Mesozoic • Triassic formation In GSP lexicon

Chikchi-ri Shale

Triassic (Early Triassic)

Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Central Karakoram Batholith

Cited in 4 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Mesozoic · Triassic · Early TriassicTriassic (Early Triassic)
Named by: Desio (1963)
Type locality: Chikchi-ri
Thickness: Not recorded
Lithology: Black, green, brown and red shale with thin beds of limestone, tuff and lava flows.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A colourful shale-and-volcanic sequence spread across the eastern Karakoram, of uncertain age.

Chikchi-ri shale is named after Chikchi-ri Range by Desio (1963), exposed in the type area and Singhie glacier, large area of eastern Karakoram from Shaksgam valley and Karakoram pass to Shyok valley. It consists of black, green, brown and red shales with thin beds of limestone, tuff and lava flows.

Fossils

Conodonts (Neospathodus homeri)Meandrospira pusilla

Contacts

In the Karakoram column

LimestoneShale / mudMetamorphicFossils 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: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

A variegated shale sequence with interbedded tuff and lava flows exposed over a large part of the eastern Karakoram, from the Shaksgam valley and Karakoram Pass to the Shyok valley. Its age is not constrained in the baseline.

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 & Jan (1997): the Chikchi-ri Shales (Desio 1963, 1964; Chikchi Range and Singhie Glacier valley, eastern Karakoram) are Triassic — black, brown, green and red arenaceous shales and greenschists with thin limestone, tuff and lava, overlying the Permian Shaksgam Formation and underlying the Late Triassic Aghil Limestone, and passing laterally into the Urdok Conglomerate. A correlative section (Gaetani et al. 1990b) yields the Lower Triassic conodont Neospathodus homeri and the foraminifer Meandrospira pusilla, implying an Early Triassic age.

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

Sources (3)

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.

Reviewer confidence: low

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). Chikchi-ri Shale. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_chikchirishale,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Chikchi-ri Shale} --- 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/chikchi-ri-shale (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Desio (1963).