Mesozoic • Cretaceous–Paleogene formation In GSP lexicon

Bauma Harel Formation

Cretaceous–Eocene (uncertain; ?Jurassic)

Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Central Karakoram Batholith

Cretaceous–Paleogene in the time scale →

Cited in 6 sources Last reviewed Aug 2, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Mesozoic · Cretaceous–PaleogeneCretaceous–Eocene (uncertain; ?Jurassic)
Named by: Kazmi and Abbasi (2008)
Type locality: Bauma Harel locality, Askole–Skoro Lungma and Thalle area, northeast of Skardu
Thickness: Not recorded
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.
Synonyms: Not recorded

Ancient (Late Proterozoic) crystalline basement near Skardu, capped by an Early Ordovician fossil-bearing cover.

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

Contacts

In the Karakoram column

IgneousConglomerateMetamorphicFossils 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

Karakoram

Basin: Karakoram-Hindukush Basin
Region: Central Karakoram Batholith
Depositional environment: volcanic
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

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.

Research notes (5)

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

Name & nomenclature (1)

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'.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Age & correlation (4)

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).

Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997)
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).

Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008)
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).

Hanson, C.R. (1989)
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.

Robertson, A.H.F. & Collins, A.S. (2002)

Sources (5)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
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.
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.

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: 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.

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Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_baumaharelformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Bauma Harel 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/bauma-harel-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Kazmi and Abbasi (2008).