Paleozoic • Devonian formation In GSP lexicon

Inzari Limestone

Devonian

Northern Indus Suture

Cited in 4 sources Last reviewed Jul 31, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · DevonianDevonian
Named by: Hussain et al. (1990)
Type locality: Inzari, Attock-Cherat Range
Thickness: Not recorded
Lithology: Thin-bedded, yellowish- to greenish-grey crystalline limestone with common dendrites and stylolites.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A crystalline limestone above the Hisartang quartzite, taken as Early Devonian like the Nowshera Formation.

Inzari Limestone is named after Inzari village by Hussain et al. (1990) for thin bedded, yellow to greenish grey limestone.

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

In the Khyber–Nowshera Belt column

LimestoneMixedMetamorphicFossils 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

Khyber–Nowshera Belt

Basin: Northern Indus Suture
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

An unfossiliferous crystalline limestone that conformably overlies the Hisartang Formation (its upper contact faulted); Hussain et al. (1990) considered it time-equivalent to the Early Devonian Nowshera Formation.

Research notes (2)

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 (1)

Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) COMPETING INTERPRETATION: the book places the Inzari Limestone in the Late Proterozoic (~750 Ma isotopic date; unfossiliferous), whereas it had earlier been thought Early Devonian. As the Attock-Cherat carbonates here lack biostratigraphic control, the Precambrian reassignment may well be correct; recorded as a note and flagged for reconciliation of the whole Attock-Cherat (Darwaza–Hisartang–Inzari) cluster.

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

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.
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.

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.

Spotted an error? Suggest a sourced correction →

Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_inzarilimestone,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Inzari Limestone} --- 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/inzari-limestone (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Hussain et al. (1990).

Below · older

Hisartang Formation

Ordovician