Precambrian • Paleoproterozoic formation In GSP lexicon

Kishar Formation

Paleoproterozoic or older (pre-2173 Ma)

Northern Indus Suture · Malakand

Cited in 5 sources Last reviewed Jul 18, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Precambrian · PaleoproterozoicPaleoproterozoic or older (pre-2173 Ma)
Named by: DiPietro et al. (1999)
Type locality: Amlo, Indus valley
Thickness: Not recorded
Lithology: Metasedimentary basement of the Indian plate (schist, quartzite and calc-silicate gneiss).
Synonyms: Not recorded

A conglomerate unit at Amlo in the Besham–Karora cover sequence.

Kishar formation is named by Dipietro et al. (1999) for darkgrey non schistose biotite quartz plagioclase rocks which were earlier included in the Besham group. Amlo conglomerate is named after the Amlo village north of Besham by Baig (1990). It consists of mainly conglomerate.

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

In the Swat–Malakand column

MetamorphicContact 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

Swat–Malakand

Basin: Northern Indus Suture
Region: Malakand
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

A conglomerate unit at Amlo associated with the base of the Besham–Karora cover sequence of the Indus valley.

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)

Lithology (2)

CONFLICT / possible homonym (DiPietro & Pogue 2004, full text): the well-documented Kishar formation is a PRE-2173 Ma GNEISSIC basement unit of the Indian plate (Western Hinterland / Besham), unconformably overlain by the Karora and Gandaf formations - NOT the "mainly conglomerate" unit recorded here (Malkani 2017; no age; Swat-Malakand). Either this record is mis-described (it should be a Paleoproterozoic gneiss) or the name is a homonym of a different Swat unit. NOT corroborated - author to resolve.

DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (2004)
RESOLVED (DiPietro & Isachsen 2001 + DiPietro & Pogue 2004, both full text): the Kishar formation is a pre-2173 Ma METASEDIMENTARY BASEMENT unit of the Indian plate (Indus syntaxis / Besham), unconformably below the Karora formation. The earlier "mainly conglomerate" description (Malkani 2017) was a mis-attribution of the conglomerate at the BASE OF THE KARORA (which carries Kishar-derived clasts) - not the Kishar itself. Lithology and age corrected; homonym flag resolved (same unit, mis-described).

DiPietro, J.A. & Isachsen, C.E. (2001)

Sources (4)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
DiPietro, J.A. & Pogue, K.R. (2004). Tectonostratigraphic subdivisions of the Himalaya: A view from the west. Tectonics, 23, TC5001.
DiPietro, J.A. & Isachsen, C.E. (2001). U-Pb zircon ages from the Indian plate in northwest Pakistan and their significance to Himalayan and pre-Himalayan geologic history. Tectonics, 20(4), 510-525.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.

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.

Spotted an error? Suggest a sourced correction →

Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_kisharformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Kishar 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/kishar-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: DiPietro et al. (1999).