Quaternary • Quaternary formation In GSP lexicon

Dada Formation

Pleistocene

Kirthar Basin · Western Kirthar (Balochistan)

Part of Sakhi Sarwar Group

Quaternary in the time scale →

Cited in 8 sources Last reviewed Jul 31, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Quaternary · Quaternary · PleistocenePleistocene
Named by: Not recorded
Type locality: Dada River south of Spintangi Railway station
Thickness: about 1,000 m (Urak area)
Lithology: Conglomerate with subordinate mud and sandstone.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A Pleistocene gravel-rich molasse, one of the youngest units of the foreland.

Dada Formation Its name is derived from Dada River south of Spintangi Railway station (HSC, 1961). It consists of conglomerate with subordinate shale and sandstone. At places it also includes the white and red muds especially in the valley areas. Its lower contact with Chaudhwan Formation and upper contact with Sakhi Sarwar Formation is angular and at some places transitional. According to stratigraphic position, its age may be Pleistocene.

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

In the Kirthar Range column

ConglomerateShale / mudSandstoneFossils 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

Kirthar Range

Basin: Kirthar Basin
Region: Western Kirthar (Balochistan)
Depositional environment: fluvial, alluvial
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Building stone

Source of gravel and sand for construction aggregate.

Remarks

A Pleistocene conglomeratic molasse unit of the Sakhi Sarwar Group, among the youngest deposits of the Sulaiman–Kirthar foreland.

Research notes (4)

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)

Shah (2009) folds the 'Dada conglomerate' (Hunting Survey 1961) into the Lei Conglomerate. Kept separate here: distinct Quetta/Kirthar province and ~1000 m thickness (vs 100-300 m for the northern Lei), and treated as a distinct unit by USGS OFR 94-689.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Age & correlation (1)

Brohi et al. (2009): the Dada Conglomerate (Pleistocene) is reported for the first time from the Khorwari section of the Surjan Anticline (Thano Bula Khan, Sindh), forming the top of the local Tertiary–Quaternary succession. Corroborates the Pleistocene age.

Brohi, I.A., Bablani, S.A. & Solangi, S.H. (2009)

Thickness (1)

Gap-fill (thickness field was empty). USGS OFR 94-689 (Maldonado et al. 1994) reports the Dada Conglomerate as about 1,000 m thick in the Urak area of the Sibi-Urak trough (after Hunting Survey Corporation 1961). Confidence medium: the USGS Dada Conglomerate is the Sibi-Urak-trough correlative and the measurement is locality-specific.

Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994)

Geological significance (1)

Kazmi & Jan (1997) NAMING FLAG: the book treats the 'Dada Conglomerate' (HSC 1960) as a superseded name renamed the Lei Conglomerate (Gill 1952) — thick boulder conglomerate and cross-bedded sandstone of a Quaternary (early Middle Glaciation) piedmont outwash on the western Lower Indus Plain, resting with sharp angular unconformity on the Siwalik Group and interfingering with the Larkana Formation. The DB name should be reconciled.

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

Sources (8)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.
Maldonado, F., Khan, S.H. & Mengal, J.M. (1994). Preliminary Geologic Map of Parts of Loralai, Sibi, Quetta, and Khuzdar Divisions, Balochistan Province, West-Central Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-689, 20 p., 1 sheet.
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.
Brohi, I.A., Bablani, S.A. & Solangi, S.H. (2009). Geology and Economic Significance of Tertiary Rocks, Khorwari Section, Surjan Anticline, Thano Bula Khan, Sindh. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 41(1), 95-106.
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.

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Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_dadaformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Dada 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/dada-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

Below · older

Chaudhwan Formation

Neogene

Above · younger

Sakhi Sarwar Formation

Quaternary