Paleozoic • Devonian–Carboniferous In GSP lexicon

Jafar Kandao Formation

Late Devonian (Famennian) to Mid-Carboniferous (Westphalian)

Devonian–Carboniferous in the time scale →

Cited in 8 sources Last reviewed Aug 10, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Devonian–CarboniferousLate Devonian (Famennian) to Mid-Carboniferous (Westphalian)
Named by: Pogue and Hussain (1986)
Type locality: Jafar Kandao, Rustam area northeast of Nowshera34.3500°N, 72.2833°E
Thickness: 200-500 m
Lithology: Argillite with subordinate limestone, quartzite and conglomerate; a discontinuous conglomerate marks the basal unconformity.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A Carboniferous argillite-and-limestone unit above the Nowshera Formation, dated by conodonts.

Named after Jafar Kandao area. Contains trilobite fauna indicating Late Cambrian age.

Fossils

Conodonts

Contacts

In the Hazara Basin column

MetamorphicLimestoneFossils 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

Hazara Basin

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: marine
Coordinates: 34.3500°N, 72.2833°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

An argillite-dominated unit overlying the Nowshera Formation; limestone lenses have yielded latest-Devonian to Early Mississippian and Late Pennsylvanian conodonts (Pogue et al., 1992), making it Carboniferous.

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)

Corrected: the previous age ('Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician') contradicted the unit's own period field (Devonian–Carboniferous). DiPietro et al. (1993), after Pogue & Hussain (1988), report conodonts of late Famennian–Tournaisian near the base and Westphalian B some 20 m below the Karapa greenschist, giving a Late Devonian to Mid-Carboniferous age. Lithology: a laterally variable ~1100 m sequence of argillite, sandy limestone, conglomerate, quartzite and calcareous quartzite.

DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993)
Pogue, Harris & Hussain (1992; unit named by Pogue & Hussain 1986): conodonts (Protognathodus, Gnathodus semiglaber/pseudosemiglaber, Neogondolella cf. donbasica, Rhachistognathus) date the Jafar Kandao Formation as latest Devonian to Middle Carboniferous (late Famennian/Tournaisian to Westphalian B). About 1,100 m of argillite with lenses of limestone, quartzite and conglomerate; a granitic-clast conglomerate records an early-Carboniferous tectonic/uplift episode. Overlies the Nowshera Formation and is overlain by the Karapa Greenschist.

Pogue, K.R., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992)

Geological significance (1)

Hussain, DiPietro & Pogue (1998): the Jafar Kandao Formation (type section on the Machai Canal ~5 km SE of Rustam, 34 deg 19' N, 72 deg 18' E) is dominantly argillite with a lower channel conglomerate carrying granite and quartzite clasts; conodonts range from Protognathodus (latest Devonian-early Mississippian) through Gnathodus (Mississippian) to Neogondolella cf. donbasica and Rhachistognathus (Pennsylvanian). It is overlain across a sharp contact by the Karapa Greenschist (metamorphosed tholeiitic basalt).

Hussain, A., DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (1998)

Sources (8)

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.
DiPietro, J.A., Pogue, K.R., Lawrence, R.D., Baig, M.S., Hussain, A. & Ahmad, I. (1993). Stratigraphy south of the Main Mantle Thrust, Lower Swat, Pakistan. In: Treloar, P.J. & Searle, M.P. (eds), Himalayan Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 74, 207-220.
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., Harris, A.G. & Hussain, A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan: Correlations and implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104(8), 915-927.
Hussain, A., DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (1998). Stratigraphy and structure of the Peshawar basin, Pakistan. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 18, 25-35.

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.

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Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_jafarkandaoformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Jafar Kandao 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/jafar-kandao-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Pogue and Hussain (1986).

Below · older

Nowshera Formation

Devonian

Above · younger

Panjpir Formation

Ordovician–Silurian

Referenced in other successions

Overlain by Karapa Greenschist