Paleozoic • Cambrian In GSP lexicon

Kussak Formation

Early to early Middle Cambrian

Cited in 9 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Cambrian · Series 2Early to early Middle Cambrian
Named by: Wynne (1878) 'Obolus/Siphonotreta beds'; Waagen & Wynne (1895) 'Neobolus beds'; Noetling (1894) 'Kussak group'; formalized as Kussak Formation, Fatmi (1973)
Type locality: Kussak Fort, eastern Salt Range32.7200°N, 72.9300°E
Thickness: 50-100 m
Lithology: Glauconitic and micaceous sandstone, siltstone, dolomite interbeds
Synonyms: Neobolus Shales

A glauconitic, micaceous Cambrian sandstone and dolomite unit deposited on tidal flats and a shallow shelf; it is rich in trilobites and burrows.

Named after Kussak Fort in eastern Salt Range. Contains thin lenses of fossil asphalt (gilsonite). Rich in trilobites including Redlichia noetlingi. Part of the Khewra Group.

Fossils

Trilobites (Redlichia noetlingi)Brachiopods (Neobolus warthi, Lingulella)Hyolithes wynnei

Contacts

In the Salt Range column

SandstoneLimestoneShale / mudFossils recordedUnconformityContact not recorded

Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type (wavy = unconformity inferred from a missing period); 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

Salt Range Kohat Basin Potwar Basin

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: tidal flat, shallow marine
Coordinates: 32.7200°N, 72.9300°E

Google Maps ↗ OpenStreetMap ↗

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

A glauconitic, trilobite-bearing Cambrian unit whose intense and diverse bioturbation (Cruziana and Skolithos ichnofacies across intertidal to shallow-subtidal settings) records well-established tidal-flat ecosystems during the Cambrian 'agronomic revolution'.

Research notes (5)

Field-by-field findings drawn from the cited literature. Every statement is traced to a registered source — follow a citation for the full reference.

Age & correlation (1)

Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Kussak Formation (Early Cambrian to early Middle Cambrian; type near Fort Kussak) is ~75 m (30 m Khisor Range) of grey glauconitic silty/sandy shale with a thin basal conglomerate, resting disconformably on the Khewra Sandstone and conformably overlain by the Jutana Formation; a marine unit with brachiopods and trilobites (Neobolus warthi, Redlichia noetlingi).

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

Type locality & location (1)

Geocoded (medium confidence) from the published type locality "Kussak Fort, eastern Salt Range" via public gazetteer (OpenStreetMap / GEOnet Names Server). Named-place point of ~km accuracy for regional screening, not a surveyed section; author-reviewed in the coordinate-verification pass. Basis: Kussak Fort, eastern Salt Range.

OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.

Depositional environment (1)

Citation re-attributed to the baseline compilation after removing an unverifiable source (reviewer had no full-text access); the fact traces to the GSP baseline.

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017)

Economic significance (1)

Craig et al. (2018): the Lower Cambrian Kussak Formation (glauconitic shoreface sandstones and siltstones) has produced oil in the Misa Kiswal Field (Petroconsultants 1996).

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)

Geological significance (1)

Citation re-attributed to the baseline compilation after removing an unverifiable source (reviewer had no full-text access); the fact traces to the GSP baseline.

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017)

Sources (10)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.
Ahmad, W., Gingras, M.K., Ranger, M.J., MacEachern, J.A. & Zonneveld, J.P. (2024). Depositional setting and trace fossil suites of the early Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 4) Khussak Formation, east-central Salt Range, north-west sub-Himalayas, Pakistan. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 165, 106858.
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.
Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.
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.
OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_kussakformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Kussak 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/kussak-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Wynne (1878) 'Obolus/Siphonotreta beds'; Waagen & Wynne (1895) 'Neobolus beds'; Noetling (1894) 'Kussak group'; formalized as Kussak Formation, Fatmi (1973).

Below · older

Khewra Sandstone

Cambrian

Above · younger

Jutana Formation