Paleozoic • Carboniferous–Permian formation In GSP lexicon

Dumordo Formation

Uncertain (unfossiliferous) — Permo-Carboniferous (Stauffer 1968c) or Precambrian–Lower Palaeozoic (Tahirkheli 1982)

Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Southern Metamorphic Belt

Carboniferous–Permian in the time scale →

Cited in 5 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Carboniferous–PermianUncertain (unfossiliferous) — Permo-Carboniferous (Stauffer 1968c) or Precambrian–Lower Palaeozoic (Tahirkheli 1982)
Named by: Desio (1963)
Type locality: Dumordo, a tributary of the Biaho River in the upper Braldu valley35.7357°N, 75.9772°E
Thickness: Not recorded
Lithology: Garnet–staurolite schist, garnet–mica schist, garnet amphibolite, crystalline marble and micaceous quartzite, with lenses of biotite gneiss.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A high-grade metamorphic (schist-and-marble) unit of the Darkot Group near the Karakoram Batholith; its age is unresolved.

Dumordo formation is named after a Dumordo tributary of Biaho River in upper Braldu valley by Desio (1963) and it consists of garnet-staurolite schist, garnet mica schist, garnet amphibole, marble 20

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

In the Karakoram column

Shale / mudMetamorphicConglomerateLimestoneFossils 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: Southern Metamorphic Belt
Depositional environment: Not recorded
Coordinates: 35.7357°N, 75.9772°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

The higher-grade metamorphic equivalent of part of the Darkot Group south of the Karakoram Batholith; its contact with the Karakoram Granodiorite is partly gradational and partly intrusive. It is the same body that Stauffer (1968c) called the Baltit Group, but the name Dumordo has priority. No fossils have been found, and its age is debated between Permo-Carboniferous and Precambrian–Lower Paleozoic.

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)

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 lists this unit as 'Dumordo group'.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Age & correlation (1)

Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Dumordo Formation (Desio 1963, 1964; = Baltit Group of Stauffer 1968c, Dumordo name having priority) is unfossiliferous — Stauffer tentatively placed it in the Permo-Carboniferous, whereas Tahirkheli (1982) correlated it with his Chitral Slates and assigned it a Precambrian–Lower Palaeozoic age. The era/period recorded here follow the Permo-Carboniferous (Darkot Group) option; the Precambrian alternative is noted.

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

Lithology (1)

Kazmi & Jan (1997): garnet-staurolite schist, garnet-mica schist, garnet amphibolite, crystalline marble and micaceous quartzite with scattered biotite-gneiss layers, exposed south of the Karakoram Granodiorite in the Hunza Valley (part of the Karakoram Metamorphic Complex, north of the Main Karakoram Thrust). Its contact with the Karakoram Granodiorite is partly gradational and partly intrusive; in Hunza it is faulted against the Chalt Formation and overlain by the Ganchen Formation. Gem-bearing recrystallised marbles occur along the Karakoram suture zone.

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

Type locality & location (1)

Type-locality coordinate set from reviewer-supplied GPS (35 deg 44 08.6 N, 75 deg 58 37.8 E), Shaksgam/eastern Karakoram; supersedes an approximate fleet estimate.

OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.

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: 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.

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Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_dumordoformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Dumordo 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/dumordo-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

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