Cenozoic • Paleogene In GSP lexicon

Jatta Gypsum

Early to Middle Eocene

Cited in 9 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene · EoceneEarly to Middle Eocene
Named by: Meissner et al. (1968), for the upper 'Kohat Series' of Gee (1945)
Type locality: Jatta, Kohat33.3333°N, 71.2833°E
Thickness: 50-200 m
Lithology: Gypsum, anhydrite, shale
Synonyms: Not recorded

A thick Eocene gypsum deposit sitting on top of the Bahadur Khel salt in the Kohat area, formed as the salty basin shallowed into sabkha (coastal salt-flat) conditions. It is widely quarried for gypsum.

Named after Jatta area in Kohat. Major gypsum deposit unique to Kohat Basin. Associated with Bahadurkhel Salt.

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

In the Kohat Basin column

LimestoneGypsum / evaporiteShale / mudFossils recordedConformableContact 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

Kohat Basin

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: restricted marine, evaporitic, sabkha
Coordinates: 33.3333°N, 71.2833°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Salt & evaporites Cement & lime

A major gypsum/anhydrite resource of the Kohat Basin, quarried for cement and plaster.

Remarks

An Early to Middle Eocene gypsum-anhydrite unit of the Kohat Saline Series that conformably overlies the Bahadur Khel Salt; its selenitic, laminated and nodular gypsum facies record deposition in restricted sabkha-lagoonal settings during a short late-Early-Eocene evaporitic regression following salt deposition.

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.

Geological significance (2)

Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Eocene Jatta Gypsum is a desiccated-basin evaporite of the SE Kohat Plateau — the Early Eocene Shekhan Formation grades southward into it in the Jatta area, and it is conformably overlain by the Kuldana Formation; commonly imbricated and folded with slivers of Panoba Shale.

Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997)
Craig et al. (2018): the Eocene Jatta Gypsum, where present in the Kohat Plateau (with the Bahadur Khel Salt), adds much structural complexity and contributes to the shallow Palaeogene detachment level of the Kohat fold-and-thrust belt.

Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018)

Sources (9)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.
Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.
Hussain, S.A., Han, F.Q., Ma, Z., Hussain, A., Mughal, M.S., Han, J., Alhassan, A. & Widory, D. (2021). Origin and Evolution of Eocene Rock Salts in Pakistan and Implications for Paleoclimate Studies: Insights From Chemistry and Cl Stable Isotopes. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, 644485.
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.
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.
Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.

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). Jatta Gypsum. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_jattagypsum,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Jatta Gypsum} --- 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/jatta-gypsum (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Meissner et al. (1968), for the upper 'Kohat Series' of Gee (1945).

Below · older

Bahadurkhel Salt

Paleogene

Above · younger

Kahan Group