Cenozoic • Quaternary In GSP lexicon

Jiwani Formation

Late Pleistocene (Chibanian; ~0.77-0 Ma)

Cited in 8 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Quaternary · Late PleistoceneLate Pleistocene (Chibanian; ~0.77-0 Ma)
Named by: HSC (1961)
Type locality: Jiwani section, Makran Flysch Province, Balochistan Basin25.0485°N, 61.7457°E
Thickness: 200-500 m
Lithology: Shelly (coquinoid) limestone and littoral concretionary deposits.
Synonyms: Sub-Recent shelly limestone

A Pleistocene shelly coastal limestone of the Makran coast — a raised beach marking how fast the coast is rising above the subduction zone.

Youngest marine-continental transitional sequence in Makran. Contains raised beach deposits and marine terraces.

Fossils

Mollusks Corals

Contacts

In the Makran Coast column

LimestoneConglomerateShale / 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

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: coastal marine, littoral
Coordinates: 25.0485°N, 61.7457°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Building stone Metals & minerals

Hosts the Jiwani sulphur deposit — a thin (~9 in), discontinuous sulphur layer in dark clay near a mud volcano ~20 km NW of Jiwani, grading ~43-56% S (a small deposit), with similar minor occurrences at Ganz and Karghari — and its coastal shelly limestone, sandstone and conglomerate are worked locally as construction/building stone (Malkani 2020).

Remarks

A Pleistocene raised shelly limestone of the south Makran coast; its uplifted coastal terraces record the rapid tectonic emergence of the Makran shoreline above the active subduction zone.

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

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Age & correlation (2)

Age refined from 'Pliocene-Pleistocene' to Late Pleistocene per the Indian Plate Lexicon (compiler N.K. Siddiqui).

Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Jiwani Formation (Pleistocene to Sub-Recent; type section east of Jiwani) is ~30 m of littoral shelly limestone, cross-laminated pebbly sandstone and conglomerate, overlying the Gwadar Formation with an angular unconformity (locally the Hinglaj) and forming uplifted, tilted marine terraces of the Makran coast; bivalves (Fossularca, Timoclea arakanensis, Martesia striata).

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

Thickness (1)

Lexicon gives 30 m at the Jiwani type area (sandy/shelly limestone, sandstone, conglomerate); conformably overlies the Ormara or Gwadar Formation. The existing 200-500 m figure derives from a separate subsurface source.

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

Sources (7)

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.
Malkani, M.S. (2020). Revised Stratigraphy and Mineral Resources of Balochistan Basin, Pakistan: An Update. Open Journal of Geology, 10, 784-828.
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.

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Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_jiwaniformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Jiwani 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/jiwani-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

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

Below · older

Ormara Formation

Neogene