Bara Formation
Paleocene
Kirthar Basin · Eastern Kirthar (Sindh)
Part of Ranikot Group
Paleogene in the time scale →Cited in 10 sources Last reviewed Aug 9, 2026
- Rank
- formation
- Status
- Published
- Age
- Cenozoic · Paleogene · PaleocenePaleocene
- Named by
- Williams (1959)
- Type locality
- Bara Nai, northern Laki Range26.1183°N, 67.8867°E
- Thickness
- 60-600 m (based on surface exposures) m
- Lithology
- Fluviatile to paralic sandstone and shale with coal and carbonaceous beds.
- Synonyms
- Not recorded
The coal-bearing middle unit of the Paleocene Ranikot Group — the source of Sindh's coal.
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
Not recorded
Contacts
Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type. True scale makes height ∝ recorded thickness; hatched = thickness not recorded. Ages approximate, for ordering.
This unit (highlighted) within its province column; faded ends continue above and below. Line style marks the contact type.
Distribution & setting
- Basin
- Kirthar Basin
- Region
- Eastern Kirthar (Sindh)
- Depositional environment
- fluvial, paralic
- Coordinates
- 26.1183°N, 67.8867°E
See it in the field
Geoheritage site where this unit is exposed at outcrop.
Correlation
Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →
Economic significance
The principal coal-bearing horizon of the Sindh (Lower Indus) coalfields, including the Lakhra, Sonda and Thar areas.
Remarks
The middle, coal-bearing fluvio-paralic unit of the Paleocene Ranikot Group and the main coal horizon of the Sindh coalfields.
Sources (10)
- Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
- Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
- 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.
- Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
- 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.
- 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.
- Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
- 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.
- Malik, I.A. (1989). Geodynamics and Coal Deposits of Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 12-43.
- 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).
Reviewer confidence: high
Every fact on this page is source-cited. This entry is part of the peer-archived Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991, CC‑BY‑4.0).
Lexicon status: Name attested in the Shah (1977/2009) Geological Survey of Pakistan compilation — the national stratigraphic lexicon. This records where the name is documented; it is not an endorsement of the unit’s definition, age or figures.
Cite this unit
Qudsi, L. (2026). Bara Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991
@misc{stratigraphypk_baraformation,
author = {Qudsi, Lareb},
title = {{Bara Formation} --- Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Zenodo},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.21363991},
url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991}
} Archived dataset: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991 (CC‑BY‑4.0) · Direct link to this entry: https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/bara-formation (accessed September 5, 2026).
To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Williams (1959).
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