah)", "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Khojak Formation", "underlies": "Malthanai Formation" }, "sources": [ "kasi-2014-pishin", "kasi-2012-pishin", "kasi-2017-pishin-provenance" ], "citations": { "age": "kasi-2014-pishin", "lithology": "kasi-2014-pishin", "introducedBy": "kasi-2012-pishin", "typeLocality": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thickness": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thicknessM": "kasi-2012-pishin", "members": "kasi-2012-pishin", "geologicalSignificance": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Kasi (2012), Kasi et al. (2012, 2014): the group comprises three constituent formations — the Khuzhobai, Bahlol Nika and Sra Khula formations (not yet separate records here); reference section in the Dasht Murgha Syncline north of Qila Saifullah.", "source": "kasi-2014-pishin" }, { "field": "members", "note": "Kasi et al. (2012) formally proposed the Dasht Murgha Group and its three constituent formations, now recorded here as separate units: the lower Khuzhobai Formation (~150 m), the middle Bahlol Nika Formation (~1,200 m) and the upper Sra Khula Formation (~700 m), each with a designated reference section in the Dasht Murgha area north of Qila Saifullah.", "source": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Kasi et al. (2017): sandstones of the Miocene Dasht Murgha Group are lithic arenites (modal Qt61F11L28) dominated by quartz with abundant lithic fragments and minor feldspar; QtFL/QmFLt provenance plots and conglomerate-clast composition indicate a recycled-orogen source, chiefly the Eocene Nisai and Oligocene Khojak formations of the Pishin Belt, with contributions from the Muslim Bagh-Zhob Ophiolite and the Cretaceous arc.", "source": "kasi-2017-pishin-provenance" } ], "confidence": "medium", "reviewStatus": "published", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "introducedBy": "Kasi et al. (2012)", "typeLocality": "Dasht Murgha Syncline (Dasht Murgha area), Pishin Belt — designated reference section; the group reaches a maximum thickness of ~4,800 m in the Naweoba area near Zhob.", "thickness": "up to ~4,800 m (Naweoba area)", "thicknessM": 4800, "members": [ "khuzhobai-formation", "bahlol-nika-formation", "sra-khula-formation" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Early–Middle Miocene fluvial molasse forming Zone III of the Pishin Belt, resting on the Eocene Nisai Formation with an angular unconformity. Its sandstones and conglomerates carry clasts of the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite and of the Nisai and Khojak formations, recording uplift and cannibalisation of the pre-Miocene Pishin succession; it is divided into the lower Khuzhobai, middle Bahlol Nika and upper Sra Khula formations.", "references": [ { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Kakar, M.I. & Manan, R.A. (2014). Clay minerals assemblage in the Neogene fluvial succession of the Pishin Belt, Pakistan: implications for provenance. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 47(2), 63-73.", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2012 } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "basin": "Pishin–Katawaz Basin", "region": "Pishin Belt (Dasht Murgha)", "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "formation", "sources": [ "kasi-2012-pishin", "kasi-2018-pishin" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2012 } ], "confidence": "medium", "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": "peer", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "id": "khuzhobai-formation", "name": "Khuzhobai Formation", "description": "The lower formation of the Miocene Dasht Murgha Group in the Pishin Belt of northern Balochistan, introduced by Kasi et al. (2012). It is a roughly 150 m cyclic succession dominated by brownish-red to maroon mudstone with subordinate reddish-brown sandstone, becoming gypsiferous in its upper part, deposited in a fluvial channel-and-floodplain system. Its reference section is at the Khuzhobai spring, about 25 km north of Qila Saifullah.", "epoch": "Early–Middle Miocene", "age": "Early to Middle Miocene", "lithology": "Cyclic sandstone and dominant brownish-red to maroon mudstone (gypsiferous in the upper part), with reddish-brown fine- to coarse-grained channel sandstone; fluvial.", "environment": [ "fluvial" ], "thickness": "~150 m", "thicknessM": 150, "typeLocality": "Khuzhobai section (reference section) at the Khuzhobai spring, about 25 km north of Qila Saifullah on the Qila Saifullah–Sharan Jogezai road, Pishin Belt (published reference-section location N 30 deg 54 min E 68 deg 30 min; coordinate not independently confirmed).", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Nisai Limestone", "underlies": "Bahlol Nika Formation" }, "citations": { "age": "kasi-2012-pishin", "lithology": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thickness": "kasi-2012-pishin", "typeLocality": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thicknessM": [ "kasi-2012-pishin" ] }, "introducedBy": "Kasi et al. (2012)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Kasi et al. (2012): lower formation of the Dasht Murgha Group. Its lower contact is an angular unconformity with the Eocene Nisai Formation; the upper contact with the Bahlol Nika Formation is transitional and conformable. It thins westward and pinches out.", "source": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, { "field": "thicknessM", "note": "The Khuzhobai Formation is the lowermost unit of the Neogene Dasht Murgha Group: a ~650 m cyclic succession of sandstone with subordinate mudstone (Khuzhobai section), deposited in the Pishin peripheral-foreland fluvial system (Kasi et al. 2018).", "source": "kasi-2018-pishin" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "basin": "Pishin–Katawaz Basin", "region": "Pishin Belt (Dasht Murgha)", "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "formation", "sources": [ "kasi-2012-pishin", "kasi-2018-pishin" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2012 } ], "confidence": "medium", "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": "peer", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "id": "bahlol-nika-formation", "name": "Bahlol Nika Formation", "description": "The middle formation of the Miocene Dasht Murgha Group in the Pishin Belt of northern Balochistan, introduced by Kasi et al. (2012). It is a sandstone-dominated fluvial succession up to about 1,200 m thick — greyish-green (subordinately reddish-brown) sandstone with subordinate mudstone, siltstone and occasional conglomerate — well exposed in a stream section south of the Bahlol Nika Ziarat.", "epoch": "Early–Middle Miocene", "age": "Early to Middle Miocene", "lithology": "Dominantly greyish-green (subordinately reddish-brown) fine- to medium-grained sandstone with subordinate greenish-grey to maroon mudstone, siltstone and occasional pebbly conglomerate; large-scale trough cross-bedding; fluvial.", "environment": [ "fluvial" ], "thickness": "up to ~1,200 m", "thicknessM": 1200, "typeLocality": "Stream section south of the Bahlol Nika Ziarat, Dasht Murgha area, about 30 km northwest of Qila Saifullah (reference section; published location N 30 deg 54 min 30 sec E 68 deg 22 min 03 sec; coordinate not independently confirmed).", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Khuzhobai Formation", "underlies": "Sra Khula Formation" }, "citations": { "age": "kasi-2012-pishin", "lithology": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thickness": "kasi-2012-pishin", "typeLocality": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thicknessM": [ "kasi-2012-pishin" ] }, "introducedBy": "Kasi et al. (2012)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Kasi et al. (2012): middle formation of the Dasht Murgha Group; both its lower contact with the Khuzhobai Formation and its upper contact with the Sra Khula Formation are transitional and conformable.", "source": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "A unit of the Neogene Dasht Murgha Group fluvial succession of the Pishin Belt (Katawaz peripheral foreland), recording post-collisional molasse sedimentation (Kasi et al. 2018).", "source": "kasi-2018-pishin" } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "basin": "Pishin–Katawaz Basin", "region": "Pishin Belt (Dasht Murgha)", "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "rank": "formation", "sources": [ "kasi-2012-pishin", "kasi-2018-pishin" ], "references": [ { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2012 } ], "confidence": "medium", "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": "peer", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "id": "sra-khula-formation", "name": "Sra Khula Formation", "description": "The upper formation of the Miocene Dasht Murgha Group in the Pishin Belt of northern Balochistan, introduced by Kasi et al. (2012). It is a cyclic mudstone-dominated fluvial succession up to about 700 m thick — dark-red to maroon mudstone (intervals up to about 165 m) with subordinate coarse, pebbly, gritty sandstone — exposed in the core of the Dasht Murgha Syncline near Sra Khula village.", "epoch": "Middle–Late Miocene", "age": "Middle to Late Miocene", "lithology": "Cyclic dark-red to maroon mudstone (intervals up to ~165 m) with subordinate coarse- to very-coarse-grained, pebbly, gritty sandstone (trough and low-angle cross-bedding); rare lateritic beds; fluvial.", "environment": [ "fluvial" ], "thickness": "up to ~700 m", "thicknessM": 700, "typeLocality": "Core of the Dasht Murgha Syncline near Sra Khula village, Dasht Murgha area, Pishin Belt (reference section; published location N 30 deg 56 min 30 sec E 68 deg 18 min 35 sec; coordinate not independently confirmed).", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Bahlol Nika Formation" }, "citations": { "age": "kasi-2012-pishin", "lithology": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thickness": "kasi-2012-pishin", "typeLocality": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thicknessM": [ "kasi-2012-pishin" ] }, "introducedBy": "Kasi et al. (2012)", "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Kasi et al. (2012): uppermost formation of the Dasht Murgha Group; it transitionally and conformably overlies the Bahlol Nika Formation and is separated from the overlying Late Miocene–Pliocene Malthanai Formation (Zone IV) by a thrust.", "source": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "The Sra Khula Formation is a cyclic alternation of sandstone and mudstone conformably above the Khuzhobai Formation, part of the Neogene Dasht Murgha Group fluvial succession of the Pishin Belt (Kasi et al. 2018).", "source": "kasi-2018-pishin" } ], "lithologyType": "mudstone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "malthanai-formation", "name": "Malthanai Formation", "description": "A Miocene–Pliocene fluvial sandstone-dominated unit of the Pishin Belt, northern Balochistan, named by Kasi et al. (2012) after the village of Malthanai near its type section; it replaces the earlier 'Multana Formation' of Jones (1961). Sandstones are lithic arenites.", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Late Miocene–Pliocene", "age": "Late Miocene to Pliocene", "lithology": "Sandstone (lithic arenite) with subordinate mudstone and conglomerate; fluvial.", "environment": [ "fluvial" ], "basin": "Pishin–Katawaz Basin", "region": "Pishin Belt", "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Dasht Murgha Group", "underlies": "Bostan Formation" }, "sources": [ "kasi-2014-pishin", "kasi-2012-pishin", "kasi-2017-pishin-provenance" ], "citations": { "age": "kasi-2014-pishin", "lithology": "kasi-2014-pishin", "introducedBy": "kasi-2012-pishin", "typeLocality": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thickness": "kasi-2012-pishin", "thicknessM": "kasi-2012-pishin", "geologicalSignificance": "kasi-2012-pishin" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "synonyms", "note": "= the ‘Multana Formation’ of Jones (1961); renamed the Malthanai Formation by Kasi et al. (2012) after Malthanai village. The Simzai-area report (Ali et al. 2021) spells it ‘Multana’ and gives an Oligocene–Miocene range.", "source": "kasi-2014-pishin" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Kasi et al. (2017): the Pliocene Malthanai Formation is a lithic arenite (modal Qt60F4L36), comparatively richer in lithic fragments and poorer in feldspar than the underlying Dasht Murgha Group, with sedimentary lithics dominant (Lm14Lv10Ls76) — reflecting widespread reworking of older sedimentary rocks (Nisai, Khojak) during Malthanai times in the recycled-orogen Pishin foreland.", "source": "kasi-2017-pishin-provenance" } ], "synonyms": [ "Multana Formation" ], "confidence": "medium", "reviewStatus": "published", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "introducedBy": "Kasi et al. (2012), renaming the 'Multana Formation' of the Hunting Survey Corporation (1960)", "typeLocality": "Oblin Nala section near Malthanai village, Pishin Belt (type section; published location N 31 deg 02 min 15 sec E 69 deg 04 min 41 sec, coordinate not independently confirmed); ~2,500 m thick.", "thickness": "~2,500 m (Oblin Nala type section)", "thicknessM": 2500, "geologicalSignificance": "The Late Miocene–Pliocene fluvial molasse forming Zone IV of the Pishin Belt — roughly equal proportions of reddish-grey sandstone and red mudstone/siltstone with upward-coarsening conglomerate (chert/jasper-rich clasts). Renamed by Kasi et al. (2012) from the Hunting Survey Corporation's (1960) 'Multana Formation', whose lower and upper contacts with the Nisai Formation are thrusted.", "references": [ { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Kakar, M.I. & Manan, R.A. (2014). Clay minerals assemblage in the Neogene fluvial succession of the Pishin Belt, Pakistan: implications for provenance. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 47(2), 63-73.", "year": 2014 }, { "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "year": 2012 } ], "lithologyType": "sandstone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "urak-formation", "name": "Urak Formation", "description": "A Pliocene molasse unit of the Quetta–Pishin region, northern Balochistan, forming the core of the Tungi Syncline. It comprises conglomerate, sandstone and shale in three members — the Uzdapasha, Shinmati and Urak Conglomerate members — and is in thrust contact with older units (the Allozai, Parh/Bibai, Loralai, Sembar and Dungan formations).", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Neogene", "epoch": "Pliocene", "age": "Pliocene", "lithology": "Conglomerate, sandstone and shale (molasse).", "environment": [ "fluvial", "alluvial" ], "basin": "Pishin Basin", "region": "Quetta–Pishin (Tungi Syncline)", "provinces": [ "zhob-muslim-bagh" ], "sources": [ "waliullah-gsp-pishin" ], "citations": { "age": "waliullah-gsp-pishin", "lithology": "waliullah-gsp-pishin" }, "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "members", "note": "Waliullah et al. (GSP): three members — Uzdapasha, Shinmati and Urak Conglomerate — exposed in the Tungi Syncline (Karezat quadrangle); in thrust contact with the Allozai (Triassic) to the north and Parh/Bibai (Cretaceous) to the south, and with the Loralai, Sembar, Bibai and Dungan formations to the east.", "source": "waliullah-gsp-pishin" } ], "confidence": "low", "reviewStatus": "published", "lastReviewed": "2026-08-02", "references": [ { "citation": "Waliullah, Khan, J.A. & Akhtar, W. Preliminary geology and mineral potential of the Karezat and Barshor quadrangles (toposheets 34 N/6 and 5), district Pishin, Balochistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta (abstract)." } ], "lithologyType": "conglomerate", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "kirthar-group", "name": "Kirthar Group", "age": "Middle to Late Eocene (Lutetian–Bartonian)", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Middle–Late Eocene", "lithology": "Alternating shelf limestone and shale (Habib Rahi and Pirkoh limestones; Domanda and Drazinda shales).", "description": "The Kirthar Group is the Middle to Late Eocene carbonate–shale succession of the Sulaiman and Kohat provinces (Eames 1952). In ascending order it comprises the Habib Rahi Limestone, Domanda Shale, Pirkoh Limestone and Drazinda Shale. It overlies the Ghazij Formation/Group and passes up into the Oligocene Nari/Chitarwatta succession.", "thickness": "Several hundred metres (variable across the Sulaiman and Kohat basins).", "fossils": [ "Larger benthic foraminifera (Nummulites, Assilina)", "Molluscs" ], "geologicalSignificance": "The Middle–Late Eocene shelf-carbonate and shale succession that overlies the Ghazij clastics; its Pirkoh and Habib Rahi limestones are regional marker and reservoir carbonates in the Sulaiman fold-belt.", "typeLocality": "Kirthar Range / Sulaiman Range", "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Ghazij Group", "underlies": "Chitarwatta Formation" }, "provinces": [ "sulaiman", "kohat" ], "environment": [ "shallow marine", "shelf" ], "members": [ "habib-rahi-formation", "domanda-formation", "pirkoh-formation", "drazinda-formation" ], "sources": [ "siddiqui-sml-2004", "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999", "kassi-ghazij-1987", "indplex-geolex" ], "reviewStatus": "published", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-18", "citations": { "age": [ "indplex-geolex" ], "lithology": [ "indplex-geolex" ], "thickness": [ "indplex-geolex" ], "typeLocality": [ "indplex-geolex" ], "fossils": [ "indplex-geolex" ] }, "lithologyType": "limestone", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "wakhan-formation", "name": "Wakhan Formation", "synonyms": [ "Wakhan Slates" ], "age": "Palaeozoic–Early Triassic", "era": "Paleozoic", "lithology": "Dark grey homogeneous slate, siltstone and quartzite with occasional calcareous schists; carbonaceous quartzitic slates with minor greenish sandstone (ripple marks) and white quartzite; grades northward into gneiss.", "description": "The Wakhan Formation (the \"Wakhan slates\" of Hayden, 1915) is a thick, widespread succession of dark slates, siltstones and sandstones forming a continuous belt from Tirich Mir west to the Chapursan valley in Upper Chitral / northern Karakoram, where it may continue as the Misgar slates. Part of the Karakoram Plate's Northern Sedimentary Belt, it is faulted against the Atark carbonate body and intruded by the East Hindu Kush batholith. Fossil evidence indicates Permian and Early Triassic ages, though it is mainly Palaeozoic.", "typeLocality": "Wakhan / Upper Chitral, from Tirich Mir to the Chapursan valley (Hindu Kush–northern Karakoram).", "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "introducedBy": "Wakhan slates of Hayden (1915); characterised by Gaetani et al. (1996) and Mujtaba et al. (2024).", "sources": [ "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996", "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "hildebrand-2001-hindukush-melting" ], "citations": { "age": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996", "era": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996", "lithology": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996", "typeLocality": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996", "description": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996", "introducedBy": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996" }, "confidence": "medium", "references": [ { "citation": "Gaetani, M., Le Fort, P., Tanoli, S., Angiolini, L., Nicora, A., Sciunnach, D. & Khan, A. (1996). Reconnaissance geology in Upper Chitral, Baroghil and Karambar districts (northern Karakorum, Pakistan). Geologische Rundschau, 85, 683-704.", "year": 1996 }, { "citation": "Mujtaba, A., Gilani, S.N., Hafeez, M., Khan, I., Shah, A., Khan, S., Gillani, S.A.A. & Gul, M.A. (2024). Geochemical and Petrographic Analysis of Hydrothermal Mineralization in the Chitral Region, Northern Pakistan. Advancements in Mining & Mineral Engineering, 1(3), AMME.MS.ID.000513.", "year": 2024, "url": "https://doi.org/10.33552/AMME.2024.01.000513" } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Gaetani et al. (1996): the Wakhan slates (Hayden 1915) are a huge succession of dark/carbonaceous quartzitic black slates with subordinate siltite, sandstone (ripple marks) and white quartzite, from Tirich Mir W to the Chapursan valley (continuing as the Misgar slates, a possible younger synonym). Mainly Palaeozoic, with fossil evidence for Permian and Early Triassic; intruded by the East Hindu Kush batholith (Shushar pluton, Jurassic K/Ar muscovite).", "source": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Mujtaba et al. (2024): the Wakhan Formation (Karakoram Plate, northernmost NSB unit; Hayden 1915) is dark grey homogeneous slate, siltstone and quartzite with occasional calcareous schists, grading N into gneiss and faulted against the Atark carbonate body; attributed to the Early Triassic with possible extension into the Late Permian (Kafarskiy 1976).", "source": "mujtaba-chitral-2024" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Hildebrand et al. (2001): the metamorphic host rocks of the eastern Hindu Kush (the Arkari Formation of Leake et al. 1989 — staurolite-grade schists grading SW into sillimanite-K-feldspar migmatites) are regarded as the southwestward, higher-grade continuation of the Wakhan slates, which carry Permian-Triassic fossils and crop out NW of the Tirich Mir fault. These host rocks were intruded by the ~24 Ma Garam Chashma leucogranite, dating Miocene crustal melting in the Hindu Kush. Corroborates the Permian-Triassic Wakhan age and its regional metamorphic context.", "source": "hildebrand-2001-hindukush-melting" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 2, "lastReviewed": "2026-08-29", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "chitral-slate", "name": "Chitral Slate", "synonyms": [ "Chitral Slates" ], "age": "Late Palaeozoic", "era": "Paleozoic", "lithology": "Fine-grained black slates with subordinate dark grey phyllite, quartzite and layers of limestone or marble; limestone dark grey to black, medium-grained, recrystallised.", "description": "The Chitral Slate is a Palaeozoic (largely Late Palaeozoic) slate-dominated succession of the Chitral region, correlated with the Darkot Group of the Gilgit area (Stauffer, 1975). It consists mainly of fine-grained black slates with subordinate phyllite, quartzite and limestone/marble intercalations.", "typeLocality": "Chitral region, northern Pakistan.", "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "sources": [ "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "buchroithner-gamerith-1986-chitral", "stauffer-mastuj-1975" ], "citations": { "age": "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "era": "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "lithology": "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "typeLocality": "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "description": "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "fossils": "stauffer-mastuj-1975", "economicImportance": "stauffer-mastuj-1975" }, "confidence": "medium", "references": [ { "citation": "Mujtaba, A., Gilani, S.N., Hafeez, M., Khan, I., Shah, A., Khan, S., Gillani, S.A.A. & Gul, M.A. (2024). Geochemical and Petrographic Analysis of Hydrothermal Mineralization in the Chitral Region, Northern Pakistan. Advancements in Mining & Mineral Engineering, 1(3), AMME.MS.ID.000513.", "year": 2024, "url": "https://doi.org/10.33552/AMME.2024.01.000513" } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Mujtaba et al. (2024): the Chitral Slates are fine-grained black slates with subordinate dark grey phyllite, quartzite and limestone/marble layers (dark grey-black, medium-grained, recrystallised); Palaeozoic (likely Late Palaeozoic), correlated with the Darkot Group of the Gilgit Agency (Stauffer 1975).", "source": "mujtaba-chitral-2024" }, { "field": "lithology", "note": "Upper Palaeozoic schists and (meta-)volcanics of the Chitral area (Chitral Slates), part of the geosynclinal succession of the Central Hindu Kush (Buchroithner & Gamerith 1986).", "source": "buchroithner-gamerith-1986-chitral" }, { "field": "fossils", "note": "Stauffer (1975): the only fossils recovered from the Chitral Slate are a Spirifer, a small Dielasma and two unidentified corals, collected by Tipper (in Fermor 1922) from a calcareous layer within the slates in the Chitral Gol; on this sparse evidence the formation is dated only as Paleozoic, probably in part late Paleozoic.", "source": "stauffer-mastuj-1975" }, { "field": "economicImportance", "note": "Stauffer (1975, after Heron 1950): antimony sulfides occur in quartz veins in the Chitral Slate and have been mined in a ~2-mile-long belt about 3 miles SW of Partsan, with additional antimony showings NE of Partsan in the Mastuj Valley.", "source": "stauffer-mastuj-1975" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 2, "lastReviewed": "2026-08-29", "fossils": [ "Spirifer (brachiopod)", "Dielasma (brachiopod)", "corals" ], "economicImportance": "Antimony: stibnite in quartz veins historically mined about 3 miles southwest of Partsan over a belt roughly 2 miles long, with further antimony mineralization reported northeast of Partsan in the Mastuj Valley (Heron 1950; Stauffer 1975).", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "sarikol-shale", "name": "Sarikol Shale", "age": "Devonian", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Devonian", "lithology": "Predominantly slates with occasional quartzitic elements and limestone beds; near Shogram, black shale and slate with minor limestone beds.", "description": "The Sarikol Shale (Hayden, 1915), named after the Sarikol Range, is a slate-dominated sequence extending from Chinese Turkistan into Chitral. It is fossiliferous, with nautiloids indicating a Devonian age (Tipper, 1924), and is well exposed near Shogram village in Chitral.", "typeLocality": "Sarikol Range; exposed near Shogram village, Chitral.", "provinces": [ "hindukush-chitral" ], "fossils": [ "nautiloids (Devonian)", "Orthoceras (nautiloid)", "crinoid stem fragments" ], "sources": [ "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "buchroithner-gamerith-1986-chitral", "stauffer-mastuj-1975" ], "citations": { "age": "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "era": "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "period": "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "lithology": "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "typeLocality": "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "fossils": [ "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "stauffer-mastuj-1975" ], "description": "mujtaba-chitral-2024" }, "confidence": "medium", "references": [ { "citation": "Mujtaba, A., Gilani, S.N., Hafeez, M., Khan, I., Shah, A., Khan, S., Gillani, S.A.A. & Gul, M.A. (2024). Geochemical and Petrographic Analysis of Hydrothermal Mineralization in the Chitral Region, Northern Pakistan. Advancements in Mining & Mineral Engineering, 1(3), AMME.MS.ID.000513.", "year": 2024, "url": "https://doi.org/10.33552/AMME.2024.01.000513" } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Mujtaba et al. (2024) (after Hayden 1915; Tipper 1924): the Sarikol Shale, named after the Sarikol Range, extends from Chinese Turkistan to Chitral — predominantly slates with occasional quartzite and limestone beds, notably fossiliferous with nautiloids indicating a Devonian age; well exposed near Shogram village (black shale and slate with minor limestone).", "source": "mujtaba-chitral-2024" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Assigned to the Devonian on nautiloid faunas within the Chitral-Tirich Devonian sequence of the Central Hindu Kush (Buchroithner & Gamerith 1986).", "source": "buchroithner-gamerith-1986-chitral" }, { "field": "geologicalSignificance", "note": "Mapped within the Devonian-to-Tertiary sedimentary succession of the central Mastuj Valley, Chitral, in USGS reconnaissance work (Stauffer 1975).", "source": "stauffer-mastuj-1975" }, { "field": "age", "note": "Stauffer (1975): could not assign the Sarikol Shale a definite age, bracketing it as Devonian to Carboniferous — Tipper (in Pascoe 1924) collected Orthoceras and crinoid stem fragments and Devonian fossils from a limestone band within the shale, and in the Mastuj Valley the formation is overlain by Carboniferous-Permian fossiliferous limestone. The Devonian assignment used here follows the modern nautiloid dating (Mujtaba et al. 2024); Stauffer's wider range is retained as historical context.", "source": "stauffer-mastuj-1975" }, { "field": "typeLocality", "note": "Stauffer (1975, after Hayden 1915): the name Sarikol Shale derives from the Sarikol Range; the type area lies near the top of Mintaka Pass (lat 37 deg 01' N, long 74 deg 50' E). Its metamorphic equivalent is the Wakhan Slate of Afghanistan. No reliable thickness of the Sarikol has been measured.", "source": "stauffer-mastuj-1975" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 2, "lastReviewed": "2026-08-29", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "baraul-banda-formation", "name": "Baraul Banda Formation", "age": "Late Paleocene–Early Eocene", "era": "Cenozoic", "period": "Paleogene", "epoch": "Paleocene–Eocene", "lithology": "Fine-grained deep-marine siliciclastics — slate, mudstone, siltstone and fine sandstone with minor fossiliferous limestone; basal conglomerate/breccia (2–32 m); quartzite; low-grade chlorite–sericite metamorphism.", "description": "The Baraul Banda Formation is the sedimentary component of the Dir Group in the western Kohistan–Ladakh Arc, exposed in a 10–15 km-wide belt from Kalam to Dir. It is a thick deep-marine siliciclastic succession with three lithofacies (basal conglomerate/breccia, pebbly sandstone, and thin-bedded sandstone–siltstone–mudstone). Its lower contact is an unconformity on the Mankial Metavolcanics; its upper contact is the Dir Thrust, along which the Utror Volcanic Formation is emplaced over it. Detrital-zircon maximum depositional ages of 62–55 Ma and Nummulites–Discocyclina–Actinocyclina in limestone at Shahi (Dir) indicate a Late Paleocene–Early Eocene age.", "typeLocality": "Dir–Kalam road, Dir district, Kohistan (western Kohistan–Ladakh Arc).", "thickness": "basal conglomerate 2–32 m; thick fine-grained succession above", "provinces": [ "kohistan" ], "fossils": [ "Nummulites", "Discocyclina", "Actinocyclina" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Mankial Metavolcanics", "underlies": "Utror Volcanic Formation" }, "geologicalSignificance": "Records the final stages of Neo-Tethys closure and India–Eurasia collision in the western Himalaya; its detrital-zircon provenance constrains pre-Paleocene amalgamation of the Kohistan–Ladakh Arc with the Karakoram (Qasim, 2026).", "introducedBy": "Defined within the Dir Group by Sullivan et al.; provenance-characterised by Qasim (2026).", "sources": [ "qasim-baraul-banda-2026" ], "citations": { "age": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "era": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "period": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "epoch": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "lithology": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "typeLocality": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "thickness": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "fossils": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "overlies": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "underlies": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "geologicalSignificance": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "description": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "introducedBy": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026" }, "confidence": "medium", "references": [ { "citation": "Qasim, M. (2026). Pre-Paleocene Kohistan-Karakoram Amalgamation: Evidence from the Detrital Zircon Provenance of the Baraul Banda Formation, Pakistan. Geosciences, 16(8), 331.", "year": 2026, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences16080331" } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Qasim (2026): detrital-zircon U-Pb of the Baraul Banda Formation (Dir Group sedimentary member) gives maximum depositional ages of 62–55 Ma; Nummulites-Discocyclina-Actinocyclina at Shahi (Dir) indicate Early Eocene for part of the succession — Late Paleocene-Early Eocene overall. Lower contact an unconformity on the Mankial Metavolcanics; upper contact the Dir Thrust with the Utror Volcanic Formation emplaced over it.", "source": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 2, "lastReviewed": "2026-08-29", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "pak-china-friendship-formation", "name": "Pak-China Friendship Formation", "synonyms": [ "Dih Formation", "PCF Formation" ], "age": "Permian (inferred from position above the Lower Permian Gircha Formation)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "lithology": "Quartzite and quartzitic sandstone with thin- to thick-bedded, medium- to fine-grained slates (weathering light yellowish-brown to brownish-grey); thin erratic conglomerate bands of sub-angular quartzite pebbles and slate chips in a siliceous matrix; locally intruded by granite, diorite and dolerite.", "description": "The Pak-China Friendship Formation (PCF Fm), also called the Dih Formation, was newly defined by Tahirkheli et al. (1990) in the Upper Hunza Valley to commemorate Pakistani–Chinese collaborative mapping. It occurs as isolated, tightly upfolded pockets within the Passu Slate on both flanks of the Sost Anticline, and comprises quartzite, quartzitic sandstone and slate with erratic conglomerate bands. Its lower contact with the Gircha Formation is faulted and its upper contact with the Passu Slate is unconformable and tectonic.", "typeLocality": "Road section ~3 km south of Dih, Upper Hunza Valley, northern Karakoram (Gilgit-Baltistan).", "thickness": "10 m (near Passu/Khaiber) to over 30 m (south of Dih)", "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Gircha Formation", "underlies": "Passu Slate" }, "introducedBy": "Newly defined by Tahirkheli et al. (1990), Upper Hunza Valley.", "sources": [ "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza" ], "citations": { "age": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "era": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "period": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "lithology": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "typeLocality": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "thickness": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "overlies": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "underlies": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "description": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "introducedBy": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza" }, "confidence": "low", "references": [ { "citation": "Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Review of stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley (UHV), NW Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.", "year": 1990 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Tahirkheli et al. (1990): the Pak-China Friendship Fm (a new unit; type section ~3 km S of Dih) occurs as upfolded pockets within the Passu Slate, above the Lower Permian Gircha Formation and below the Passu Slate; quartzite/quartzitic sandstone and slate with erratic conglomerate bands, 10 m (Passu/Khaiber) to >30 m (S of Dih). Fossils poorly preserved (age pending at time of publication); Permian is inferred from stratigraphic position. Lower contact with Gircha faulted; upper contact with Passu Slate unconformable and tectonic.", "source": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 2, "lastReviewed": "2026-08-29", "lithologyType": "metamorphic", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "passu-slate", "name": "Passu Slate", "synonyms": [ "Passu Slates", "Misgar Slate" ], "age": "Permian (position between the Gircha Formation and Gujal Dolomite; no fossils reported)", "era": "Paleozoic", "period": "Permian", "lithology": "Light to dark grey, thin- to medium-bedded slaty shale, slate and phyllitic slate with subordinate calcareous and arenaceous partings; splintery weathering; sporadically intruded by granite, diorite, dolerite, aplite and vein quartz.", "description": "The Passu Slate is a thick slate succession of the Upper Hunza Valley forming much of the southwestern flank of the Sost Anticline. Tahirkheli et al. (1990) showed that the Passu Slate and the Misgar Slate (northern flank) are a single formation doubled by the Sost Anticline. It overlies the Pak-China Friendship Formation with a well-marked unconformity, underlies the Gujal Dolomite, and is intruded by the Karakoram Axial Batholith and the Khunjerab Igneous Complex. No fossils have been reported.", "typeLocality": "Passu, Upper Hunza Valley, northern Karakoram (Gilgit-Baltistan).", "provinces": [ "karakoram" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Pak-China Friendship Formation", "underlies": "Guhjal Dolomite" }, "sources": [ "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza" ], "citations": { "age": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "era": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "period": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "lithology": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "typeLocality": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "overlies": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "underlies": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "description": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza" }, "confidence": "low", "references": [ { "citation": "Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Review of stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley (UHV), NW Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.", "year": 1990 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "lithology", "note": "Tahirkheli et al. (1990): the Passu Slate (= Misgar Slate on the north flank; one formation doubled by the Sost Anticline) is light-to-dark grey, thin- to medium-bedded slaty shale, slate and phyllitic slate with subordinate calcareous/arenaceous partings, splintery weathering, sporadically intruded by granite/diorite/dolerite/aplite/vein quartz. Overlies the Pak-China Friendship Fm with a marked unconformity; intruded by the Karakoram Axial Batholith and Khunjerab Igneous Complex. No fossils reported.", "source": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 2, "lastReviewed": "2026-08-29", "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "literature" }, { "id": "korara-shale", "name": "Korara Shale", "age": "Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to Paleocene (Montian); locally into the Lower Eocene", "era": "Mesozoic", "lithology": "Dark grey to olive grey shale with traces of clayey, dark grey, fine-grained sandstone.", "description": "The Korara Shale, part of the Jakkher Group (HSC 1960) and named after the Korara Pass in the southern Pab Range, is a dark shale succession that rests with apparent conformity on the Pab Sandstone and is overlain by a ~40 m limestone breccia (mixed Eocene-Oligocene fauna, interpreted as slumped). At Goth Allah Baksh it is ~460 m thick. Its foraminiferal fauna show it ranges from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) through the Paleocene (Montian) and locally into the Lower Eocene, making it a transgressive facies that spans the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary without an obvious depositional break, so the boundary can be placed only biostratigraphically (Khursheed, 1972).", "typeLocality": "Jakkher Lak (Map ref 35 O/2), Pab Range; measured reference section at Goth Allah Baksh, ~6 miles south of Jakkher Lak.", "thickness": "460 m (Goth Allah Baksh)", "provinces": [ "kirthar-range", "sulaiman" ], "fossils": [ "Globotruncana stuarti", "Globotruncana gansseri", "Pseudotextularia elegans", "Heterohelix navarroensis", "Guembelitria cretacea", "Zeauvigerina aegyptica" ], "stratigraphicPosition": { "overlies": "Pab Sandstone" }, "geologicalSignificance": "A rare continuous (\"unbroken\") Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary succession in Pakistan: the transgressive shale spans the Maastrichtian-Danian without an obvious depositional break, so the K-Pg boundary is detectable only through biostratigraphy (Khursheed, 1972).", "introducedBy": "Korara Shale of the Jakkher Group (HSC 1960); foraminiferal biostratigraphy by Khursheed (1972).", "sources": [ "khursheed-korara-1972" ], "citations": { "age": "khursheed-korara-1972", "era": "khursheed-korara-1972", "lithology": "khursheed-korara-1972", "typeLocality": "khursheed-korara-1972", "thickness": "khursheed-korara-1972", "fossils": "khursheed-korara-1972", "overlies": "khursheed-korara-1972", "geologicalSignificance": "khursheed-korara-1972", "description": "khursheed-korara-1972", "introducedBy": "khursheed-korara-1972" }, "confidence": "medium", "references": [ { "citation": "Khursheed, S.H. (1972). Foraminiferal Fauna of Korara Shale. Pakistan Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, 15(6), 368-370.", "year": 1972 } ], "revisionNotes": [ { "field": "age", "note": "Khursheed (1972): foraminifera from the Korara Shale at Goth Allah Baksh (Pab Range) — basal 155 m Maastrichtian (Globotruncana stuarti, G. gansseri, Pseudotextularia elegans, Heterohelix spp., Guembelitria cretacea, Zeauvigerina aegyptica) ranging up into the Paleocene (Montian) and locally the Lower Eocene. ~460 m thick, apparently conformable on the Pab Sandstone, overlain by ~40 m limestone breccia; part of the Jakkher Group (type locality Jakkher Lak).", "source": "khursheed-korara-1972" } ], "reviewStatus": "published", "tier": 2, "lastReviewed": "2026-08-29", "lithologyType": "shale", "lexiconStatus": "literature" } ], "provinces": [ { "id": "salt-range", "name": "Salt Range", "description": "A mountain range in Punjab province with the most complete stratigraphic record from Precambrian to Recent. Exposes one of the most complete and fossiliferous Paleozoic-Mesozoic sequences in the world, including the famous Khewra Salt Mine.", "location": "Northern Punjab, between Jhelum and Indus rivers", "majorFormations": [ "amb-formation", "baghanwala-formation", "chhidru-formation", "chichali-formation", "chinji-formation", "chorgali-formation", "dandot-formation", "datta-formation", "dhok-pathan-formation", "hangu-formation", "jutana-formation", "kamlial-formation", "kawagarh-formation", "khewra-sandstone", "khisor-formation", "kingriali-formation", "kuldana-formation", "kussak-formation", "lockhart-limestone", "lumshiwal-sandstone", "mianwali-formation", "nagri-formation", "nammal-formation", "patala-formation", "sakesar-formation", "salt-range-formation", "samana-suk-formation", "sardhi-formation", "shinawari-formation", "tobra-formation", "tredian-formation", "warcha-formation", "wargal-limestone" ], "tectonicSetting": "Foreland fold-and-thrust belt", "color": "province-saltRange", "basin": "Kohat-Potwar Basin (Upper Indus)", "lat": 32.6, "lng": 72.5 }, { "id": "potwar", "name": "Potwar Basin", "description": "Eastern part of Upper Indus Basin with less evaporitic and more molasse-dominated sequences. Does NOT include Bahadurkhel Salt, Jatta Gypsum, Panoba–Chashmai–Gurguri facies, or Kahan Group. Famous for world-class Siwalik mammal fossils including early hominoid primates.", "location": "Northern Punjab, Potwar Plateau between Salt Range and Margalla Hills", "majorFormations": [ "amb-formation", "baghanwala-formation", "chichali-formation", "chhidru-formation", "chinji-formation", "chorgali-formation", "datta-formation", "dhok-pathan-formation", "hangu-formation", "indus-formation", "jutana-formation", "kamlial-formation", "kawagarh-formation", "khewra-sandstone", "kingriali-formation", "kirana-group", "kuldana-formation", "kussak-formation", "lei-conglomerate", "lockhart-limestone", "lumshiwal-sandstone", "mianwali-formation", "murree-formation", "nagri-formation", "nammal-formation", "sakesar-formation", "salt-range-formation", "samana-suk-formation", "sardhi-formation", "shinawari-formation", "soan-formation", "tobra-formation", "tredian-formation", "warcha-formation", "wargal-limestone" ], "tectonicSetting": "Foreland basin with active deformation", "color": "province-potwar", "basin": "Kohat-Potwar Basin (Upper Indus)", "lat": 33.2, "lng": 72.6 }, { "id": "kohat", "name": "Kohat Basin", "description": "Western part of Upper Indus Basin, salt-tectonics dominated. Trans-Indus region with excellent Paleocene-Eocene exposures. Known for gypsum deposits, Bahadurkhel Salt, and petroleum potential. Shows transition from marine to continental conditions with unique Panoba and Kahan facies.", "location": "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, south of Peshawar", "majorFormations": [ "amb-formation", "baghanwala-formation", "bahadurkhel-salt", "chak-jabbi-limestone", "chashmai-formation", "chichali-formation", "chhidru-formation", "chinji-formation", "chorgali-formation", "datta-formation", "dhok-pathan-formation", "domanda-formation", "drazinda-formation", "gurguri-formation", "habib-rahi-formation", "hangu-formation", "indus-formation", "jatta-gypsum", "jutana-formation", "kahan-group", "kawagarh-formation", "khewra-sandstone", "khisor-formation", "kingriali-formation", "kuldana-formation", "kussak-formation", "lei-conglomerate", "lockhart-limestone", "lumshiwal-sandstone", "mianwali-formation", "murree-formation", "musakhel-group", "nagri-formation", "nammal-formation", "nilawahan-group", "panoba-formation", "patala-formation", "pirkoh-formation", "sakesar-formation", "salt-range-formation", "samana-suk-formation", "sardhi-formation", "shekhan-formation", "shinawari-formation", "soan-formation", "surghar-group", "tobra-formation", "tredian-formation", "warcha-formation", "wargal-limestone", "zaluch-group" ], "tectonicSetting": "Foreland fold-and-thrust belt", "color": "province-kohat", "basin": "Kohat-Potwar Basin (Upper Indus)", "lat": 33.35, "lng": 71.3 }, { "id": "hazara", "name": "Hazara Basin", "description": "Mountainous region with Precambrian metamorphics and complete Mesozoic-Cenozoic sequence. Contains the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis, a major structural feature of the Himalayan orogen.", "location": "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir", "majorFormations": [ "abbottabad-formation", "besham-group", "burawai-formation", "chichali-formation", "chorgali-formation", "chushal-formation", "datta-formation", "hangu-formation", "hazara-formation", "hazira-formation", "indus-formation", "jafar-kandao-formation", "kaghan-group", "kawagarh-formation", "kingriali-formation", "kuldana-formation", "langrial-limestone", "lockhart-limestone", "mahandri-formation", "mansehra-granite", "miranjani-limestone", "murree-formation", "nammal-formation", "naran-formation", "nowshera-formation", "panjpir-formation", "rajawal-formation", "sakesar-formation", "samana-suk-formation", "sharda-group", "shinawari-formation", "tanawal-formation" ], "tectonicSetting": "Himalayan fold-thrust belt, syntaxial zone", "color": "province-hazara", "basin": "Khyber-Hazara-Kashmir Basin (Uppermost Indus)", "lat": 34.2, "lng": 73.2 }, { "id": "azad-kashmir", "name": "Azad Kashmir", "description": "Eastern extension of Hazara basin with Precambrian basement, Paleozoic-Mesozoic cover, and Cenozoic molasse. Contains bauxite/laterite deposits at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary.", "location": "Azad Jammu and Kashmir", "majorFormations": [ "abbottabad-formation", "hazara-formation", "indus-formation", "kundalshahi-group", "mangla-gneiss", "murree-formation", "naril-group", "panjal-formation", "panjal-group", "salkhala-formation", "surgun-group" ], "tectonicSetting": "Himalayan syntaxis and foreland", "color": "province-kashmir", "basin": "Khyber-Hazara-Kashmir Basin (Uppermost Indus)", "lat": 34, "lng": 73.7 }, { "id": "sulaiman", "name": "Sulaiman Fold Belt", "description": "Middle Indus Basin with excellent Mesozoic-Cenozoic marine and continental sequences. Host to Pakistani dinosaurs (Vitakri Formation) and walking whales (Eocene). Major petroleum province.", "location": "Eastern Balochistan and D.G. Khan, Punjab", "majorFormations": [ "baska-formation", "chamalang-group", "chaudhwan-formation", "chiltan-limestone", "chitarwata-formation", "drug-formation", "dungan-formation", "early-middle-eocene-kahan-group", "fort-munro-formation", "ghazij-group", "goru-formation", "khanozai-group", "litra-formation", "loralai-formation", "mughal-kot-formation", "pab-sandstone", "mona-jhal-group", "parh-limestone", "rakhi-gaj-formation", "ranikot-group", "sangiali-formation", "sembar-formation", "shaheed-ghat-formation", "sulaiman-group", "toi-formation", "vihowa-formation", "vitakri-formation" ], "tectonicSetting": "Foreland fold-and-thrust belt", "color": "province-sulaiman", "basin": "Sulaiman Basin (Middle Indus)", "lat": 30, "lng": 70 }, { "id": "kirthar-range", "name": "Kirthar Range", "description": "Lower Indus Basin with type sections for major Paleogene formations. Forms the western boundary of the Indus Plain. Excellent Eocene larger foraminifera localities.", "location": "Western Sindh and Eastern Balochistan", "majorFormations": [ "anjira-formation", "dada-formation", "dilband-formation", "gaj-formation", "gorag-formation", "goru-formation", "gwal-formation", "kingri-formation", "kirthar-formation", "laki-formation", "manchar-formation", "mekhtar-formation", "nari-formation", "pab-sandstone", "mona-jhal-group", "parh-limestone", "ranikot-group", "sembar-formation", "spingwar-formation", "wulgai-formation" ], "tectonicSetting": "Passive margin to foreland transition", "color": "province-kirthar", "basin": "Kirthar Basin (Lower Indus)", "lat": 27, "lng": 67.3 }, { "id": "sindh", "name": "Sindh Province", "description": "Lower Indus Plain with subsurface Mesozoic-Cenozoic sequences. Major petroleum and gas province. Contains the Thar Desert with Neogene lignite deposits.", "location": "Sindh Province, Lower Indus Plain", "majorFormations": [ "bara-formation", "chiniot-granite", "fort-munro-group", "gaj-formation", "goru-formation", "khadro-formation", "kirana-group", "lakhra-formation", "laki-formation", "manchar-formation", "nagarparkar-complex", "nari-formation", "petaro-ridge-basement", "ranikot-group", "sakhi-sarwar-formation", "sembar-formation", "sohnari-formation" ], "tectonicSetting": "Stable foreland platform", "color": "province-sindh", "basin": "Kirthar Basin (Lower Indus)", "lat": 26, "lng": 68.5 }, { "id": "chagai-hills", "name": "Chagai Hills", "description": "Active volcanic arc with Cretaceous to Recent magmatic rocks. Contains copper-gold porphyry deposits (Saindak, Reko Diq). Part of the Chagai-Raskoh Magmatic Arc.", "location": "Northern Balochistan, along Afghan border", "majorFormations": [ "humai-formation", "kamerod-formation", "koh-i-sultan-volcanic-group", "nisai-limestone", "rakhshani-formation", "saindak-formation", "sinjrani-volcanic-group" ], "tectonicSetting": "Active volcanic arc, subduction-related", "color": "province-chagai", "basin": "Chagai-Raskoh Magmatic Arc", "lat": 29.3, "lng": 63.5 }, { "id": "makran", "name": "Makran Coast", "description": "Accretionary prism complex with thick Cenozoic turbidite sequences. Active subduction zone with mud volcanoes. World's largest accretionary wedge.", "location": "Coastal Balochistan along Arabian Sea", "majorFormations": [ "chatti-formation", "hoshab-formation", "jiwani-formation", "kech-formation", "ormara-formation", "panjgur-formation", "parkini-formation", "siahan-formation", "talar-formation", "wakai-limestone", "zurati-formation" ], "tectonicSetting": "Active accretionary prism", "color": "province-makran", "basin": "Makran-Siahan Basin (Arc-Trench Gap)", "lat": 25.4, "lng": 63.3 }, { "id": "zhob-muslim-bagh", "name": "Zhob-Muslim Bagh", "description": "Ophiolite belt with best preserved Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust in Pakistan. Major chromite mining district. Part of the Western Indus Suture.", "location": "Northern Balochistan", "majorFormations": [ "akhtar-nika-formation", "bostan-formation", "jabrai-formation", "mina-formation", "murgha-faqirzai-formation", "muslim-bagh-ophiolite", "nisai-limestone", "sakhi-sarwar-group", "shagala-formation", "shagala-group", "vihowa-group" ], "tectonicSetting": "Suture zone with obducted ophiolites", "color": "province-zhob", "basin": "Kakar-Khurasan Basin (Back Arc)", "lat": 30.8, "lng": 67.7 }, { "id": "bela-khuzdar", "name": "Bela-Khuzdar", "description": "Southern ophiolite belt marking the Western Indus Suture. Contains Bela Ophiolite and associated sediments. Transition zone between Indus and Balochistan basins.", "location": "Southern Balochistan, Lasbela district", "majorFormations": [ "bela-ophiolite", "pab-sandstone" ], "tectonicSetting": "Suture zone transitional to arc-trench", "color": "province-bela", "basin": "Western Indus Suture", "lat": 27, "lng": 66.5 }, { "id": "kohistan", "name": "Kohistan Arc", "description": "Cretaceous-Paleogene island arc complex representing a complete section through oceanic arc crust. Bounded by the Northern (Indus) and Karakoram Sutures.", "location": "Northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan", "majorFormations": [ "besham-banda-limestone", "burji-formation", "chilas-complex", "dir-group", "drosh-formation", "gawuch-formation", "gilgit-formation", "jaglot-group", "katzarah-formation", "purit-formation", "shigar-group", "skardu-group", "thelichi-formation", "yasin-group" ], "tectonicSetting": "Oceanic island arc, inter-suture position", "color": "province-kohistan", "basin": "Kohistan-Ladakh Magmatic Arc", "lat": 35.3, "lng": 73.4 }, { "id": "karakoram", "name": "Karakoram", "description": "Southern margin of the Asian plate with Paleozoic-Mesozoic sediments and Karakoram Batholith. Contains the world's highest peaks including K2. Famous for gemstones (rubies, sapphires).", "location": "Northern Gilgit-Baltistan", "majorFormations": [ "aghil-limestone", "ailak-formation", "arkari-formation", "ashtigar-formation", "atark-formation", "baintha-group", "baltit-group", "baltoro-granite", "barum-formation", "bauma-harel-formation", "bdongo-la-formation", "borom-formation", "chalt-formation", "chapursan-group", "chikchi-ri-shale", "chilmarabad-formation", "chogo-lungma-group", "chutrun-limestone", "darband-formation", "dark-limestone", "dumordo-formation", "ganchen-formation", "gircha-formation", "gum-formation", "hispar-sar-group", "hunza-plutonic-unit", "khalkal-formation", "krinj-limestone", "kundil-formation", "lupghar-formation", "lupsuk-formation", "margach-formation", "marpo-sandstone", "misgar-slate", "panjshah-formation", "rawat-formation", "reshit-formation", "ribat-formation", "savoia-formation", "shaksgam-formation", "shittinbar-formation", "shogram-formation", "singhie-shales", "staghar-cherty-limestone", "tekri-formation", "thalle-limestone", "vidiakot-formation", "wirokhun-formation", "yashkuk-formation" ], "tectonicSetting": "Active collision zone, Asian plate margin", "color": "province-karakoram", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin (Laurasia)", "lat": 35.8, "lng": 76.3 }, { "id": "hindukush-chitral", "name": "Hindukush-Chitral", "description": "Continuation of Asian plate rocks with Paleozoic sequences and crystalline basement. Contains diverse mineral deposits and unique geological heritage.", "location": "Chitral District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", "majorFormations": [ "baroghil-group", "chikar-formation", "darkot-group", "gahirat-limestone", "gharil-formation", "lashkargaz-formation", "lun-shale", "reshun-formation", "sewakht-formation", "shogram-formation", "twin-valley-member", "yarkhun-formation", "zait-limestone" ], "tectonicSetting": "Asian plate margin, fold-thrust belt", "color": "province-hindukush", "basin": "Karakoram-Hindukush Basin (Laurasia)", "lat": 36, "lng": 71.8 }, { "id": "nanga-parbat", "name": "Nanga Parbat Massif", "description": "Rapidly uplifting crystalline massif with some of the youngest exhumation ages on Earth. Contains Precambrian basement exposed at over 8000m elevation.", "location": "Western Himalaya, Gilgit-Baltistan", "majorFormations": [ "harmosh-formation", "iskere-gneiss", "nanga-parbat-gneiss", "shingus-gneiss" ], "tectonicSetting": "Active syntaxial uplift zone", "color": "province-nangaparbat", "basin": "Himalayan Crystalline", "lat": 35.2375, "lng": 74.5892 }, { "id": "indo-pakistan-shield", "name": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "description": "Precambrian crystalline basement of the Indian Plate exposed as inselbergs in Punjab-Sindh plains (Kirana Hills, Nagarparkar) and in the Lesser Himalayan nappes (Besham, Swat). Includes Archean to Neoproterozoic gneisses, granites, volcanics, and metamorphic complexes. Records the oldest geological history of Pakistan (>2.5 Ga).", "location": "Scattered exposures: Sargodha-Chiniot (Punjab), Nagarparkar (Sindh), Besham-Swat (KP), Nanga Parbat (GB)", "majorFormations": [ "besham-group", "chiniot-granite", "hachi-group", "iskere-gneiss", "kirana-group", "mangla-gneiss", "nagarparkar-complex", "nanga-parbat-gneiss", "petaro-ridge-basement", "sargodha-ridge-basement", "chak-102-conglomerate", "sharban-group", "shingus-gneiss", "taguwali-formation" ], "tectonicSetting": "Stable cratonic shield with scattered inselberg exposures and Himalayan tectonic windows", "color": "province-shield", "basin": "Indo-Pakistan Shield (Precambrian Craton)", "lat": 31.9, "lng": 72.85 }, { "id": "khyber", "name": "Khyber–Nowshera Belt", "description": "Lower Paleozoic to Mesozoic sequences of the Khyber ranges and the northern margin of the Peshawar Basin (Khyber Pass, Nowshera, Jamrud). Lesser-Himalayan / Indian-plate affinity carbonates, slates and quartzites along the Northern Indus Suture, distinct from the Hazara sub-basin to the east.", "location": "Khyber district, Jamrud and Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", "majorFormations": [ "ali-masjid-formation", "ambar-formation", "bampokha-group", "darwaza-formation", "ghundai-sar-formation", "girarai-formation", "hisartang-formation", "inzari-limestone", "jobra-formation", "khyber-limestone", "landikotal-formation", "lowara-mena-formation", "owsi-nala-limestone", "pir-sabak-formation", "shagai-formation", "shahkot-formation", "shekhai-formation", "sobrah-formation", "tilgram-formation", "tursak-formation", "uch-khattak-formation", "warran-ghundai-formation" ], "tectonicSetting": "Northern Indus Suture; Peshawar-basin margin, Lesser Himalayan affinity", "color": "province-khyber", "basin": "Khyber-Hazara-Kashmir Basin (Uppermost Indus)", "lat": 34.05, "lng": 71.5 }, { "id": "swat-malakand", "name": "Swat–Malakand", "description": "Metasedimentary and low- to medium-grade metamorphic belt of Malakand, Swat and Buner (Manglour schist, Marghazar, Kashala, Saidu). Indian-plate Lesser-Himalayan rocks structurally caught up in the Northern Indus Suture, south of the Kohistan arc.", "location": "Malakand, Swat and Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", "majorFormations": [ "alpurai-group", "banna-formation", "duma-formation", "gandaf-formation", "karora-formation", "kashala-formation", "kishar-formation", "landai-formation", "lwarani-mela-limestone", "malandrai-member", "manglour-formation", "marghazar-formation", "mekhband-formation", "nakanai-ghar-formation", "saidu-formation", "spinkai-formation" ], "tectonicSetting": "Lesser Himalayan metasedimentary belt, Indian-plate affinity", "color": "province-swatmalakand", "basin": "Khyber-Hazara-Kashmir Basin (Uppermost Indus)", "lat": 34.7, "lng": 72.3 } ], "sources": [ { "id": "dipietro-isachsen-2001", "citation": "DiPietro, J.A. & Isachsen, C.E. (2001). U-Pb zircon ages from the Indian plate in northwest Pakistan and their significance to Himalayan and pre-Himalayan geologic history. Tectonics, 20(4), 510-525.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 2001, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/2000TC001193", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied PDF). U-Pb zircon geochronology of the Indian-plate basement, NW Pakistan. Defines the Kishar formation as a pre-2173 Ma metasedimentary basement unit unconformably below the Karora formation (the basal-Karora conglomerate carries clasts of the older Kishar basement - the likely source of the 'conglomerate' mis-description). The Mekhband formation (Malakand slice) unconformably overlies the Pinjkora complex and is intruded by the ~278 Ma Chakdarra orthogneiss, so it PREDATES the early Permian and resembles the Marghazar/Kashala (Alpurai Group) rocks. Does NOT mention 'Landai' (0 occurrences) - that unit remains unsourced beyond Malkani 2017." }, { "id": "dipietro-pogue-2004", "citation": "DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (2004). Tectonostratigraphic subdivisions of the Himalaya: A view from the west. Tectonics, 23, TC5001.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 2004, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/2003TC001554", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied PDF). Himalayan tectonostratigraphic synthesis. Documents the Kishar formation as a PRE-2173 Ma GNEISSIC basement unit of the Indian plate (Western Hinterland / Besham), unconformably overlain by the Karora and Gandaf formations. IMPORTANT: this paper does NOT mention 'Landai' or 'Mekhband' (0 mentions) - the agent-search attribution of those units to DiPietro (1993 or 2004) was wrong on both counts; they remain unsourced beyond Malkani (2017)." }, { "id": "ahmad-kurram-2000", "citation": "Ahmad, S., Ali, F., Rehman, N. & Gul, J. (2000). Lithostratigraphy of the Kurram Group along the Mirali-Miran Shah Road, North Waziristan Agency, NWFP, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 33, 79-86.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2000, "url": "https://ojs.uop.edu.pk/jhes/article/view/1531", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied). The DEFINING paper for the former 'Kurram Group' of NORTH WAZIRISTAN (Mirali-Miran Shah-Razmak): establishes six units, Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous - Spalga Formation (Triassic; thrust below the Jurassic), Sarobi and Isha formations (Jurassic limestone/shale), and (disconformably above) Chashmai Kharsai, Marsi Khel and Zerghar formations (Cretaceous). Broadly correlative with the Samana-Kohat Mesozoic (N) and Balochistan (S). RESOLVES the geographic flag: these units are North Waziristan, NOT Zhob (the indplex 'zhob-muslim-bagh' province tag was wrong). Sarobi village type locality lat 32 deg 54' 20\" N, long 70 deg 06' 35\" E." }, { "id": "ahmad-jan-jehan-2005", "citation": "Ahmad, I., Jan, M.Q. & Jehan, N. (2005). Metamorphic mineral assemblages south of the Malakand and adjoining areas, northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 38, 139-148.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2005, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Metamorphic-petrology study (full text reviewed) of the Alpurai Group metasediments (Saidu, Kashala, Marghazar schists) of the Lower Swat-Malakand area: documents a south-to-north increasing Barrovian gradient from greenschist facies (Takht-e-Bhai/Rustam; ~300-400 C, <=3 kb) to epidote-amphibolite facies (Mora Kandao/Malakand; ~580 C, ~5.5 kb). Used for metamorphic-character enrichment only, not stratigraphic (age/thickness/contacts)." }, { "id": "zanchi-gaetani-2011", "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.", "type": "geologic-map", "tier": "primary", "year": 2011, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2011.09", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Landmark open-access Italian-survey geological map + memoir of the Central-Western Karakoram; the definitive independent framework for the Karakoram Palaeozoic-Mesozoic units. Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied PDF). Confirms the Atark Unit (Permian-Triassic), Gum Fm (Permian-aspect fauna), Rawat Fm (Permian fusulinids), Margach Fm (~150 m, ?Famennian-earliest Tournaisian), Ribat Fm (Lower Carboniferous), Vidiakot Fm (Lower Ordovician), Yarkhun Fm (Ordovician-Devonian) and the Twin Valleys Member (Late Carboniferous, within the Lupsuk Fm). NOTE: does NOT cover the Staghar Cherty Limestone (Shaksgam Valley — a different area)." }, { "id": "gaetani-chitral-1996", "citation": "Gaetani, M., Le Fort, P., Tanoli, S., Angiolini, L., Nicora, A., Sciunnach, D. & Khan, A. (1996). Reconnaissance geology in Upper Chitral, Baroghil and Karambar districts (northern Karakorum, Pakistan). Geologische Rundschau, 85, 683-704.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1996, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02440105", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (user-supplied PDF; Geol. Rundsch. 85:683-704, DOI 10.1007/BF02440105). The foundational 1992 Italian-expedition reconnaissance of the Northern Sedimentary Belt (NSB) of the northern Karakorum from Chitral to Karambar: axial batholith (3 plutons) + three NSB thrust-stack tectonostratigraphic units, with a crystalline basement transgressed by an Early Ordovician marine succession up to the Cretaceous Reshun Conglomerate. Introduces the Baroghil Group (Yarkhun + Vidiakot fms) and the Chilmarabad Formation, and names the Gharil, Lashkargaz, Ailak and Gircha formations of the Permian-Triassic Chapursan sequence. Its unit-level content is superseded by, and already integrated via, the authors' later full-text papers (Gaetani 2004 Carboniferous, 2008 Devonian, Zanchi & Gaetani 2011, Gaetani et al. 2013 Facies) and Talent et al. (1999); this record's verification is upgraded to full-text and the full author list completed, but no unit deltas are added to avoid duplicating those newer sources. (All 12 units it names - Yarkhun, Vidiakot, Chilmarabad, Shogram, Gharil, Lashkargaz, Ailak, Gircha, Misgar, Reshun, Darkot, Chapursan - already carry richer, later-source content.)" }, { "id": "dipietro-1993", "citation": "DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993). Stratigraphy south of the Main Mantle Thrust, Lower Swat, Pakistan. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds), Himalayan Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74, 207-220.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1993, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1993.074.01.15", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied PDF). The DEFINING paper for the Alpurai Group of Lower Swat (south of the Main Mantle Thrust): Marghazar Formation (Carboniferous or younger) + Kashala, Saidu and Nikanai Ghar formations (Triassic or younger), unconformable on the Manglaur formation, with the Jobra formation in lenses beneath. CORRECTION: this paper does NOT cover the Kishar/Landai/Mekhband formations — that was an agent-search mis-attribution (those belong to DiPietro & Isachsen 2001/2004, Besham/Indus-syntaxis), now reverted. Cited here for the Alpurai Group units." }, { "id": "stauffer-khyber-1975", "citation": "Stauffer, K.W. (1975). Geology of the Khyber Pass, Khyber Agency, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 75-272.", "type": "geologic-map", "tier": "primary", "year": 1975, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "literature-search", "notes": "Public-domain USGS map of the Khyber Pass area. With Khan (1969), documents the Ghundai Sar Siluro-Devonian reef complex (four lithologic units; corals, stromatoporoids, crinoids, graptolites) N of Jamrud. Distinct from stauffer-1975 (Gilgit-Hispar). Located via agent-assisted literature search; confirm against the PDF." }, { "id": "khan-clyde-2013", "citation": "Khan, I.H. & Clyde, W.C. (2013). Lower Paleogene Tectonostratigraphy of Balochistan: Evidence for Time-Transgressive Late Paleocene-Early Eocene Uplift. Geosciences, 3(3), 466-501.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2013, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences3030466", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Peer-reviewed, open-access (MDPI, CC-BY). GSP + Univ. of New Hampshire. Lithofacies, paleoflow and sandstone-petrography study of the upper Paleocene-lower Eocene Ghazij Formation along the western Indian-plate suture (Quetta-Kalat-Kingri-Mughal Kot): a shallowing-upward synorogenic sequence, a late Paleocene-early Eocene unconformity, SE-directed paleocurrents (reversed from the Cretaceous) and a fold-thrust/suture provenance, read as the local response to initial India-Asia contact. Independent, clearly-licensed corroboration for the Balochistan Paleogene (Ghazij/Chamalang, Dungan, Kirthar)." }, { "id": "malkani-2020-balochistan", "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2020, "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2020.107036", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text + companion abstract reviewed (reviewer-supplied). Single-author GSP synthesis of the Balochistan super-basin (Kakar-Khorasan back-arc, Chagai-Raskoh-Wazhdad magmatic arc, Makran-Siahan fore-arc) and the Western Indus Suture. Strength is the mineral-resource inventory (Chagai porphyry Cu-Au at Saindak/Reko Diq, Pachin Koh-Chilghazi magnetite iron, ophiolite chromite, Khuzdar-Lasbela Pb-Zn-barite, Makran fault-hosted antimony-gold-silver veins, Koh-i-Sultan/Jiwani sulphur). Its higher-order groupings and cross-basin synonymies (Sharan Jogezai vs Nisai Group; Wazhdad magmatic arc; Talar=Vihowa; Saindak=Amalaf=Washap; Murgha Faqirzai=Siahan=Hoshab=Zurati) are the author's own usage, internally inconsistent between his papers, and are recorded as attributed revisionNotes rather than adopted over curated values." }, { "id": "chaudhry-ahsan-2022", "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ahsan, N. & Rehman, S.U. (2022). Revised Stratigraphy of Sargodha-Chiniot Area, Punjab, Pakistan. The Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2022, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied PDF). Revised stratigraphy of the Proterozoic Kirana Complex (Sargodha-Chiniot, Punjab). Latest scheme (Table 4): Hachi Volcanic Group (Wad Sayyidan + Buland Hill formations), unconformably overlain by the Machh Super Group = Kirana Group (Chak 112 Conglomerate, Taguwali, Asianwala) + Sharaban Group (Hadda Quartzite, Chak 102 Conglomerate); the whole complex is unconformably overlain by the Salt Range Formation. The Chak 102 Conglomerate is the former 'Sharaban Conglomerate'.", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 2022, pp. 1-9." }, { "id": "kadri-1995", "citation": "Kadri, I.B. (1995). Petroleum Geology of Pakistan. Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Karachi.", "type": "book", "tier": "peer", "year": 1995, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Full-text (user-supplied OCR). Petroleum-geology reference; strengths are source-rock/reservoir characterisation, subsurface (well) thicknesses and contact relationships. Staged extraction in enrichment/imports/kadri-1995-extract.json. Cited here for economic-importance (petroleum) gap-fills.", "verification": "full-text" }, { "id": "gsp-shah-2009", "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.", "type": "memoir", "tier": "gsp", "year": 2009, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Full-text (user-supplied OCR of GSP Memoir 22). The definitional lexicon authority: unit author/introducer + year, type locality / type section (many with coordinates), formal nomenclature and synonymy, type-section thickness, contacts and age. Staged extraction in enrichment/imports/shah-2009-extract.json (not yet applied). Registered for the Kadri (1995) + Shah (2009) reconciliation. Distinct from Shah (1977) GSP Memoir 12 (gsp-shah-1977).", "verification": "full-text" }, { "id": "usgs-ofr-94-689", "citation": "Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.", "type": "geologic-map", "tier": "primary", "year": 1994, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr94689", "status": "active", "notes": "Full-text (user-supplied). USGS-GSP cooperative geologic map (Balochistan Coal-Basin Synthesis Study) with detailed lithology, thickness (with localities), contacts and ages for Sibi-Urak trough, Khojak flysch, Sulaiman-Kirthar shelf, Muslim Bagh Ophiolite and Bagh Complex units. Primary source. Records the Fatmi et al. (1986) renaming of the Parh Group to the Mona Jhal Group, the Alozai Group elevation of the Loralai and Spingwar formations (Fatmi, in press), the Bibai Formation (Kazmi 1979), and Muslim Bagh Ophiolite K-Ar ages of 82-67 Ma.", "verification": "full-text" }, { "id": "malkani-2016-indus-sealevel", "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2016). Revised stratigraphy of Indus Basin (Pakistan): Sea level changes. In: Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific — Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608, Novosibirsk 2016, Abstract Volume, pp. 97-99.", "type": "conference-abstract", "tier": "tertiary", "year": 2016, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Full-text (user-supplied). Single-author IGCP-608 symposium extended abstract giving a basin-wide lithostratigraphic listing. Weak/tertiary: largely redundant with the existing dataset and several of its synonymies (Hangu = Patala; Sakesar = Lockhart = Margala Hill; Domanda = Sirki; Gurguri = Chashmai) contradict better biostratigraphy (e.g. Afzal, Williams & Aldridge 2009) and are NOT adopted. Used only for a few distinctive, defensible facts recorded as attributed revisionNotes: Deccan-volcanism evidence in the Pab, Khadro and Bara formations; the Datta Formation terrestrial (upper Indus) to marine (uppermost Indus) facies substitution; and the Girdu and Bawata members of the Rakhi Gaj Formation.", "verification": "full-text" }, { "id": "malkani-2019-cretaceous", "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2019). Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9, 671-673.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2019, "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2019.910071", "status": "active", "notes": "Full-text (user-supplied). Single-author SciRP review of the Indus Basin Cretaceous. Used mainly as a corroborating source; the Vitakri Lameta / Sangiali Group nomenclature and the dinosaur taxonomy are the author's own usage and are contested in the wider literature, so facts unique to this paper are flagged as such via revisionNotes and not adopted over curated values. Distinctive, citable content: Deccan volcanic dust in the Early Paleocene Sangiali and Rakhi Gaj formations; the Vitakri Lameta Formation defined as the upper <=35 m of the former Pab Formation; Mekhtar Sandstone equated with the lower Goru sandstone; Chichali as an ammonite-bearing marine unit at the K/Pg boundary of the Upper Indus Basin.", "verification": "full-text" }, { "id": "afzal-williams-aldridge-2009", "citation": "Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2009, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.7", "status": "active", "notes": "Full-text primary source (user-supplied PDF, 17 p.). Integrated dinoflagellate/nannofossil/planktonic + shallow benthonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy for the Paleocene-Eocene Greater Indus Basin, correlated to standard chronostratigraphy (SBZ of Serra-Kiel et al. 1998 / Scheibner et al. 2005; PFZ of Berggren et al. 1995; CNZ of Martini 1971; Luterbacher et al. 2004). Authoritative recent zonation for Upper Indus Basin (Hangu, Lockhart, Patala, Margala Hill, Panoba, Nammal, Shekhan, Chorgali, Kuldana, Kohat, Sakesar) and Lower Indus Basin (Khadro, Bara, Lakhra, Dungan, Ghazij/Laki, Kirthar) units.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; J. Micropalaeontology 28(1):7-23." }, { "id": "gsp-malkani-2017", "citation": "Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.", "type": "memoir", "tier": "gsp", "year": 2017, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Baseline source. All facts present in the original extraction trace to this memoir.", "verification": "primary-source" }, { "id": "gsp-shah-1977", "citation": "Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.", "type": "memoir", "tier": "gsp", "year": 1977, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Classic GSP lexicon. Registered for cross-referencing in Phase 1-3. Remove if not used. [Activated 2026-07-14: now cited by the references-enrichment batches for Salt Range, Indus Mesozoic and Kohat evaporite units.]", "verification": "primary-source" }, { "id": "ics-chart-2024", "citation": "International Commission on Stratigraphy (2024). International Chronostratigraphic Chart, v2024.", "type": "chart", "tier": "standard", "year": 2024, "url": "https://stratigraphy.org/chart", "status": "placeholder", "notes": "Authoritative standard for normalizing age/era/period/epoch. Used in Phase 2. Confirm version before citing.", "verification": "chart-standard" }, { "id": "kazmi-jan-1997", "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.", "type": "book", "tier": "textbook", "year": 1997, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Authoritative regional/tectonic + economic-geology textbook. Predates some Malkani (2017) units. Covers 49/59 Tier-1 formations.", "verification": "primary-source" }, { "id": "khan-2019-shekhan", "citation": "Khan, S., Rashid, M.U. & Haider, N. (2019). Foraminiferal studies of the Eocene Shekhan Formation, Panoba section, Kohat, northern Pakistan: implications for biostratigraphy and palaeoenvironments. International Journal of Hydrology, 3(5), 429-436.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2019, "url": "https://medcraveonline.com/IJH/foraminiferal-studies-of-eocen-shekhan-formation-panoba-section-kohat-northern-pakistan-implication-for-biostratgraphy-and-paleoenvirnments.html", "status": "active", "notes": "Used for the Chashmai Formation as the western clastic facies of the Shekhan Formation.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Int. J. Hydrology 3/5) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms Early-Middle Eocene age, three planktonic-foraminiferal biozones, inner-shelf setting, and Chashmai Formation as the western clastic facies." }, { "id": "indplex-geolex", "citation": "Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.", "type": "database", "tier": "textbook", "year": 2023, "url": "https://indplex.geolex.org", "status": "active", "notes": "Curated stratigraphic lexicon. Used for Kuldana Formation thickness, contacts and age.", "verification": "reference-database" }, { "id": "khan-lumshiwal-samana-2020", "citation": "Khan, M. et al. (2009). Petrography of Sandstone of the Lumshiwal Formation from the Samana Range, Hangu, NW Pakistan: Implications for Provenance, Diagenesis and Environments of Deposition. Pakistan Journal of Hydrocarbon Research, 19, 1-9.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2009, "url": "https://www.pjhr.org.pk/index.php/pjhr/article/download/173/161", "status": "active", "notes": "Used for Lumshiwal Formation thickness and macrofossil content.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Pakistan J. Hydrocarbon Research 19) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Sandstone petrography, provenance, diagenesis and depositional environment of the Lumshiwal Formation, Samana Range. CORRECTION: PJHR vol. 19, June 2009 (not 2020, and the journal is Pakistan J. Hydrocarbon Research)." }, { "id": "sulaiman-foldbelt-2018", "citation": "Jadoon, I.A.K. & Zaib, M.O. (2018). Tectonic Map of Sulaiman Fold Belt, Pakistan. Department of Earth Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (Abbottabad Campus), Pakistan.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2018, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331158873", "status": "active", "notes": "Used for Vihowa/Litra/Chaudhwan lithology, thickness, contacts and Siwalik correlations.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (180-pp map memoir) supplied by reviewer 2026-08; body uses a custom font encoding, so Vihowa/Litra/Chaudhwan facts were cross-verified against Raza et al. (2002). CORRECTION: authors are Jadoon & Zaib (COMSATS), not Malkani/GSP as originally labelled." }, { "id": "flynn-sulaiman-miocene-2005", "citation": "Raza, S.M., Cheema, I.U., Downs, W.R., Rajpar, A.R. & Ward, S.C. (2002). Miocene stratigraphy and mammal fauna from the Sulaiman Range, Southwestern Himalayas, Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 186(3-4), 185-197.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2002, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-0182(02)00443-1", "status": "active", "notes": "Used for Vihowa/Litra ages and Siwalik mammal fauna of the Sulaiman Range.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by reviewer 2026-08. CORRECTION: paper is Raza et al. (2002), not 'Lindsay/Flynn 2005' as originally labelled; id retained for citation stability." }, { "id": "chiltan-mdpi-2023", "citation": "Memon, F.H., Tunio, A.H., Memon, K.R., Mahesar, A.A. & Abbas, G. (2023). Unveiling the Diagenetic and Mineralogical Impact on the Carbonate Formation of the Indus Basin, Pakistan: Implications for Reservoir Characterization and Quality Assessment. Minerals, 13(12), 1474.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2023, "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/13/12/1474", "status": "active", "notes": "Chiltan Limestone as Middle Jurassic oolitic shelf carbonate and reservoir.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Minerals 13/12) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms Chiltan Limestone as a Middle Jurassic oolitic shelf carbonate with reefal development and a stable carbonate-platform depositional environment. CORRECTION: full title is \"Unveiling the Diagenetic and Mineralogical Impact...\"; authors Memon et al." }, { "id": "sulaiman-jurassic-cretaceous-2017", "citation": "Iqbal, M., Nazeer, A., Ahmad, H. & Murtaza, G. (2012). Hydrocarbon Exploration Perspective in Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Reservoirs in the Sulaiman Fold Belt, Pakistan. AAPG Search and Discovery Article #10394 (adapted from PAPG/SPE Annual Technical Conference 2011, Islamabad).", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2012, "url": "https://www.searchanddiscovery.com/documents/2012/10394iqbal/ndx_iqbal.pdf", "status": "active", "notes": "Chiltan/Sembar/Goru reservoir and source-rock framework; Sembar westward thinning.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by reviewer 2026-08. CORRECTION: Iqbal et al. (2012) AAPG Search & Discovery #10394, not a 2017 journal article as originally labelled." }, { "id": "chagai-porphyry-2008", "citation": "Perelló, J., Razique, A., Schloderer, J. et al. (2008). The Chagai Porphyry Copper Belt, Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. Economic Geology, 103(8), 1583-1612.", "type": "peer-reviewed", "tier": "peer", "year": 2008, "url": "https://doi.org/10.2113/gsecongeo.103.8.1583", "status": "active", "notes": "Authoritative review of the Chagai porphyry Cu-Au-(Mo) belt incl. Saindak and Reko Diq; used for Saindak/Chagai economic significance.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Economic Geology 103/8, 1583-1612) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms the Chagai magmatic-arc porphyry Cu-Au system: Sinjrani and Saindak volcano-sedimentary units as wall rocks hosting the Saindak (and Reko Diq) deposits; arc evolution Middle Jurassic-Paleocene, late Eocene batholiths, Miocene mineralization." }, { "id": "makran-prospectivity-2022", "citation": "Cromie, C., Scarselli, N., Craig, J., Khan, M.R. & Hussain, A. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. Journal of Petroleum Geology, 45(2), 179-200.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2022, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359468233", "status": "active", "notes": "Makran accretionary-wedge tectonostratigraphy and petroleum system; Hoshab/Parkini source rocks, Panjgur/Talar reservoirs.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text DOCX (J. Petroleum Geology 45/2) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms the Makran petroleum-systems roles: Panjgur (L. Miocene) turbidite reservoir; Hoshab (Oligocene) and Parkini (U. Miocene) mudstone source rocks; Talar (Pliocene) shallow sandstone reservoir. CORRECTION: lead author is Conall Cromie (Cromie, C.), not \"Cromie, P.\"." }, { "id": "kakar-mahmood-muslimbagh-2013", "citation": "Kakar, M.I., Mahmood, K., Kerr, A.C. & Khan, M. (2013). Petrology of the mantle rocks from the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite, Balochistan, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 46, 101-112.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2013, "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269628837", "status": "active", "notes": "Khalid Mahmood (Univ. of Sargodha) et al. Muslim Bagh ophiolite mantle petrology; foliated harzburgite/dunite with podiform chromite, supra-subduction-zone setting, Late Cretaceous-Paleocene obduction onto the Indian margin.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (J. Himalayan Earth Sci. 46/2, 101-112) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite mantle section: foliated peridotite (harzburgite + minor dunite) with a transition zone of residual dunite and wehrlite/pyroxenite impregnations, a supra-subduction-zone ophiolite." }, { "id": "mansehra-upb-2016", "citation": "Naeem, M., Burg, J.-P., Ahmad, N., Chaudhry, M.N. & Khalid, P. (2016). U-Pb zircon systematics of the Mansehra Granitic Complex: implications on the early Paleozoic orogenesis in NW Himalaya of Pakistan. Geosciences Journal, 20(4), 427-447.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2016, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-015-0062-x", "status": "active", "notes": "SHRIMP/LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating of the Mansehra Granitic Complex, Hazara: Ordovician crystallization ages ~478 Ma (Mansehra Granite), ~475 Ma (leucogranites), ~466 Ma (Hakale Granite); intrudes the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian Tanawal Fm; Andean-type Cambro-Ordovician orogenesis. Supersedes the older Rb-Sr ~516 Ma estimate. Verified via web-search bibliographic metadata; publisher host (Springer) sits behind the org egress policy so the page could not be directly fetched.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Geosciences Journal, doi:10.1007/s12303-015-0062-x) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon chronometry confirms Cambro-Ordovician (early Palaeozoic, Andean-type) crystallization of the Mansehra Granitic Complex." }, { "id": "nagarparkar-npic-2019", "citation": "Mastoi, A.S., Yang, X.-Y., Deng, J. & Hakro, A.A.A.D. (2019). Early Neoproterozoic evolution of Southeast Pakistan: evidence from geochemistry, geochronology, and isotopic composition of the Nagarparkar Igneous Complex. International Geology Review, 61(11), 1398-1408.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2019, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/00206814.2018.1512905", "status": "active", "notes": "Geochemistry, zircon U-Pb geochronology and isotopes of the Nagarparkar Igneous Complex, SE Sindh: Neoproterozoic A-type granite-rhyolite magmatism of Malani Igneous Suite affinity (U-Pb zircon ages spanning ~740-880 Ma; Mirpur Granite ~753 Ma), linked to Rodinia. Corroborates the baseline Neoproterozoic assignment. Verified via web-search metadata; publisher host (Taylor & Francis) behind org egress policy.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (International Geology Review, doi:10.1080/00206814.2018.1512905) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms an Early Neoproterozoic age for the Nagar Parkar Igneous Complex (Nagarparkar granite; Malani-related Neoproterozoic magmatism) via geochemistry, geochronology and Lu-Hf isotopes." }, { "id": "usgs-pp1599-ghazij-1999", "citation": "Johnson, E.A., Warwick, P.D., Roberts, S.B. & Khan, I.H. (1999). Lithofacies, depositional environments, and regional stratigraphy of the lower Eocene Ghazij Formation, Balochistan, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1599, 76 p.", "type": "book", "tier": "peer", "year": 1999, "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/pp1599", "status": "active", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (reviewer-supplied PDF, USGS Prof. Paper 1599). The authoritative USGS-GSP monograph on the lower Eocene Ghazij Formation of Balochistan: exposed ~750 km along the western margin of the Axial Belt; deltaic to alluvial-plain depositional environments; hosts the principal Eocene coal fields (Mach, Sor Range, Pir Ismail Ziarat, Johan). NOMENCLATURE: this monograph treats Ghazij as a FORMATION throughout ('Ghazij Formation' used 183x vs 'Ghazij Group' 1x), subdivided into three informal vertical parts (Lower, Middle, Upper) proposed for formal member recognition, plus the named Marap Conglomerate Member (redefined by Shah 1977) and Meting Limestone Member; conglomerate and evaporite facies are mapped. This Balochistan/Kirthar 'Formation' usage differs from the Sulaiman 'Ghazij Group' scheme (Shah) and is directly relevant to the reviewer's Formation-vs-Group rank question.", "verification": "full-text" }, { "id": "eocene-rocksalt-frontiers-2021", "citation": "Hussain, S.A., Han, F.Q., Ma, Z., Hussain, A., Mughal, M.S., Han, J., Alhassan, A. & Widory, D. (2021). Origin and Evolution of Eocene Rock Salts in Pakistan and Implications for Paleoclimate Studies: Insights From Chemistry and Cl Stable Isotopes. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, 644485.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2021, "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.644485/full", "status": "active", "notes": "NEW. Geochemistry and Cl isotopes of the Eocene Kohat rock salts (Bahadur Khel, Jatta and Karak deposits = Kohat Saline Series). Used for Bahadur Khel Salt and Jatta Gypsum: halite-dominated evaporites with subordinate gypsum/anhydrite/polyhalite, restricted-marine to sabkha origin following India-Asia collision and Tethys closure (~50 Ma), subsurface thickness up to ~700 m. Verified via web-search abstract/metadata; publisher (frontiersin.org) returns bot-403 to direct WebFetch.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Frontiers in Earth Science 9:644485) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms the Eocene Kohat Saline Series evaporites (halite + gypsum) at the Jatta, Karak and Bahadur Khel localities, restricted-marine/evaporitic origin by brine evaporation; supports the Bahadur Khel Salt and Jatta Gypsum facts." }, { "id": "parrish-tirrul-baltoro-1989", "citation": "Parrish, R.R. & Tirrul, R. (1989). U-Pb age of the Baltoro granite, northwest Himalaya, and implications for monazite U-Pb systematics. Geology, 17(12), 1076-1079.", "type": "defining-paper", "tier": "peer", "year": 1989, "url": "https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/17/12/1076/204814/U-Pb-age-of-the-Baltoro-granite-northwest-Himalaya", "status": "active", "notes": "Classic geochronology paper. U-Pb zircon emplacement age of the Baltoro granite = 21.0 +/- 0.5 Ma (early Miocene) with Precambrian inherited zircon; monazite dates 17-19 Ma. Used for Baltoro Granite Miocene emplacement age.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Geology 17/12, 1076-1079) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms the Baltoro granite as a late/post-tectonic Karakoram batholith phase, U-Pb zircon emplacement 21.0 ± 0.5 Ma (early Miocene) with Precambrian inheritance; monazite 17-19 Ma. Corroborates the Baltoro Miocene age." }, { "id": "searle-baltoro-2010", "citation": "Searle, M.P., Parrish, R.R., Thow, A.V., Noble, S.R., Phillips, R.J. & Waters, D.J. (2010). Anatomy, age and evolution of a collisional mountain belt: the Baltoro granite batholith and Karakoram Metamorphic Complex, Pakistani Karakoram. Journal of the Geological Society, 167(1), 183-202.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2010, "url": "https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/abs/10.1144/0016-76492009-043", "status": "active", "notes": "Synthesis of the Baltoro granite batholith and Karakoram Metamorphic Complex. Post-collisional crustal-melt biotite-muscovite-garnet leucogranites; U-Pb leucogranite ages from Trango Towers, Cathedral and Paiyu peaks range ~21-13 Ma. Used for Baltoro Granite lithology (leucogranite) and Miocene collisional-melt setting.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (J. Geol. Soc. London 167, 183-202) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms the Baltoro granite batholith as a Miocene leucogranite crustal-melt suite emplaced over c. 26.4-13 Ma (Trango Towers, Cathedral, K2-Gasherbrum), corroborating the Baltoro age." }, { "id": "crawford-searle-karakoram-1992", "citation": "Crawford, M.B. & Searle, M.P. (1992). Field relationships and geochemistry of pre-collisional (India-Asia) granitoid magmatism in the central Karakoram, northern Pakistan. Tectonophysics, 206(1-2), 171-192.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1992, "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004019519290375G", "status": "active", "notes": "Defines the mid-Cretaceous Hunza plutonic complex/unit of the western-central Karakoram batholith: quartz diorite-granodiorite plutons, calc-alkaline, subduction-related (mantle-wedge source with crustal contamination; 87Sr/86Sr 0.7055-0.7157), deformed in the south by later collisional thrusting; U-Pb zircon ~105 Ma. Used for Hunza Plutonic Unit composition, tectonic setting and mid-Cretaceous age.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Tectonophysics 206, 171-192) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms the mid-Cretaceous Hunza plutonic unit (within the ca. 115-80 Ma pre-collision range) of quartz diorite-granodiorite, calc-alkaline subduction-related magmatism in the central Karakoram batholith." }, { "id": "ghazi-nilawahan-2012", "citation": "Ghazi, S., Mountney, N.P., Butt, A.A. & Sharif, S. (2012). Stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework of the Early Permian sequence in the Salt Range, Pakistan. Journal of Earth System Science, 121(5), 1239-1255.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2012, "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12040-012-0225-3", "status": "active", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (reviewer-supplied PDF, J. Earth Syst. Sci. 121(5), 1239-1255). Defines the Early Permian Nilawahan Group (~350 m, Salt Range) as four formations with stage-level ages: Tobra (Asselian; tillite/diamictite, Glossopteris-Gangamopteris flora; = former Talchir Boulder Bed), Dandot (Sakmarian; ~50 m at type locality Dandot; Eurydesma-Conularia-Discina-Martiniopsis-Chonetes-Neochonetes fauna; = former Conularia Beds / Dandot Group), Warchha Sandstone (Artinskian; 30 m east to 155 m west; meandering-fluvial to coastal/estuarine; = former speckled sandstone; proposed type section Matan 72°41'38\"E 32°39'46\"N, ref. section Karuli), Sardhai (Kungurian; shallow-marine grey-lavender shale; type section Sardhai Gorge). Group bounded below by unconformity on Cambrian and above by unconformity beneath the Zaluch Group (Amb Formation).", "verification": "full-text" }, { "id": "ghazi-warchha-2009", "citation": "Ghazi, S. & Mountney, N.P. (2009). Facies and architectural element analysis of a meandering fluvial succession: The Permian Warchha Sandstone, Salt Range, Pakistan. Sedimentary Geology, 221(1-4), 99-126.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2009, "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0037073809001961", "status": "active", "notes": "Verified via retrieved content: detailed facies and architectural-element analysis showing the Warchha (Warcha) Sandstone is a high-sinuosity meandering fluvial succession with floodplains. Used for Warcha environment and geological significance.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Sedimentary Geology 221, 99-126) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms the Early Permian Warchha Sandstone (30-155 m) as a high-sinuosity meandering fluvial red-bed succession (lateral-accretion point bars) draining the northern Gondwana margin, Salt Range." }, { "id": "qanit-khewra-2025", "citation": "Qanit, A.B., Iqbal, S., Kamran, A.H., Idrees, M., Sames, B. & Wagreich, M. (2025). Sedimentary Facies and Geochemical Signatures of the Khewra Sandstone: Reconstructing Cambrian Paleoclimates and Paleoweathering in the Salt Range, Pakistan. Minerals, 15(8), 789.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2025, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/min15080789", "status": "active", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (reviewer-supplied PDF; open-access CC-BY, doi:10.3390/min15080789). Sedimentology + geochemistry of the Lower Cambrian Khewra Sandstone, the lowermost unit of the Cambrian Jhelum Group, at its Khewra Gorge type locality (eastern Salt Range). Deposited in fluvial-deltaic settings with fluvial and tidal processes under an overall arid to semi-arid palaeoclimate with poor-to-moderate chemical weathering (average CIA ~62); felsic continental-block provenance. Disconformable contact with the overlying Kussak Formation.", "verification": "full-text" }, { "id": "ali-chhidru-2021", "citation": "Ali, S.K., Janjuhah, H.T., Shahzad, S.M., Kontakiotis, G., Saleem, M.H., Khan, U., Zarkogiannis, S.D., Makri, P. & Antonarakou, A. (2021). Depositional Sedimentary Facies, Stratigraphic Control, Paleoecological Constraints, and Paleogeographic Reconstruction of Late Permian Chhidru Formation (Western Salt Range, Pakistan). Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 9(12), 1372.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2021, "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/9/12/1372", "status": "active", "notes": "Verified via retrieved content (incl. full author list from cross-referenced citation): Late Permian Chhidru Formation of the western Salt Range (Zaluch Gorge) as a shallow-marine carbonate-siliciclastic succession; upper contact with the Triassic Mianwali Formation carries the Permian-Triassic boundary. Used for Chidru/Chhidru.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 9(12):1372." }, { "id": "mertmann-permian-platform-2003", "citation": "Mertmann, D. (2003). Evolution of the marine Permian carbonate platform in the Salt Range (Pakistan). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 191(3-4), 373-384.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2003, "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018202006727", "status": "active", "notes": "Verified via retrieved content: evolution of the Permian marine carbonate platform of the Salt Range spanning the Amb, Wargal and Chhidru formations (Zaluch Group). Used for Wargal Limestone (and corroborating Amb, Chidru/Chhidru) carbonate-platform environment.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 191) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms Amb Formation (Wordian) and Wargal Formation (Capitanian-Wuchiapingian) carbonate-platform evolution in the Zaluch Group, Salt Range." }, { "id": "wadood-amb-2022", "citation": "Wadood, B., Khan, S. & Li, H. (2022). Middle Permian Mixed Siliciclastic-Carbonate System on the Northwestern Margin of the Indian Plate, Pakistan: Implications for Paleoclimate and Carbonate Platform Evolution. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition).", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2022, "url": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1755-6724.14737", "status": "active", "notes": "Verified via retrieved content: study of the Middle Permian Amb Formation (Saiyiduwali section, Khisor Range) as a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate, fusulinid-bearing shelf system. Used for Amb Formation environment and geological significance.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Acta Geologica Sinica) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms the Amb Formation as a Middle Permian (Wordian) mixed siliciclastic-carbonate unit at the base of the Zaluch Group (Amb-Wargal-Chhidru), fusulinid-bearing, deposited on a tide-influenced shallow shelf / early carbonate platform." }, { "id": "khan-shah-jutana-2019", "citation": "Khan, S. & Shah, M.M. (2019). Multiphase dolomitization in the Jutana Formation (Cambrian), Salt Range (Pakistan): Evidences from field observations, microscopic studies and isotopic analysis. Geologica Acta, 17(2), 1-18.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2019, "url": "https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/GEOACTA/article/view/GeologicaActa2019.17.2", "status": "active", "notes": "Verified via retrieved content: Cambrian Jutana Formation carbonate-platform dolomites with multiple dolomitization phases documented by petrography and stable isotopes. Used for Jutana environment and geological significance.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Geologica Acta 17.2) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms the Cambrian Jutana Formation as a shallow-marine carbonate-platform dolostone (oolitic-pisolitic + massive units) with three dolomitization phases (early-Cambrian mixing-zone, late-Permian burial, post-Eocene)." }, { "id": "farooqui-salt-range-fm-2019", "citation": "Farooqui, M.A., Umar, M., Sabir, M.A., Pervez, R. & Jalees, T. (2019). Geochemical attributes of late Neoproterozoic Salt Range Formation, Pakistan: constraints on provenance, paleoclimate, depositional and tectonic settings. Geosciences Journal, 23(2), 201-218.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2019, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-018-0022-3", "status": "active", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (reviewer-supplied PDF; doi:10.1007/s12303-018-0022-3). Major/trace/REE geochemistry of the clastic fraction of the late Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran) Salt Range Formation (Salt and Trans-Indus Ranges). Sandstones/shales classify as arkose, subarkose and litharenite sourced from felsic and/or intermediate igneous rocks (felsic island arc with minor andesitic-arc and older passive-margin input); deposited in fluvial to restricted-shelf conditions under an arid to semi-arid, oxygenated palaeoclimate.", "verification": "full-text" }, { "id": "osm-gazetteer", "citation": "OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.", "type": "database", "tier": "tertiary", "year": 2026, "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org", "status": "active", "notes": "Used only to convert a unit’s named GSP type locality (village/pass/nala/section/range) into approximate decimal coordinates for the map. These are locality-level approximations, not surveyed type-section points; confidence reflects locality precision.", "verification": "reference-database" }, { "id": "usgs-wnuk-bara-1993", "citation": "Wnuk, C., SanFilipo, J.R., Chandio, A.H. & Fatmi, S.F. (1993). The stratigraphy and coal resource potential of the Bara Formation in the Fort Ranikot area, Sindh Province, Pakistan; a progress report. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 93-256, 63 p.", "type": "book", "tier": "peer", "year": 1993, "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr93256", "status": "active", "notes": "NEW. USGS Open-File Report 93-256 on the Paleocene coal-bearing Bara Formation at Fort Ranikot, Lakhi Range, Sindh - the only locality in Pakistan where the complete Bara section is exposed. States the complete measured section is 486 m thick (elsewhere the formation exceeds 1000 m in the subsurface; coal exploration limited to its upper 250 m). Used for Bara Formation thickness. Verified via USGS publication metadata and search-indexed report text; pubs.usgs.gov returns bot-403 to direct WebFetch.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (USGS OFR 93-256 / (IR)PK-105) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Stratigraphy and coal-resource potential of the Paleocene Bara Formation (Ranikot Group), Fort Ranikot area, Lakhi Range, Sindh; supports the Bara thickness and coal economics." }, { "id": "stauffer-1975", "citation": "Stauffer, K.W. (1975). Geology of the Gilgit-Hispar Area, Gilgit Agency, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey / Geological Survey of Pakistan, Project Report (IR) PK-19 (Open-File Report), 41 p.", "type": "defining-paper", "tier": "primary", "year": 1975, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "USGS-GSP joint reconnaissance report; type-locality source defining the Baltit Group (Baltit, Hunza; 36 deg 19 N, 74 deg 40 E) and the Chalt Schist. Full text reviewed (user-supplied).", "verification": "full-text" }, { "id": "angiolini-karakorum-brach", "citation": "Angiolini, L. (2001). Permian Brachiopods from Karakorum (Pakistan). Part 3. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 107(3), 307-344.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2001, "url": "https://doi.org/10.13130/2039-4942/5438", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Abstract reviewed (reviewer-supplied). Late Wordian (Guadalupian) brachiopods of Panjshah Fm Member 2, Chapursan valley; Elivina chapursani-Chapursania tatianae Assemblage Zone; correlated with Armenia (Gnishik Fm) and SE Pamir (Takhtabulak Fm). Year (1996) assigned from bibliographic knowledge — Part 3 of the series is RIPS vol. 102 (Parts 1-2 are vol. 101, 1995); Crossref/DOI metadata could not be fetched (publisher egress proxy-blocked). Confirm against the printed abstract if available.", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Riv. Ital. Paleont. Strat. 107/3) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Brachiopods from Member 2 of the Panjshah Formation indicate an Upper Wordian (Guadalupian) age. CORRECTION: this is Part 3 = 2001, vol 107(3), not 1996/102(1) as originally recorded." }, { "id": "rolfo-2014", "citation": "Rolfo, F., Groppo, C. & Gaetani, M. (2014). A geological cross-section north of Karakorum, from Yarkand to K2. Journal of the Virtual Explorer, 47, Paper 1. https://doi.org/10.3809/jvirtex.2014.00336", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2014, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3809/jvirtex.2014.00336", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied). North Karakorum / Shaksgam-Aghil stratigraphy: ages, thicknesses, lithologies." }, { "id": "malkani-2010-sulaiman", "citation": "Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "gsp", "year": 2010, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "GSP; full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied). Per-formation mineral/economic potential of the Sulaiman (Middle Indus) Basin: coal, celestite, gypsum, barite, fluorite, iron/potash, uranium, building stone." }, { "id": "hylland-riaz-ahmad-1988", "citation": "Hylland, M.D., Riaz, M. & Ahmad, S. (1988). Geology of the Southern Gandghar Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, Vol. 21, pp. 1-14.", "type": "defining-paper", "tier": "primary", "year": 1988, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "NCE Geology, Univ. of Peshawar / Oregon State. Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied). Documents the probable-Proterozoic Manki-Shahkot-Utch Khattak-Shekhai succession of the southern Gandghar Range (correlative with the Attock-Cherat Range): type lithologies, thicknesses, and the conformable contact chain (Manki grades up into Shahkot; Shahkot -> Uch Khattak -> Shekhai all conformable). Manki correlated with the Hazara Formation; the thin Sobrah Formation near Tarbela Dam correlated with the Shekhai Formation (K.R. Pogue, pers. comm.)." }, { "id": "drewes-2078h", "citation": "Drewes, H., Ahmad, Z. & Khan, R. (2007). Resource Evaluation of Selected Minerals and Industrial Commodities of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan. Chapter H of Regional Studies of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan (P.D. Warwick & B.R. Wardlaw, eds.), U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2078-H, 22 p.", "type": "defining-paper", "tier": "primary", "year": 2007, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "USGS-GSP cooperative study. Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied). Maps industrial and metallic commodities to their host formations across the Potwar Plateau and Salt Range: salt/gypsum (Salt Range Fm), gypsum (Khisor, Sardhai, Datta, Kuldana), cement rock (Chorgali, Margala Hill, Lockhart, Kawagarh, Samana Suk, Shekhai, Chak Jabbi), fire clay/glass sand (Datta), oolitic iron ore (Hangu; Mazari Tang), sedimentary-hosted Cu-Pb-Sn 'speckled sandstone' shows (Warchha, Sardhai)." }, { "id": "hemphill-kidwai-1973", "citation": "Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.", "type": "defining-paper", "tier": "primary", "year": 1973, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "USGS-GSP; full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied). Designates type sections for the Trans-Indus Bannu-D.I.Khan succession (Mianwali, Tredian and members, Kingriali, etc.).", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; USGS Professional Paper 716-B." }, { "id": "jamil-2024-jurassic", "citation": "Jamil, M., Ullah, I., Rahim, H.U., Khan, I., Abbas, W., Rehman, M.U., Rashid, A., Umar, M., Ali, A. & Siddiqui, N.A. (2024). Tracking Depositional Architecture and Diagenetic Evolution in the Jurassic Carbonates, Trans Indus Ranges, NW Himalayas. Minerals, 14, 1170.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2024, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/min14111170", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied open-access (CC BY) paper, full text reviewed. Microfacies, depositional environment (shallow-marine carbonate ramp), diagenesis and C/O isotopes of the Middle Jurassic Samana Suk Formation at the Paniala (Khisor Range) and Chichali (Surghar Range) sections; corroborates Datta (Early Jurassic) and Shinawari (Early-Middle Jurassic) ages. Staged in enrichment/imports/jamil-2024-jurassic-extract.json." }, { "id": "ware-2018-triassic-ammonoids", "citation": "Ware, D., Bucher, H., Brühwiler, T., Schneebeli-Hermann, E., Hochuli, P.A., Roohi, G., Ur-Rehman, K. & Yaseen, A. (2018). Griesbachian and Dienerian (Early Triassic) ammonoids from the Salt Range, Pakistan. Fossils and Strata, no. 63. Lethaia Foundation / Wiley.", "type": "monograph", "tier": "primary", "year": 2018, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied monograph, text reviewed. Systematic palaeontology and biostratigraphy of Early Triassic (Induan: Griesbachian-Dienerian) ammonoids of the Mianwali Formation (Kathwai Member, Lower Ceratite Limestone, Ceratite Marls) at Nammal, Wargal, Amb and Chhidru; defines a regional ammonoid zonation (Ophiceras -> Gyronites -> Ambites -> Koninckites/Vavilovites/Kingites). Applied to mianwali-formation (added index ammonoid genera + biostratigraphy note)." }, { "id": "khalid-qayyum-yasin-2014", "citation": "Khalid, P., Qayyum, F. & Yasin, Q. (2014). Data-Driven Sequence Stratigraphy of the Cretaceous Depositional System, Punjab Platform, Pakistan. Surveys in Geophysics (Springer).", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2014, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Seismic sequence stratigraphy of the Cretaceous Sembar-Goru mega-sequence on the Punjab Platform (eastern Central Indus Basin); subdivides a prograding deltaic system into three sequences and identifies Lower Goru shoreface-sand stratigraphic plays charged by Lower Cretaceous Sembar black shales." }, { "id": "munir-2011-goru", "citation": "Munir, K., Iqbal, M.A., Farid, A. & Shabih, S.M. (2011). Mapping the productive sands of Lower Goru Formation by using seismic stratigraphy and rock physical studies in Sawan area, southern Pakistan: a case study. Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, 1, 33-42.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2011, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13202-011-0003-9", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied open-access. Maps the productive reservoir sands of the Lower Goru Formation in the Sawan gas field (Lower Indus Basin) using seismic stratigraphy and rock physics; productive zones marked by high reflection strength and low shear strain." }, { "id": "johnson-1982-siwalik", "citation": "Johnson, N.M., Opdyke, N.D., Johnson, G.D., Lindsay, E.H. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1982). Magnetic polarity stratigraphy and ages of Siwalik Group rocks of the Potwar Plateau, Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 37, 17-42.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1982, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(82)90056-6", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Foundational magnetostratigraphy of the Siwalik Group across six Potwar Plateau sections including the Kamlial, Chinji, Nagri and Dhok Pathan stratotypes. Nominal stratotype age ranges: Chinji 13.1-10.1 Ma, Nagri 10.1-7.9 Ma, Dhok Pathan 7.9-5.1 Ma; Kamlial-Chinji boundary within Chron 14 at ~13.1 Ma; a Nagri normal-polarity zone radiometrically (fission-track) dated at 9.50+/-0.63 Ma (Chron 9)." }, { "id": "barndt-1978-siwalik", "citation": "Barndt, J., Johnson, N.M., Johnson, G.D., Opdyke, N.D., Lindsay, E.H., Pilbeam, D. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1978). The magnetic polarity stratigraphy and age of the Siwalik Group near Dhok Pathan Village, Potwar Plateau, Pakistan. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 41, 355-364.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1978, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(78)90194-3", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Magnetostratigraphy of the Siwalik Group in the Dhok Pathan type area from 204 palaeomagnetic sites; the Nagri Formation there spans 10.0-8.6 Ma, with Ramapithecus and other hominoid primates in Epoch 9 at about 9 Ma. Basis (with Tauxe 1979) for the Middle Siwalik age framework extended by Johnson et al. (1982)." }, { "id": "rendell-1987-soan", "citation": "Rendell, H.M., Hailwood, E.A. & Dennell, R.W. (1987). Magnetic polarity stratigraphy of Upper Siwalik Sub-Group, Soan Valley, Pakistan: implications for early human occupance of Asia. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 85, 488-496.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1987, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(87)90143-8", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Palaeomagnetic study of a 68 m Upper Siwalik section in the Soan syncline (Riwat). A palaeolithic artefact-bearing gritstone/conglomerate horizon near the base is dated to 2.0+/-0.2 Ma, giving a numeric age to the lowest Upper Siwalik (Soan) archaeological horizon." }, { "id": "badgley-tauxe-1990", "citation": "Badgley, C. & Tauxe, L. (1990). Paleomagnetic stratigraphy and time in sediments: studies in alluvial Siwalik rocks of Pakistan. Journal of Geology, 98, 457-477.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1990, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1086/629419", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. High-resolution magnetostratigraphy of the Dhok Pathan and Chinji Formations documenting strong lateral variability in sediment-accumulation rate and time-transgressive sandstone/paleosol units - corroborating the Middle Siwalik magnetostratigraphic framework and cautioning that formational boundaries are diachronous." }, { "id": "iqbal-2018-kashmir", "citation": "Iqbal, O., Baig, M.S., Pervez, S. & Siddiqi, M.I. (2018). Structure and Stratigraphy of Rumbli and Panjar Areas of Kashmir and Pakistan with the Aid of GIS. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 91, 57-66.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2018, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-018-0820-2", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. GIS-aided structural and stratigraphic mapping of the Rumbli-Panjar area in the southern Hazara-Kashmir syntaxis. Documents the Siwalik molasse (Kamlial, Chinji, Nagri, Dhok Pathan, Soan) with local lithofacies, distinguishing petrology (tourmaline in Kamlial; Punjal volcanic clasts in Nagri) and Kashmir-Basin section thicknesses (after Islam 2006)." }, { "id": "waterhouse-2010-lopingian", "citation": "Waterhouse, J.B. (2010). Lopingian (Late Permian) stratigraphy of the Salt Range, Pakistan and Himalayan region. Geological Journal, 45, 264-284.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2010, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.1235", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Lopingian (Wuchiapingian-Changhsingian) stratigraphy and brachiopod/conodont/ammonoid/fusulinid biostratigraphy of the Salt Range and Himalayan region. Refines the Chhidru Formation (Kufri/Ganjaroh/Khisor members; straddles the Wuchiapingian-Changhsingian boundary) and the upper Wargal Limestone / Kalabagh Member (reaching higher Wuchiapingian), and documents severe condensation and faunal mixing across the Permian-Triassic boundary (Kathwai Member of the Mianwali Formation)." }, { "id": "gaetani-2012-karakorum", "citation": "Gaetani, M., Nicora, A., Henderson, C., Cirilli, S., Gale, L., Rettori, R., Vuolo, I. & Atudorei, V. (2013). Refinements in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic stratigraphy of Karakorum, Pakistan. Facies, 59, 915-948.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2013, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0346-9", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Conodont- and foraminifer-calibrated refinement of the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic succession of the Northern Karakorum Terrain (Chapursan basinal and Baroghil-Darwaz platform domains). Dates the Kundil (Lopingian), Wirokhun (Induan/Griesbachian), Borom (late Induan to early Carnian), Aghil (early Carnian to Norian-Rhaetian platform), Ashtigar (Late Triassic) and Yashkuk (Pliensbachian) formations, plus the Ailak and Darwaz An platform units; brackets Cimmerian deformation between the latest Triassic and the Pliensbachian." }, { "id": "jones-1997-sulaiman", "citation": "Jones, R.W. (1997). Aspects of the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Northern Sulaiman Ranges, Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 16(1), 51-58.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1997, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.16.1.51", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Micropalaeontological, nannofossil and palynological analysis of Paleocene-Eocene sections of the Northern Sulaiman Ranges (BP field survey), placing the lithostratigraphic units in a global bio- and sequence-stratigraphic framework with palaeoenvironmental interpretations.", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; J. Micropalaeontology 16(1):51-58." }, { "id": "hanif-2012-dungan-pe", "citation": "Hanif, M., Hart, M.B., Grimes, S.T. & Leng, M.J. (2012). Integrated stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of the P/E boundary interval, Rakhi Nala section, Indus Basin (Pakistan). Arabian Journal of Geosciences.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2012, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-012-0800-6", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Dinoflagellate-cyst biostratigraphy and carbon-isotope chemostratigraphy across the Paleocene/Eocene boundary in the Dungan Formation at Rakhi Nala (Lower Indus Basin); identifies the PETM carbon-isotope excursion and the Apectodinium acme (Zone Pak-DV), correlating the Dungan with the Patala Formation of the Upper Indus Basin." }, { "id": "treloar-1996-kohistan", "citation": "Treloar, P.J., Petterson, M.G., Jan, M.Q. & Sullivan, M.A. (1996). A re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and evolution of the Kohistan arc sequence, Pakistan Himalaya: implications for magmatic and tectonic arc-building processes. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 153, 681-693.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1996, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.153.5.0681", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Re-evaluation of the Kohistan island-arc stratigraphy; formally defines the Jaglot Group (metasediments + basaltic lavas on the Kamila Amphibolite Belt basement), overlain by the high-Mg boninitic Chalt Volcanic Group and intruded by the Kohistan Batholith." }, { "id": "khan-opdyke-1988-transindus", "citation": "Khan, M.J., Opdyke, N.D. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1988). Magnetic stratigraphy of the Siwalik Group, Bhittani, Marwat and Khasor Ranges, northwestern Pakistan, and the timing of Neogene tectonics of the Trans Indus. Journal of Geophysical Research, 93(B10), 11773-11790.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1988, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1029/JB093iB10p11773", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Magnetostratigraphy of nine Siwalik sections in the Bhittani, Marwat and Khasor Ranges (Trans-Indus), calibrating the Middle-Upper Siwalik chronology and constraining the timing of Neogene folding/tectonics of the Trans-Indus." }, { "id": "javedkhan-opdyke-1981-bhittani", "citation": "Javed Khan, M. & Opdyke, N.D. (1981). The magnetic polarity stratigraphy and correlation of the Upper Siwalik sediments from the Bhittani Range, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 24, 133-141.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1981, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9201(81)90144-1", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Magnetic-polarity stratigraphy of the Upper Siwalik (Pinjor-age) sediments of the Bhittani Range; the Bain Pass section spans middle Gauss to uppermost Brunhes with the Jaramillo, Olduvai and Reunion subchrons, constraining Upper Siwalik sedimentation rates and the timing of Bhittani folding." }, { "id": "khan-1997-gilgit", "citation": "Khan, T., Jan, M.Q., Khan, M.A. & Kausar, A.B. (1997). High-grade metasedimentary rocks (Gilgit Formation) in the vicinity of Gilgit, Kohistan, northern Pakistan. Journal of Mineralogy, Petrology and Economic Geology, 92, 465-479.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1997, "url": "https://doi.org/10.2465/ganko.92.465", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Definitional description of the Gilgit Formation as the basal formation of the Jaglot Group (Gilgit Formation -> Gashu-Confluence Volcanics -> Thelichi Formation) near Gilgit, Kohistan. Thick turbiditic metasediments (>80% paragneisses/schists, metapelite-semipsammite protoliths) with amphibolite and calc-silicate interbeds, metamorphosed to sillimanite grade (peak ~640 C, 6.7 kbar); type locality Sai Nala. Lower contact underplated by the Chilas Complex; upper contact conformable with the Gashu-Confluence Volcanics; correlated with the Katzarah Formation (Baltistan)." }, { "id": "yamamoto-2011-thelichi", "citation": "Yamamoto, H., Rehman, H.U., Kaneko, Y. & Kausar, A.B. (2011). Tectonic stacking of back-arc formations in the Thelichi section (Indus valley) of the Kohistan arc, northern Pakistan. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 40, 417-426.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 2011, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2010.09.006", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Structural re-analysis of the Jaglot Group in the Thelichi section (Indus valley), Kohistan arc. Argues the three units (structural bottom Thelichi Formation -> Gashu-Confluence Volcanics -> top Gilgit Formation) form a north-dipping tectonic stack with consistent northward younging, rather than a fold-repeated 'Jaglot syncline'; the stack records northward subduction and closure of the Kohistan back-arc basin against the Asian margin (~100 Ma). Confirms the Jaglot Group as a Cretaceous back-arc succession conformably overlain by the Chalt Volcanic Group." }, { "id": "khan-1994-gilgit-chilas", "citation": "Khan, T., Khan, M.A. & Jan, M.Q. (1994). Geology between Gilgit and Chilas, Kohistan, N. Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 27, 99-112.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1994, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Regional mapping (>4000 km2) of the Kohistan terrane between Gilgit and Chilas, classifying the rocks into the Kamila amphibolite, Chilas complex, Kohistan batholith and Jaglot Group. Defines the Jaglot Group (base to top) as the Gilgit Formation (~1 km schists/paragneisses/calc-silicates/amphibolites), the Gashu-Confluence Volcanics (~0.5 km volcaniclastics and pillowed basalts) and the Thelichi Formation (volcanic base overlain by >1 km turbidites with a thick middle marble); correlated with the Yasin Group and Chalt Volcanics of the Northern Suture and interpreted as a back-arc oceanic basin fill. The structure is controlled by the Gilgit anticline and Jaglot syncline (a syncline later disputed by Yamamoto et al. 2011)." }, { "id": "rehman-2023-kawagarh", "citation": "Rehman, S.U., Munawar, M.J., Shah, M.M., Ahsan, N., Kashif, M., Janjuhah, H.T., Lianou, V. & Kontakiotis, G. (2023). Diagenetic Evolution of Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh Carbonates from Attock Hazara Fold and Thrust Belt, Pakistan. Minerals, 13, 1438.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2023, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/min13111438", "license": "CC BY 4.0 (open access)", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied open access. Sedimentology, microfacies and diagenetic history of the Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh Formation in the Attock-Hazara Fold-Thrust Belt, motivated by a 2021 hydrocarbon discovery in the formation. Documents a shallow open-marine, well-oxygenated Neo-Tethyan carbonate ramp (inner-to-outer-ramp microfacies; limestone with marl and subordinate dolomite, lateritised top) and a diagenetic paragenesis of early calcite cementation (pre-compaction), aragonite dissolution/microspar, fault-related hydrothermal dolomitization (negative d18O), stylolitisation and fracture calcite controlling reservoir quality." }, { "id": "opdyke-1979-upper-siwalik", "citation": "Opdyke, N.D., Lindsay, E., Johnson, G.D., Johnson, N., Tahirkheli, R.A.K. & Mirza, M.A. (1979). Magnetic polarity stratigraphy and vertebrate paleontology of the Upper Siwalik subgroup of northern Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 27, 1-34.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1979, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(79)90090-6", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Foundational magnetostratigraphy of the Upper Siwalik subgroup (Potwar Plateau, eight sections), calibrated by fission-track tuff ages of 2.3+/-0.4 and 2.5+/-0.4 Ma at the Gauss/Matuyama boundary. Sections span middle Gauss to middle Brunhes (~5.5-0.6 Ma); the Tatrot-to-Pinjor faunal change occurs at ~2.47 Ma (Gauss/Matuyama boundary, first Equus-Elephas)." }, { "id": "gill-1951-siwalik", "citation": "Gill, W.D. (1951). The stratigraphy of the Siwalik Series in the Northern Potwar, Punjab, Pakistan. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 107, 375-394.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1951, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.JGS.1951.107.01-04.16", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Foundational stratigraphy of the Siwalik Series in the Northern Potwar (Soan syncline / Jhamat area) - the Potwar type area on which the modern Siwalik chronology (Gill 1951 sensu Johnson et al. 1982) is built. Establishes the lithostratigraphic stages: Kamlial, Lower/Upper Chinji, Nagri, Dhok Pathan (Middle Siwalik) and Tatrot, Pinjor, Boulder Conglomerate (Upper Siwalik), with lithological characters and thicknesses." }, { "id": "tauxe-badgley-1988-reversal", "citation": "Tauxe, L. & Badgley, C. (1988). Stratigraphy and remanence acquisition of a palaeomagnetic reversal in alluvial Siwalik rocks of Pakistan. Sedimentology, 35, 697-715.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1988, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.1988.tb01245.x", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. High-resolution study of a single palaeomagnetic reversal (~8.1-8.4 Ma) traced through six correlated Miocene Siwalik alluvial sections; documents the time-transgressive nature of certain lithostratigraphic units and lateral variability in sediment-accumulation rate (transitional-interval thickness inversely correlated with accumulation rate). Companion to Badgley & Tauxe (1990)." }, { "id": "rehman-2024-chorgali", "citation": "Rehman, S.U., Ahmed, M., Munawar, M.J., Rehman, F., Anjum, M.N. & Ullah, M.F. (2024). Outcrop geology, microfacies analysis and depositional environments of Chorgali Formation from Bhattian and Gharaga, Southern Hazara Basin, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Science, 76(1), 106-121.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2024, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Outcrop, petrographic and microfacies analysis of the Early Eocene Chorgali Formation at the Gharaga and Bhattian sections, Southern Hazara Basin. Recognises five microfacies (Nummulites-Lockhartia and Nummulites-Assilina wackestone-packstone, Ostracod-Miliolid packstone, marls and calcareous shale) and interprets deposition on a carbonate mid-ramp with a partially restricted inner-ramp lagoon and proximal outer ramp; lower contact with the Margalla Hill Limestone, upper gradational contact with the Kuldana Formation." }, { "id": "room-2023-ambar-dolomite", "citation": "Room, S.A., Kashif, M., Ullah, H., Rehman, A.U., Ahmad, W. & Akhtar, S. (2023). Characterization of Dolomite in Ambar Formation (Cambrian), Peshawar Basin, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Petroleum and Coal, 65(3), 875-885.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2023, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied open access. Field and petrographic characterisation with C-O isotopes of multiphase dolomitisation in the Cambrian Ambar Formation, Peshawar Basin. Identifies a replacive matrix-dolomite phase (MD-I to MD-III), a pore-filling saddle-dolomite/calcite cement phase (with brecciation and stylolites, indicating burial dolomitisation) and a final white-calcite calcitisation phase; MD-I delta18O of -7.64 to -8.13 per mil PDB retains a Cambrian marine signature, implying dolomitisation during the Mid-Late Cambrian by thermal-convection burial fluids channelled along fractures and faults. NOTE: the Cambrian Ambar Formation (Peshawar Basin) is distinct from the Permian Amb Formation of the Salt Range." }, { "id": "majeed-2025-sherwan-soapstone", "citation": "Majeed, K.U., Mughal, M.S., Kontakiotis, G., Ali, S.K., Akhtar, S., Janjuhah, H.T., Siddique, K., Besiou, E. & Antonarakou, A. (2025). Petrography and geochemistry of Late Carboniferous dolostone-hosted soapstone in the Sherwan Formation, Hazara Basin: insights into hydrothermal and dynamic metamorphic processes. Frontiers in Earth Science, 13, 1585240.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2025, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2025.1585240", "license": "CC BY 4.0 (open access)", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied open access. Petrography and geochemistry of dolostone-hosted soapstone (talc) in the Sherwan Formation, Hazara Basin (Sherwan area, Abbottabad; Khandakhu Mine). The dolomite is Late Carboniferous (alga Anthracoporella spectabilis); the soapstone (talc/steatite with brucite, magnesite, willemseite, montmorillonite, pyrite, hematite) formed by Permian hydrothermal / dynamic (greenschist-facies) metamorphic alteration of the dolomite along faults and folds, linked to Pre-Himalayan tectonics. Addresses the long-standing controversy over the age of the Sherwan Formation." }, { "id": "ahmedani-2025-nari", "citation": "Ahmedani, S.B., Hakro, A.A.A.D., Mastoi, A.S., Halepoto, A.A., Sahito, A.G., Akhtar, S. & Lashari, R.A. (2025). Clastic Source and Depositional Environment of Mixed Carbonate-Clastic Sequences in the Oligocene Nari Formation from the Hundi Anticline, Karachi Embayment, Indus Basin, Pakistan. Earth Sciences Research Journal, 29(2), 149-167.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2025, "url": "https://doi.org/10.15446/esrj.v29n2.116089", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied. Facies analysis, petrography and provenance of the Oligocene Nari Formation (mixed carbonate-clastic) at the Hundi Anticline, Karachi Embayment. Recognises six facies and five limestone microfacies plus two sandstone petrofacies (sub-arkose, quartz arenite); a quartz-rich granitic provenance from the Indian Craton to the east; and deposition from outer-ramp to fluvio-deltaic settings in an overall progradational (regressive) succession driven by Himalayan-orogeny regression." }, { "id": "akhtar-2019-dhamtaur", "citation": "Akhtar, S., Rahim, Y., Hu, B., Tsang, H., Ibrar, K.M., Ullah, M.F. & Bute, S.I. (2019). Stratigraphy and Structure of Dhamtaur Area, District Abbottabad, Eastern Hazara, Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9(1), 57-66.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2019, "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2019.91005", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied open access. Geological mapping of the Dhamtaur area (Eastern Hazara, Abbottabad): a ~1.5 km Precambrian-to-Eocene succession in which the Permian and Triassic are missing, so the Jurassic Samana Suk Formation rests unconformably above the Precambrian Hazara Formation, overlain by Chichali, Lumshiwal and Kawagarh (Cretaceous) and Nammal/Sakesar (Eocene); the Hazara Thrust carries Precambrian Hazara Formation over the Samana Suk Formation." }, { "id": "molloy-talent-mawson-1997", "citation": "Molloy, P.D., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (1997). Late Devonian-Tournaisian conodonts from the eastern Khyber region, north-west Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 103(2), 123-148.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1997, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (user-supplied PDF). First documented Late Devonian conodont faunas from Pakistan: 62 species/subspecies from acid-leaching of 226 samples across four measured sections through the Ali Masjid Formation west of Misri Khel, former South Khyber Agency. Independent, primary biostratigraphy. Key result: the Ali Masjid Formation spans the Middle crepida Zone (low Famennian) to at least the Early crenulata Zone (mid-Tournaisian), with a fauna low in one section indicative of the Late falsiovalis Zone (early Frasnian) - i.e. the unit ranges from the early Late Devonian INTO the Early Carboniferous, refining the curated 'Late Devonian'. Two hiatuses inferred (Late falsiovalis-Middle crepida; Late expansa-Early duplicata). Also: Shagai Limestone (<=33 m, position between Landi Kotal Fm and Ali Masjid Fm), Khyber Limestone (transgressive over Ali Masjid, Carbf-Permian), Landi Kotal Fm (oldest Khyber unit, slate/phyllite, no fossils; NOT in this dataset), and the Gundhai Sar sequence (>1000 m, 'Ali Masjid Group' of Khan 1970; late Famennian expansa-Zone conodonts reported by Pogue et al. 1992 from crinoidal limestone = ?Warran Ghundai Fm; corals Cladopora, Thamnopora, Favosites, Heliolites resembling the Early Devonian Nowshera Limestone)." }, { "id": "malkani-kirthar-2017", "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Khosa, M.H., Alyani, M.I., Somro, N., Zafar, T., Arif, J. & Aleem, M.Z. (2017). Revised Stratigraphic Setup and Mineral Deposits of Kirthar Basin (Lower Indus Basin), Pakistan. Lasbela University Journal of Science and Technology, VI, 54-84.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "tertiary", "year": 2017, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text (user-supplied PDF). Single-author-led (Malkani) revised stratigraphy + mineral-resource compilation for the Western (Balochistan) and Eastern (Sindh) Kirthar / Lower Indus Basin. NOT independent of the other Malkani compilations (gsp-malkani-2017, malkani-2010-sulaiman, malkani-2016-indus-sealevel, malkani-2020-balochistan) - a single-author corpus, so does not upgrade a Malkani-only unit to genuine multi-source support. Used for gap-fill of Kirthar-basin lithostratigraphy and distinctive vertebrate-fossil content recorded as attributed revisionNotes; its synonymies/correlations are not adopted where better biostratigraphy exists." }, { "id": "malkani-2022-nsulaiman", "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Ilyas, M., Yasin, R., Abbas, A., Samiullah, K., Raza, T., Hassan, S.S.E., Fazal, R.M., Noor, A. & Malik, A. (2022). Geology of Northern Sulaiman Foldbelt, Shirani and Waziristan Regions (South Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa): New Tomistominae (Miocene False Gharial) from Sakhi Sarwar Area of Dera Ghazi Khan (South Punjab), Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 12(6), 521-564.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "tertiary", "year": 2022, "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ojg.2022.126025", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text (user-supplied PDF). Malkani-corpus (single principal author) geology + mineral-resource + vertebrate-paleontology account of the Northern Koh Sulaiman foldbelt, Shirani, and North/South Waziristan. NOT independent of the other Malkani compilations. Used for Northern-Sulaiman/Waziristan lithostratigraphic gap-fill and distinctive fossil content (e.g. new Miocene Tomistominae false gharial from Sakhi Sarwar; Late Cretaceous archosaur trackways Sauropaonia/Ornithopaonia/Pteropaonia) recorded as attributed revisionNotes; synonymies not adopted where better biostratigraphy exists." }, { "id": "perri-molloy-talent-2004", "citation": "Perri, M.C., Molloy, P.D. & Talent, J.A. (2004). Earliest Triassic conodonts from Chitral, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 110(1), 467-478.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 2004, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (user-supplied PDF). Independent primary conodont biostratigraphy. Documents earliest Triassic (Scythian/Induan) conodonts from two localities 110 km apart in the Karakoram Terrane of NE/central Chitral: near Sakirmul (upper Yarkhun valley; Isarcicella staeschei Zone) and near Torman (Dorman) Gol (Mastuj valley; Is. isarcica Zone) - the 3rd and 4th conodont biozones of the Early Triassic (Perri & Farabegoli 2003). Faunas of isarcicellids + hindeodids (Is. staeschei, Is. lobata, Is. turgida, Hindeodus parvus, Is. isarcica) lacking gondolellids, indicating restricted shallow-water P-T-boundary/earliest-Triassic biofacies. Shows carbonate tracts previously mapped as Permian (or Cretaceous) to be earliest Triassic, extending the Late Permian-Triassic Ailak-Zait carbonate platform >=110 km farther SW. Relevant units: Zait Limestone (Talent et al. 1982; >600 m), Ailak Dolomite (Gaetani et al. 1995; 1000+ m, Late Permian forams ~460 m above base, ?Late Triassic ghosts at top), Wirokhun Formation (Chapursan/Shimshal; 60 m; Neospathodus dieneri + Gondolella carinata, slightly younger/deeper Early Triassic)." }, { "id": "talent-gaetani-1999", "citation": "Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999). Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts from the Western Karakoram and Hindu Kush, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 105(2), 201-226.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1999, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text now reviewed (user re-supplied as OCR'd Markdown; the earlier scanned PDF had no text layer). Independent primary Ordovician-Devonian conodont (and acritarch) biostratigraphy along ~200 km of the axial Western Karakoram/Hindu Kush, from Chillinji (Karambar valley) to SW Chitral. Key results: the Yarkhun Formation includes Early Ordovician (Arenig) horizons (acritarchs: late-early Arenig nitidus/gibberulus to late Arenig hirundo Graptolite Zone, Amerise et al. 1998; + Ordovician conodonts); the paper INTRODUCES the Vidiakot Formation (upper finer part of the former Yarkhun Fm) and restricts Yarkhun to the lower coarser part, the two plus the Chilmarabad Fm together = Tahirkheli's Baroghil Formation/Group. The Shogram Formation spans mid-Givetian to early Famennian (early-Frasnian lacuna) - type section designated at Kuragh Spur (~36 deg 13'N, 72 deg 10'E), ~230 m thick (the widely-cited ~800 m of Bender & Raza 1995 / Kazmi & Jan 1997 is unsupported: 180 m on the Yarkhun R., ~80 m at Chillinji). The Charun Quartzite (~100 m, heterolithic) is given its type section here (Kuragh Spur), passing gradationally up into the Shogram Fm, its uppermost beds mid-Givetian (Middle varcus Subzone). Describes new conodont Icriodus homeomorphus sp. nov. (early Famennian, Late triangularis-?Early crepida Zone). The 'Lun Shale' (Desio 1966) is documented as a PROBLEMATIC potpourri/melange of Silurian (monograptids at top of Mt Shogram) through Early Devonian (Emsian) and Late Devonian rocks - NOT Permian-Triassic." }, { "id": "mawson-2003-nowshera", "citation": "Mawson, R., Talent, J.A. et al. (2003). Siluro-Devonian conodonts from Nowshera, Pakistan. [Journal details not machine-readable from the supplied scanned PDF.]", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 2003, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "User-supplied PDF is a SCANNED image with no text layer (~19 chars/page); full text could not be machine-read in this environment (no OCR/pdftoppm). The dedicated Siluro-Devonian conodont study of the Nowshera-area carbonates. Title-level content (Siluro-Devonian) is safe and, together with Molloy, Talent & Mawson (1997), supports a Silurian-Early Devonian age for the Nowshera Limestone/Formation - relevant to reconciling this record's internal age/period inconsistency (age 'Middle Ordovician to Silurian' vs period 'Devonian'). Its detailed zonation is NOT yet incorporated; flagged for re-supply as a text-layer PDF.", "verifiedVia": "Full-text (scanned) PDF supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Siluro-Devonian conodont faunas from the Nowshera area, documenting the age of the Nowshera Formation reef complex." }, { "id": "feist-talent-mawson-2001", "citation": "Feist, R., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (2001). Devonian trilobites from the Shogrâm Formation, Kurâgh, Chitral (NW Pakistan). Alcheringa, 25(2), 107-115.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 2001, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (user-supplied PDF). Independent primary palaeontology. Late Devonian (near the Frasnian-Famennian boundary) trilobites from the Shogrâm Formation (Devonian, Givetian-Famennian; ~230 m shale-limestone-arenite) on the SW flank of the Kurâgh Spur, Chitral. Erects Neocalmonia chitralensis sp. nov. and Neocalmonia batillifera orientalis subsp. nov. (Asteropyginae), extending Asteropyginae eastward from Iran and southern Afghanistan. The Upper Kellwasser Event is located within unit KUR 19 of Talent et al. (1999). Also names the associated older Middle Palaeozoic Chitral units - Charun Quartzite, Lun Shale, Chilmarabad Formation - as pre-Shogrâm; conodont-based biochronologic framework from Talent et al. (1999)." }, { "id": "gaetani-2004-carboniferous", "citation": "Gaetani, M., Zanchi, A., Angiolini, L., Olivini, G., Sciunnach, D., Brunton, H., Nicora, A. & Mawson, R. (2004). The Carboniferous of the Western Karakoram (Pakistan). Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 23(2), 275-305.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 2004, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(03)00137-8", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (user-supplied PDF). The PRIMARY definitional source for four Carboniferous units of the Northern Karakoram Terrane (Karambar thrust sheet), time-constrained by brachiopod and conodont biostratigraphy, from bottom to top: Margach Formation (dark shales + subarkoses/quartzarenites, up to 300 m; mid-Famennian to middle Tournaisian), Ribat Formation (grey crinoidal limestones -> dark marly limestones/marls, >=300 m; late Tournaisian to Bashkirian), Lupsuk Formation (subarkoses/feldspathic quartzarenites + dark shales, up to 400 m; Serpukhovian to Moscovian/uppermost Carboniferous), and the Twin Valleys Member within the Lupsuk (bioclastic limestone, up to 100 m; post-Moscovian). The Carboniferous is sealed by the Gircha Formation (?latest Carboniferous-early Sakmarian; Asselian brachiopods 133 m above its base, above a break-up unconformity). Interpreted as the passive-margin evolution of the Northern Karakoram Terrane, early rifting in the Late Devonian to syn-rift in the Late Carboniferous. 19 brachiopod species described (one new)." }, { "id": "gaetani-2008-devonian", "citation": "Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Sciunnach, D. & Talent, J.A. (2008). The Devonian of Western Karakorum (Pakistan). Acta Geologica Polonica, 58(3), 261-285.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 2008, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (user-supplied PDF). Primary Devonian stratigraphy of the North-Western Karakoram (thrust sheets N and S of the Reshun Fault + Tash Kupruk Zone). Formally DEFINES the Vandanil Formation (~625 m dolostones/recrystallized limestones over the Baroghil Group slates; base ~latest Silurian/earliest Devonian, Pragian sulcatus-dehiscens Zone in its 4th of 5 lithozones, ?Givetian top). Chilmarabad Formation (two members: lower mixed siliciclastic-carbonate, upper ubiquitous stromatolitic dolostone; overlain with regional unconformity by the Shogrâm Fm). Shogrâm Formation (basal alluvial arenite/conglomerate -> marine bioclastic limestones + litharenites with coral bafflestones; mid-Givetian through Frasnian into ?Famennian). Charun Quartzite (Givetian-rifting turbidite quartzarenites). Palaeogeography: a wide calcareous platform on the Gondwana margin (Karakorum-Central Pamir-Badakhshan-Helmand), Givetian rifting with volcanics." }, { "id": "kazmi-abbasi-2008", "citation": "Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.", "type": "book", "tier": "textbook", "year": 2008, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text (user-supplied OCR'd Markdown, ~236,000 words). Comprehensive modern synthesis of Pakistan's lithostratigraphy by tectonostratigraphic zone — the standard companion/successor to Kazmi & Jan (1997, same lead author) and a peer of Shah (2009). Newer than Kazmi & Jan (1997), so it supersedes on age where it revises. Used for broad corroboration, gap-fill, and reconciliation of open age/rank/naming flags. Overlaps heavily with the 1997 book; only genuinely additive or age-revising content is recorded, as attributed revisionNotes / citable-field updates." }, { "id": "brohi-2012-dimension-stone", "citation": "Brohi, I.A., Solangi, S.H., Bablani, S.A., Agheem, M.H., Sahito, A.G. & Brohi, A.U. (2012). Geological and Stratigraphical Studies of Dimension and Cut Stone Deposits Around Khanu Brohi and Khadhar Areas, District Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 44(4), 623-628.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2012, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text (user-supplied PDF). Local economic-geology / dimension-and-cut-stone study around Khanu Brohi and Khadhar, Laki Range, District Jamshoro, Sindh (25 deg 25'N, 68 deg 09'E). Covers the Paleocene Lakhra Formation (upper Ranikot Group) and the Early-Middle Eocene Laki Formation (Sohnari + Meting limestone members). Used for economic-importance / dimension-stone facies content on the Lakhra Formation (recorded as attributed notes)." }, { "id": "asim-2014-drigri", "citation": "Asim, S., Qureshi, S.N., Asif, S.K., Abbasi, S.A., Solangi, S. & Mirza, M.Q. (2014). Structural and Stratigraphical Correlation of Seismic Profiles between Drigri Anticline and Bahawalpur High in Central Indus Basin of Pakistan. International Journal of Geosciences, 5(11), 1231-1240.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2014, "url": "https://doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2014.511102", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text (user-supplied PDF). Subsurface seismic structural/stratigraphic correlation across the Drigri Anticline and Bahawalpur High, Central (Lower) Indus Basin, tied to the Drigri-01 and Bahawalpur East-01 wells. Used for petroleum-system economic-importance content: source rocks (Shinawari & Chichali shales), Mesozoic reservoir rocks (Lumshiwal, Samana Suk, Shinawari, Datta), and Ranikot (Paleocene) shale seal over the Late Cretaceous Pab Sandstone (recorded as attributed notes)." }, { "id": "brohi-2009-surjan", "citation": "Brohi, I.A., Bablani, S.A. & Solangi, S.H. (2009). Geology and Economic Significance of Tertiary Rocks, Khorwari Section, Surjan Anticline, Thano Bula Khan, Sindh. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 41(1), 95-106.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2009, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text (user-supplied PDF). Measured Tertiary section (Khorwari Nala, eastern flank of the Surjan Anticline, Thano Bula Khan, District Jamshoro, Sindh) — six formations: Laki (L.Eocene), Tiyon (M.Eocene), Nari (Oligocene), Gaj (Miocene), Manchar (U.Miocene) and Dada Conglomerate (Pleistocene). Gaj and Dada reported for the first time from the Khorwari section. Used for economic-importance/occurrence notes on these Sindh Tertiary units; also flags the Middle-Eocene 'Tiyon Formation' (a Kirthar-equivalent) as absent from the dataset." }, { "id": "ahmad-2020-dungan", "citation": "Ahmad, S., Wadood, B., Khan, S., Ullah, A., Mustafa, G., Hanif, M. & Ullah, H. (2020). The sedimentological and stratigraphical analysis of the Paleocene to Early Eocene Dungan Formation, Kirthar Fold and Thrust Belt, Pakistan: implications for reservoir potential. Journal of Sedimentary Environments, 5, 477-503.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 2020, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s43217-020-00027-2", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text (user-supplied PDF). Independent primary sedimentology/microfacies + reservoir study of the Paleocene-Early Eocene Dungan Formation in the Kirthar Fold-and-Thrust Belt (Khuzdar/Sibi/Kalat, Lower Indus Basin). Four microfacies (Discocyclina-Nummulites-red algal packstone; Miliolid-Alveolina-red algal packstone; planktonic-benthic foraminiferal packstone; planktonic foraminiferal wackestone-packstone) record a carbonate-ramp system from restricted lagoon/inner ramp to open-marine/outer ramp; diagenesis (cementation reducing, dissolution + fracturing enhancing porosity/permeability) gives poor-to-moderate reservoir potential." }, { "id": "malkani-gsp-ir-2017", "citation": "Malkani, M.S., Mahmood, Z., Somro, N. & Shaikh, S.I. (2017). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Kirthar Basin, Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Information Release No. 1010.", "type": "report", "tier": "tertiary", "year": 2017, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text (user-supplied PDF). The Geological Survey of Pakistan official Information Release (No. 1010) version of the Malkani-corpus Kirthar Basin revised stratigraphy - the same content as the journal paper already registered as malkani-kirthar-2017 (Lasbela Univ. J. Sci. Techl. VI:54-84). Registered as the GSP-official companion/provenance and co-cited on the Kirthar-basin units that carry malkani-kirthar-2017; NOT used to add any new/duplicate facts." }, { "id": "kakar-kasi-2016-khojak", "citation": "Kakar, D.M., Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Mohibullah, M. & Khan, S. (2016). Petrography and whole-rock geochemistry of the Oligocene–Miocene Khojak Formation, Khojak-Pishin Belt, Pakistan: implications on provenance and source-area weathering. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 49(2).", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2016, "url": null, "status": "active", "notes": "Khojak Fm ~6,300 m in the Khojak-Pishin flysch belt (Katawaz basin); two members — lower Murgha Faqirzai (bedded sandstone/shale; distal turbidites in the Makran equivalent) and upper Shaigalu (fluvial-wave deltaic); Late Eocene-Early Miocene; recycled-orogen provenance from the early Himalaya (CIA ~77).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by author 2026-08." }, { "id": "yaseen-2019-shaigalu", "citation": "Yaseen, W., Khan, A.S., Sohail, K., Farooq, U., Usman, M. & Ghani, M. (2019). Modal composition and provenance of Shaigalu Sandstones, Pishin-Katawaz Basin, northern Balochistan, Pakistan. Bahria University Research Journal of Earth Sciences (BURJES), 4(2), 70-77.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2019, "url": null, "status": "active", "notes": "Shaigalu Member of the Khojak Formation (Oligocene) — lithic arenites, recycled-orogen provenance; Pishin-Katawaz succession: Muslim Bagh-Zhob ophiolite (base) → Eocene Nisai Fm (unconformable) → Oligocene-early Miocene Khojak Fm (Murgha Faqirzai + Shaigalu members) → Dasht Murgha Group → Malthanai Fm → Bostan Fm.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by author 2026-08." }, { "id": "zulfiqar-ali-2021-zhob", "citation": "Ali, H.M.Z., Zubair, M.I., Ali, H., Akbar, G. & Awan, A.A. (2021). Geology, geochemistry and petrographic studies of exposed rock units from Zhob and Qila Saifullah districts of Balochistan. Pakistan Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, Series A: Physical Sciences, 64A(3), 240-246.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2021, "url": null, "status": "active", "notes": "Simzai quadrangle (Survey of Pakistan 39 F/1), Zhob-Qila Saifullah, ~30°45′-31°00′N, 69°00′-69°15′E; stratigraphy, geochemistry and petrography of exposed sedimentary units and igneous intrusions of the Zhob ophiolite / Pishin belt.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by author 2026-08." }, { "id": "waliullah-gsp-pishin", "citation": "Khan, J.A., Waliullah & Akhtar, W. (2024). Preliminary Geology of the (Khanozai) Karezat Quadrangle, District Pishin, Balochistan, Pakistan. Conference Earth Science Pakistan, 2-4 June 2024, Baragali Campus (Geological Survey of Pakistan).", "type": "conference-abstract", "tier": "gsp", "year": 2024, "url": null, "status": "active", "notes": "GSP field abstract. Khanozai-Torkhula (Muslim Bagh) ophiolite chromite; Tungi-Ahmadun syncline (Urak Fm, Pliocene: Uzdapasha/Shinmati/Urak-conglomerate members); Pishin flysch (Nisai Eocene, Murgha Faqirzai Oligocene, Shaigalu Miocene); Allozai (Triassic), Loralai (Jurassic), Sember/Bibai/Parh (Cretaceous), Dungan (Paleocene).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full abstract (Conference Earth Science Pakistan 2024) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms the Urak Group (Miocene-Early Pleistocene molasse: Uzdapasha, Shinmati, Urak fms) thrust by the Jurassic Alozai Group (Singwar + Loralai fms). CORRECTION: lead author is Khan, J.A. (not Waliullah); title is the (Khanozai) Karezat Quadrangle." }, { "id": "kasi-2014-pishin", "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Kakar, M.I. & Manan, R.A. (2014). Clay minerals assemblage in the Neogene fluvial succession of the Pishin Belt, Pakistan: implications for provenance. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 47(2), 63-73.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2014, "url": null, "status": "active", "notes": "Defining/using paper for the Neogene Pishin Belt succession: Middle-Upper Miocene Dasht Murgha Group (sub-formations Khuzhobai, Bahlol Nika, Sra Khula; reference section Dasht Murgha Syncline N of Qila Saifullah), Miocene-Pliocene Malthanai Formation (= Multana Fm of Jones 1961; type near Malthanai village), Pleistocene Bostan Formation (Jones 1961). Lithic arenites of recycled/pre-Miocene provenance.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by author 2026-08." }, { "id": "umar-2024-cretaceous", "citation": "Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2024, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP545-2023-74", "status": "active", "notes": "Region-by-region synthesis of the Cretaceous of Pakistan (Kirthar-Sulaiman-IESZ and Salt-Surghar-Kala Chitta-Hazara). Lithostratigraphy, contacts, thicknesses, biostratigraphy and depositional environments for Dilband, Sembar, Goru, Parh, Hanna Lake, Mughal Kot, Bibai, Fort Munro, Pab, Moro, Jamboru, Chichali, Lumshiwal and Kawagarh units; unconformities tied to India-Madagascar-Seychelles rift-drift and India-Kohistan collision.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by author 2026-08." }, { "id": "zaman-2024-fortmunro", "citation": "Zaman, B.U., Mohibullah, M., Manan, R.A., Kassi, A.M. & Rizwan, M. (2024). Detailed sedimentological investigation of the late Cretaceous Fort Munro Formation, western Sulaiman Range, Pakistan. Carbonates and Evaporites, 39, 55.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2024, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-024-00965-2", "status": "active", "notes": "Microfacies and diagenesis of the Fort Munro Formation (Spera Ragha, Murree Brewery, Hanna Lake sections). Naming history (Hippuritic Limestone Blanford 1878; Hemipneustes Limestone Vredenburg 1909; member of Mughal Kot Fm Williams 1959; raised to formation Fatmi 1977); type section Fort Munro on the Fort Munro-Dera Ghazi Khan road, Rakhi Nala reference section; inner-to-middle ramp; Campanian-Maastrichtian LBF (Orbitoides media, O. tissoti minima, Omphalocyclus macropora, Actinosipon punjabensis, Siderolites); conformable on Mughal Kot, conformably below Pab, disconformably below Dungan at Quetta.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by author 2026-08." }, { "id": "razzaq-2024-tj", "citation": "Razzaq Abdul Manan, Kassi, A.M., Friis, H., Kasi, A.K., Ali, S.H., Farooqui, M.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2024). Deposition and diagenesis of the Triassic-Jurassic limestone successions of the northwestern passive margin of the Indian plate, Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt, Pakistan. Carbonates and Evaporites, 39, 104.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2024, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-024-01019-3", "status": "active", "notes": "Sixteen microfacies across the Triassic Wulgai Formation, Jurassic Loralai Formation and Jurassic Chiltan Limestone of the Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt (17 sections, Quetta to Zhob). Triassic Wulgai = deep-marine radiolarian calcisiltite/radiolarite below the CCD shallowing to upper slope (packstone, calcisiltite, lithoclastic rudstone); Chiltan = pelagic calcisphere wackestone (lower slope) up to ooidal grainstone (agitated inner shelf); reservoir porosity enhanced by fracturing, dolomitization and de-dolomitization; deposition/diagenesis controlled by sea-level change and passive-margin tectonics.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by author 2026-08." }, { "id": "calkins-1975-hazara", "citation": "Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).", "type": "book", "tier": "primary", "year": 1975, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716C", "status": "active", "notes": "USGS-GSP cooperative regional mapping (1961-65) of the Hazara district and part of western Kashmir. Full lithostratigraphy, contacts, thicknesses, ages and naming history for the Salkhala, Hazara, Tanawal, Kingriali, Panjal, Datta, Samana Suk, Chichali, Lumshiwal and Kawagarh units, the Kala Chitta Group, Murree Formation and Mansehra Granite. Note: assigns the Tanawal Fm an Ordovician(?)-Devonian(?) age and the Mansehra Granite a Late Cretaceous (~80 Ma K-Ar, Davies) age — the latter is superseded by modern Cambro-Ordovician (~470 Ma) geochronology. In Hazara the Kingriali dolomite was earlier called Below the Trias / Infra Trias / Abbottabad Formation.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text (OCR markdown) supplied by user 2026-08; USGS Professional Paper 716-C." }, { "id": "kasi-2012-pishin", "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Manan, R.A. & Kakar, M.I. (2012). Revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt, northwestern Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 45(1), 53-65.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2012, "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "status": "active", "notes": "Defining revised lithostratigraphy of the Pishin Belt into six thrust-bounded tectono-stratigraphic zones: Muslim Bagh-Zhob Ophiolite (Zone I); Eocene Nisai Fm + Oligocene-Early Miocene Khojak Fm with Murgha Faqirzai and Shaigalu members (Zone II); the newly proposed Early-Middle Miocene Dasht Murgha Group with its lower Khuzhobai, middle Bahlol Nika and upper Sra Khula formations (Zone III); the Late Miocene-Pliocene Malthanai Formation, renamed from the Multana Formation of HSC 1960 (Zone IV); the Pleistocene Bostan Formation (Zone V); and Holocene Zhob valley deposits (Zone VI). Gives type/reference sections, thicknesses and reference-section coordinates for each unit.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; JHES 45(1):53-65." }, { "id": "ashraf-2010-multanai", "citation": "Ashraf, M., Nizami, A.R. & Butt, A.A. (2010). Petrographic and biostratigraphic studies on sedimentary sequences of Multanai area, Pishin Basin, Balochistan, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 45, 25-36.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2010, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Petrography and biostratigraphy of the Nisai Formation (1027 m; Nummulites perforatus, Alveolina, Assilina granulosa, Discocyclina dispensa, N. fichteli), Murgha Faqirzai Member (1200 m; N. fichteli/intermedius/perforatus, Lepidocyclina dilatata) and Shaigalu Member (3000 m; mollusc/gastropod bioclasts) in the Multanai block, NE Pishin Basin. Shaigalu = Miocene deltaic-plain/fluvial, correlated with the Murree Formation (Shah 1977).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GBPU 45:25-36." }, { "id": "nizami-2008-nisai", "citation": "Nizami, A.R., Ashraf, M., Mahmood, M.N., Imran, M., Randhawa, A.S. & Rafique, M.I. (2008). Diagenetic sequence and microfacies assemblages of the Upper Eocene Nisai Formation, Pishin Basin, Balochistan, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 43, 35-48.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2008, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Diagenesis and microfacies of the Nisai Formation at the Nisai-Murgha Faqirzai Rud section (1027 m). Eight microfacies (bioclastic rudstone/floatstone/grainstone/packstone/wackestone/mudstone, intraclastic and pelloidal grainstone) with abundant larger benthic foraminifera; open-marine shallow (inner-outer) shelf; age extends into the Upper Eocene (Nummulites perforatus). Rests on ophiolitic melange; unconformable below the Murgha Faqirzai (Oligocene).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GBPU 43:35-48." }, { "id": "gee-1989-saltrange", "citation": "Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.", "type": "book", "tier": "primary", "year": 1989, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p95", "status": "active", "notes": "Authoritative synthesis of E.R. Gee's 1930s resurvey of the Salt Range. Table 1 gives the full Eocambrian-to-Recent sequence with each unit's earlier/equivalent name and the group framework: Jhelum Group (Khewra, Kussak, Jutana, Baghanwala), Nilawahan Group (Tobra, Dandot, Warchha, Sardhai), Zaluch Group (Amb, Wargal, Chhidru = Lower/Middle/Upper Productus Limestone), Musa Khel Group (Mianwali, Tredian, Kingriali), Baroch Group (Datta, Shinawari, Samana Suk), Surghar Group (Chichali, Lumshiwal). Documents four major unconformities (base-Permian, base-Tertiary, base-Miocene Rawalpindi Group, base-Kalabagh Conglomerate), the Eocambrian saliferous Salt Range Formation (~1000 m; ~900 m over Precambrian basement in the Karampur borehole), the Khewra Trap lava, and the >=20 km Salt Range decollement.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSA Special Paper 232, pp. 95-112." }, { "id": "khan-1989-chilas", "citation": "Khan, M.A., Jan, M.Q., Windley, B.F., Tarney, J. & Thirlwall, M.F. (1989). The Chilas mafic-ultramafic igneous complex; the root of the Kohistan island arc in the Himalaya of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 75-94.", "type": "book", "tier": "primary", "year": 1989, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p75", "status": "active", "notes": "The Chilas Complex as the root/deepest level of the Kohistan island arc: a >300 km long, up to 40 km wide mafic-ultramafic body of massive to layered gabbro-norite with a dunite-peridotite-troctolite-pyroxenite-anorthosite association. Not an ophiolite; trace-element chemistry (negative Nb, positive Sr-Ba-P) indicates a hornblende-bearing sub-arc mantle source. Interpreted as the arc root-zone magma chamber or intra-arc rift diapir. Kohistan-Ladakh arc formed by northward neo-Tethyan subduction (Late Jurassic-mid Cretaceous), bounded by the MKT (north) and MMT (south); tonalite-diorite plutons 110-95 Ma.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSA Special Paper 232, pp. 75-94." }, { "id": "searle-1989-karakoram", "citation": "Searle, M.P., Rex, A.J., Tirrul, R., Rex, D.C., Barnicoat, A. & Windley, B.F. (1989). Metamorphic, magmatic, and tectonic evolution of the central Karakoram in the Biafo-Baltoro-Hushe regions of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 47-73.", "type": "book", "tier": "primary", "year": 1989, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p47", "status": "active", "notes": "Central Karakoram (northern Karakoram terrane, Karakoram batholith, Karakoram metamorphic complex). The Baltoro Plutonic Unit (BPU) — biotite monzogranite to two-mica +/- garnet leucogranite and pegmatite-aplite, mildly peraluminous — is the youngest phase of the composite Karakoram batholith, a postcollisional crustal melt with U-Pb age 21 +/- 0.5 Ma and K-Ar mica cooling ages 11.7-5.25 Ma. Older subduction-related phases: Jurassic Hushe complex, Cretaceous (82-75 Ma) Muztagh Tower metagranitoids. Four metamorphic phases M1-M4 (M2 Barrovian kyanite-garnet ~550 C/5.5 kbar; Mango Gusar granite 37.0+/-0.8 Ma; M4 <5 Ma along the Main Karakoram Thrust).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSA Special Paper 232, pp. 47-73." }, { "id": "zeitler-1989-nangaparbat", "citation": "Zeitler, P.K., Sutter, J.F., Williams, I.S., Zartman, R. & Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1989). Geochronology and temperature history of the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh Massif, Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 1-22.", "type": "book", "tier": "primary", "year": 1989, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p1", "status": "active", "notes": "Geochronology of the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh Massif (NPHM). Peak metamorphism 25-30 Ma (Ar/Ar hornblende). U/Pb zircon protolith ages: Iskere Gneiss ~1850 Ma, structurally lower Shengus Gneiss 400-500 Ma (possibly a metamorphosed Mansehra Granite / Paleozoic S-type equivalent). Iskere zircon rims 2.3-11 Ma show the metamorphism is Tertiary, not Precambrian. Post-metamorphic cooling controlled over the last 5-10 Ma by the Raikhot Fault plus passive uplift beneath the overthrust Kohistan arc; net cooling rates accelerated from ~20 C/Ma at ~20 Ma to ~300 C/Ma at 0-0.4 Ma.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSA Special Paper 232, pp. 1-22." }, { "id": "hanson-1989-shigar", "citation": "Hanson, C.R. (1989). The northern suture in the Shigar valley, Baltistan, northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 203-215.", "type": "book", "tier": "primary", "year": 1989, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p203", "status": "active", "notes": "The Northern Suture (Main Karakoram Thrust) in the Shigar Valley separates Paleozoic shelf-type metasediments of the Asian plate (Daltumbore Formation) from Cretaceous arc metasediments/volcaniclastics of the Ladakh-Kohistan arc (Bauma-Harel Formation, with Cretaceous turritellid gastropods). Metamorphic isograds are cut by the suture (metamorphism predates faulting). Arc intrusion in two phases: pre-tectonic ~100 Ma (tholeiitic) and post-tectonic 40-60 Ma (calc-alkaline). Suture marks closure of a small ocean basin in Late Cretaceous-Early Eocene time.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSA Special Paper 232, pp. 203-215." }, { "id": "cronin-1989-skardu", "citation": "Cronin, V.S. (1989). Structural setting of the Skardu intermontane basin, Karakoram Himalaya, Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 183-201.", "type": "book", "tier": "primary", "year": 1989, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p183", "status": "active", "notes": "Structural/seismotectonic setting of the Skardu intermontane basin along the Indus in the Karakoram Himalaya. Defines four structural-seismotectonic domains (Himalayan seismic zone, Hindu Kush-Pamir zone, Skardu quiet zone, Eurasian lithosphere). The ~1.3-km-thick upper Cenozoic Bunthang sedimentary sequence (named Cronin 1982) records a Skardu basin phase between ~3.2 and 0.73 Ma, when uplift of the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh syntaxis downstream ponded the Indus River.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSA Special Paper 232, pp. 183-201." }, { "id": "madin-1989-nangaparbat", "citation": "Madin, I.P., Lawrence, R.D. & Ur-Rehman, S. (1989). The northwestern Nanga Parbat-Haramosh massif; evidence for crustal uplift at the northwestern corner of the Indian craton. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 169-182.", "type": "book", "tier": "primary", "year": 1989, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE232-p169", "status": "active", "notes": "Field evidence that the recently active dextral-reverse Raikot fault, not the Main Mantle Thrust (MMT), forms the western boundary of the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh Massif (NPHM), truncating the MMT. The Raikot fault separates Kohistan-arc rocks (Kohistan Sequence) from high-grade Proterozoic metasediments (Nanga Parbat Group) and orthogneisses of the Indian craton, and accommodated ~15-25 km of late Cenozoic uplift; interpreted as a terminal tear fault on the Main Central Thrust following a major crustal (possibly pre-collision Indian-plate) structure.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSA Special Paper 232, pp. 169-182." }, { "id": "badshah-2000-spinghar", "citation": "Badshah, M.S., Gnos, E., Jan, M.Q. & Afridi, M.I. (2000). Stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of the northwestern Indian plate and Kabul Block. In: Khan, M.A., Treloar, P.J., Searle, M.P. & Jan, M.Q. (eds) Tectonics of the Nanga Parbat Syntaxis and the Western Himalaya. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 170, 467-476.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 2000, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2000.170.01.24", "status": "active", "notes": "A 1:500,000 compilation of the NW Pakistan-SE Afghanistan border region (Kurram, North & South Waziristan, Spinghar/Safed Koh; 31-34N, 69-71E). Proposes six new units with type sections in the Spinghar and South Waziristan: Daradar Dolomite (Siluro-Devonian), Spinghar Quartzite (Siluro-Devonian), Sikaram Series (Siluro-Devonian to Triassic), Makai Limestone (Cretaceous), Wana Schist (Palaeozoic) and Kaniguram Slate (Triassic). Also covers the Kabul-Altimur and Zhob-Waziristan-Khost ophiolites, the Katawaz Basin fill, and southward thrusting of the Spinghar crystalline basement (Spinghar nappe) over the Miocene Murree Formation.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSL Special Publication 170, pp. 467-476." }, { "id": "ogasawara-2018-mansehra", "citation": "Ogasawara, M., Fukuyama, M., Siddiqui, R.H. & Zhao, Y. (2018). Origin of the Ordovician Mansehra granite in the NW Himalaya, Pakistan: constraints from Sr–Nd isotopic data, zircon U–Pb age and Hf isotopes. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds) Himalayan Tectonics: A Modern Synthesis. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 481.", "type": "book", "tier": "peer", "year": 2018, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP481.5", "status": "active", "notes": "Zircon U-Pb dating of the Mansehra granite yields 206Pb/238U crystallization ages of 483-476 Ma (Early Ordovician). Typical S-type granite; inherited zircon cores cluster at 889-664, 1862-1595 and 2029 Ma, with a Late Neoproterozoic-Cambrian sedimentary protolith (max age ~664 Ma). High initial Sr (0.7324-0.7444) and low eNd(t) (-9.2 to -8.6) with Paleoproterozoic Nd/Hf model ages indicate a large old-crustal contribution. A typical Lesser Himalayan Cambro-Ordovician granite.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSL Special Publication 481." }, { "id": "jamil-2012-neoproterozoic", "citation": "Jamil, A. & Sheikh, R.A. (2012). An overview of Neoproterozoic reservoirs in Pakistan. In: Bhat, G.M., Craig, J., Thurow, J.W. et al. (eds) Geology and Hydrocarbon Potential of Neoproterozoic–Cambrian Basins in Asia. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 366, 111-121.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2012, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP366.2", "status": "active", "notes": "Review of Neoproterozoic (1000-542 Ma) rocks in Pakistan as a petroleum system, penetrated by ~40 wells. Exposed along the outer Salt Range and Nagar Parkar and in the Kirana Hills; the Punjab Platform Neoproterozoic differs from the Potwar, implying a palaeo-high barrier. Cryogenian snowball-Earth glacial Pokhran boulder beds occur in the Hazara Basin; Proterozoic stromatolites are widespread. Argues the Neoproterozoic offers a complete, under-explored petroleum system.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSL Special Publication 366, pp. 111-121." }, { "id": "flynn-2016-siwalik", "citation": "Flynn, L.J., Pilbeam, D., Barry, J.C., Morgan, M.E. & Raza, S.M. (2016). Siwalik synopsis: a long stratigraphic sequence for the Later Cenozoic of South Asia. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 15(7), 877-887.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2016, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2015.09.015", "status": "active", "notes": "Synopsis of the Siwalik Group of the Potwar Plateau as a ~100 kyr-resolution mammal-bearing fluvial record, dated by magnetostratigraphy. Lithostratigraphy: Kamlial (>50% sand), Chinji (red silt with paleosols/ponding), Nagri (thick multistoried sands), Dhok Pathan (channel + floodplain), Tatrot and (in India) Pinjor formations, above the Early Miocene Murree Formation. Fluvial floodplain silts/sands with vertical lithologic variation primarily tectonically controlled.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; C.R. Palevol 15(7):877-887." }, { "id": "pogue-1999-himalayan-foothills", "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Hylland, M.D., Yeats, R.S., Khattak, W.U. & Hussain, A. (1999). Stratigraphic and structural framework of Himalayan foothills, northern Pakistan. In: Macfarlane, A., Sorkhabi, R.B. & Quade, J. (eds) Himalaya and Tibet: Mountain Roots to Mountain Tops. Geological Society of America Special Paper 328, 257-274.", "type": "book", "tier": "primary", "year": 1999, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0-8137-2328-0.257", "status": "active", "notes": "Refined stratigraphic/structural framework of the Peshawar-basin / Attock-Cherat-Gandghar region between the MBT and MMT. Defines and orders the Precambrian-Paleozoic succession of the Indian-plate footwall: Gandaf Formation (carbonaceous phyllite/schist/marble, oldest of the Panjal-Khairabad block, type at Gandaf 3 km N of Tarbela) -> Manki Formation (>1000 m argillite/slate/phyllite) -> Shahkot, Utch Khattak (stromatolitic) and Shekhai formations -> Sobrah Formation -> Tanawal Formation (metaclastic, feldspathic-sandstone protolith). The Hazara (Dakhner) Formation and its metamorphosed equivalents form the basal unit.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSA Special Paper 328, pp. 257-274." }, { "id": "thebo-2023-pab-laki", "citation": "Thebo, G.M., Solangi, S.H., Agheem, M.H., Solangi, M.A., Markhand, A.H. & Memon, K.A. (2023). Petrography and Geochemistry of late Cretaceous Pab Sandstone, Laki Range, Southern Indus Basin, Pakistan: implications for Provenance and Paleoclimate. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 56(1), 65-78.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2023, "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "status": "active", "notes": "Petrography and major-element geochemistry of the Maastrichtian Pab Sandstone at the Laki Range (Southern Indus Basin). Sandstone (with conglomeratic-sandstone and mudstone beds) dominated by monocrystalline, non-undulatory quartz with minor feldspar and lithics; iron-oxide (dominant) and calcareous cement. QFL/QmFLt plots indicate a craton-interior/continental-block provenance; source inferred as the Indian Shield (Nagar Parkar Igneous Complex, Pakistan; Malani Igneous Suite, India). CIA 61-84 and PIA 60-89 indicate moderate-to-intense weathering under a warm, humid palaeoclimate.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; JHES 56(1):65-78." }, { "id": "alam-2023-dungan-kohlu", "citation": "Alam, S.U., Mohibullah, M., Kasi, A.K., Abdullah, A., Hussain, T.M. & Thebo, G.M. (2023). Microfacies analysis, Depositional Environment and Biostratigraphy of the Early Eocene Dungan Formation, Kohlu area Balochistan, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 56(2), 89-104.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2023, "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "status": "active", "notes": "Larger-benthic-foraminifera biostratigraphy and microfacies of the Dungan Formation at the Kohlu section (Mazar Drik Nappe, Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt). Age-diagnostic LBF (Nummulites fraasi, N. minervensis, Alveolina vredenburgi, A. ellipsoidalis, A. pasticillata, A. pisiformis, A. minervensis, A. aramaea aramaea, Discocyclina ranikotensis, Orbitolites biplanus) date the section as Early Eocene (Ypresian), SBZ 5-7. Six microfacies rich in LBF, algae, echinoids, gastropods, bivalves and rare corals indicate deposition on an inner-to-mid carbonate ramp.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; JHES 56(2):89-104." }, { "id": "abdullah-2023-nisai", "citation": "Abdullah, A., Mohibullah, M., Kasi, A.K., Alam, S.U. & Haq, E.U. (2023). Microfacies and Depositional Settings of the Eocene Nisai Formation, Pishin Belt, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 56(1), 11-32.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2023, "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "status": "active", "notes": "Microfacies of the Eocene Nisai Formation at its type section (Pishin Belt); ~930 m of thick-to-thin-bedded and nodular limestone with olive-greenish-grey shale. Eight carbonate microfacies (KMF-1 to KMF-8) span planktonic mudstone/wackestone through bioclastic LBF pack/grainstone; skeletal allochems include LBF (Nummulites, Assilina, Discocyclina, Operculina, Alveolina, milliolids), smaller and planktonic foraminifera, red algae, bryozoans, molluscs and brachiopods. Deposition on an inner-to-outer ramp (to basinal) setting; mid-ramp facies linked to episodic sea-level fall, enhanced continental weathering and tectonic uplift.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; JHES 56(1):11-32." }, { "id": "alam-2024-gilgit-intrusions", "citation": "Alam, M., Ali, H., Hussain, I., Hussain, Z., Azam, M., Baig, S.S., Qureshi, J.A. & Khan, H. (2024). Petrographical and geochemical constraints on the origin of the igneous intrusions in Gilgit Metamorphic Complex, northern Kohistan Island Arc (Pakistan): Implications for Petrogenesis, magma evolution and tectonic setting. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 57(1), 79-95.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2024, "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "status": "active", "notes": "Petrography and major/trace-element geochemistry of small granitic and volcanic intrusions in the Gilgit Metamorphic Complex (Sakar Koi to Chimis Dass area), northern Kohistan Island Arc. Rocks classify as granite, granodiorite, gabbroic-diorite and basaltic trachy-andesite (SiO2 53.6-73.2 wt%); calc-alkaline metaluminous series (granite peraluminous). Granite/granodiorite plot in the syn-collisional field; gabbro-diorite and basaltic trachy-andesite in the volcanic-arc field (a primitive, less-evolved, mantle-derived magma). Interpreted as upper-mantle-sourced magmatism becoming more acidic with time.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; JHES 57(1):79-95." }, { "id": "ahmedani-2024-nari-diagenesis", "citation": "Ahmedani, S.B., Agheem, M.H., Hakro, A.A.A.D., Halepoto, A.A., Lashari, R.A. & Thebo, G.M. (2024). Integrated Petrographical, Mineralogical, and Geochemical Investigation to Evaluate Diagenesis of Sandstone: A Case Study of the Oligocene Nari Formation from Southern Kirthar Range, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 57(1), 1-22.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2024, "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "status": "active", "notes": "Diagenesis of the Oligocene Nari Formation sandstone at the Nari (Nari Nai) River section, Southern Kirthar Range, by petrography, XRD, SEM and EDX. Three diagenetic stages: eogenesis (syn-depositional cementation, minor compaction), mesogenesis (Pliocene; compaction, dissolution, alteration, quartz overgrowth) and telogenesis (Pliocene-Pleistocene uplift; grain fracturing, oxidation). Iron oxide is the dominant cement, then calcite and dolomite; cementation largely destroyed primary porosity (residual 1-18%). Concludes that Oligocene-Pleistocene tectonics controlled depositional environment, diagenesis and reservoir quality.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; JHES 57(1):1-22." }, { "id": "afrasiab-2024-nikanaighar", "citation": "Afrasiab, Nazir-ur-Rehman, Shah, A.H., Rehman, A., Anees, S.A., Rehan, S., Mehmood, K. & Zaman, I. (2024). Petrographic Analysis and physico-mechanical Properties of Nikanai Ghar Formation, Swabi, North-western Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 57(2), 94-113.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2024, "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "status": "active", "notes": "Petrography and physico-mechanical (dimension/building-stone) assessment of the Nikanai Ghar Formation marble ('Bando Obo marble') near Swabi Town (~32 deg 36' N; Swabi-Mardan Road). Marble is calcite-dominated and divided by texture into fine-, medium- and coarse-grained (equi-granular to sub-equi-granular) varieties. Geotechnical tests (UCS, UTS, specific gravity, shear strength, porosity, water absorption) show strength varying with texture - the fine-grained sample has the highest UCS (~21.8 MPa) - evaluating the unit as a building/dimension stone.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; JHES 57(2):94-113." }, { "id": "ali-2013-samanasuk", "citation": "Ali, F., Haneef, M., Anjum, M.N., Hanif, M. & Khan, S. (2013). Microfacies analysis and sequence stratigraphic modeling of the Samana Suk Formation, Chichali Nala, Trans Indus Ranges, Punjab, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 46(1), 41-53.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2013, "url": "http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/", "status": "active", "notes": "Microfacies and sequence stratigraphy of the Callovian-Bathonian Samana Suk Formation at Chichali Nala (Trans-Indus Ranges). Limestone with subordinate reddish-brown quartzose bioturbated sandstone and marl; nodular in places with thin conglomerate intervals. Four carbonate microfacies (laminated lime mudstone; bioclastic lime mud-wackestone; bioclastic wacke-packstone; bioclastic grainstone with peloidal and ooidal grainstone sub-microfacies) plus a calcareous-sandstone lithofacies indicate inner-ramp deposition across near-shore/beach, lagoon, barrier-shoal and deeper sub-tidal settings. The ~50 m succession records two second-order and four third-order transgressive-regressive sequences, with hardgrounds/condensed sections at seven levels marking transgressive events.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; JHES 46(1):41-53." }, { "id": "ullah-2026-bela-ophiolite", "citation": "Ullah, Z., Khan, A., Li, H., Khedr, M.Z., Shah, M.T., Khan, A., Ibrar, M., Idrees, M., Ahmad, I., Wang, H., Farhan, M. & Algeo, T.J. (2026). Petrogenesis of peridotites and chromitites in the Bela Ophiolite Complex, western Pakistan: Implications for abyssal and forearc features. Solid Earth Sciences, 11, 100329.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2026, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sesci.2026.100329", "status": "active", "notes": "Mineral chemistry, whole-rock major/trace/PGE geochemistry and Re-Os isotopes of the upper-mantle section of the Bela Ophiolite Complex (depleted harzburgites, dunites and podiform chromitites). Cr-spinel Cr# rises from harzburgites (42.7-44.6) through dunites (69.3-71.7) to chromitites (79.1-79.9). Two-stage petrogenesis: (1) harzburgites as residual mantle after ~15.7% low-degree partial melting at a mid-ocean ridge (MOR); (2) dunites and chromitites after ~20.5% high-degree melting and refertilization in a forearc/supra-subduction-zone (SSZ) mantle wedge, crystallized by boninitic-melt-peridotite interaction. Records a MOR-to-SSZ transition and heterogeneous Os-isotope Neo-Tethyan upper mantle. Open access (CC BY-NC-ND).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Solid Earth Sciences 11 (2026) 100329, doi:10.1016/j.sesci.2026.100329." }, { "id": "xiong-2011-bela-rs", "citation": "Xiong, Y., Khan, S.D., Mahmood, K. & Sisson, V.B. (2011). Lithological mapping of Bela ophiolite with remote-sensing data. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 32(16), 4641-4658.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2011, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2010.489069", "status": "active", "notes": "Remote-sensing (Landsat ETM+ and ASTER false-colour and colour-ratio composites, mafic-index images) lithological mapping of the Bela Ophiolite (BO), described as the largest ophiolite in Pakistan, with a new detailed geological map. Differentiates two basalt types and recognises for the first time an ultramafic body (~66 deg 15' E, 26 deg 39' N) in the lower unit. Proposes a two-episode history: the lower unit formed ~110 Ma and the upper unit (a classic ophiolite sequence) ~66 Ma; the upper unit was obducted onto the lower unit and the two were then obducted together onto the Indian continental edge, with Nal Limestone deposited over the BO in Neogene times.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Int. J. Remote Sensing 32(16):4641-4658, doi:10.1080/01431161.2010.489069." }, { "id": "rashid-2022-bela-mn", "citation": "Rashid, M.U., Ahmed, W., Waseem, M., Zamin, B., Ahmad, M. & Sabri, M.M.S. (2022). Metallic-Mineral Prospecting Using Integrated Geophysical and Geochemical Techniques: A Case Study from the Bela Ophiolitic Complex, Baluchistan, Pakistan. Minerals, 12(7), 825.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2022, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/min12070825", "status": "active", "notes": "Integrated magnetic, VES and Induced-Polarization/resistivity survey with major/trace-element geochemistry to prospect metallic minerals in the mafic-ultramafic Bela Ophiolitic Complex (BOC). A positive high-magnetic anomaly (A2; residual 310-550 nT, IP 3.5-15.1 mV/V) over the ultramafic sequence is interpreted and geochemically confirmed as manganese mineralization (36.5% Mn in rock samples; ~48,400 ppm in stream sediment). A second, negative anomaly (A1) is an alluvium-covered, clay-bearing shear zone with no sulfide mineralization. Euler deconvolution places the promising zones at ~100 m depth; cross-sections show mineralization concentrated within the anticlinal, NW-thrust BOC over Late Tertiary melange. Open access (CC BY).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Minerals 12(7):825, doi:10.3390/min12070825." }, { "id": "majeed-2025-sirban", "citation": "Majeed, K.U., Mughal, M.S., Tan, X.-J., Criniti, S., Civitelli, M., Siddique, K., Tirmazi, S.Z.S., Baig, M.S. & Critelli, S. (2025). Petrological and stratigraphical investigations of newly discovered phosphatic microfossils from the Sirban Formation, Hazara Basin, North Pakistan: Unveiling the late Sinian to middle Cambrian ecosystem. Journal of Palaeogeography, 14(4), 100288.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2025, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jop.2025.100288", "status": "active", "notes": "Petrography, microfacies and biostratigraphy of the Sirban Formation (the Sirban dolomite/limestone of the Abbottabad Group; type area Sirban Hill), Hazara Basin, ~250 m studied. Four lithofacies (fossiliferous limestone, dolomitic limestone, fossiliferous chert, stromatolitic brecciated/banded chert) and microfacies (biosparite, dolostone-oomicrite, microcrystalline chert-mudstone, hematite-bearing chert) record high-energy shoreline to stable marine-shelf deposition in the Proto-Tethys Ocean (post-Rodinia). Reports Cambrian trilobites (Ptychoparia striata, Olenoides, Asaphiscus, Protolenus, Redlichia) and phosphatic microfossils, and - as an extraordinary new claim - Ediacaran-type soft-bodied taxa (Dickinsonia, Kimberella, Hallucigenia) said to mark a Precambrian-Cambrian paraconformity for the first time; the authors interpret the formation as late Sinian (Ediacaran) to middle Cambrian and argue prior blanket 'Cambrian' assignment lacked stratigraphic/taxonomic justification. Dolomitic-limestone porosity noted as a potential hydrocarbon reservoir. Open access (CC BY-NC-ND).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; J. Palaeogeography 14(4):100288, doi:10.1016/j.jop.2025.100288." }, { "id": "sameeni-2007-kawagarh", "citation": "Sameeni, S.J., Mirza, K. & Naz, H. (2007). Planktonic Foraminifera from Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh Formation, Jabri area, Lora-Maqsood Road, Hazara, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 42, 61-68.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2007, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Planktonic-foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Kawagarh Formation at Jabri (Lora-Maqsood road, north bank of the Haro river, Hazara), 123 m thick. Fauna: five Globotruncana species plus Planoglobulina sp., Heterohelix reussi and Textularia baudouiniana; Globotruncana arca in the upper part indicates deposition extending into the Lower Maastrichtian. Age at Jabri: Middle Coniacian to Lower Maastrichtian.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 42:61-68." }, { "id": "rafi-2016-wargal", "citation": "Rafi, M., Sameeni, S.J. & Lodhi, K.K. (2016). Industrial Utilization of Permian Wargal Limestone of Dhokri Area, Central Salt Range, Pakistan. Science International (Lahore), 28(5), 4413-4418.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2016, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Industrial (lime) characterisation of the Permian Wargal Limestone at Dhokri, central/western Salt Range. Predominantly limestone with dolomite; controlled calcination at 1100 C yields lime with CaO ~43% (vs ~38% at 900 C). Judged suitable for industrial uses - cement, glass, food, pharmaceuticals, putty, dentifrices, cosmetics.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Sci. Int. (Lahore) 28(5):4413-4418." }, { "id": "sameeni-1997-sakesar", "citation": "Sameeni, S.J. & Butt, A.A. (1997). Foraminifera from the lower Eocene Sakesar Limestone at Nammal, western Salt Range, northern Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 15, 9-14.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1997, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Larger-foraminiferal study of the lower Eocene Sakesar Limestone at Nammal Gorge (Mianwali-Talagang road), western Salt Range; ~80 ft studied horizon. Sakesar Limestone (named by Gee 1935; type locality Mount Sakesar, 32 deg 31' N, 71 deg 56' E) is typically nodular off-white with frequent chert nodules. Identified LBF: Alveolina globula, A. pasticillata, A. ellipsoidalis, Nummulites mamillatus, N. atacicus, Assilina spinosa, A. laminosa, A. granulosa, Ranikothalia sindensis, Discocyclina dispansa, D. ranikotensis, Lockhartia tipperi, L. conditi. Nammal Gorge exposes Permian-Recent with breaks at the Paleocene base (laterite) and between the Sakesar and Miocene Siwaliks.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; J. Nepal Geol. Soc. 15:9-14." }, { "id": "yaseen-2007-kohat", "citation": "Yaseen, A., Munir, M., Rehman, O. & Mirza, K. (2007). Microfacies Analysis of the Middle Eocene Kohat Formation, Shekhan Nala, Kohat Basin, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 42, 15-24.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2007, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Microfacies and larger-foram biostratigraphy of the Middle Eocene Kohat Formation at Shekhan Nala, Kohat Basin. LBF Nummulites beaumonti, N. mamillatus, Assilina exponens and Alveolina elliptica confirm a Middle Eocene age. Three microfacies (bioclastic wackestone, bioclastic packstone, bioclastic grainstone) and four lithofacies base-to-top: TS-1 calcareous shale interbedded with fossiliferous limestone; TS-2 nummulitic shale and limestone; TS-3 highly fossiliferous limestone; TS-4 massive nodular limestone - deposited in shallow-marine settings. The formation is divided (Meissner et al. 1974) into the Kaladhand, Sadkal (= Nummulitic Shales of Pinfold 1918) and Habib Rahi members.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 42:15-24." }, { "id": "butt-1989-hazara-arc", "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1989). An Overview of the Hazara Arc Stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 1-11.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1989, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Stratigraphic overview of the Hazara Arc (western limb of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis; bounded by the Panjal Thrust N and the MBT/Murree Fault S). Precambrian Hazara Formation (turbidites with stromatolitic Langrial and Miranjani algal-limestone bands) -> Cambrian Abbottabad Formation (five members: Tanakki conglomerate, Sangargali red sandstone/shale, Mahmdagali/Mehrdagali pink dolomite, Mirpur red sandstone/shale, Sirban off-white cherty dolomite - correlated with the Salt Range Cambrian via Redlichia and Hyolithes) -> glauconitic Hazira Formation (Hyolithes) -> Shekhan Bandi Formation (haematitic; = Galdanian Fm of Latif 1970). A major hiatus then to Lower Jurassic Datta/Shinawari (ammonite Bouleiceras), Upper Jurassic Samana Suk (Nerinea, Cossmanea; oolitic), Chichali (anoxic black shale; Belemnopsis, Perisphinctes), Lower Cretaceous Lumshiwal (glauconitic), Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh (deep-water outer-neritic micrite), K-T laterite (Langrial Iron Ore/Changlagali Member), Paleocene Hangu/Lockhart/Patala, Eocene Margala Hill/Chorgali/Kuldana (red beds, southward shift of the trough), and Miocene Murree.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text (scanned) PDF supplied by user 2026-08; OCR/visual read of Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. No. 24 (Dec. 1989)." }, { "id": "malik-1989-coal", "citation": "Malik, I.A. (1989). Geodynamics and Coal Deposits of Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 12-43.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1989, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Coal geology of Pakistan (~1.5 billion tons, three provinces). Coal-hosting formations by age: Permian Tobra Formation (earliest Pakistani coal at Buri Khel, top of Tobra, Asselian; ~162 cm seam; sub-economic); Early Paleocene Hangu Formation (Makerwal/Surghar, Trans-Indus; 2-3 m seam; ~20 Mt; lagoonal; anomalously high inertinite); mid-Paleocene Bara Formation (Sonda field, Lower Indus; 11 seams, 3 workable, 4-6 m; ~500 Mt); Late Paleocene Lakhra Formation (Lakhra field; high pyritic sulphur; ~498 Mt, largest single field; anticline at the Hinge Line); Late Paleocene Patala Formation (Salt Range/Cherat/Kotli; seams to ~1.5 m; Kotli coal bituminous-to-anthracite by syntaxial tectonism); Early Eocene Laki Formation (Meting-Jhimpir lignite; basal Sonhari Member; ~40 Mt); Early Eocene Ghazij Formation/Group (Baluchistan coal basin; fields incl. Mach, Degari, Sor Range, Sharigh, Harnai-Khost, Duki, Chamalang; high-sulphur; fragmented by Eocene tectonism).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text (scanned) PDF supplied by user 2026-08; OCR/visual read of Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. No. 24 (Dec. 1989)." }, { "id": "spencer-1989-babusar-mmt", "citation": "Spencer, D.A., Ghazanfar, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1989). Deformation on the Main Mantle Thrust Zone at Babusar Pass, NW Himalaya Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 44-60.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1989, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Structure of the Main Mantle Thrust (MMT) zone at Babusar Pass, where the suture narrows to ~1 km and comprises three thrusts (Babusar, Tatabai, Kohistan) enclosing two Indus-Suture-Melange-Group melanges (Babusar Ultramafic Melange, Tatabai Metavolcanic Melange) between the Indian-plate Sharda Group (footwall, S) and the Kohistan Arc amphibolites (hanging wall, N). Six-phase deformation (D1 subduction -> D4 obduction -> D6 neotectonic Raikot Fault). The MMTZ marks a metamorphic break from upper-amphibolite facies (kyanite-sillimanite, pre-obduction) in the Sharda Group to lower greenschist facies in the arc and melanges.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text (scanned) PDF supplied by user 2026-08; OCR/visual read of Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. No. 24 (Dec. 1989)." }, { "id": "chaudhry-1989-agglomeratic-slate", "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Ghazanfar, M. & Hussain, M.S. (1989). Petrography, Metamorphism, Nature and Origin of Agglomeratic Slate in Kaghan Valley, District Mansehra, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 61-70.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1989, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Petrography, metamorphism and origin of the Agglomeratic Slate (named by Middlemiss 1910-1911; 'Chushal Formation' of Bossart et al. 1984) in the Kaghan Valley, District Mansehra. A highly heterogeneous, greenschist-facies (biotite-grade) unit of graphitic schist, feldspathic/micaceous quartzite, pelitic schist, feldspathic chlorite-calcite schist, marble and metaconglomerate, with devitrified volcanic (volcanogenic) matter. Upper Carboniferous to Permian; underlain by the Tanawal (Tanol) Formation and overlain by the Panjal Formation; correlative of the Agglomeratic Slate of Kashmir and part of the Panjal series. Origin is historically contested (volcanic vs glacial); the authors interpret mixed volcanic, volcanogenic, continental, glacial and marine facies deposited during rifting of the NW Indian margin under subarctic conditions (supporting Wadia 1931, 1975).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text (scanned) PDF supplied by user 2026-08; OCR/visual read of Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. No. 24 (Dec. 1989)." }, { "id": "ahmad-2022-lowergoru", "citation": "Ahmad, S. & Ghazi, S. (2022). Depositional trends and reservoir geometries of the Early Cretaceous Lower Goru Formation in Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan: evidence from sequence stratigraphy. Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, 12, 2377-2399.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2022, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13202-022-01489-y", "status": "active", "notes": "Ten wells and 2D seismic in the northern Lower Indus Basin: the Early Cretaceous Lower Goru sand intervals (proven reservoirs of the Lower Indus Platform) are correlated in a third-order sequence-stratigraphic framework. The formation was deposited in a westerly-prograding, river-dominated delta; reservoir geometries are mapped for stratigraphic and combination traps.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; J. Petrol. Explor. Prod. Technol. 12, doi:10.1007/s13202-022-01489-y." }, { "id": "wnuk-1993-bara-ranikot", "citation": "Wnuk, C., Sanfilipo, J.R., Chandio, A.H. & Fatmi, S.F. (1993). The Stratigraphy and Coal Resource Potential of the Bara Formation in the Fort Ranikot Area, Sindh Province, Pakistan: A Progress Report. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 93-256 (also GSP Project Report IR-PK-105).", "type": "report", "tier": "primary", "year": 1993, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr93256", "status": "active", "notes": "USGS/GSP coal-resource assessment of the Paleocene Bara Formation at Fort Ranikot, northern Lakhi Range, Sindh. Although the Bara Formation is the main coal-bearing unit of the Lower Indus (Lakhra/Sonda) and coal was historically mined NW of the Lakhra Anticline, no coal was found in the Bara rocks at Fort Ranikot itself - coal beds are absent or structurally obscured there.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; USGS OFR 93-256." }, { "id": "maldonado-2011-quetta-mb-sibi", "citation": "Maldonado, F., Mengal, J.M., Khan, S.H. & Warwick, P.D. (2011). Summary of the Stratigraphy and Structural Elements Related to Plate Convergence of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi Region, Balochistan, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1224.", "type": "report", "tier": "primary", "year": 2011, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20111224", "status": "active", "notes": "USGS summary stratigraphy/structure of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi region, Balochistan. Notes: the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite Complex (Late Cretaceous) with the Bagh Ophiolite Complex (Late Cretaceous to Late Triassic) and dolerite dikes; the Upper Cretaceous Bibai Formation (divided into upper and lower zones); the lower-Eocene Ghazij Formation (>1,600 m, predominantly siliciclastic marine shelf, conformably overlain by middle Eocene); the lower-middle Eocene Kirthar Formation; the Eocene-lower Oligocene Nisai Formation; and the Parh Group (Parh Limestone, Mughal Kot Formation).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; USGS OFR 2011-1224." }, { "id": "kakar-nisai-group", "citation": "Kakar, A., Kasi, A.M., Benedetti, A. & Kasi, A.K. Stratigraphy and depositional environment of a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate platform and slope succession of the Paleogene Nisai Group, Pakistan. (Venue per supplied manuscript.)", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": null, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Renames the Paleogene (lower Eocene-lower Oligocene) succession of the Pishin/Zhob area the Nisai Group and divides it, bottom to top, into the Jabrai, Torkhezhe Tsah and Nisai formations - a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate platform-and-slope succession. The Jabrai Formation is thick olive-gray mudstone/shale with ultramafic-mafic and quartzite lithoclasts in calciturbidite beds (detritus from the Zhob Valley Ophiolites), bounded by the Ghazij Group to the south. Venue/year not printed on the supplied manuscript; cite with caution pending confirmation.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (manuscript) supplied by user 2026-08; journal masthead absent from the file." }, { "id": "hayat-2016-samanasuk", "citation": "Hayat, M., Rahman, M.U., Khan, N.A., Abdullah & Ali, F. (2016). Sedimentology, Sequence Stratigraphy and Reservoir Characterization of Samana Suk Formation Exposed in Namal Gorge Section, Salt Range, Mianwali, Punjab, Pakistan. International Journal of Economic and Environmental Geology, 7(1), 1-15.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2016, "url": "https://www.econ-environ-geol.org", "status": "active", "notes": "Microfacies and sequence stratigraphy of the Bathonian-Callovian Samana Suk Formation at Nammal (Namal) Gorge, Salt Range: mainly limestone (grey/yellowish/purple, fine-grained, thin-to-medium bedded, with algal laminations) with minor sandstone (calcareous, quartzose, yellowish-brown to brick-red) and marl; reservoir characterization of the carbonate succession.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Int. J. Econ. Environ. Geol. 7(1):1-15." }, { "id": "sameeni-1989-eoannularia", "citation": "Sameeni, S.J. (1989). A Note on the Stratigraphic Distribution of Eoannularia eocenica Cole & Bermudez. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 77-79.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1989, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Documents the stratigraphic range of the foraminifer Eoannularia eocenica (Upper Paleocene to Middle Eocene) in northern Pakistan, occurring in the Upper Paleocene Lockhart Limestone (and the overlying Patala Formation) across Hazara, the Kala Chitta Range and the Salt Range (Nammal Gorge), associated with Lockhartia haimei, Miscellanea miscella and Ranikothalia sindensis; the Lower Paleocene Hangu Formation lies below the range.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text (scanned) PDF supplied by user 2026-08; OCR of Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 24:77-79." }, { "id": "bhatti-1989-lesser-greater", "citation": "Bhatti, N.A. (1989). Lesser India Versus Greater India on the Plate Scale. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 71-73.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1989, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "A plate-reconstruction essay that, along the way, reassigns the Tanakki Conglomerate (basal Abbottabad Formation, Hazara) and the Himalayan Blaini boulder beds from Permo-Carboniferous to Late Precambrian-Cambrian, interpreting them as Late Precambrian glacial (tillite) deposits overlain by Cambrian-fossil-bearing beds (Latif 1972; Rushton 1973); the Salt Range Talchir boulder bed is cited as the only bona-fide Permo-Carboniferous tillite.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text (scanned) PDF supplied by user 2026-08; OCR of Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 24:71-73." }, { "id": "ahmed-1997-surghar-jurassic", "citation": "Ahmed, S., Mertmann, D. & Manutsoglu, E. (1997). Jurassic shelf sedimentation and sequence stratigraphy of the Surghar Range, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 15, 15-22.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1997, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Facies and sequence stratigraphy of the Jurassic on the northern Indian-plate shelf, Surghar Range. The Shinawari and Samana Suk formations are shallow-marine to intertidal, deposited Toarcian to middle Callovian; a lower-Toarcian transgression drowned a former delta plain, with shallowing-upward cycles and relative lowstands in the Bajocian, Bathonian and Callovian (the lower two with terrigenous influx from the SE). A lower-Callovian hardground is overlain by transgressive middle-Callovian open-marine limestone; the platform closes with another hardground, drowned by the overlying Oxfordian-Neocomian Chichali Formation. Nomenclature (after Fatmi 1974; Mensink et al. 1988): the Jurassic comprises the Baroch Group and part of the Surghar Group (Chichali + Lumshiwal), above the Triassic Musa Khel Group; Datta dated by palynology (early Jurassic, Masood & Bhutta 1985), Shinawari basal part carrying Bouleiceras cf. nitecens (Fatmi et al. 1990).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; J. Nepal Geol. Soc. 15:15-22." }, { "id": "pogue-1992-peshawar-basin", "citation": "Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1992, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0915:PAMSOT>2.3.CO;2", "status": "active", "notes": "Conodont-based (A.G. Harris) restratigraphy of the Peshawar-basin Palaeozoic-Mesozoic column: Tanawal Fm (Cambrian or older; ~3000 m quartzite/argillite; intruded by the 516 Ma Mansehra Granite) -> Ambar Fm (Cambrian? sandy dolomite, butcher-block weathering; = Sirban Fm) -> Misri Banda Quartzite (Ordovician; Cruziana rugosa, Skolithos) -> Panjpir Fm (Early-latest Silurian; first Silurian rocks documented in Pakistan) -> Nowshera Fm (Early-early Late Devonian reef; conodonts) -> Jafar Kandao Fm (latest Devonian-Middle Carboniferous; granitic-clast conglomerate = early-Carboniferous tectonism) -> Karapa Greenschist (NEW unit; metabasalt, = Panjal Traps) -> Kashala Fm (Late Triassic Carnian; = Kingriali Fm) -> Nikanai Ghar Fm (Late Triassic-Jurassic?). Devonian (Famennian) conodonts also reported from the Ali Masjid Fm (Khyber). All conodonts CAI 5-8 (very high thermal maturity). Interprets the Khairabad thrust as the Pakistan analogue of the MCT.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; GSA Bulletin 104(8):915-927." }, { "id": "anczkiewicz-1998-swat-suture", "citation": "Anczkiewicz, R., Burg, J.-P., Hussain, S.S., Dawood, H., Ghazanfar, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Indus Suture in the Lower Swat, Pakistan, NW Himalaya. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 16(2-3), 225-238.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1998, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-9547(98)00003-8", "status": "active", "notes": "Stratigraphy and structure of the Indus Suture (Main Mantle Thrust) zone in Lower Swat: Indian-plate footwall (Swat granite-gneiss, Early Permian U-Pb ~276 Ma; Manglaur Schists, Precambrian-Cambrian; Alpurai Group/Schists - amphibolite to kyanite grade, with lower-part metabasalts = Panjal Trap; uppermost Saidu Schists, greenschist-facies graphitic phyllite/marble emplaced by normal faulting); the restricted Indus Suture Zone melange (sheared olistostrome, volcaniclastic meta-turbidites, interlayered blueschists/greenschists; blueschist 40Ar-39Ar 75-85 Ma = pre-collisional Cretaceous subduction; Shangla ultramafite with podiform chromitite = fore-arc mantle); and the Kohistan Island Arc (Kamila unit, gabbro/gabbro-norite) in the hanging wall. Post-collisional normal reactivation of the suture between ~37-40 and ~20 Ma.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; J. Asian Earth Sci. 16(2-3):225-238." }, { "id": "munir-baig-2006-hazara-ak", "citation": "Munir, M.-H., Baig, M.S. & Mirza, K. (2005-2006). Upper Cretaceous of Hazara and Paleogene Biostratigraphy of Azad Kashmir, North West Himalayas, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 69-87.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2006, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh Formation (Hazara) and the Paleocene-Eocene succession of Azad Kashmir. Kawagarh: planktonic foraminifera (Globotruncana, Dicarinella, Rugoglobigerina, Heterohelix) give Coniacian-Campanian, extending to Maastrichtian-Lower Danian in the upper part; outer-neritic shelf on the north-subducting Neotethyan margin below the Kohistan arc. Hangu Formation deposited unconformably above, restricted shallow-marine to lagoonal (carbonaceous). Lockhart Limestone, Patala Formation, Margala Hill Limestone and Chorgali Formation form a Paleocene-Early Eocene shallow-marine larger-benthic-foraminiferal succession (Lockhartia, Operculina, Miscellanea, Ranikothalia, Assilina, Nummulites, Alveolina); the Paleocene-Eocene boundary is placed in the upper Patala, marked by the extinction of Lockhartia haimei and Miscellanea miscella and the appearance of Nummulites atacicus and N. mammillatus into the basal Margala Hill Limestone.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 40-41:69-87." }, { "id": "hussain-1998-peshawar-basin", "citation": "Hussain, A., DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 18, 25-35.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1998, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Synthesis of an almost complete Precambrian-to-Triassic bedrock sequence for the Peshawar basin from new conodont finds: Tanawal (Precambrian) -> Ambar (Cambrian?; type Ambar village) -> Misri Banda Quartzite (Ordovician; Cruziana rugosa) -> Panjpir (Silurian; Distomodus = first Early-Middle Silurian in Pakistan) -> Nowshera (Devonian reef) -> Jafar Kandao (Carboniferous) -> Karapa Greenschist (metatholeiite) -> Kashala (Carnian) -> Nikanai Ghar (Triassic-Jurassic?). Includes type-locality coordinates and the structural framing of the Peshawar basin (thrust south on the MBT ~2.1 Ma).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text (scanned) PDF supplied by user 2026-08; OCR of J. Nepal Geol. Soc. 18:25-35." }, { "id": "munthe-1979-daud-khel", "citation": "Munthe, J., Hussain, S.T., Lukacs, J.R., West, R.M. & Shah, S.M.I. (1979). Neogene Stratigraphy of the Daud Khel Area, Mianwali District, Pakistan. Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology, 23, 1-18.", "type": "report", "tier": "primary", "year": 1979, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Over 3,400 m of Neogene fluvial section NE of Daud Khel (Trans-Indus, Mianwali District): a thin Murree(?) Formation (unconformable on weathered Eocene) beneath the Siwalik Group - Kamlial (648 m; distinctive dull-greenish-gray sandstone, possibly the thickest Kamlial exposed anywhere), Chinji (881 m; moderate-red mudstone with pellet-rock beds), Nagri (1025 m; thick cross-bedded greenish sandstone with igneous pebbles), and Dhok Pathan (778 m, top absent). Units defined lithologically; fauna reported separately (Hussain et al. 1979; 1977). Kamlial placed in the Siwalik Group (not the Rawalpindi Group of Fatmi 1974).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text (scanned) PDF supplied by user 2026-08; OCR of Milwaukee Public Mus. Contrib. Biol. Geol. 23." }, { "id": "tahirkheli-1993-warsak", "citation": "Tahirkheli, T., Khan, M.A. & Mian, I. (1993). The Warsak basic rocks: Initial-rift stage continental tholeiites of Permo-Triassic 'Panjal' affinity. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 26, 17-33.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1993, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Geochemistry (trace-element) and petrography of the Warsak basic rocks (microgabbros, dolerites, metabasalts, volcaniclastics) associated with the Warsak alkaline granites ~30 km WNW of Peshawar. Interprets them as initial-rift-stage continental tholeiites of within-plate affinity (closer to rift volcanics than plateau basalts), part of a tholeiitic dyke/sill suite in the Lower Palaeozoic and older rocks of the northern Indian plate. Directly correlates the Warsak volcanic/volcaniclastic component with the Karapa Greenschist of the Ambela area and the amphibolite marker horizon of the upper Marghazar Formation of Lower Swat, all of Permo-Triassic 'Panjal' affinity (Panjal volcanics of Kaghan and Kashmir).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Geol. Bull. Univ. Peshawar 26:17-33." }, { "id": "craig-2018-nwhimalaya-ps", "citation": "Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2018, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.09.012", "status": "active", "notes": "Comprehensive review of the petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the NW Himalaya (India and Pakistan). For the Pakistan Upper Indus (Kohat-Potwar, Salt Range) and Central/Lower Indus (Sulaiman, Kirthar, Sindh) basins it characterises the source rocks (notably the Paleocene Patala Formation and the Eocambrian Salt Range Formation in the north, and the Cretaceous Sembar Formation in the south), reservoirs (Khewra, Datta, Lockhart, Sakesar, Lumshiwal, Goru, Pab, Habib Rahi/Sui, etc.), seals and the producing fields tied to them.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Earth-Science Reviews 187:109-185." }, { "id": "gaetani-1995-karakoram-permian", "citation": "Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1995, "url": "https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/8548", "status": "active", "notes": "Definitive formalization of the Permian succession of the Northern Karakorum (Pakistan) from four expeditions (1986, 1991, 1992a, 1992b). Formalizes nine formations subdivided into members and lithozones, with biochronology on fusulinids, brachiopods and conodonts: the basal terrigenous Gircha Formation (latest Asselian-Sakmarian); the Chapursan Group carbonate ramp (Lashkargaz, Lupghar, Panjshah formations) with the terrigenous Gharil Formation interlude (Kubergandian-?Murgabian); the platform Ailak Formation dolostones (?Midian) and Guhjal Dolomite; and the Late Permian pelagic Kundil Formation (?late Murgabian-Midian) and Wirokhun Formation (Dzhulfian-Dienerian, crossing the Permian-Triassic boundary). Interprets the succession as a passive-margin record of the Karakorum block rifting from Gondwana during the initial opening of Neo-Tethys.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text scanned PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Riv. Ital. Paleont. Strat. 101(2):107-152, tavole 1-11." }, { "id": "tahirkheli-1990-upper-hunza", "citation": "Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Review of stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley (UHV), NW Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1990, "status": "active", "notes": "Pakistan-China collaborative restratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley (Gojal), NW Karakorum, following the discovery of the Sost Anticline. Recognises five mappable units from old to young - Gircha Formation, Pak-China Friendship (Dih) Formation, Passu Slate, Gujal (Guhjal) Dolomite and Shanoz Conglomerate - and shows that Desio & Martinas (1972) Passu Slate/Misgar Slate and Gujal Dolomite/Kilik Formation pairs are each single units bifurcated by the Sost megafold. Ages range from Permian (Gircha) to Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeocene (Shanoz Conglomerate); the Gujal Dolomite is Permo-Triassic with megalodont-like shells.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Geol. Bull. Univ. Peshawar 23:203-214." }, { "id": "coward-1984-karakoram-kohistan", "citation": "Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.", "type": "book-chapter", "tier": "peer", "year": 1984, "status": "active", "notes": "Structural and lithological transect of the Karakoram-Kohistan-Indian plate along the Karakoram Highway between Khunjerab and Abbottabad, across the northern (MKT) and southern (MMT) branches of the Indus suture. Describes the Northern Karakoram sedimentary zone (Tahirkheli 1979 framework: Misgar Slates, Kilik, Gircha, Pasu Slates, Gujhal Formation, Shanoz Conglomerate), the Karakoram batholith, and the Kohistan arc sequence (Chalt Group volcanics, tonalite-diorite plutonic belt, the Chilas cumulate complex, the amphibolite belt and the Jijal granulite-ultramafic complex), plus the Indian-plate basement, Cambrian Mansehra granite and Murree molasse.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Intl. Karakoram Project Vol. 2:71-84, CUP." }, { "id": "umar-2015-neoproterozoic", "citation": "Umar, M., Betts, P., Khan, M.M.S., Sabir, M.A., Farooq, M., Zeb, A., Jadoon, U.K. & Ali, S. (2015). Signatures of Late Neoproterozoic Gondwana assembly and Marinoan glaciation in Lesser Himalaya: a palaeogeographical and stratigraphical approach. Acta Geologica Polonica, 65(1), 1-19.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2015, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1515/agp-2015-0001", "status": "active", "notes": "Stratigraphical, facies and palaeogeographical analysis of the Late Neoproterozoic-Early Cambrian succession of the Hazara Basin (Lesser Himalaya, N Pakistan): the deep-marine turbidite Hazara Formation (Rb/Sr 765+/-20 and 950+/-20 Ma), the shallow-marine Tanawal Formation (up to 900 m, condensed eastward), the glaciogenic Tanaki Boulder Bed (Marinoan glaciation, ~605-595 Ma) and the Cambrian Abbottabad Formation. Correlates these with the Chandpur/Shimla, Nagthat, Blaini and Krol units of the Indian Lesser Himalaya and the Madiyi/Hetong, Wuqiangxi and Doushantuo units of South China, arguing for proximity of Lesser Himalaya and South China during Rodinia break-up and Gondwana assembly.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Acta Geol. Polonica 65(1):1-19, doi:10.1515/agp-2015-0001." }, { "id": "siddiqui-sml-2004", "citation": "Siddiqui, N.K. (2004). Sui Main Limestone: Regional geology and the analysis of original pressures of a closed-system reservoir in central Pakistan. AAPG Bulletin, 88(7), 1007-1035.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2004, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1306/012004200150", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Reviewer-supplied (author N.K. Siddiqui appears to be the project reviewer 'Nusrat K.'). Correlation-chart figure + abstract reviewed, not full text. The chart is a Paleocene-Eocene correlation across the Indus Basin (Kirthar, Badin, Khairpur-Jacobabad High, Sulaiman, Trans-Indus, Kohat, Salt Range) and Jaisalmer (India), calibrated to a Ma scale; column sources are mostly oil-company well reports (OGDC/PPL/UTP/AMOCO) plus Eames 1952/58, Sun 1964, Singh 1984. Key facts: the Sui Main Limestone is a lower Eocene (Ypresian) shallow-marine carbonate, the most prolific gas reservoir south of 29N (>20 tcf recoverable across 14 fields), does not outcrop anywhere in Pakistan; reservoir-quality development is restricted, with increased clastic influx toward the northern Sulaiman Range and the Jaisalmer basin, and Lutetian-Priabonian rocks absent in the Trans-Indus Range. The chart assigns Habib Rahi/Domanda/Pirkoh/Drazinda to the KIRTHAR GROUP and shows a CHHARRAT GROUP in Kohat - a cleaner group hierarchy than this dataset currently encodes (relevant to the reviewer's taxonomy-consistency comment).", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (AAPG Bulletin 88/7) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Confirms Sui Main Limestone as lower Eocene (Ypresian) carbonate-platform gas reservoir, >20 tcf across 14 fields." }, { "id": "kassi-ghazij-1987", "citation": "Kassi, A.M., Qureshi, A.R. & Kakar, D.M. (1987). Sedimentology of the Ghazij Formation, Kach Area, Baluchistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 20, 53-62.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1987, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied scan, OCR'd). Sedimentology of the Early Eocene (by fossil content) Ghazij Formation in the Kach area, Baluchistan. Treats Ghazij as a FORMATION (not a group): 590 m thick at the Spintangi type section; conformably overlies the Dungan/Laki formations and Ranikot Group (Paleocene) and underlies the Kirthar Formation (Upper Eocene). Dominantly variegated calcareous shales with subordinate sandstone and conglomerate, alabaster and coal seams; deltaic origin with turbidites in the lower shale-dominant part and an upper shale-dominant marine-transgressive top; palaeocurrents generally east-to-west. Earlier workers subdivided it into the Baska Shales (Alabaster Member) and Matap Conglomerate Member (Oldham 1890; Williams 1959; HSC 1961). Coal mined at Sor Range, Degari, Duki, Mach and Sharigh." }, { "id": "rex-karakoram-1988", "citation": "Rex, A.J., Searle, M.P., Tirrul, R., Crawford, M.B., Prior, D.J., Rex, D.C. & Barnicoat, A. (1988). The geochemical and tectonic evolution of the central Karakoram, North Pakistan. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A, 326, 229-255.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1988, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (reviewer-supplied scan, OCR'd). Classic synthesis of the central Karakoram, divided into (i) the Karakoram metamorphic complex, (ii) the Karakoram batholith and (iii) the northern Karakoram sedimentary terrane, separated from the accreted Kohistan-Ladakh terranes by the Main Karakoram Thrust. Recognises Jurassic and mid-Upper Cretaceous Andean-type subduction-related magmatic episodes (pre-collisional; India-Asia collision ~50-45 Ma), with an early low-pressure metamorphism (M1) and Cretaceous accretion of Kohistan-Ladakh along the Shyok Suture Zone. DOI to confirm (Royal Society)." }, { "id": "searle-karakoram-2011", "citation": "Searle, M.P. (2011). Geological evolution of the Karakoram Ranges. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 147-159.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2011, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (reviewer-supplied). Review of the Karakoram terrane (geologically equivalent to the Qiangtang terrane of Tibet). Above sea level since Early-Mid Cretaceous (age of the youngest marine sediments); Late Jurassic to Mid-Cretaceous north-dipping subduction of Tethyan lithosphere produced widespread Andean I-type granite-granodiorite magmatism (Hunza, Hushe plutonic units) with Buchan-type low-pressure metamorphism; Kohistan intra-oceanic arc developed to the south (Aptian-Eocene, ~120-45 Ma); India-Asia collision ~50 Ma, followed by crustal thickening and the Miocene axial Baltoro leucogranite. DOI to confirm (Italian Journal of Geosciences, same 2011 issue as Zanchi & Gaetani)." }, { "id": "tahirkheli-uhv-1990", "citation": "Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuqua, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley, North Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1990, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (reviewer-supplied scan; title reconstructed from content). Pakistani-Chinese collaborative mapping of the Upper Hunza Valley (UHV), North Karakoram. Establishes five mappable formations, oldest to youngest: Gircha Formation, Pak-China Friendship Formation (= Dih Formation), Passu Slate, Gujal Dolomite and Shanoz Conglomerate; the faunally-dated succession ranges from Late Permian to Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary. The NNW-SSE Sost Anticline is the major structure and controls the stratigraphic frame; the Gircha Formation occupies its core and is the oldest exposed unit (base not exposed, presumed to unconformably overlie the Dumordo Formation / Baltit Group). Used to corroborate the Gircha Formation; the four other UHV units are not yet in the dataset." }, { "id": "ahmad-zaluch-nala-2005", "citation": "Ahmad, S., Ahmad, I. & Khan, M.I. (2005). Structure and Stratigraphy of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic Sequence in the Vicinity of Zaluch Nala, Western Salt Range, Punjab Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Hydrocarbon Research, 15, 1-8.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2005, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (reviewer-supplied scan, OCR). Structural-stratigraphic study of the Western Salt Range at Zaluch Nala (Mianwali District; study area 32 deg 48′-32 deg 50′30″N, 71 deg 37′30″-71 deg 40′30″E), ~1.5 km Eocambrian-to-Eocene succession. Confirms the local column: Salt Range Formation (Eocambrian) > Tobra > Warchha Sandstone (Dandot Formation ABSENT here) > Sardhai (transitional contact) > Amb > Wargal > Chhidru (Zaluch Group) > Mianwali (paraconformable, Early Triassic) > Tredian > Kingriali (conformable) > Datta (disconformable) > Shinawari > Samana Suk (disconformable) > Chichali > Lumshiwal (Cretaceous) > Hangu > Lockhart > Patala (Paleocene) > Nammal > Sakesar (Eocene). Zaluch Nala is the type area of the Zaluch Group (Amb-Wargal-Chhidru). Primarily structural (thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belt, Kalabagh Fault Zone); corroboration source for existing Salt Range units and the local absence of the Dandot Formation." }, { "id": "mujtaba-chitral-2024", "citation": "Mujtaba, A., Gilani, S.N., Hafeez, M., Khan, I., Shah, A., Khan, S., Gillani, S.A.A. & Gul, M.A. (2024). Geochemical and Petrographic Analysis of Hydrothermal Mineralization in the Chitral Region, Northern Pakistan: Implications for Tectonic and Diagenetic Processes. Advancements in Mining & Mineral Engineering, 1(3), AMME.MS.ID.000513.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2024, "url": "https://doi.org/10.33552/AMME.2024.01.000513", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (born-digital, open access CC-BY). Geochemistry/petrography of hydrothermal mineralization in Chitral, plus a Geology-and-Stratigraphy-of-Chitral review dividing the region into Karakoram Plate and Kohistan Island Arc (after Gaetani et al. 1995). Karakoram Plate units (N-S): Wakhan Formation (+Atark carbonate) - Awireth/Owir Series - Sarikol Shale - Shogram Formation - Shoghore Ls/Reshun. Kohistan-arc units: Drosh, Purit, Gawuch Formations. Plutons: Tirch Mir (115+/-4 Ma Rb-Sr biotite), Buni-Zom, Kafiristan, Garam Chashma. Supports adding Wakhan Formation, Chitral Slate and Sarikol Shale; corroborates Shogram, Reshun, Drosh, Purit, Gawuch, Owir, Atark. Descriptions ultimately after Hayden (1915), Tipper (1924), Desio (1959/1963/1966), Stauffer (1975), Buchroithner & Gamerith (1986)." }, { "id": "qasim-baraul-banda-2026", "citation": "Qasim, M. (2026). Pre-Paleocene Kohistan-Karakoram Amalgamation: Evidence from the Detrital Zircon Provenance of the Baraul Banda Formation, Pakistan. Geosciences, 16(8), 331.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2026, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences16080331", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (born-digital, open access CC-BY). Detrital-zircon U-Pb provenance study of the Baraul Banda Formation, the sedimentary component of the Dir Group (western Kohistan-Ladakh Arc; the group is a 10-15 km-wide E-W belt ~120 km between Kalam and Dir). Baraul Banda Formation: fine-grained deep-marine siliciclastic succession (slate, mudstone, siltstone, fine sandstone, minor fossiliferous limestone; basal conglomerate/breccia 2-32 m; quartzite present; low-grade chlorite-sericite metamorphism); three lithofacies after Sullivan et al. (basal conglomerate/breccia, pebbly sandstone, thin-bedded sst-slt-mud). Lower contact an unconformity on the Mankial Metavolcanics; upper contact the Dir Thrust, along which the Utror Volcanic Formation is emplaced over it. Late Paleocene-Early Eocene: detrital-zircon maximum depositional ages 62-55 Ma; Nummulites-Discocyclina-Actinocyclina in limestone at Shahi (Dir) indicate Early Eocene for part of the succession. Supports adding the Baraul Banda Formation (Kohistan/Dir Group). Unit first defined by Sullivan, Windley, Saunders, Haynes & Rex (Dir Group palaeogeographic reconstruction)." }, { "id": "gaetani-upper-chitral-1996", "citation": "Gaetani, M., Le Fort, P., Tanoli, S., Angiolini, L., Nicora, A., Sciunnach, D. & Khan, A. (1996). Reconnaissance geology in Upper Chitral, Baroghil and Karambar districts (northern Karakorum, Pakistan). Geologische Rundschau, 85, 683-704.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1996, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02440104", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (born-digital). Primary reconnaissance mapping of Upper Chitral / northern Karakoram (Mastuj to Imit, 1992 expedition). Defines the Northern Sedimentary Belt (NSB) as thrust stacks and introduces the Axial unit and the Baroghil unit; introduces the Chilmarabad Formation (type locality Chilmarabad). Documents the Wakhan slates (term of Hayden 1915): thick succession of dark/carbonaceous quartzitic black slates with subordinate siltite, sandstone (ripple marks) and white quartzite, from Tirich Mir W to the Chapursan valley where they may continue as the Misgar slates (possible younger synonym, Desio 1963); mainly Palaeozoic with fossil evidence for Permian (Kafarskyi) and Early Triassic (Buchroithner 1980; Abdullah & Chmyriov 1980); intruded by the East Hindu Kush batholith (Shushar pluton, Jurassic K/Ar muscovite). Also treats Gircha, Shogram, Ailak, Lashkargaz, Yarkhun, Gharil, Darkot Group and Chapursan Group. Authoritative primary corroboration for the Chitral/Karakoram NSB units already held, and a second (primary) source supporting the Wakhan Formation add (age refined to Palaeozoic-Early Triassic)." }, { "id": "khursheed-korara-1972", "citation": "Khursheed, S.H. (1972). Foraminiferal Fauna of Korara Shale. Pakistan Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, 15(6), 368-370.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1972, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (born-digital). Foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Korara Shale (Jakkher Group of HSC 1960; type locality Jakkher Lak, Map ref 35 O/2; measured at Goth Allah Baksh, Pab Range). Dark grey-olive shale with minor fine sandstone, ~460 m at Goth Allah Baksh, resting with apparent conformity on the Pab Sandstone and overlain by ~40 m limestone breccia (mixed Eocene-Oligocene, slumped). Basal 155 m Maastrichtian (Globotruncana stuarti, G. gansseri, Pseudotextularia elegans, Heterohelix navarroensis/globulosa/striata, Guembelitria cretacea, Zeauvigerina aegyptica); ranges up into the Paleocene (Montian) and locally the Lower Eocene - a transgressive facies spanning the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. Supports adding the Korara Shale." }, { "id": "meissner-parachinar-716f-1975", "citation": "Meissner, C.R., Hussain, M., Rashid, M.A. & Sethi, U.B. (1975). Geology of the Parachinar Quadrangle, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-F.", "type": "report", "tier": "primary", "year": 1975, "url": "https://doi.org/10.3133/pp716F", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (born-digital). USGS-GSP mapping of the Parachinar Quadrangle (Kurram/Kohat region). Describes a Mesozoic-Cenozoic succession: Datta, Chichali, Lumshiwal, then Paleocene Hangu-Lockhart-Patala, the Kurram Formation, Darsamand Limestone, Panoba Shale, Shkalai Shale, Mulla Bata Limestone, Thal Formation, Kaladhand Limestone, Sirki Shale, Habib Rahi Limestone, the Chharat Group, and the Rawalpindi Group (Murree, Kamlial) and Siwalik (Chinji, Nagri, Dhok Pathan) units. Primary corroboration for Kohat/Kurram units already held, and a source for several not yet in the dataset (Darsamand Limestone, Kurram Formation, Sirki Shale, Rawalpindi Group, Thal Formation, Mulla Bata Limestone, Shkalai Shale, Kaladhand Limestone, Chharat Group)." }, { "id": "rehman-shakar-khel-2009", "citation": "Rehman, G., Ahmad, S., Ali, F. & Zahid, M. (2009). Structural Geology of the Shakar Khel Area, Karak District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Hydrocarbon Research, 19, 11-17.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2009, "url": "", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "notes": "FULL TEXT REVIEWED (born-digital). Structural study of the Shakar Khel area, central Kohat Basin (Karak District): E-W tight anticlines at the level of Eocene-Miocene rocks, N-S shortening with southward progression. Names only already-held units (Patala Shale, Chichali Formation, etc.); a corroboration source (structural context), no new lithostratigraphic units." }, { "id": "calkins-1967-westernlimb", "citation": "Calkins, J.A. (1967). The Geology of the Western Limb of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis, West Pakistan and Kashmir. U.S. Geological Survey, open-file report.", "type": "report", "tier": "primary", "year": 1967, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text (scanned) DOCX supplied by reviewer 2026-08.", "notes": "Classic USGS mapping of the western limb of the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis; source for Precambrian-Cambrian Hazara/Tanawal/Abbottabad succession and its structural setting." }, { "id": "fuchs-1970-hazara", "citation": "Fuchs, G. (1970). The significance of Hazara to Himalayan geology. Jahrbuch der Geologischen Bundesanstalt (Vienna), Sonderband 15, 21-23.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1970, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Jahrbuch der Geol. Bundesanstalt Sonderband 15) supplied by reviewer 2026-08.", "notes": "Early regional-correlation paper placing the Hazara succession in the broader Himalayan framework." }, { "id": "khan-2024-makran-prism", "citation": "Khan, U., Khan, M., Shiguo, W. & Gao, J. (2024). Geodynamics and structural evolution of Makran accretionary prism, Arabian-Eurasian convergent plate boundary. EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, abstract EGU24-17684.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-17684", "type": "conference-abstract", "tier": "tertiary", "year": 2024, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full abstract (EGU2024) supplied by reviewer 2026-08.", "notes": "Structural framework of the Makran accretionary prism; context for the Panjgur and Hoshab formations." }, { "id": "qasim-2014-abbottabad", "citation": "Qasim, M., Khan, M.A. & Haneef, M. (2014). Stratigraphic characterization of the Early Cambrian Abbottabad Formation in the Sherwan area, Hazara region, N. Pakistan: Implications for Early Paleozoic stratigraphic correlation in NW Himalayas, Pakistan. Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 47(1), 25-40.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2014, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (J. Himalayan Earth Sci. 47/1) supplied by reviewer 2026-08.", "notes": "Detailed section and correlation of the Early Cambrian Abbottabad Formation (Sherwan area); refines age and member-scale stratigraphy for the Hazara Cambrian." }, { "id": "shah-shervais-1999-dir-utror", "citation": "Shah, M.T. & Shervais, J.W. (1999). The Dir-Utror metavolcanic sequence, Kohistan arc terrane, northern Pakistan. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 17(4), 459-475.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(99)00006-1", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1999, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (J. Asian Earth Sci. 17/4) supplied by reviewer 2026-08.", "notes": "Petrology and arc setting of the Dir-Utror metavolcanic sequence; primary source for the Dir Group volcanics in the Kohistan arc." }, { "id": "yasin-2017-sudhnoti", "citation": "Yasin, M., Ali, S.M.K., Munir, M.H. & Ishfaque, M. (2017). The sedimentary geology, remote sensing, geomorphology and petrology of Miocene to Late Pliocene sediments in District Sudhunhoti and Poonch, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. Earth Science Malaysia, 1(1), 8-14.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.26480/esmy.01.2017.08.14", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2017, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Earth Science Malaysia 1/1) supplied by reviewer 2026-08.", "notes": "Sedimentology and petrology of Miocene-Pliocene molasse (Murree/Siwalik-equivalent) in Sudhnoti and Poonch, AJK; supports the Murree, Nagri and Dhok Pathan units in the Kashmir sub-Himalaya." }, { "id": "garrido-2006-jijal", "citation": "Garrido, C.J., Bodinier, J.-L., Burg, J.-P., Zeilinger, G., Hussain, S.S., Dawood, H., Chaudhry, M.N. & Gervilla, F. (2006). Petrogenesis of Mafic Garnet Granulite in the Lower Crust of the Kohistan Paleo-arc Complex (Northern Pakistan): Implications for Intra-crustal Differentiation of Island Arcs. Journal of Petrology, 47(10), 1873-1914.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egl030", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2006, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Jijal complex = basal peridotite overlain by mafic garnet granulite (± garnet hornblendite), the exhumed lower-crustal root of the Kohistan paleo-island arc.", "notes": "Petrogenesis of the Jijal/Sarangar lower-crustal garnet granulites, Kohistan arc." }, { "id": "kasi-2018-pishin", "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Umar, M., Friis, H., Mohibullah, M. & Manan, R.A. (2018). A Paleogeographic and Depositional Model for the Neogene Fluvial Succession, Pishin Belt, Northwest Pakistan: Effect of Post Collisional Tectonics on Sedimentation in a Peripheral Foreland Setting. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition), 92(2), 499-518.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-6724.13539", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2018, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Neogene fluvial molasse of the Pishin Belt: Dasht Murgha Group (Khuzhobai ~650 m cyclic sandstone, Sra Khula, Bahlol Nika), Malthanai and Bostan formations.", "notes": "Depositional model for the Pishin Belt Neogene fluvial succession." }, { "id": "buchroithner-gamerith-1986-chitral", "citation": "Buchroithner, M.F. & Gamerith, H. (1986). On the Geology of the Tirich Mir Area, Central Hindu Kush (Pakistan). Jahrbuch der Geologischen Bundesanstalt, 128(3-4), 367-381.", "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267986732", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "primary", "year": 1986, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Geology of the Tirich Mir / Chitral area: Chitral Slates (Upper Palaeozoic schists and meta-volcanics) and a Devonian sequence (Sarikol/Chitral) of the Central Hindu Kush geosyncline.", "notes": "Foundational geological mapping (1:50,000) of the Tirich Mir area, Central Hindu Kush." }, { "id": "angiolini-brunton-zanchi-1999", "citation": "Angiolini, L., Brunton, H. & Zanchi, A. (1999). Late Carboniferous Brachiopods from Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 105(1), 3-22.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1999, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Late Carboniferous (Moscovian-Kasimovian) brachiopod fauna (Densepustula, Septacamera darvazensis, Alispirifer middlemissi) from the base of the Gircha Formation, northern Karakoram.", "notes": "Biostratigraphy of the basal Gircha Formation brachiopods." }, { "id": "zanchi-gritti-1996", "citation": "Zanchi, A. & Gritti, D. (1996). Multistage structural evolution of Northern Karakorum (Hunza region, Pakistan). Tectonophysics, 260(1-3), 145-165.", "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0040195196000819", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1996, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Tectonophysics 260) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Structural evolution of the Northern Karakorum sedimentary cover (Misgar, Sost, Kilik units), Hunza region.", "notes": "Northern Karakorum structural geology, Hunza." }, { "id": "stauffer-mastuj-1975", "citation": "Stauffer, K.W. (1975). Reconnaissance Geology of the Central Mastuj Valley, Chitral State, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report (Project Report PK-24, Pakistan Investigations).", "type": "report", "tier": "primary", "year": 1975, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (USGS OFR / Project Report PK-24) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Reconnaissance mapping of the Devonian-to-Tertiary Chitral succession (Sarikol Shale, Reshun Formation) in the central Mastuj Valley.", "notes": "USGS reconnaissance geology, central Mastuj Valley, Chitral." }, { "id": "dar-2021-hazara", "citation": "Dar, Q.U.Z., Renhai, P., Ghazi, S., Sajid, Z., Wahab, A., Zubair, R.A. & Aziz, T. (2021). The Precambrian Hazara Formation from Hazara Mountains, Northern Pakistan. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14, 134.", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-06496-7", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2021, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF (Arabian J. Geosciences 14:134) supplied by reviewer 2026-08. Sedimentology of the Precambrian Hazara Formation: greywacke-siltstone-shale-argillite, fining-upward turbidite lithofacies with Bouma sequences, deep-marine deposition.", "notes": "Turbidite sedimentology of the Precambrian Hazara Formation." }, { "id": "rehman-2022-kurram-waziristan", "citation": "Rehman, G., Ahmad, S., Ali, F., Khan, S.F., Faiz, M.I., Yaseen, M., Anjum, N., Ali, T.H. & Ali, F. (2022). Outcrops of Kurram and North Waziristan Agencies (Pakistan): Implications from Structural Modeling. Geotectonics, 56(4), 542-560.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2022, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016852122040070", "status": "active", "notes": "Structural/tectono-stratigraphic study of the Kurram and North Waziristan agencies, NW Indian-plate margin. Maps three tectonic domains (Nappe Domain of Jurassic-Cretaceous Kurram Group melange; allochthonous Orakzai/Samana-Sangroba Indian-plate margin; autochthonous Kohat Basin). Summarises the Waziristan/Spinghar basement as Precambrian Makai Limestone and Sikaram Slate, Silurian-Devonian Spin Ghar (Spinghar) Quartzite, and a Permo-Carboniferous Spinghar crystalline complex, thrust eastward over unmetamorphosed Mesozoic-Cenozoic cover.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-08; Geotectonics 56(4), DOI 10.1134/S0016852122040070." }, { "id": "gaetani-1997-karakorum-block", "citation": "Gaetani, M. (1997). The Karakorum Block in Central Asia, from Ordovician to Cretaceous. Sedimentary Geology, 109(3-4), 339-359.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1997, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(96)00068-2", "status": "active", "notes": "Synthesis of the Karakorum Block's Ordovician-to-Cretaceous marine sedimentary history (six major cycles). Early Ordovician transgression over crystalline basement; ~1 km Ordovician-Silurian shaly succession; Early Devonian peritidal platform (10-20 m/Ma); Upper Devonian-?Lower Carboniferous carbonates/clastics unconformable on Early Devonian; Permian thicknesses 1-2.5 km (up to 50 m/Ma) in three steps (Asselian-Sakmarian terrigenous prism; Artinskian-Murgabian block-faulting/emergence; Late Permian-Middle Triassic peritidal carbonate flat). Passive-margin stage of the Karakorum Block (Perigondwanian fringe, Mega Lhasa). Describes the Gircha, Lupghar, Panjshah, Kundil, Aghil, Borom, Chapursan-Group, Yarkhun and Baroghil/Karambar-unit successions of Hunza/Chitral.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Sedimentary Geology 109(3-4), 339-359, DOI 10.1016/S0037-0738(96)00068-2." }, { "id": "qasim-2018-hazara-zircon", "citation": "Qasim, M., Ding, L., Khan, M.A., Jadoon, I.A.K., Haneef, M., Baral, U., Umar, M., Cai, F., Shah, A. & Yao, W. (2018). Late Neoproterozoic-Early Palaeozoic stratigraphic succession, Western Himalaya, North Pakistan: Detrital zircon provenance and tectonic implications. Geological Journal, 53(6), 2377-2399.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2018, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.3063", "status": "active", "notes": "U-Pb detrital-zircon geochronology and provenance of the Late Neoproterozoic-Early Palaeozoic succession of the Hazara foothills (Western Himalaya): Hazara, Tanawal, Tanaki Boulder Bed, Abbottabad (Kakul/Sirban), Galdanian, Misri Banda Quartzite; three structural blocks (syntaxial, Abbottabad, Sherwan). Maximum depositional age of the Hazara Fm ~754 Ma (youngest zircon, sample 2015A2); Tanaki conglomeratic bed (sample 2015A3) zircons cluster ~750-950 Ma (peak ~830 Ma), Precambrian. NOTE: the paper's 'Sherwan block' is a structural domain of Tanawal-equivalent quartzites, NOT the Carboniferous Sherwan Formation of the dataset.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Journal 53, DOI 10.1002/gj.3063." }, { "id": "petterson-windley-1985", "citation": "Petterson, M.G. & Windley, B.F. (1985). Rb-Sr dating of the Kohistan arc-batholith in the Trans-Himalaya of north Pakistan, and tectonic implications. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 74(1), 45-57.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1985, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(85)90014-6", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; EPSL 74(1), 45-57.", "notes": "Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron dating of the Kohistan arc-batholith: first-stage Matum Das tonalite 102±12 Ma (pre-collision, intra-oceanic arc; initial 87Sr/86Sr 0.7039); second-stage Gilgit granitoids 54±4 Ma and 40±6 Ma (Andean-type, post-collision); post-collisional Indus Confluence aplite-pegmatite sheets 34±14 and 29±8 Ma. Major deformation between 102 and 54 Ma. Also notes the Chalt volcanics (basaltic tholeiites) and Dir-Utror Group (calc-alkaline lavas)." }, { "id": "petterson-2010-kohistan", "citation": "Petterson, M.G. (2010). A review of the geology and tectonics of the Kohistan island arc, north Pakistan. In: Kusky, T.M., Zhai, M.-G. & Xiao, W. (eds) The Evolving Continent: Understanding Processes of Continental Growth. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 338, 287-327.", "type": "book-chapter", "tier": "peer", "year": 2010, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1144/SP338.14", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; GSL Special Publications 338, 287-327.", "notes": "Comprehensive review of the Kohistan intra-oceanic-arc-to-Andean-margin: Chalt Volcanic Group (northernmost Kohistan-wide conformable unit, ~330 km E-W x 30 km, high-Mg tholeiites), Jaglot/Yasin Groups, Kamila Amphibolites, Kohistan batholith (three magmatic stages), Shamran/Teru and Dir volcanic-sedimentary units, Chilas Complex, Jijal-Kamila arc root." }, { "id": "petterson-2018-kohistan-ladakh", "citation": "Petterson, M.G. (2018). The plutonic crust of Kohistan and volcanic crust of Kohistan-Ladakh, north Pakistan/India: lessons learned for deep and shallow arc processes. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds) Himalayan Tectonics: A Modern Synthesis. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 483.", "type": "book-chapter", "tier": "peer", "year": 2018, "url": "https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/SP483", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; GSL Special Publications 483.", "notes": "Synthesis of Kohistan plutonic crust and Kohistan-Ladakh volcanic crust; deep vs shallow arc processes. Covers the batholith stages, Chalt/Shamran volcanics and the arc crustal section." }, { "id": "robertson-collins-2002-shyok", "citation": "Robertson, A.H.F. & Collins, A.S. (2002). Shyok Suture Zone, N Pakistan: late Mesozoic-Tertiary evolution of a critical suture separating the oceanic Ladakh Arc from the Asian continental margin. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 20(3), 309-351.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2002, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(01)00039-9", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09 (font-encoded; decoded via /C glyph map); J. Asian Earth Sci. 20(3), 309-351.", "notes": "Structural/stratigraphic anatomy of the Shyok Suture Zone (Skardu-Khaplu-Hushe-Thalle), separating the oceanic Ladakh Arc from the south-Asian (Karakoram) margin. Defines the Burje-La Formation, Askore Amphibolite, Pakora Formation (~7 km Early Cretaceous volcaniclastics), Saltoro Formation and the structurally highest Bauma-Harel Group (Ordovician + Carboniferous-Permian-Triassic carbonate/siliciclastic south-Asian-margin sediments). NOTE: the paper's 'Thalle' is the Thalle Valley (volcaniclastics correlated with the Pakora Formation), NOT the Ordovician Thalle Limestone of the dataset; and it does not treat the Plio-Pleistocene Bunthang Sequence." }, { "id": "kasi-2017-pishin-provenance", "citation": "Kasi, A.K., Kassi, A.M., Friis, H. & Manan, R.A. (2017). Petrology and provenance of the Neogene fluvial succession in Pishin Belt (Katawaz Basin) western Pakistan: implications for sedimentation in peripheral foreland basins. Geosciences Journal, 21(2), 149-166.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2017, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-016-0049-2", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Geosciences Journal 21(2), 149-166.", "notes": "Petrography and provenance of the Neogene fluvial succession of the Pishin Belt (Katawaz Basin): Miocene Dasht Murgha Group (lithic arenite, Qt61F11L28) and Pliocene Malthanai Formation (lithic arenite, Qt60F4L36, sedimentary-lithic rich Lm14Lv10Ls76). Recycled-orogen provenance; conglomerate clasts and modal data indicate the Eocene Nisai and Oligocene Khojak formations plus the Muslim Bagh-Zhob Ophiolite and Cretaceous arc as source terrains." }, { "id": "qayyum-2001-khojak-provenance", "citation": "Qayyum, M., Niem, A.R. & Lawrence, R.D. (2001). Detrital modes and provenance of the Paleogene Khojak Formation in Pakistan: Implications for early Himalayan orogeny and unroofing. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 113(3), 320-332.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2001, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(2001)113<0320:DMAPOT>2.0.CO;2", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; GSA Bulletin 113(3), 320-332.", "notes": "Detrital-modes/provenance study of the Paleogene Khojak Formation (Katawaz remnant ocean), deposited as a delta-submarine-fan complex. Modal composition Qt60F9L31 (subangular quartz, abundant lithics, minor feldspar) of recycled-orogenic origin with a transitional magmatic-arc component; interpreted as recording early Himalayan orogeny and unroofing." }, { "id": "jan-howie-1981-jijal", "citation": "Jan, M.Q. & Howie, R.A. (1981). The Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Metamorphosed Basic and Ultrabasic Rocks of the Jijal Complex, Kohistan, NW Pakistan. Journal of Petrology, 22(1), 85-126.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1981, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/22.1.85", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; J. Petrology 22(1), 85-126.", "notes": "Foundational petrology/geochemistry of the Jijal Complex: a tectonic wedge of garnet granulites (northern part) intruded to the south by a 10x4 km ultramafic slab (diopsidites, dunites, peridotites, harzburgites; olivine Fo92-89). Granulites divisible into plagioclase-bearing (basic-intermediate) and plagioclase-free (ultrabasic-basic) types, with garnetites, hornblende-rocks, garnet pyroxenites and epidote-rich rocks." }, { "id": "yamamoto-yoshino-1998-jijal", "citation": "Yamamoto, H. & Yoshino, T. (1998). Superposition of replacements in the mafic granulites of the Jijal complex of the Kohistan arc, northern Pakistan: dehydration and rehydration within deep arc crust. Lithos, 43(4), 219-234.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1998, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S0024-4937(98)00014-0", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Lithos 43(4), 219-234.", "notes": "Metamorphic petrology of the Jijal mafic granulites (deep Kohistan arc crust): two-pyroxene granulite and garnet-clinopyroxene granulite; geothermobarometry 10.2 kbar/735C to 17.0 kbar/949C. Intra-oceanic subduction and subsequent Kohistan-Asia collision produced high-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism, followed by local post-collision amphibolitization (dehydration/rehydration cycles)." }, { "id": "hildebrand-2001-hindukush-melting", "citation": "Hildebrand, P.R., Noble, S.R., Searle, M.P., Parrish, R.R. & Shakirullah (2001). Tectonic significance of 24 Ma crustal melting in the eastern Hindu Kush, Pakistan. Geology, 29(3), 227-230.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2001, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0227:TSOMCM>2.0.CO;2", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Geology 29(3), 227-230.", "notes": "U-Pb (monazite/xenotime/uraninite) dating of the Garam Chashma two-mica leucogranite (eastern Hindu Kush) at ~24 Ma, with the Tirich Mir, Shushar and Kafiristan plutons; records Miocene crustal melting during continued northward Hindu Kush subduction. Notes that the metamorphic host rocks (Arkari Formation of Leake et al. 1989; staurolite-grade schists to sillimanite-K-feldspar migmatites) are the SW continuation of the Permian-Triassic-fossiliferous Wakhan slates, exposed NW of the Tirich Mir fault." }, { "id": "ahmad-2025-kohistan-swat-kalam", "citation": "Ahmad, T., Jan, M.Q. & Drüppel, K. (2025). Geology of the central Kohistan Arc, Northern Swat, Kalam (NW Pakistan): results of a new 1:50,000 scale geological mapping. Journal of Maps, 21(1), 2572765.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2025, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2025.2572765", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Journal of Maps 21(1), 2572765.", "notes": "New 1:50,000 geological map of the central Kohistan Arc (Northern Swat-Kalam). Summarises the arc's N-to-S tectonostratigraphy: Yasin Group (Albian-Aptian fossils) over Chalt Volcanic Group (Jurassic-Cretaceous basaltic-rhyolitic volcanics/tuffs/pyroclastics), Jaglot Group (back-arc: Thelichi, Gilgit, Gashu formations), Kohistan Batholith, Chilas Complex, Kamila Amphibolites (amphibolite-facies metagabbros/metadiorites/metatonalites/metavolcanics + minor metasediments) and the Jijal-Sapat mafic-ultramafic complexes; Eocene Dir-Kalam (Utror) volcanics extend through Kalam, Utror and Dir to the Afghan border (max width 4-5 km near Utror)." }, { "id": "yaseen-2021-saltrange-geosites", "citation": "Yaseen, M., Naseem, A.A., Ahmad, J., Mehmood, M. & Anjum, M.N. (2021). Integrated Approach for Inventories and Quantitative Assessment of Geological and Paleontological Sites from Precambrian to Quaternary Successions in the Salt Range, Pakistan. Geoheritage, 13, 55.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2021, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-021-00553-z", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Geoheritage 13, 55.", "notes": "Quantitative geosite/geodiversity assessment (GAM + Brilha method) of the Salt Range, Pakistan, inventorying geological and palaeontological sites from Precambrian to Quaternary (Khewra Salt Mine, Cambrian fossil beds, Zaluch Nala P-Tr boundary, Nilawahan/Tobra tillite, gypsum deposits). Grounds the geosite-significance and threat framework used by the dataset's geosite layer." }, { "id": "khan-2026-nowshera-reef", "citation": "Khan, E.U., Waskowska, A. & Galka, E. (2026). Geotourism Potential of Nowshera Reef Complex, Lesser Himalayas, Pakistan. Geoheritage, 18, 19.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2026, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-025-01260-9", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Geoheritage 18(1), 19.", "notes": "Geotourism/geoheritage assessment of the Nowshera Reef Complex (Devonian Nowshera Formation) in the Lesser Himalayas, Pakistan - the only Devonian reef complex in the country; scientific, educational and tourism value plus conservation." }, { "id": "ghani-2022-mesgsp", "citation": "Ghani, M., Raynolds, R., Ullah, R., Mohibullah, M. & Kakar, M.I. (2022). Museum of Earth Sciences of the Geological Survey of Pakistan (MESGSP): a Potential Geotourism Attraction. Geoheritage, 14, 76.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2022, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-022-00741-5", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Geoheritage 14, 76.", "notes": "Geotourism assessment of the Museum of Earth Sciences of the Geological Survey of Pakistan (Quetta) - a curated collection of Pakistan's rocks, minerals, fossils and stratigraphy; context reference for the geosite/geotourism layer." }, { "id": "ahmad-2016-nummulitid-kohat", "citation": "Ahmad, S., Kroon, D., Rigby, S. & Khan, S. (2016). Paleogene Nummulitid biostratigraphy of the Kohat and Potwar Basins in north-western Pakistan with implications for the timing of the closure of eastern Tethys and uplift of the western Himalayas. Stratigraphy, 13(4), 277-301.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2016, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Stratigraphy (Micropaleontology Press) 13(4):277-301.", "notes": "Primary larger-benthic-foraminifera (LBF) biostratigraphy of the Paleogene Kohat and Potwar basins. Erects six nummulitid Benthic Foraminiferal Zones (BFZ 1-6) tied to Serra-Kiel et al. (1998) SBZ zones and to Schaub (1981): BFZ 1 (LO Miscellanea miscella), BFZ 2 (FO Assilina dandotica; late Thanetian-early Ilerdian boundary), BFZ 3 (FO Nummulites atacicus/N. globulus and Orbitolites complanatus; early Eocene, SBZ 8-11), BFZ 4 (FO Assilina exponens; middle Lutetian 1, SBZ 14), BFZ 5 (FO Nummulites beaumonti; middle Lutetian 2), BFZ 6 (range of Assilina cancellata; Upper Lutetian, ~ A. gigantea Zone / SBZ 16). Records cessation of marine sedimentation in the Kohat and Potwar basins in early Eocene (Middle Cuisian ~ BFZ 3, ~50-49.5 Ma), a Middle Lutetian marine return in the Kohat Basin (eustatic), and final closure of the eastern Tethys seaway in the Kohat Basin in Upper Lutetian (~BFZ 6, ~41.2 Ma). Sections: Sheikhan/Panoba/Tarkhobi Nala (Kohat) and Kalabagh/Chahali Nala (Potwar-TIR)." }, { "id": "brilha-2016", "citation": "Brilha, J. (2016). Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Geosites and Geodiversity Sites: a Review. Geoheritage, 8(2), 119-134.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2016, "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-014-0139-3", "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Geoheritage 8(2):119-134.", "notes": "Standard method for the quantitative assessment of geosites. Defines four numerical evaluations, each a weighted sum of criteria scored on a 1-4 indicator scale (Scientific Value uses 1/2/4; 0 allowed): Scientific Value (SV; 7 criteria - representativeness 30%, key locality 20%, scientific knowledge 5%, integrity 15%, geological diversity 5%, rarity 15%, use limitations 10%), Potential Educational Use (PEU; 12 criteria), Potential Touristic Use (PTU; 13 criteria) and Degradation Risk (DR; 5 criteria - deterioration 35%, proximity to degrading activities 20%, legal protection 20%, accessibility 15%, population density 10%). Weights sum to 100 so each final value ranges 0-400. Applied here to the 27-site Pakistan geosite inventory (see docs/paper/GEOSITE-ASSESSMENT.md)." }, { "id": "sheikh-2006-hinglaj", "citation": "Sheikh, K.S., Khan, A.S. & Farooqui, M.A. (2006). Steep depositional slope and absence of back barrier: the controlling factors of complex lithofacies association in a foreshore beach environment (Southern Balochistan). Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences, 39, 15-38.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2006, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text PDF supplied by user 2026-09; Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences 39:15-38.", "notes": "Facies analysis of the Miocene-Pliocene Hinglaj Formation in a 1,443 m measured section near Nal, along the Ornach-Nal fault, southern Balochistan. Recognises twelve lithofacies and interprets a foreshore-beach to shoreface depositional environment with a steep depositional slope and no back-barrier, recording seven transgressive-regressive complexes; the formation is exposed from Nal through the Bela area to SW of Ormara, Makran." }, { "id": "mensink-1985-kingriali", "citation": "Mensink, H., Mertmann, D., Sarfraz, A. & Shams, F.A. (1985). A microfacies reconnaissance of the Kingriali Formation of the Nammal Gorge and Gulakhel areas, Punjab. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 20, 1-10.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1985, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 20 (1985).", "notes": "Microfacies analysis (60 thin sections, 80 samples) of the Late Triassic Kingriali Formation at Nammal Gorge (32.6667, 71.8000) and Gulakhel (32.9667, 71.2000), Trans-Indus. Eleven microfacies (dolosparites, dolomicrites, oncolitic/oolitic/bio-sparites) grouped into four facies units, recording a shallow-marine carbonate platform passing up to intertidal/tidal-flat with restricted hypersaline bays. Gives the published type-locality coordinate: Kingriali Peak (32°14′N, 71°02′E), Khisor Range, District Dera Ismail Khan." }, { "id": "hussain-1985-clay-mineralogy", "citation": "Hussain, K., Siddiqui, M.A. & Shams, F.A. (1985). Clay mineralogy of some thin cover soils of Punjab and their bearing on engineering properties. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 20, 11-23.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1985, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 20 (1985).", "notes": "XRD/petrographic clay-mineralogy of thin cover soils of the Jhelum area, Punjab; records swelling montmorillonite with implications for foundation engineering. Quaternary soils (no named stratigraphic unit); registered for bibliographic completeness." }, { "id": "chaudhry-1985-dhok-pathan-petrology", "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N., Hussain, K. & Shah, M.A. (1985). Petrology of Dhok Pathan Formation, Siwaliks Group of Kalabagh and Mangla areas. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 20, 24-38.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1985, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 20 (1985).", "notes": "Sandstone petrography of the Dhok Pathan Formation at Kalabagh and Mangla: subfeldspathic lithic arenites/lithic wackes and calcareous mudstones derived from a rising provenance of acid-to-intermediate volcanics, cherty limestones (with subordinate quartzite/shale/sandstone) and low-grade metamorphics (slate, phyllite, greenschist), with minor granite. Notes that the Soan Formation comprises the Tatrot and Pinjor." }, { "id": "sarwar-1985-stegodon-rathiansis", "citation": "Sarwar, M., Akram, H. & Saeed, M. (1985). A new stegodont from the Upper Siwaliks of Rathian, Punjab, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 20, 71-76.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1985, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 20 (1985).", "notes": "Erects Stegodon rathiansis n. sp. on a lower third molar and mandibular ramus (holotype PUPC 69/364) from the uppermost Tatrotian (Upper Siwaliks) near Rathian, District Jhelum. With ~18½ ridge-plates in M3 it is the most advanced (highest ridge-plate count) Stegodon, transitional toward Elephas." }, { "id": "ghazanfar-chaudhry-1985-kaghan", "citation": "Ghazanfar, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1985). Geology of Bhunja-Batakundi area, Kaghan Valley, District Mansehra, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 20, 76-105.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1985, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 20 (1985).", "notes": "First 1:17,000 mapping of the Kaghan Valley between Mahandari and Batakundi (~400 km²). Establishes the rock units and their tentative correlation, from south (younger) to north (older): Panjal Series volcanics + Shino/Sing/Bhunja marbles, Agglomeratic Slate (Chushal graphitic schist), Tanol (Jared quartzites), the Kaghan Formation (Biari, Doga, Phagal, Lohar Banda Marble, Kamalban, Kaghan Pelites, Rajwal, Paludaran, Batal) and the Sharda Group (Salkhala: Naran gneisses, Saiful Maluk Granite, Dharir migmatites). Regional metamorphism rises S→N from biotite through almandine to staurolite/kyanite grade; graphite, gypsum and marble are economic." }, { "id": "sarfraz-1985-devonian-miospores", "citation": "Sarfraz Ahmed (1985). Comparison of the Upper Devonian miospore assemblages of New York State and Pennsylvania with different areas of the world. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 20, 60-71.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1985, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 20 (1985).", "notes": "Global correlation of Upper Devonian (Frasnian–Famennian) miospore assemblages of New York State and Pennsylvania with Belgium, the British Isles, Poland, the USSR, North Africa and Australia. No Pakistani stratigraphy; registered for bibliographic completeness / author record." }, { "id": "qureshi-2006-lumshiwal", "citation": "Qureshi, M.K.A., Masood, K.R., Ghazi, S. & Butt, A.A. (2006). Lithofacies analysis of the Lower Cretaceous Lumshiwal Formation, Kala Chitta Range, northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 1-19.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2006, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 40-41 (2006).", "notes": "Lithofacies/microfacies analysis of the Lower Cretaceous Lumshiwal Formation across the Kala Chitta Range (Choi, Chapra, Surg, Dherikot, Burjianwala Laman, Togowala, Dourdad). Eight microfacies (glauconitic sandstone, mudstone, bioclastic wackestone–packstone, grainstone, floatstone) record shallow-marine to outer-shelf carbonate deposition with intermittent subaerial exposure; gradational lower contact with the Chichali Formation and unconformable upper contact (Kawagarh in the north, Lockhart in the south). Thickest ~61.5 m at Dourdad, thinning west to ~8 m at Chapra (wedge-on-wedge with the Chichali Formation). Age Lower Cretaceous on ammonite + palynological control." }, { "id": "khan-2006-bramatherium", "citation": "Khan, M.A., Akhtar, M. & Qureshi, M.A. (2006). Discovery of a Bramatherium (giraffid) horn core from the Dhok Pathan Formation (Middle Siwaliks) of Hasnot, Potwar Plateau, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 21-25.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2006, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 40-41 (2006).", "notes": "Records a sivatheriine giraffid Bramatherium perimense posterior (parietal) horn core (PUPC 2004/22) from locality H7, ~4 km west of Hasnot village (32°49′N, 73°18′E), Jhelum District — Dhok Pathan Formation, Middle Siwaliks." }, { "id": "qureshi-2006-datta", "citation": "Qureshi, M.K.A., Ghazi, S. & Butt, A.A. (2006). Geology of the Lower Jurassic Datta Formation, Kala Chitta Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 27-44.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2006, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 40-41 (2006).", "notes": "Mapping, lithostratigraphy and clay mineralogy of the Lower Jurassic Datta Formation in the Kala Chitta Range (Surg, Chak Jabbi, Sakhi Zindapir). Five lithosomes (ironstone/laterite, ferruginous sandstone, quartzose sandstone, bauxite, fireclay) fill karstic pouches on the Kingriali surface; SEM/wet-chemical/DTA/XRD show kaolinite + diaspore (± gibbsite, hematite, goethite) with Al2O3 to ~79%. The high-temperature diaspore/hematite assemblage indicates deeper burial and dynamic metamorphism during Himalayan deformation; continental low-stand sedimentation sourced from weathered Indian-shield (Kirana/Sargodha) basement." }, { "id": "gondal-2006-chaj-doab", "citation": "Gondal, M.M.I. & Ahmad, C.M. (2006). Neotectonics in Upper Chaj Doab, Punjab, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 45-52.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2006, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 40-41 (2006).", "notes": "Neotectonic study of the Quaternary alluvium of Upper Chaj Doab (between the Jhelum and Chenab rivers). Identifies the Gondal Bar and Bahlulpur upland scarps and the Dinga Basin as active neotectonic features driven by southward-propagating Himalayan compressional stresses, with implications for waterlogging, salinity, flooding and foundation engineering. Quaternary/geomorphic (no named stratigraphic unit); registered for bibliographic completeness." }, { "id": "khan-2006-selenoportax", "citation": "Khan, M.A., Akhtar, M., Iqbal, M., Qureshi, M.A. & Farooq, U. (2006). Fossil molars of Selenoportax vexillarius. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 53-55.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2006, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 40-41 (2006).", "notes": "Describes upper second and third molars of the boselaphine bovid Selenoportax vexillarius (broken right maxilla with M2–M3, PUPC 06/14) from Hasnot (dated ~5–7 Ma), Jhelum District — Dhok Pathan Formation, Middle Siwaliks." }, { "id": "mirza-2006-kohat", "citation": "Mirza, K., Sameeni, S.J., Munir, M.H. & Yasin, A. (2006). Biostratigraphy of the Middle Eocene Kohat Formation, Shekhan Nala, Kohat Basin, northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 57-67.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2006, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 40-41 (2006).", "notes": "Measured and closely sampled (97 samples) biostratigraphy of the Kohat Formation at Shekhan Nala. Larger benthic foraminifera (Nummulites mamillatus/atacicus/globulus/subirregularis, Assilina exponens/granulosa/spinosa/dandotica, Operculina, Discocyclina, Dictyoconoides, Alveolina) confirm an early Middle Eocene (Lutetian) age. Three members — Kaladhand Limestone, Sadkal Shale (a foraminiferal biolithite) and Habib Rahi Limestone (karstified top). Shallow-marine inner-neritic carbonate bank; terminal Eocene marine phase capped unconformably by the Murree Formation." }, { "id": "munir-2006-hazara-kashmir", "citation": "Munir, M.H., Baig, M.S. & Mirza, K. (2006). Upper Cretaceous of Hazara and Paleogene biostratigraphy of Azad Kashmir, North West Himalayas, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 69-87.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2006, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 40-41 (2006).", "notes": "Micropalaeontology of 23 sections (>1000 samples) through the Kawagarh, Hangu, Lockhart, Patala, Margala Hill, Chorgali and Kuldana formations of Hazara and Azad Kashmir. Planktonic foraminifera date the Kawagarh Formation as Coniacian–Campanian (outer-neritic); a Maastrichtian–Danian regression gives the Hangu laterite/bauxite residual facies (K–T interval); a second transgression deposits the Late Paleocene–Early Eocene shallow-shelf carbonates and shales (Lockhart, Patala, Margala Hill, Chorgali), with the P/E boundary at the Patala/Margala Hill contact; the Middle Eocene (Lutetian) Kuldana Formation records final Neotethys closure before Murree molasse." }, { "id": "naeem-2006-dhok-pathan-slope", "citation": "Naeem, M. & Farooq, M.S. (2006). Slope stability analysis at alternate sandstone, claystone/siltstone beds of Dhok Pathan Formation at Pir Pehai area, District Mianwali, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 89-96.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2006, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 40-41 (2006).", "notes": "Two-wedge slope-stability analysis of the cyclic sandstone–claystone/siltstone succession of the Dhok Pathan Formation at Pir Pehai, near the Kalabagh Dam site. Tectonic bedding shears in the claystone/siltstone beds are the controlling failure surfaces; a 38° cut slope (F.S. 1.57–1.95) is recommended for stable permanent engineering cuts." }, { "id": "siddiqui-1968-koga-syenites", "citation": "Siddiqui, F.A., Chaudhry, M.N. & Shakoor, A. (1968). Geology and petrology of the feldspathoidal syenites and the associated rocks of the Koga area, Chamla Valley, Swat, West Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 7, 1-30.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1968, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 7 (1968).", "notes": "Detailed petrology of the Koga feldspathoidal (nepheline/sodalite) syenites and associated Babaji syenites, Chingalai granodiorite gneiss and Naranji Kandao carbonatites near Koga village (34°23′N, 72°30′E), in the west-central Ambela granitic complex, Buner/Chamla/Khudukhel, Swat. Records a progressive-desilication alkaline trend (per-alkaline syenite → nepheline syenite → nepheline-sodalite syenite → carbonatite) with intense fenitization; a Tertiary age is indicated (Deans, 1969). No canonical unit for the Ambela/Koga complex; registered for bibliographic completeness." }, { "id": "snelgrove-ruotsala-1968-chromite", "citation": "Snelgrove, A.K. & Ruotsala, A.P. (1968). Nodular chromite with particular reference to Hindubagh deposits, West Pakistan – a review. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 7, 31-43.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1968, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 7 (1968).", "notes": "Review of nodular (\"grapeshot\") chromite in serpentinized dunite of the Alpine-type Zhob Valley igneous complex near Hindubagh (Muslim Bagh), Balochistan. Electron-microprobe and phase-equilibria evidence (system MgO–SiO2–Cr2O3) favour an early-magmatic fractional-crystallization origin over liquid immiscibility. No canonical unit for the Zhob/Muslim Bagh ophiolite; registered for bibliographic completeness / chromite economic reference." }, { "id": "shams-ahmed-1968-mansehra-dolerites", "citation": "Shams, F.A. & Ahmed, Z. (1968). Petrology of the basic minor intrusives of the Mansehra-Amb State area, northern West Pakistan. Part I – The dolerites. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 7, 45-56.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1968, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 7 (1968).", "notes": "Petrography and mineral chemistry of tholeiitic dolerite sills (inches to >100 ft thick) intruded concordantly along foliation of the Paleozoic pelitic/psammitic schists and granitic gneisses of the Mansehra-Amb area. Pyroxenes define a tholeiitic iron-enrichment trend with unusually magnesian maxima; olivine is highly magnesian (Fo80–91)." }, { "id": "khan-1968-nari-gaj", "citation": "Khan, M.H. (1968). The dating and correlation of the Nari and the Gaj Formations. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 7, 57-65.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1968, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 7 (1968).", "notes": "Larger-foraminiferal biozonation of the Upper Nari and Gaj formations near Karachi (Karachi Test Well No. 1, Pir Mangho). Two zones: a Spiroclypeus blanckenhorni ornata Zone (Aquitanian; Spiroclypeus spp., Eulepidina dilatata/formosa, Nephrolepidina, early Miogypsinoides) spanning the upper Upper Nari to basal Gaj, and an overlying Miogypsina globulina Zone (Late Aquitanian–Burdigalian) in the Gaj. Ages: Upper Nari = Rupelian–Early Aquitanian; Gaj = Late Aquitanian–Burdigalian. Also revises the Khirthar Formation as Lutetian–Rupelian (with a late-Auversian–Bartonian hiatus)." }, { "id": "chaudhry-1968-amphibole", "citation": "Chaudhry, M.N. (1968). Classification of the amphibole group based on (Na+K) atoms versus [Al]4 atoms with particular reference to hornblendes from alkali poor environments. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 7, 67-70.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1968, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 7 (1968).", "notes": "Methodological study of amphibole classification using five hornblendes from alkali-poor lime-silicate skarns at Meldon quarry, Dartmoor, Devonshire (UK); shows the (Na+K) vs [Al]4 scheme fails for alkali-deficient amphiboles and recommends (Al6+Fe3++Ti) vs [Al]4. Non-Pakistani mineralogy/method; registered for bibliographic completeness / author record." }, { "id": "gardezi-1968-nathiagali", "citation": "Gardezi, A.H. (1968). Note on the geology of area around Nathiagali, District Hazara, West Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 7, 71-78.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1968, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 7 (1968).", "notes": "Field note on the Hazara Slate Formation around Nathiagali: flysch-type geosynclinal turbidites (argillites, silty shales, siltstones, subgreywackes) >10,000 ft thick with a thick psammite forming Miranjani Peak; describes the Langrial and Miranjani algal (oncolitic/stromatolitic) limestone bands within the slates, overlain with apparent paraconformity by the Toarcian Maira Formation (Bouleiceras cf. nitescens). SE-directed imbricate thrusting within the syntaxial loop." }, { "id": "butt-1968-abbottabad-kihal", "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1968). Remarks on the proposed \"Abbottabad Group\" of Gardezi & Ghazanfar. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 7, 79-80.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1968, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-09; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, No. 7 (1968).", "notes": "Nomenclatural critique rejecting the \"Abbottabad Group\" (name preoccupied by the Abbottabad Formation of Marks & Muhammad Ali, 1962). Argues the Hazira and Hematite formations are lateral facies of one unit conformably above the Abbottabad Formation cherty dolomites, and proposes the Kihal Formation (type near Kihal, Abbottabad) with a Hazira Member (~192 ft siltstones) and a Shekhan Bandi Member (~268 ft red quartzitic limestones, quartzite breccias and hematitic sandstone), capped by white quartz sandstone below fossiliferous Jurassic limestone." }, { "id": "khaskheli-2022-kalachitta-margalla", "citation": "Khaskheli, M.R., Khan, H.N. & Ghafari, A. (2022). Biostratigraphy of the Eocene carbonates exposed in Kala Chitta Range, Upper Indus Basin, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 46, 111-119.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2022, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-10; Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University (2022), pp. 111-119.", "notes": "Biostratigraphy of the Margalla Hill Limestone (~52 m) in the core of the Kahi Synclinorium, eastern Kala Chitta Range (Nizampur, Nowshera District). Establishes a Nummulites globulus/N. atacicus biozone (equivalent to SBZ-8 of Serra-Kiel et al. 1998; early Eocene, Ilerdian) on 16 larger-benthic-foram species; lower contact transitional/conformable with the late Paleocene Patala Formation, upper contact not preserved at Kahi." }, { "id": "nizami-2010-loralai-zhob", "citation": "Nizami, A.R., Ashraf, M., Ata Razi, S.M.S. & Hamid, K. (2010). Sedimentological attributes of the Middle Jurassic Loralai Formation, Khidirzai Nala section, Western Sulaiman Fold and Thrust Belt, District Zhob, Balochistan, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 45, 69-82.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2010, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 45 (2010), 69-82.", "notes": "Carbonate microfacies & diagenesis of the Middle Jurassic Loralai Formation at the Khidirzai (Khidarzai) Nala section, Bargha Shirani, Western Sulaiman Range, District Zhob (31 deg 12'-27'N, 69 deg 37'-45'E); flags reservoir potential (grainstone microfacies, secondary dissolution/moldic/vuggy porosity)." }, { "id": "ghazi-2010-chorgali-lbf", "citation": "Ghazi, S., Ali, A., Hanif, T., Sharif, S. & Arif, S.J. (2010). Larger benthic foraminiferal assemblage from the Early Eocene Chor Gali Formation, Salt Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 45, 83-91.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2010, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 45 (2010), 83-91.", "notes": "Larger-benthic-foraminiferal assemblage of the Early Eocene Chorgali Formation from four Salt Range sections (Karuli, Badshah Pur, Tatral, Khajula); inner-shelf environment." }, { "id": "munawar-2022-lockhart-pail", "citation": "Munawar, M.J., Ahsan, N., Anjum, M.N., Sameeni, S.J., Rehman, S.U. & Zahid, A. (2022). Microfacies analysis, paleontology and biostratigraphy of Paleocene Lockhart Limestone from Pail area, Central Salt Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 46, 10-?.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2022, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 46 (2022), from p.10.", "notes": "Microfacies (Nummulitidae mudstone/wackestone/packstone), paleontology and biostratigraphy of the Lockhart Limestone at Pail, Central Salt Range; inner-neritic open-marine; Upper Paleocene on Lockhartia haimei/conditi." }, { "id": "mehfooz-2022-sembar-shalegas", "citation": "Mehfooz, Z., Javaid, S. & Hamza (2022). Evaluation and resource estimation of Sembar Formation as a gas shale reservoir of Cretaceous age, Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 46, 91-?.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2022, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 46 (2022), from p.91.", "notes": "Petrophysical/geochemical gas-shale evaluation of the Cretaceous Sembar Formation, Lower Indus Basin: isopach-average ~600 m, average TOC >2 wt.% (Type II-III kerogen), ~4% gas-filled porosity, water saturation <70%, condensate/wet-gas window." }, { "id": "butt-1972-hazara-nomenclature", "citation": "Butt, A.A. (1972). Problems of stratigraphic nomenclature in the Hazara District, N.W.F.P., Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 9, 65-70.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1972, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 9 (1972), 65-70.", "notes": "Recommends Hazara Formation, Abbottabad Formation and Kihal Formation (vs Latif 1970's Hazara/Abbottabad Groups). Hazara Formation = flyschoid turbidite (argillites, silty shales, subgreywackes, algal limestones), type at Baragali. Abbottabad Formation = one cyclical rhythm of five members: Tanakki (basal conglomerate), Sangargali (shale-sandstone), Mahmdagali (dolomite), Mirpur (shale-sandstone), Sirban (upper dolomite ~1600 ft)." }, { "id": "ashraf-1972-tleri-serpentinite", "citation": "Ashraf, M., Qureshi, M.W. & Faruqi, F.A. (1972). Mineralogy of serpentinite from Tleri Muhammad Jan area, north of Hindubagh, Zhob District, Baluchistan, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 9, 29-36.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1972, "url": null, "status": "active", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 9 (1972), 29-36.", "notes": "Serpentinite mineralogy (chemical, optical, DTA, XRD) of the Tleri Muhammad Jan area N of Hindubagh (Muslim Bagh), Zhob - part of the Muslim Bagh ophiolite: chrysotile, antigorite and lizardite with accessory chromite, carbonates, talc and magnetite." }, { "id": "latif-1974-abbottabad-cambrian", "citation": "Latif, M.A. (1974). A Cambrian age for the Abbottabad Group of Hazara, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 10, 1-20.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1974, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied extract). First robust age assignment for the Abbottabad succession of Hazara: Cambrian, on Hyolithes (Circotheca, Linevitus?) and the heteractinellid sponge Chancelloria from the glauconitic Hazira Member of the Tarnawai Formation at Salhad (confirmed by Seilacher, Gocht, Rushton). Succession: Hazara Group -> Tanol Formation (Eo-Cambrian) -> Abbottabad Group (Kakul Formation: Tanakki Conglomerate tillite, Sangargali, Mahmdagali, Mirpur members; then cherty/phosphatic Sirban dolomite) -> Tarnawai Formation (Galdanian + Hazira members). Uses 'Abbottabad Group' nomenclature later superseded by 'Abbottabad Formation' (Butt 1972). Sangargali correlated with the Lower Cambrian Khewra Sandstone (Salt Range) and Lalun Sandstone (Iran).", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text extract supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 10:1-20." }, { "id": "siddiqui-1974-muslimbagh-serpentinite", "citation": "Siddiqui, F.A., Ashraf, M. & Qureshi, M.W. (1974). Geology of the serpentinite belt and associated rocks north of Hindubagh (Muslimbagh), Zhob Valley, Baluchistan, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 10, 21-42.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1974, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied extract). ~120 sq mi map of the serpentinite belt N of Hindubagh (Muslimbagh), Zhob Valley. Serpentinized dunite (dominant) + layered harzburgite (bastite after bronzite) + relict peridotite, cut by pyroxenite dykes; dolerite blocks metasomatised to rodingite (grossular, idocrase/vesuvianite, prehnite). Emplaced tectonically along two sub-parallel E-W thrusts ~2.5 mi apart (Palaeocene-Eocene over Siwaliks); no contact metamorphism. Chromite mostly refractory grade (Tor Tangi) with metallurgical-grade in the east (Surghund, Gat). Birbirite silica residual cap (to 79.8% SiO2) mis-called 'laterite' by earlier workers. Nisai-Shaigalu contact found conformable, not thrust.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text extract supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 10:21-42." }, { "id": "ashraf-chaudhry-1974-dadar-pegmatites", "citation": "Ashraf, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1974). Geology of Dadar pegmatites, Mansehra area, Hazara District, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 10, 59-66.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1974, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied extract). Six zoned granite pegmatites near Basala village, Dadar, emplaced concordantly and along joints in Barrovian kyanite-grade schists ~2 furlongs from the Mansehra Granite. Bodies up to 6 x 3 m: wall zone (cleavelandite, muscovite, almandine, quartz), outer/inner intermediate zones (beryl; relict microcline perthite) and a milky quartz core (93-97% SiO2). Extensive late pneumatolytic albitisation (cleavelandite) with local tourmaline replacement. Interpreted as granite pegmatites genetically linked to the Mansehra Granite.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text extract supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 10:59-66." }, { "id": "ashraf-chaudhry-1974-mansehra-veins", "citation": "Ashraf, M. & Chaudhry, M.N. (1974). Quartz, quartz-ilmenite and quartz-kyanite veins in the Mansehra-Batgram area of Hazara District. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 10, 67-72.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 1974, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied extract). Quartz, quartz-ilmenite and quartz-kyanite veins in the Mansehra-Batgram area. Simple quartz veins (98-99% quartz; a Chitta Batta en-echelon dyke 34 ft wide, 1 mi long) occur in the Mansehra granite, Susalgali gneiss and Hakle granite; quartz-ilmenite and quartz-kyanite veins are confined to the Barrovian kyanite-grade schists (kyanite blades 3-6 cm, locally to 15 cm, after andalusite/chiastolite). Interpreted as products of hydrothermal solutions and metamorphic differentiation.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text extract supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 10:67-72." }, { "id": "ahmad-chaudhary-2007-karai-gabbro", "citation": "Ahmad, S.A. & Chaudhary, M.N. (2007). Geochemical characterization and origin of the Karai gabbro from the Neoproterozoic Nagarparkar Complex, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 42, 1-14.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2007, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied extract). Whole-rock major/trace/REE geochemistry of the Karai gabbro and associated dolerites of the Nagarparkar Complex (Pakistani part of the Kirana-Malani-Nagar basin). 'Within-plate' alkaline-to-subalkaline continental tholeiites (normative nepheline in alkaline gabbros), ring-shaped outcrops; discrimination diagrams (Ti-Zr-Y, Ti-V, Nb-Zr-Y) and chondrite-normalised REE (LREE-enriched, slight negative Nb anomaly) indicate non-subduction continental flood tholeiite. Neoproterozoic mantle-plume (hot-spot, ~1000-750 Ma) rifting during Rodinia break-up. Magmatic phases: Phase 1 Dhedvero gabbro/Karai dolerite -> Phase 2 grey/Churio granite + Wadlai adamellite -> Phase 3 Nagarparkar Granite -> Phase 4 basic/acid dykes; on Aravalli-Delhi basement, under Quaternary Bar Tala Formation.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text extract supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 42:1-14." }, { "id": "nizami-sheikh-2007-samanasuk", "citation": "Nizami, A.R. & Sheikh, R.A. (2007). Microfacies analysis and diagenetic settings of the Samana Suk Formation, Chichali Nala section, Surghar Range, Trans Indus Ranges, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 42, 37-52.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2007, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied extract). 43.27 m of the Middle Jurassic Samana Suk Formation at Chichali Nala (Surghar Range); 89 thin sections. Microfacies: oolitic, peloidal, intraclastic and grapestone grainstones, skeletal wackestone/packstone, carbonate mudstone -> shallowing-upward shallow-shelf carbonate platform on the northern Indian-plate Tethyan margin. Diagenesis spans marine-phreatic (dog-tooth/acicular cements), meteoric-phreatic (drusy spar, syntaxial overgrowths) and deep-burial (poikilotopic calcite, stylolite ferroan dolomite), with fabric-selective to pervasive dolomitisation and later dedolomitisation. Rests conformably on Shinawari Formation; disconformably overlain by Chichali Formation across a lateritic hardground.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text extract supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 42:37-52." }, { "id": "qureshi-2007-chichali", "citation": "Qureshi, M.K.A., Ghazi, S., Butt, A.A., Ahmad, N. & Masood, K.R. (2007). Microfacies analysis and the environmental pattern of the Chichali Formation, Kala Chitta Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 42, 53-59.", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2007, "url": "http://pu.edu.pk/home/journal/54", "status": "active", "notes": "Full text reviewed (reviewer-supplied extract). Nine sections of the glauconitic Chichali Formation, Kala Chitta Range. Fauna (Belemnopsis gerardi, Hibolithes, Gryphaea; ammonites Perisphinctes, Neocosmoceras, Aulacosphinctes, Himalayites) + palynology indicate Late Oxfordian-Neocomian (Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous). Four microfacies (clay/iron-oxide-, calcite/flint-, clay/silica-, clay/glauconite-cemented sandstones). Thickness 6-13.5 m (central-east) expanding to 30 m (Bata) and 60 m (Sujhanda) in the west, where pyritic black shales mark anoxic basinal troughs; disconformably on Samana Suk, grading up into Lumshiwal.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text extract supplied by user 2026-10; Geol. Bull. Punjab Univ. 42:53-59." }, { "id": "yaseen-2019-peshawar-geoheritage", "citation": "Yaseen, M., Ghani, M., Anjum, N., Sajid, M., Jan, I.U., Mehmood, M., Ullah, E. & Muzaffir, W. (2019). A novel approach to evaluate, highlight, and conserve the geologically significant geoheritage sites from the Peshawar Basin, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: insights into their geoscientific, educational, and social importance. Geoheritage, 11 (The European Association for Conservation of the Geological Heritage; article 12371-390).", "type": "journal-article", "tier": "peer", "year": 2019, "url": "", "status": "active", "notes": "Full text reviewed (author proof supplied by user). Applies a geoscientific inventory + quantitative assessment (Pereira & Pereira 2010; Brilha 2016) to two Peshawar Basin geosites: the Silurian-Devonian Nowshera Reef Complex (the only Pakistani reef preserving fore-, core- and back-reef zones; conodont CAI ~5 => ~300C) and the Gohati Rhyolite deposits at Gaju Ghundai (Oligocene, 26.6 Ma U-Pb zircon; first recognised Cenozoic post-collision volcanic rock in Pakistan). Both scored as internationally relevant (IR, 5/7P) with scientific usage value above the 35/70 average, yet unprotected and shrinking under quarrying (Landsat 2002-2018); authors propose National Park / geoconservation status.", "verification": "full-text", "verifiedVia": "Full-text author proof supplied by user 2026-10; Geoheritage (Springer / EACGH), received 3 Aug 2018, accepted 18 Jul 2019, article 12371_ArtID 390." } ], "geosites": [ { "id": "khewra-salt-mine", "name": "Khewra Salt Mine", "aka": [ "Mayo Salt Mine" ], "province": "salt-range", "coordinates": [ 32.649, 73.0086 ], "type": "mine", "significance": [ "scientific", "economic", "cultural", "scenic" ], "formations": [ "salt-range-formation", "khewra-sandstone" ], "summary": "One of the world's oldest and largest rock-salt mines, worked into the Ediacaran–Early Cambrian Salt Range Formation at the eastern end of the Salt Range. The mine exposes the halite–gypsum–marl evaporite sequence that also forms the basal décollement of the Salt Range–Potwar fold-and-thrust belt.", "highlights": [ "Halite with up to ten potassic layers; the type region of the Salt Range Formation", "The evaporites are the regional seal and the basal thrust detachment of the Potwar Plateau", "Major public tourist attraction (illuminated chambers, a brine 'lake' and salt-brick architecture)" ], "conservation": "Active mine and tourist site (Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation)", "access": "Khewra, Jhelum District, Punjab; sealed road from the M-2 motorway", "threat": "stable", "references": [ "yaseen-2021-saltrange-geosites" ], "image": { "file": "khewra-salt-mine.jpg", "credit": "Lareb Qudsi", "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" }, "provinceName": "Salt Range", "oldestEra": { "key": "precambrian", "label": "Precambrian" }, "assessment": { "sv": 300, "svP": 75, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 340, "peuP": 85, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 335, "ptuP": 83.8, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 335, "drP": 83.8, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "salt-range-escarpment", "name": "Salt Range Escarpment (Khewra–Choa Saidan Shah)", "aka": [ "Salt Range front" ], "province": "salt-range", "coordinates": [ 32.72, 72.98 ], "type": "landform", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational", "scenic" ], "formations": [ "salt-range-formation", "tobra-formation", "wargal-limestone", "chhidru-formation" ], "summary": "The south-facing escarpment of the Salt Range exposes an almost complete Cambrian-to-Eocene section in a single traverse — from the Precambrian–Cambrian Salt Range Formation up through Permian Gondwanan and Tethyan strata to Paleogene carbonates — recording the drift of the Indian plate from Gondwana onto the Tethyan margin.", "highlights": [ "Classic Cambrian → Permian (Nilawahan/Zaluch) → Paleogene traverse", "Frontal thrust of the Salt Range–Potwar belt, detached on the Salt Range Formation evaporites", "Iconic red-and-white banded hillsides" ], "conservation": "Unprotected; largely accessible open country", "access": "Along the Khewra–Choa Saidan Shah and Kallar Kahar roads, Punjab", "threat": "stable", "references": [ "yaseen-2021-saltrange-geosites" ], "image": { "file": "salt-range-escarpment.jpg", "credit": "stratigraphy.pk", "license": "© stratigraphy.pk" }, "provinceName": "Salt Range", "oldestEra": { "key": "precambrian", "label": "Precambrian" }, "assessment": { "sv": 360, "svP": 90, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 380, "peuP": 95, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 350, "ptuP": 87.5, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 245, "drP": 61.3, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "zaluch-chhidru-ptb", "name": "Zaluch Nala — Permian–Triassic boundary section", "aka": [ "Chhidru–Mianwali boundary section", "Nammal–Zaluch section" ], "province": "salt-range", "coordinates": [ 32.5433, 71.7736 ], "type": "boundary-section", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational" ], "formations": [ "chhidru-formation", "mianwali-formation", "wargal-limestone" ], "summary": "The western Salt Range holds one of the world's most complete shallow-marine Permian–Triassic boundary successions, where the fossil-rich Late Permian Chhidru Formation passes up into the Early Triassic Mianwali Formation across the end-Permian mass-extinction interval — a section studied internationally for the greatest biotic crisis in Earth history.", "highlights": [ "Type areas of the Chhidru and Mianwali formations", "Continuous marine record across the end-Permian extinction", "Rich Permian brachiopod, bryozoan and conodont faunas" ], "conservation": "Unprotected outcrop", "access": "Zaluch and Chhidru nalas, western Salt Range, Mianwali District", "threat": "stable", "references": [ "yaseen-2021-saltrange-geosites" ], "provinceName": "Salt Range", "oldestEra": { "key": "paleozoic", "label": "Palaeozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 350, "svP": 87.5, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 265, "peuP": 66.3, "peuClass": "high", "ptu": 245, "ptuP": 61.3, "ptuClass": "high", "dr": 220, "drP": 55, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "nilawahan-tobra-tillite", "name": "Nilawahan Gorge — Tobra Formation glacial tillite", "aka": [ "Warcha–Nilawahan section" ], "province": "salt-range", "coordinates": [ 32.6, 71.9 ], "type": "type-section", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational" ], "formations": [ "tobra-formation" ], "summary": "Exposures of the Early Permian Tobra Formation preserve glacial tillite and glacio-marine diamictite deposited when the Indian plate lay near the South Pole on the margin of Gondwana — the Salt Range record of the late Palaeozoic Gondwanan glaciation, correlative with the Talchir boulder beds of India.", "highlights": [ "Gondwanan glacial diamictite with striated, faceted clasts", "Base of the Nilawahan Group; overlies the Cambrian across a major hiatus", "Also a producing oil reservoir in the subsurface Potwar Basin" ], "conservation": "Unprotected outcrop", "access": "Nilawahan Gorge near Warcha, western Salt Range", "threat": "stable", "references": [ "yaseen-2021-saltrange-geosites" ], "provinceName": "Salt Range", "oldestEra": { "key": "paleozoic", "label": "Palaeozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 305, "svP": 76.3, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 250, "peuP": 62.5, "peuClass": "high", "ptu": 235, "ptuP": 58.8, "ptuClass": "high", "dr": 220, "drP": 55, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "nammal-gorge", "name": "Nammal Gorge & Lake", "aka": [ "Nammal Nala" ], "province": "salt-range", "coordinates": [ 32.65, 71.8 ], "type": "type-section", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational", "scenic" ], "formations": [ "nammal-formation", "sakesar-formation", "patala-formation" ], "summary": "A scenic gorge and reservoir in the western Salt Range cut through the Paleocene–Eocene succession, and the type locality of the Nammal Formation. The Patala–Nammal–Sakesar interval here records the first Palaeogene marine transgression and carries the region's main hydrocarbon source rocks.", "highlights": [ "Type section of the Nammal Formation", "Nummulitic Sakesar Limestone forms the gorge cliffs", "Patala/Nammal shales are the primary Potwar petroleum source rocks" ], "conservation": "Unprotected; reservoir managed for irrigation", "access": "Nammal, off the Mianwali–Musakhel road", "threat": "stable", "references": [ "yaseen-2021-saltrange-geosites" ], "image": { "file": "nammal-gorge.jpg", "credit": "Lareb Qudsi", "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" }, "gallery": [ { "file": "nammal-gorge-section.jpg", "credit": "Lareb Qudsi", "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/", "caption": "Steeply dipping strata in the Nammal Gorge" } ], "provinceName": "Salt Range", "oldestEra": { "key": "cenozoic", "label": "Cenozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 290, "svP": 72.5, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 310, "peuP": 77.5, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 315, "ptuP": 78.8, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 200, "drP": 50, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "nowshera-devonian-reef", "name": "Nowshera Devonian Reef", "aka": [ "Ghundai Sar / Nowshera reef complex" ], "province": "khyber", "coordinates": [ 34.02, 71.98 ], "type": "fossil-site", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational" ], "formations": [ "nowshera-formation" ], "summary": "The Nowshera Formation preserves the only Devonian reef complex known in Pakistan — sandy dolomite and fossiliferous reef limestone dated by conodonts to the Early–early Late Devonian, giving the first firm Devonian ages south of the Main Karakoram Thrust.", "highlights": [ "Pakistan's only Devonian reef (stromatoporoid–coral) complex", "Conodont-dated Lochkovian–Frasnian", "Historically important for Peshawar-basin biostratigraphy", "Preserves all three reef zones — fore-reef (stromatoporoids, crinoids), core (rugose coral colonies) and back-reef (brecciated debris)", "Assessed as internationally significant with high tourist potential, yet unprotected and shrinking under marble quarrying (Yaseen et al. 2019)" ], "conservation": "Unprotected; partly quarried", "access": "Low hills around Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", "threat": "quarrying", "threatNote": "The reef limestones are actively quarried for cement and aggregate. Landsat imagery (2002–2017) documents progressive quarrying of the reef hills, with the authors warning the complex could be reduced to quarry waste by 2025 if left unprotected (Yaseen et al. 2019).", "references": [ "khan-2026-nowshera-reef", "yaseen-2019-peshawar-geoheritage" ], "provinceName": "Khyber–Nowshera Belt", "oldestEra": { "key": "paleozoic", "label": "Palaeozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 300, "svP": 75, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 295, "peuP": 73.8, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 290, "ptuP": 72.5, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 365, "drP": 91.3, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "misri-banda-quartzite-site", "name": "Misri Banda Ordovician Quartzite", "aka": [ "Misri Banda trace-fossil locality" ], "province": "khyber", "coordinates": [ 34.0172, 72.1014 ], "type": "fossil-site", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational" ], "formations": [ "misri-banda-quartzite" ], "summary": "The type area of the Ordovician Misri Banda Quartzite, whose cross-bedded quartzites carry abundant Cruziana rugosa and Skolithos trace fossils — among the clearest Lower Palaeozoic ichnofossil assemblages in the Peshawar basin.", "highlights": [ "Type section of the Misri Banda Quartzite (Tremadoc–Llandeilo)", "Cruziana rugosa and Skolithos trace fossils", "Marks the Ordovician transgression over the Cambrian(?) Ambar Formation" ], "conservation": "Unprotected outcrop", "access": "Near Misri Banda, Nowshera District", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Khyber–Nowshera Belt", "oldestEra": { "key": "paleozoic", "label": "Palaeozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 315, "svP": 78.8, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 290, "peuP": 72.5, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 275, "ptuP": 68.8, "ptuClass": "high", "dr": 265, "drP": 66.3, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "tanaki-boulder-bed-site", "name": "Tanaki Boulder Bed — Marinoan glaciation", "aka": [ "Tanakki Boulder Bed" ], "province": "hazara", "coordinates": [ 34.1, 73.2 ], "type": "fossil-site", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational" ], "formations": [ "tanaki-boulder-bed", "tanawal-formation" ], "summary": "A glaciogenic diamictite in the Hazara hills marking the terminal-Neoproterozoic Marinoan 'snowball Earth' glaciation (~605–595 Ma). Its striated, angular clasts and matrix support are correlated with the Blaini Formation of India and the Sinian diamictites of South China.", "highlights": [ "Local record of a global Neoproterozoic ice age", "Marker horizon between the Tanawal and Abbottabad formations", "Evidence for the palaeogeographic link between Lesser Himalaya and South China" ], "conservation": "Unprotected outcrop", "access": "Southeastern Hazara, Abbottabad District", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Hazara Basin", "oldestEra": { "key": "precambrian", "label": "Precambrian" }, "assessment": { "sv": 335, "svP": 83.8, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 265, "peuP": 66.3, "peuClass": "high", "ptu": 260, "ptuP": 65, "ptuClass": "high", "dr": 185, "drP": 46.3, "drClass": "moderate", "priority": "high" } }, { "id": "margalla-hills", "name": "Margalla Hills nummulitic limestone", "aka": [ "Margalla Hills National Park" ], "province": "hazara", "coordinates": [ 33.74, 73.06 ], "type": "landform", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational", "scenic" ], "formations": [ "margala-hill-limestone", "chorgali-formation" ], "summary": "The forested ridge overlooking Islamabad is built of Eocene Margalla Hill Limestone and Chorgali Formation carbonates packed with Nummulites and other larger foraminifera — an accessible Palaeogene shallow-marine section within a national park at the capital's edge.", "highlights": [ "Eocene Nummulites and Assilina in roadside outcrops", "Part of the Kala Chitta–Margalla thrust belt", "Within Margalla Hills National Park" ], "conservation": "Margalla Hills National Park", "access": "Trails and Pir Sohawa road above Islamabad", "threat": "urban-encroachment", "threatNote": "Illegal quarrying and Islamabad’s expansion press on the range despite park status.", "image": { "file": "margalla-hills.jpg", "credit": "Lareb Qudsi", "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" }, "gallery": [ { "file": "margalla-hills-limestone.jpg", "credit": "Lareb Qudsi", "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/", "caption": "Weathered Eocene Margalla Hill Limestone outcrop" } ], "provinceName": "Hazara Basin", "oldestEra": { "key": "cenozoic", "label": "Cenozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 195, "svP": 48.8, "svClass": "moderate", "peu": 370, "peuP": 92.5, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 375, "ptuP": 93.8, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 270, "drP": 67.5, "drClass": "high", "priority": "watch" } }, { "id": "abbottabad-formation-site", "name": "Sirban Hill (Abbottabad Formation)", "aka": [ "Sirban Maira" ], "province": "hazara", "coordinates": [ 34.145, 73.245 ], "type": "type-section", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational" ], "formations": [ "abbottabad-formation" ], "summary": "Sirban Hill above Abbottabad is the type area of the Cambrian Abbottabad Formation, a dolomite–sandstone–phosphate–chert succession correlated with the Krol Group of India and the Doushantuo Formation of South China, and host to the region's phosphate deposits.", "highlights": [ "Type area of the Abbottabad Formation", "Neoproterozoic–Cambrian carbonate-phosphate platform", "Economic phosphate horizons" ], "conservation": "Unprotected; partly quarried", "access": "Sirban Hill, immediately east of Abbottabad city", "threat": "quarrying", "threatNote": "Sirban Hill is quarried for its phosphate and carbonate.", "provinceName": "Hazara Basin", "oldestEra": { "key": "paleozoic", "label": "Palaeozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 235, "svP": 58.8, "svClass": "high", "peu": 280, "peuP": 70, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 265, "ptuP": 66.3, "ptuClass": "high", "dr": 365, "drP": 91.3, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "nanga-parbat-massif", "name": "Nanga Parbat–Haramosh Massif", "aka": [ "Nanga Parbat syntaxis" ], "province": "nanga-parbat", "coordinates": [ 35.2375, 74.5892 ], "type": "tectonic", "significance": [ "scientific", "scenic" ], "formations": [ "nanga-parbat-gneiss" ], "summary": "The western Himalayan syntaxis, where Indian-plate gneiss is being exhumed faster than almost anywhere on Earth, driving the 8,126 m peak of Nanga Parbat. The massif exposes deep-crustal rocks and young (Pliocene–Recent) metamorphism and granites.", "highlights": [ "Among the fastest-exhuming crust on the planet", "Indian-plate basement gneiss cored into a tectonic 'pop-up'", "Ninth-highest mountain on Earth" ], "conservation": "Unprotected wilderness; part within conservation areas", "access": "Viewed from Fairy Meadows/Raikot and the Astore valley, Gilgit-Baltistan", "threat": "stable", "image": { "file": "nanga-parbat-massif.jpg", "credit": "Lareb Qudsi", "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" }, "provinceName": "Nanga Parbat Massif", "oldestEra": { "key": "precambrian", "label": "Precambrian" }, "assessment": { "sv": 330, "svP": 82.5, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 230, "peuP": 57.5, "peuClass": "high", "ptu": 285, "ptuP": 71.3, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 160, "drP": 40, "drClass": "moderate", "priority": "high" } }, { "id": "jijal-mmt", "name": "Main Mantle Thrust & Jijal Complex", "aka": [ "Kohistan arc root, Indus valley" ], "province": "kohistan", "coordinates": [ 35.08, 72.98 ], "type": "tectonic", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational" ], "formations": [ "jijal-complex" ], "summary": "At Jijal in the Indus valley the Main Mantle Thrust (the India–Kohistan suture) is spectacularly exposed, and the Jijal Complex reveals the high-pressure garnet-granulite and ultramafic root of the Kohistan island arc — a natural cross-section through the base of an intra-oceanic arc.", "highlights": [ "Exposed root of the Kohistan island arc (garnet granulite, dunite, pyroxenite)", "The Main Mantle Thrust suture between India and the arc", "Classic locality for arc lower-crust and metamorphic petrology" ], "conservation": "Unprotected; roadside exposures", "access": "Karakoram Highway at Jijal, near Dasu, Kohistan", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Kohistan Arc", "oldestEra": { "key": "mesozoic", "label": "Mesozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 360, "svP": 90, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 335, "peuP": 83.8, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 305, "ptuP": 76.3, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 235, "drP": 58.8, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "passu-cones-glaciers", "name": "Passu Cones & Batura–Passu Glaciers", "aka": [ "Cathedral Ridge, Hunza" ], "province": "karakoram", "coordinates": [ 36.47, 74.87 ], "type": "glacial", "significance": [ "scenic", "scientific" ], "formations": [ "guhjal-dolomite", "gircha-formation" ], "summary": "The serrated 'Passu Cones' are carved from steeply dipping Permian–Triassic Karakoram carbonates (Guhjal Dolomite) beside the Batura and Passu glaciers — two of the longest valley glaciers outside the polar regions — in one of the most photographed landscapes of upper Hunza.", "highlights": [ "Sawtooth peaks in folded Guhjal Dolomite / Gircha Formation", "Batura Glacier (~57 km), a major surging glacier", "Iconic Karakoram Highway viewpoint" ], "conservation": "Unprotected; within community-managed valleys", "access": "Karakoram Highway at Passu, upper Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan", "threat": "erosion", "threatNote": "The Batura and Passu glaciers are retreating under a warming climate.", "image": { "file": "passu-cones-glaciers.jpg", "credit": "Lareb Qudsi", "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" }, "provinceName": "Karakoram", "oldestEra": { "key": "paleozoic", "label": "Palaeozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 210, "svP": 52.5, "svClass": "high", "peu": 325, "peuP": 81.3, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 325, "ptuP": 81.3, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 250, "drP": 62.5, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "khunjerab-pass", "name": "Khunjerab Pass & National Park", "aka": [ "Khunjerab top" ], "province": "karakoram", "coordinates": [ 36.85, 75.42 ], "type": "landform", "significance": [ "scenic", "scientific" ], "formations": [ "kundil-formation", "gircha-formation" ], "summary": "At 4,693 m the Khunjerab Pass is the highest paved border crossing in the world, cut across the Permian Karakoram succession (Gircha and Kundil formations). It lies within Khunjerab National Park, a high-altitude refuge for snow leopard and Marco Polo sheep.", "highlights": [ "Highest paved international border crossing on Earth", "Permian Northern Karakoram section (Gircha–Kundil)", "Khunjerab National Park high-alpine ecosystem" ], "conservation": "Khunjerab National Park", "access": "Head of the Karakoram Highway, Pakistan–China border", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Karakoram", "oldestEra": { "key": "paleozoic", "label": "Palaeozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 200, "svP": 50, "svClass": "high", "peu": 280, "peuP": 70, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 305, "ptuP": 76.3, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 130, "drP": 32.5, "drClass": "low", "priority": "standard" } }, { "id": "baltoro-concordia", "name": "Baltoro Glacier, Concordia & K2", "aka": [ "Central Karakoram National Park" ], "province": "karakoram", "coordinates": [ 35.74, 76.37 ], "type": "glacial", "significance": [ "scenic", "scientific" ], "formations": [ "baltoro-granite" ], "summary": "The Baltoro Glacier leads to Concordia, where the greatest concentration of high peaks on Earth — including K2 (8,611 m) — rises from the Miocene Baltoro granite batholith. The area lies within Central Karakoram National Park, Pakistan's largest protected area.", "highlights": [ "Miocene Baltoro leucogranite, a young Himalayan-type batholith", "Concordia: four of the world's fourteen 8,000 m peaks within ~20 km", "Central Karakoram National Park" ], "conservation": "Central Karakoram National Park", "access": "Multi-day trek from Askole, Shigar valley, Gilgit-Baltistan", "threat": "erosion", "threatNote": "Baltoro-system glaciers show accelerating change under a warming climate.", "provinceName": "Karakoram", "oldestEra": { "key": "cenozoic", "label": "Cenozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 320, "svP": 80, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 245, "peuP": 61.3, "peuClass": "high", "ptu": 265, "ptuP": 66.3, "ptuClass": "high", "dr": 100, "drP": 25, "drClass": "low", "priority": "standard" } }, { "id": "deosai-plains", "name": "Deosai Plains", "aka": [ "Deosai National Park", "Land of the Giants" ], "province": "karakoram", "coordinates": [ 34.98, 75.4 ], "type": "landform", "significance": [ "scenic", "scientific" ], "formations": [], "summary": "One of the highest plateaus in the world (~4,100 m average), Deosai is a glaciated upland of granitic and metamorphic terrain between the Karakoram and the western Himalaya, protected as Deosai National Park for its Himalayan brown bear population and alpine flora.", "highlights": [ "Among the highest plateaus on Earth", "Glaciated granite–gneiss terrain and periglacial landforms", "Deosai National Park (Himalayan brown bear)" ], "conservation": "Deosai National Park", "access": "Jeep tracks from Skardu or Astore, Gilgit-Baltistan (summer only)", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Karakoram", "oldestEra": null, "assessment": { "sv": 200, "svP": 50, "svClass": "high", "peu": 255, "peuP": 63.8, "peuClass": "high", "ptu": 285, "ptuP": 71.3, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 115, "drP": 28.8, "drClass": "low", "priority": "standard" } }, { "id": "chandragup-mud-volcanoes", "name": "Chandragup Mud Volcanoes & Hingol", "aka": [ "Chandragup", "Hinglaj mud volcanoes" ], "province": "makran", "coordinates": [ 25.3, 66 ], "type": "active-process", "significance": [ "scientific", "scenic", "cultural" ], "formations": [ "parkini-formation", "talar-formation" ], "summary": "Active mud volcanoes on the Makran accretionary prism, where methane and mud vent from the deforming Miocene–Pliocene Makran Group. Chandragup is a Hindu pilgrimage site on the route to Hinglaj, within Hingol National Park.", "highlights": [ "Active mud volcanism above the Makran subduction zone", "Fed by dewatering of the Parkini/Talar (Makran Group) mudrocks", "Sacred site on the Hinglaj Yatra; within Hingol National Park" ], "conservation": "Hingol National Park", "access": "Off the Makran Coastal Highway, Lasbela District, Balochistan", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Makran Coast", "oldestEra": { "key": "cenozoic", "label": "Cenozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 320, "svP": 80, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 305, "peuP": 76.3, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 310, "ptuP": 77.5, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 150, "drP": 37.5, "drClass": "moderate", "priority": "high" } }, { "id": "astola-island", "name": "Astola Island", "aka": [ "Jazira Haft Talar", "Satadip" ], "province": "makran", "coordinates": [ 25.12, 63.85 ], "type": "coastal", "significance": [ "scenic", "scientific" ], "formations": [ "talar-formation", "parkini-formation" ], "summary": "Pakistan's largest offshore island, an uplifted table of Miocene–Pliocene Makran strata rising ~80 m from the Arabian Sea. Its wave-cut cliffs and terraces record the rapid coastal uplift of the Makran accretionary margin; it is a designated Marine Protected Area.", "highlights": [ "Uplifted Makran Group sediments forming a mesa-like island", "Marine terraces recording coastal tectonic uplift", "Pakistan's first Marine Protected Area (nesting turtles, seabirds)" ], "conservation": "Astola Island Marine Protected Area", "access": "By boat from Pasni, Gwadar District, Balochistan", "threat": "tourism-pressure", "threatNote": "Unmanaged visitor landings threaten nesting turtles and the fragile island surface.", "provinceName": "Makran Coast", "oldestEra": { "key": "cenozoic", "label": "Cenozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 205, "svP": 51.3, "svClass": "high", "peu": 235, "peuP": 58.8, "peuClass": "high", "ptu": 260, "ptuP": 65, "ptuClass": "high", "dr": 170, "drP": 42.5, "drClass": "moderate", "priority": "high" } }, { "id": "kirthar-national-park", "name": "Kirthar Range & National Park", "aka": [ "Kirthar Hills" ], "province": "kirthar-range", "coordinates": [ 25.6, 67.6 ], "type": "landform", "significance": [ "scientific", "scenic" ], "formations": [ "kirthar-formation" ], "summary": "The Kirthar Range is the type region of the Eocene Kirthar Formation, thick nummulitic limestones forming the arid ranges west of the Indus. The southern Kirthar lies within Kirthar National Park, one of Pakistan's oldest and largest national parks.", "highlights": [ "Type region of the middle-Eocene Kirthar Formation", "Nummulitic shelf carbonates of the Indus foreland", "Kirthar National Park (Sindh ibex, urial)" ], "conservation": "Kirthar National Park", "access": "West of Karachi/Thano Bula Khan, Sindh", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Kirthar Range", "oldestEra": { "key": "cenozoic", "label": "Cenozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 230, "svP": 57.5, "svClass": "high", "peu": 295, "peuP": 73.8, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 290, "ptuP": 72.5, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 150, "drP": 37.5, "drClass": "moderate", "priority": "high" } }, { "id": "ranikot-fort", "name": "Ranikot Fort & Ranikot Group type area", "aka": [ "Great Wall of Sindh" ], "province": "sindh", "coordinates": [ 25.89, 67.9 ], "type": "type-section", "significance": [ "cultural", "scientific", "scenic" ], "formations": [ "ranikot-group", "khadro-formation", "bara-formation", "lakhra-formation" ], "summary": "The largest fort in the world by circumference wraps around the eroded hills of the Paleocene Ranikot Group type area, where the Khadro, Bara and Lakhra formations record the earliest Cenozoic marine transgression over the Deccan-related volcanics of the Indus basin.", "highlights": [ "Type area of the Paleocene Ranikot Group", "Records the Deccan-volcanism-to-marine transition (Khadro–Bara–Lakhra)", "The ~30 km 'Great Wall of Sindh' fort walls follow the ridges" ], "conservation": "Protected archaeological monument (fort); geosite unprotected", "access": "Sann, Jamshoro District, Sindh, off the Indus Highway", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Sindh Province", "oldestEra": { "key": "cenozoic", "label": "Cenozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 300, "svP": 75, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 330, "peuP": 82.5, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 310, "ptuP": 77.5, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 180, "drP": 45, "drClass": "moderate", "priority": "high" } }, { "id": "nagarparkar-granite", "name": "Nagarparkar Granite (Thar)", "aka": [ "Nagar Parkar hills" ], "province": "indo-pakistan-shield", "coordinates": [ 24.35, 70.71 ], "type": "basement", "significance": [ "scientific", "scenic", "cultural" ], "formations": [ "nagarparkar-complex" ], "summary": "Isolated granite hills rising from the Thar Desert at the far southeast of Pakistan expose the Neoproterozoic Nagarparkar (Malani-related) igneous complex — the country's window onto the exposed Indian shield basement — and host historic Jain temples cut into the rock.", "highlights": [ "Neoproterozoic Malani-affinity granite of the Indian shield", "Pakistan's principal exposure of Precambrian basement at surface", "Carved Jain temples and quarried ornamental granite" ], "conservation": "Unprotected; active dimension-stone quarrying", "access": "Nagarparkar, Tharparkar District, Sindh", "threat": "quarrying", "threatNote": "The granite hills are worked for dimension and ornamental stone.", "provinceName": "Indo-Pakistan Shield", "oldestEra": { "key": "precambrian", "label": "Precambrian" }, "assessment": { "sv": 260, "svP": 65, "svClass": "high", "peu": 305, "peuP": 76.3, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 300, "ptuP": 75, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 355, "drP": 88.8, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "makarwal-coalfield", "name": "Makarwal Coalfield", "aka": [ "Makarwal–Kalabagh coalfield" ], "province": "salt-range", "coordinates": [ 32.93, 71.35 ], "type": "mine", "significance": [ "economic", "scientific" ], "formations": [ "hangu-formation" ], "summary": "One of Pakistan’s historic coalfields, worked into the basal Paleocene Hangu Formation of the Trans-Indus Surghar Range, where carbonaceous shales and coal seams overlie the eroded Cretaceous surface.", "highlights": [ "Coal seams in the transgressive Paleocene Hangu Formation", "Long-worked Trans-Indus (Surghar–Makarwal) coalfield", "Records the earliest Cenozoic marine flooding of the basin" ], "conservation": "Active coal-mining lease", "access": "Makarwal, Mianwali District, Trans-Indus Surghar Range", "threat": "quarrying", "threatNote": "The exposure is an active, worked coalfield.", "references": [ "yaseen-2021-saltrange-geosites" ], "provinceName": "Salt Range", "oldestEra": { "key": "cenozoic", "label": "Cenozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 160, "svP": 40, "svClass": "moderate", "peu": 230, "peuP": 57.5, "peuClass": "high", "ptu": 210, "ptuP": 52.5, "ptuClass": "high", "dr": 330, "drP": 82.5, "drClass": "high", "priority": "watch" } }, { "id": "kala-chitta-range", "name": "Kala Chitta Range", "aka": [ "Kala Chitta hills" ], "province": "potwar", "coordinates": [ 33.78, 72.35 ], "type": "landform", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational", "scenic" ], "formations": [ "samana-suk-formation", "chichali-formation", "kawagarh-formation" ], "summary": "A narrow east–west range north of the Potwar Plateau exposing a near-complete Jurassic-to-Palaeogene Tethyan shelf succession — Samana Suk carbonates, glauconitic Chichali shales and Kawagarh limestones — in a single, accessible thrust belt.", "highlights": [ "Jurassic Samana Suk to Cretaceous Kawagarh shelf section", "Classic Kala Chitta–Margalla thrust belt", "A much-studied teaching transect near Attock" ], "conservation": "Unprotected; largely open range land", "access": "North of Attock / Fatehjang, Punjab", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Potwar Basin", "oldestEra": { "key": "mesozoic", "label": "Mesozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 240, "svP": 60, "svClass": "high", "peu": 355, "peuP": 88.8, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 305, "ptuP": 76.3, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 245, "drP": 61.3, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "koh-i-sultan-volcano", "name": "Koh-i-Sultan Volcano", "aka": [ "Kuh-e Sultan" ], "province": "chagai-hills", "coordinates": [ 29.1, 62.8 ], "type": "tectonic", "significance": [ "scientific", "scenic", "economic" ], "formations": [ "koh-i-sultan-volcanic-group" ], "summary": "A deeply eroded Neogene–Quaternary stratovolcano of the Chagai magmatic arc in far-western Balochistan, built above the northward subduction of the Arabian plate; the arc hosts the giant Reko Diq porphyry copper–gold system.", "highlights": [ "Youngest volcano of the Chagai subduction-related arc", "Andesitic–dacitic edifice with fumarolic sulphur deposits", "Arc setting of the Reko Diq porphyry Cu–Au deposit" ], "conservation": "Unprotected; remote desert", "access": "Chagai District, near the Iran–Afghanistan border (restricted area)", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Chagai Hills", "oldestEra": { "key": "cenozoic", "label": "Cenozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 310, "svP": 77.5, "svClass": "very high", "peu": 230, "peuP": 57.5, "peuClass": "high", "ptu": 225, "ptuP": 56.3, "ptuClass": "high", "dr": 180, "drP": 45, "drClass": "moderate", "priority": "high" } }, { "id": "bolan-pass", "name": "Bolan Pass", "aka": [ "Bolan Gorge" ], "province": "sulaiman", "coordinates": [ 29.85, 67.32 ], "type": "landform", "significance": [ "scientific", "scenic", "cultural" ], "formations": [ "dungan-formation", "ghazij-group" ], "summary": "The historic Bolan Pass cuts through the Paleocene–Eocene of the Kalat–Sulaiman front, exposing the Dungan Formation limestones and the overlying Ghazij Group red beds along a gateway used for millennia between the Indus plains and the Iranian plateau.", "highlights": [ "Paleocene Dungan limestone → Eocene Ghazij clastics section", "A natural structural gateway through the fold belt", "Long-standing trade and railway route" ], "conservation": "Unprotected; road and rail corridor", "access": "On the Quetta–Sibi road & railway, Kachhi/Bolan District", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Sulaiman Fold Belt", "oldestEra": { "key": "cenozoic", "label": "Cenozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 210, "svP": 52.5, "svClass": "high", "peu": 310, "peuP": 77.5, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 300, "ptuP": 75, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 235, "drP": 58.8, "drClass": "high", "priority": "urgent" } }, { "id": "ziarat-juniper-nisai", "name": "Ziarat & the Nisai Limestone", "aka": [ "Ziarat juniper tract" ], "province": "zhob-muslim-bagh", "coordinates": [ 30.38, 67.73 ], "type": "landform", "significance": [ "scientific", "scenic" ], "formations": [ "nisai-limestone" ], "summary": "The uplands around Ziarat expose the Eocene Nisai Limestone of the Zhob–Muslim Bagh belt and carry one of the world’s largest and oldest juniper forests, a striking pairing of Palaeogene shelf carbonate and ancient woodland.", "highlights": [ "Eocene Nisai Limestone shelf carbonates", "Among the largest juniper (Juniperus excelsa) tracts on Earth", "Set within the ophiolite-bearing Zhob belt" ], "conservation": "Juniper forest partly protected; geosite unprotected", "access": "Ziarat District, Balochistan, NE of Quetta", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Zhob-Muslim Bagh", "oldestEra": { "key": "cenozoic", "label": "Cenozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 225, "svP": 56.3, "svClass": "high", "peu": 320, "peuP": 80, "peuClass": "very high", "ptu": 340, "ptuP": 85, "ptuClass": "very high", "dr": 160, "drP": 40, "drClass": "moderate", "priority": "high" } }, { "id": "pab-range", "name": "Pab Range", "aka": [ "Pab Nala type area" ], "province": "kirthar-range", "coordinates": [ 26.05, 66.9 ], "type": "type-section", "significance": [ "scientific", "educational" ], "formations": [ "pab-sandstone" ], "summary": "The Pab Range is the type area of the Maastrichtian Pab Sandstone — thick shallow-marine to deltaic quartz sandstones marking the top of the Cretaceous in the Kirthar–Sulaiman region and an important regional reservoir sandstone.", "highlights": [ "Type section of the latest-Cretaceous Pab Sandstone", "Shallow-marine to deltaic quartz arenites", "A key hydrocarbon reservoir of the Lower Indus Basin" ], "conservation": "Unprotected outcrop", "access": "Pab Range, Lasbela/Khuzdar border, Balochistan", "threat": "stable", "provinceName": "Kirthar Range", "oldestEra": { "key": "mesozoic", "label": "Mesozoic" }, "assessment": { "sv": 265, "svP": 66.3, "svClass": "high", "peu": 255, "peuP": 63.8, "peuClass": "high", "ptu": 230, "ptuP": 57.5, "ptuClass": "high", "dr": 175, "drP": 43.8, "drClass": "moderate", "priority": "high" } } ] }