Mesozoic • Cretaceous formation In GSP lexicon

Darband Formation

Cretaceous

Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Central Karakoram Batholith

Cited in 6 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Mesozoic · Cretaceous · Late Cretaceous (Campanian–Early Maastrichtian)Cretaceous
Named by: Gaetani et al. (1993)
Type locality: Darband post, Chapursan valley, upper Hunza36.7200°N, 74.7800°E
Thickness: about 300 m
Lithology: About 300 m of red and grey nodular limestone interbedded with conglomerate at the top.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A Late Cretaceous nodular-limestone unit of the Chapursan valley, dated by coccoliths.

Darband formation is named after the Darband post in Chapursan valley by Gaetani et al. (1993) for red to grey nodular limestone with conglomerate at the top Late Cretaceous age.

Fossils

Inoceramid fragments Coccoliths

Contacts

In the Karakoram column

MetamorphicIgneousLimestoneSandstoneFossils recordedConformable

Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type. 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: 36.7200°N, 74.7800°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 Cretaceous (Campanian to Early Maastrichtian) nodular-limestone unit that overlies the Tupop Conglomerate with angular unconformity; its age rests on coccolith assemblages (Gaetani et al., 1993).

Sources (5)

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.
Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.

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.

Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_darbandformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Darband 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/darband-formation (accessed September 5, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Gaetani et al. (1993).

Below · older

Reshit Formation

Jurassic

Referenced in other successions

Underlain by Tupop Formation