Mesozoic • Jurassic formation In GSP lexicon

Bdongo-La Formation

Middle Jurassic

Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Central Karakoram Batholith

Cited in 6 sources Last reviewed Jul 31, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Mesozoic · Jurassic · Middle JurassicMiddle Jurassic
Named by: Desio and Fantini (1960)
Type locality: Shaksgam valley, eastern Karakoram36.1000°N, 76.5000°E
Thickness: about 200 m
Lithology: Marly sandstone and dark-coloured limestone.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A Late Jurassic marly-sandstone-and-limestone unit of the Shaksgam valley, above the Marpo Sandstone.

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

Contacts

In the Karakoram column

MixedMarlLimestoneSandstoneFossils 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: marine
Coordinates: 36.1000°N, 76.5000°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

A Late Jurassic marine unit that conformably overlies the Marpo Sandstone in the Shaksgam valley; the youngest Jurassic unit of the eastern-Karakoram succession.

Research notes (2)

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, S.M.I. (2009)

Age & correlation (1)

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.

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

Sources (6)

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.
OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.
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
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.

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.

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Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_bdongolaformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Bdongo-La 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/bdongo-la-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Desio and Fantini (1960).

Below · older

Marpo Sandstone

Jurassic