Paleozoic • Devonian Literature

Charun Quartzite

Middle Devonian (uppermost beds mid-Givetian)

Cited in 3 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Devonian · Middle DevonianMiddle Devonian (uppermost beds mid-Givetian)
Named by: Not recorded
Type locality: Kurâgh Spur, ~7.5 km NE of Reshun, Chitral (type section designated by Talent et al. 1999, shared with the overlying Shogrâm Formation).36.2167°N, 72.1667°E
Thickness: about 100 m
Lithology: Quartzarenites, more heterolithic than the name implies (with subordinate finer clastics); deposited by turbidity currents.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A ~100 m Devonian quartzite unit in Chitral that lies beneath, and grades up into, the Shogrâm Formation; its youngest beds are mid-Givetian in age.

The clastic unit underlying the Shogrâm Formation in the Reshun–Kurâgh area of Chitral (Karakoram), passing gradationally upward into it. About 100 m of quartzarenites, given its type section at Kurâgh Spur by Talent et al. (1999); its uppermost (mid-Givetian) beds are conodont-dated at the transition into the Shogrâm Formation.

Fossils

Brachiopod moulds (poorly preserved)Conodonts (in beds transitional to the Shogrâm Formation)

Contacts

In the Hindukush-Chitral column

MetamorphicLimestoneMixedFossils recordedConformableContact 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

Hindukush-Chitral Karakoram

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: Not recorded
Coordinates: 36.2167°N, 72.1667°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

The Devonian clastic unit beneath the Shogrâm Formation in the Reshun–Kurâgh area of Chitral, passing gradationally upward into it; its uppermost beds are dated to the Middle varcus Subzone (mid-Givetian) by conodonts in the transitional interval (Talent et al. 1999). May be a lateral equivalent of the Chilmarabad Formation of the upper Yarkhun valley (Gaetani et al. 2008); related to Givetian rifting.

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.

Type locality & location (1)

Talent et al. (1999) designate the Kurâgh Spur section as the type section of both the Charun Quartzite and the overlying Shogrâm Formation. Coordinates (36°13'N, 72°10'E) are the paper's stated Kurâgh Spur locality, author-approved for promotion 2026-07-30.

Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999)

Sources (3)

Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999). Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts from the Western Karakoram and Hindu Kush, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 105(2), 201-226.
Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Sciunnach, D. & Talent, J.A. (2008). The Devonian of Western Karakorum (Pakistan). Acta Geologica Polonica, 58(3), 261-285.
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: 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). Charun Quartzite. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_charunquartzite,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Charun Quartzite} --- 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/charun-quartzite (accessed October 29, 2026).

Above · younger

Shogram Formation

Devonian