Cenozoic • Paleogene Literature

Baraul Banda Formation

Late Paleocene–Early Eocene

Cited in 1 source Last reviewed Aug 29, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene · Paleocene–EoceneLate Paleocene–Early Eocene
Named by: Defined within the Dir Group by Sullivan et al.; provenance-characterised by Qasim (2026).
Type locality: Dir–Kalam road, Dir district, Kohistan (western Kohistan–Ladakh Arc).
Thickness: basal conglomerate 2–32 m; thick fine-grained succession above
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.
Synonyms: Not recorded

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.

Fossils

Nummulites Discocyclina Actinocyclina

Contacts

In the Kohistan Arc column

MetamorphicIgneousShale / mudFossils recordedContact not recorded

Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type; dotted = no contact recorded in the sources (not a claim of conformity). 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

Kohistan Arc

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: Not recorded
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

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).

Research notes (1)

Field-by-field findings drawn from the cited literature. Every statement is traced to a registered source — follow a citation for the full reference.

Age & correlation (1)

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.

Qasim, M. (2026)

Sources (1)

Qasim, M. (2026). Pre-Paleocene Kohistan-Karakoram Amalgamation: Evidence from the Detrital Zircon Provenance of the Baraul Banda Formation, Pakistan. Geosciences, 16(8), 331.

Reviewer confidence: medium

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: Defined in journal or other literature; not found in a GSP memoir. There is no body currently ratifying unit status, so provenance is shown in place of a formal ruling.

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Cite this unit

APA

Qudsi, L. (2026). Baraul Banda Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_baraulbandaformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Baraul Banda 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/baraul-banda-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Defined within the Dir Group by Sullivan et al.; provenance-characterised by Qasim (2026)..