Paleozoic • Permian formation In GSP lexicon

Kundil Formation

Permian

Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Central Karakoram Batholith

Cited in 8 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Permian · Late PermianPermian
Named by: Gaetani et al. (1990a)
Type locality: Kundil valley36.7100°N, 74.7700°E
Thickness: cherty limestone about 100–120 m (Wirokhun Saddle / Borom gullies west of Sost), with a laterally thinning megabreccia body in the middle–upper part
Lithology: Cherty limestone with marl and fine tuff: a lower thick-bedded cherty limestone unit, a middle grey cherty limestone unit, and an upper unit, with a metabreccia up to 100 m thick between the middle and upper units.
Synonyms: Not recorded

The Late Permian cherty-limestone top of the Chapursan Group in upper Hunza.

Kundil formation is named after Kundil valley, south of Darband post about 10km NW of Sost (Shimshal and Chapursan Valleys of upper Hunza) by Gaetani et al. (1990a), presented 3 members of marl, limestone and fine tuffs of Late Permian age.

Fossils

Conodonts (Lopingian: Clarkina, Iranognathus)

Contacts

In the Karakoram column

SandstoneLimestoneMixedShale / mudFossils recordedConformable

Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type. 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

Karakoram

Basin: Karakoram-Hindukush Basin
Region: Central Karakoram Batholith
Depositional environment: marine
Coordinates: 36.7100°N, 74.7700°E

Google Maps ↗ OpenStreetMap ↗

See it in the field

Geoheritage site where this unit is exposed at outcrop.

Khunjerab Pass & National Park

Karakoram

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

Uppermost Permian formation of the Chapursan Group in the Upper Hunza region; conformably overlies the Panjshah Formation.

Sources (7)

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.
Gaetani, M., Nicora, A., Henderson, C., Cirilli, S., Gale, L., Rettori, R., Vuolo, I. & Atudorei, V. (2013). Refinements in the Upper Permian to Lower Jurassic stratigraphy of Karakorum, Pakistan. Facies, 59, 915-948.
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.
Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.

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.

Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_kundilformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Kundil 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/kundil-formation (accessed September 5, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Gaetani et al. (1990a).

Below · older

Panjshah Formation

Permian

Above · younger

Wirokhun Formation

Triassic