Cenozoic • Neogene formation In GSP lexicon

Hinglaj Formation

Late Oligocene to Pliocene (Aquitanian-Piacenzian; ~23.0-2.58 Ma)

Cited in 5 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Neogene · Late Oligocene to PlioceneLate Oligocene to Pliocene (Aquitanian-Piacenzian; ~23.0-2.58 Ma)
Named by: Vredenburg (1906)
Type locality: Hinglaj hills, Makran Flysch Province
Thickness: 3030-4545 m (4000 m at Hinglaj hills; 4545 m at Talar, 3030 m at Jiwani)
Lithology: Dominantly sandstone with shale, subordinate shelly limestone and minor conglomerate; grey to brown, fine- to coarse-grained, gritty to pebbly, usually calcareous.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A thick arenaceous succession dominated by sandstone with shale, subordinate shelly limestone and minor conglomerate, restricted to the Axial Belt (Arenaceous Zone) and the Makran Flysch Province, where its lower coeval facies is the Talar Formation. Best exposed in the Hinglaj hills. Named by Vredenburg (1906).

Fossils

Assilina mamilla Fasciolites borealis Discocyclina undulata Lepidocyclina blanfordi Lepidocyclina dilatata Nummulites atacicus Nummulites fichteli Nummulites intermedius Spiroclypeus sp.

Contacts

In the Makran Coast column

SandstoneShale / 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

Makran Coast Zhob-Muslim Bagh

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: foreshore beach, shoreface, shallow marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

Not recorded

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 as 'Hinglaj formation'). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Age & correlation (1)

Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Hinglaj Formation (Miocene to Pleistocene; type Hinglaj Mountains) is 3,303 to >4,545 m of cross-stratified calcareous sandstone with mudstone, shale, shelly limestone and minor conglomerate — a lower Parkini Mudstone Member and an upper Chatti Mudstone Member — forming the bulk of the Neogene Makran/Balochistan succession; it rests transitionally on the Oligocene Khojak Formation and is unconformably overlain by the Gwadar Formation; forams, gastropods and bivalves.

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

Stratigraphic contacts (1)

Conformably (transitional) on the Khojak Fm in the Axial Belt (on the Nari Fm north of Bela), and on the Talar/Parkini Fms in the Makran Flysch Province; overlain by the Gwadar Fm (Axial Belt) or the Chatti Fm (Makran).

Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.

Depositional environment (1)

Sheikh, Khan & Farooqui (2006, JHES 39:15-38) analysed a 1,443 m section of the Hinglaj Formation near Nal (Ornach-Nal fault, southern Balochistan) and recognised twelve lithofacies interpreted as a foreshore-beach to shoreface environment with a steep depositional slope and no back-barrier; they record seven transgressive-regressive complexes and note the formation extends from Nal through the Bela area to SW of Ormara. Depositional environment added from this source; the type locality remains the Hinglaj hills.

Sheikh, K.S., Khan, A.S. & Farooqui, M.A. (2006)

Sources (3)

Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.

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.

Spotted an error? Suggest a sourced correction →

Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_hinglajformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Hinglaj 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/hinglaj-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Vredenburg (1906).

Your notes

Saved on this device only.