Mesozoic • Triassic Literature

Guhjal Dolomite

Late Permian–Late Triassic

Cited in 4 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Mesozoic · Triassic · Late TriassicLate Permian–Late Triassic
Named by: Characterised for the Gujhal (Gojal) area of Upper Hunza by Gaetani et al. (1995)
Type locality: Gojal (Gujhal) area, Upper Hunza, Northern Karakorum (Gilgit-Baltistan).
Thickness: Not recorded
Lithology: Massive grey platform dolostones and dolomitic limestones with peritidal cycles.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A thick Late Permian to Late Triassic platform dolomite of Upper Hunza — the Hunza counterpart of the Ailak Formation — marking the Neo-Tethys carbonate flooding of the Karakorum.

The Guhjal Dolomite is a thick platform-carbonate succession of the Upper Hunza (Gojal) area in the Northern Karakorum. As characterised by Gaetani et al. (1995), it begins in the Permian and continues into the Late Triassic, and is the Hunza equivalent of the Ailak Formation dolostones of the Baroghil–Karambar area. Its Late Permian base records the Murgabian–Midian carbonate transgression tied to the initial opening of Neo-Tethys, and its Triassic part carries megalodontid bivalves and colonial scleractinian corals. A Parafusulina sp. assemblage in facies transitional between the Gircha Formation and the Guhjal Dolomite indicates a mid- to late Permian age for the base of the platform.

Fossils

megalodontid bivalves (Triassic)colonial scleractinian corals (Triassic)Parafusulina sp. (Permian base)

Contacts

In the Karakoram column

LimestoneShale / mudFossils 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: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: carbonate platform, peritidal, shallow marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

See it in the field

Geoheritage site where this unit is exposed at outcrop.

Passu Cones & Batura–Passu Glaciers

Karakoram

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

The Hunza platform-carbonate equivalent of the Ailak Formation; its Late Permian (Murgabian–Midian) dolostone transgression is part of a regional carbonate-platform event recorded from the Pamirs and Central Afghanistan to the Tethys Himalaya, marking a turning point in the initial opening of Neo-Tethys along the Perigondwanan margin (Gaetani et al. 1995).

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.

Age & correlation (1)

Tahirkheli et al. (1990): Hayden (1916) described silicified shells from the Gujal Dolomite as Hippurites and Rudistes, which Desio & Martina (1972) reinterpreted as megalodonts; on lithological correlation with formations in the Shaksgam valley, the Pamir and Mt. Tupopdan, Desio & Martina assigned it a Permo-Triassic age - consistent with the curated Late Permian-Late Triassic span.

Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990)

Lithology (3)

Coward et al. (1984) (naming it the 'Gujhal Formation', after Tahirkheli 1979): a ~500 m mass of dolomite, dolomitic limestone and limestone with thin bands of siliceous schist and two conglomerate horizons (one at the base and one in the middle part), exposed in the Batura and Pasu areas, and assigned a Permo-Triassic age - a third independent characterisation consistent with the curated Late Permian-Late Triassic platform dolomite. It has a tectonic contact with the underlying Pasu Slates and the Karakoram batholith.

Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984)
Tahirkheli et al. (1990), Upper Hunza Valley (spelling it 'Gujal Dolomite'; named by Desio & Martina 1972): a dominantly calcareous formation forming high ridges and cliffs in the lower valley, with three calcareous bed types - semi-crystalline argillaceous limestone, semi- to medium-crystalline dolomitic limestone and dolomite, and semi- to medium-crystalline arenaceous dolomitic limestone - with thin grey/yellowish/pinkish argillaceous and arenaceous shale intercalations and two intraformational conglomerate horizons (clasts of Gujal Dolomite, plus rare Pak-China Friendship Fm and Passu Slate). It is the second-thickest sequence of the valley after the Passu Slate; its 'Kilik Formation' outcrop on the north flank of the Sost Anticline is shown to be the same folded block of Gujal Dolomite.

Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990)
Zanchi & Gritti (1996): the Guhjal dolomite forms the upper unit of the Guhjal Unit (defined by Gaetani et al. 1990) — a meta-sedimentary belt between the Karakorum Axial Batholith and the Upper Hunza Fault, north of the Sost Unit. The upper unit is calcareous-dolomitic marble of uncertain age; a low-grade metamorphic imprint occurs along NW-SE shear zones, and the unit is intruded by the KAB (andalusite-bearing contact metapelites near Gulkin) and by the Paleocene Kuk pluton. Corroborates the dolomitic/marble platform lithology.

Zanchi, A. & Gritti, D. (1996)

Sources (3)

Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.
Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.
Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Review of stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley (UHV), NW Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.

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: Defined in journal or other literature; not found in a GSP memoir. There is no body currently ratifying unit status, so provenance is shown in place of a formal ruling.

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Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_guhjaldolomite,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Guhjal Dolomite} --- 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/guhjal-dolomite (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Characterised for the Gujhal (Gojal) area of Upper Hunza by Gaetani et al. (1995).

Below · older

Chapursan Group

Permian–Triassic

Referenced in other successions

Overlain by Shanoz Conglomerate

Underlain by Passu Slate