Precambrian • Proterozoic formation In GSP lexicon

Gandaf Formation

Middle–Late Proterozoic

Northern Indus Suture · Malakand

Cited in 6 sources Last reviewed Aug 2, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Precambrian · ProterozoicMiddle–Late Proterozoic
Named by: Pogue et al. (1995)
Type locality: Gandaf, Indus valley34.1167°N, 72.6833°E
Thickness: Not recorded
Lithology: Dark schist overlain by and interbedded with graphitic slate, phyllite, schist and marble; garnet-schist horizons are conspicuous, and intrusive rocks are abundant.
Synonyms: Not recorded

The upper Karora-Group cover unit — garnet-bearing dark schist and marble above the Karora Formation.

Named by Pogue et al. (1995) after Gandaf village in the Tarbela Lake area, the Gandaf Formation consists of schist, slate, phyllite and marble, forming the upper part of the Middle–Late Proterozoic cover on the Besham basement and intruded by the Mansehra and Swat granitic gneisses (Kazmi & Jan, 1997).

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

In the Swat–Malakand column

LimestoneMetamorphicUnconformityIntrusiveContact 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

Swat–Malakand

Basin: Northern Indus Suture
Region: Malakand
Depositional environment: Not recorded
Coordinates: 34.1167°N, 72.6833°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

The upper part of the Karora Group cover sequence (Pogue et al., 1995; DiPietro et al., 1996), distinguished from the underlying Karora Formation by its conspicuous garnet-schist horizons and abundant intrusions; its lower contact with the Karora Formation is transitional.

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, S.M.I. (2009)

Age & correlation (2)

Baseline age 'Cretaceous' conflicts with Kazmi & Jan (1997), who treat the Gandaf Formation as the upper part of the Middle–Late Proterozoic Karora Group (greenschist-facies cover on the Besham basement). Age needs review.

Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997)
Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the book states the Gandaf Formation is 'Early Proterozoic at the very least' — i.e. possibly older than the curated Middle–Late Proterozoic. Recorded as a note (the curated age is retained as the conservative option).

Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008)

Type locality & location (1)

Pogue et al. (1999): the Gandaf Formation — >500 m of carbonaceous and calcareous phyllite, schist and carbonaceous marble with interbedded muscovite-chlorite-quartz schist — is named for the village of Gandaf, ~3 km north of Tarbela dam. It is the oldest exposed unit of the Panjal–Khairabad block (apart from Early Proterozoic crystalline rocks near Besham) and passes transitionally up into the Manki Formation.

Pogue, K.R., Hylland, M.D., Yeats, R.S., Khattak, W.U. & Hussain, A. (1999)

Sources (6)

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.
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.
Pogue, K.R., Hylland, M.D., Yeats, R.S., Khattak, W.U. & Hussain, A. (1999). Stratigraphic and structural framework of Himalayan foothills, northern Pakistan. In: Macfarlane, A., Sorkhabi, R.B. & Quade, J. (eds) Himalaya and Tibet: Mountain Roots to Mountain Tops. Geological Society of America Special Paper 328, 257-274.

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). Gandaf Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_gandafformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Gandaf 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/gandaf-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Pogue et al. (1995).

Below · older

Karora Formation