Cenozoic • Paleogene-Neogene GSP memoir

Hoshab Formation

Late Oligocene to Early Miocene (Chattian-Burdigalian; ~24.3-16.0 Ma)

Paleogene-Neogene in the time scale →

Cited in 7 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene-Neogene · Late Oligocene to Early MioceneLate Oligocene to Early Miocene (Chattian-Burdigalian; ~24.3-16.0 Ma)
Named by: HSC (1961)
Type locality: Makran Flysch Province, Balochistan Basin26.0147°N, 63.8840°E
Thickness: 1000-2000 m
Lithology: Claystone and shale with subordinate sandstone, limestone and conglomerate; abyssal shale / flysch.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A deep-sea Makran mudstone–shale — a likely petroleum source rock and the floor beneath the Panjgur turbidite sands.

Transitional sequence between Siahan and Panjgur formations. Deep marine turbidite and hemipelagic deposits.

Fossils

Planktonic foraminifera Trace fossils

Contacts

In the Makran Coast column

SandstoneShale / mudLimestoneFossils 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

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: abyssal, deep marine
Coordinates: 26.0147°N, 63.8840°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Source rock

A recognised potential hydrocarbon SOURCE ROCK of the Makran; thrust detachments root within this mud-rich interval, and hanging-wall anticlines form potential traps.

Remarks

The deep-marine shale forming the distal, valley-forming facies of the Khojak–Panjgur submarine fan; part of the Turbat Group of the Makran accretionary wedge and one of its main source rocks.

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)

Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Hoshab Formation appears in the Makran stratigraphic charts as a Miocene turbidite/limestone unit (with a Shaigalu member); 'Hoshab' is one of the major thrust faults dividing the Makran. Broadly consistent with the curated Late Oligocene–Early Miocene age.

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

Stratigraphic contacts (1)

Oldest exposed unit in the Makran Flysch Province; its base is not exposed.

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

Economic significance (1)

The Oligocene Hoshab Formation is a deep-marine shale/mudstone with onshore outcrop TOC up to ~0.6%, interpreted as a (potential) hydrocarbon source rock for the Makran, with thrust detachments rooting in this mud-rich interval (Cromie et al. 2022).

Cromie, C., Scarselli, N., Craig, J., Khan, M.R. & Hussain, A. (2022)

Geological significance (1)

Khan et al. (2024): the abyssal-to-deep-marine Hoshab Formation belongs to the fill of the offshore Makran accretionary prism — the world's largest — formed by Arabian-under-Eurasian convergence (Early Cretaceous onset, Middle Miocene renewed subduction), whose thrust-wedge shortening and continuous sediment influx built a ~7.5-km-thick succession.

Khan, U., Khan, M., Shiguo, W. & Gao, J. (2024)

Sources (6)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).
OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.
Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
Khan, U., Khan, M., Shiguo, W. & Gao, J. (2024). Geodynamics and structural evolution of Makran accretionary prism, Arabian-Eurasian convergent plate boundary. EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, abstract EGU24-17684.

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: Appears in a single-author Geological Survey of Pakistan memoir (Malkani & Mahmood 2017), not cross-confirmed against the Shah lexicon. The Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan is largely inactive, so documented provenance — not formal ratification — is the available signal.

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Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_hoshabformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Hoshab 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/hoshab-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: HSC (1961).

Below · older

Zurati Formation

Paleogene

Above · younger

Panjgur Formation

Paleogene–Neogene