Besham Group
Archean to Paleoproterozoic (>1800 Ma)
Archean-Paleoproterozoic in the time scale →Cited in 5 sources Last reviewed Jul 18, 2026
- Rank
- Not recorded
- Status
- Published
- Age
- Precambrian · Archean-PaleoproterozoicArchean to Paleoproterozoic (>1800 Ma)
- Named by
- Fletcher et al. (1986)
- Type locality
- Besham, Indus valley (the Besham Nappe)34.9200°N, 72.8800°E
- Thickness
- 3000+ m
- Lithology
- Granitic, biotite-rich orthogneiss together with metasedimentary gneiss, schist, metapsammite, marble and amphibolite, with komatiitic metavolcanics.
- Synonyms
- Not recorded
The ~1.9-billion-year-old crystalline basement at Besham — orthogneiss, schist and marble — beneath the Karora cover.
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.
Fossils
Not recorded
Contacts
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
- Basin
- Not recorded
- Region
- Not recorded
- Depositional environment
- Not recorded
- Coordinates
- 34.9200°N, 72.8800°E
Correlation
Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →
Economic significance
Gemstone potential (emeralds in associated rocks)
Remarks
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.
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.
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)
Sources (4)
- 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.
- Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
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.
Cite this unit
Qudsi, L. (2026). Besham Group. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991
@misc{stratigraphypk_beshamgroup,
author = {Qudsi, Lareb},
title = {{Besham Group} --- 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/besham-group (accessed October 29, 2026).
To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Fletcher et al. (1986).
Related units
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