Cenozoic • Paleogene formation In GSP lexicon

Kharan Formation

Early to Middle Eocene (Ypresian-Lutetian; ~56-41.0 Ma)

Cited in 5 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene · Early to Middle EoceneEarly to Middle Eocene (Ypresian-Lutetian; ~56-41.0 Ma)
Named by: Hunting Survey Corporation (1960)
Type locality: Near Jalwar, Kharan district (Chagai-Raskoh)
Thickness: 90-600 m
Lithology: Reefoid, clay-rich limestone (medium to dark grey, fetid on fresh surface) with thin calcareous shale and calcareous sandstone intercalations.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A highly fossiliferous, reefoid, clay-rich limestone with calcareous shale and sandstone intercalations that become dominant in the central Raskoh Range. Restricted to the Chagai-Raskoh Magmatic Province. Named by the Hunting Survey Corporation (1960); type locality near Jalwar, Kharan district.

Fossils

Assilina granulosa Assilina exponens Assilina elliptica Fasciolites oblonga Discocyclina ranikotensis Flosculina globosa Lituonella douvillei Opertorbitolites douvillei

Contacts

In the Chagai Hills column

Shale / mudLimestoneIgneousFossils 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

Chagai Hills

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: Not recorded
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

Not recorded

Research notes (3)

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 & Jan (1997): the Kharan Formation (Early to Middle Eocene; type section near Jalwar) is 90–600 m of grey argillaceous fossiliferous reefoid limestone with calcareous shale and sandstone (including the Wakai Member), conformably overlying the Rakhshani Formation and overlain transitionally by the Khojak Formation; forams Assilina granulosa/exponens, Orbitolites complanatus.

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

Lithology (1)

Independently corroborated (Malkani 2020, Balochistan Basin — independent of the Indian Plate Lexicon; and Geotectonics 2025, DOI 10.1134/S0016852125700049, on the Eocene Kharan Limestone of the Raskoh Range): Early-Middle Eocene foraminiferal/argillaceous limestone near Kharan, treated as a synonym/equivalent of the Nisai (Robat) limestone. Lifts this record off the indplex-only source. Literature-search-derived.

Malkani, M.S. (2020)

Sources (4)

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_kharanformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Kharan 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/kharan-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Hunting Survey Corporation (1960).

Your notes

Saved on this device only.