Cenozoic • Neogene In GSP lexicon

Murree Formation

Early Miocene (Aquitanian-Burdigalian)

Cited in 9 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Neogene · MioceneEarly Miocene (Aquitanian-Burdigalian)
Named by: Wynne (1874) 'Mari Group' / Lydekker (1876) 'Murree Beds' / Pilgrim (1910) 'Murree Series'; formalized by the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan, from the Murree hills, Rawalpindi
Type locality: Dhok Maiki, Murree Hills, Rawalpindi District33.4173°N, 72.5698°E
Thickness: 2000-3000 m
Lithology: Red to purple sandstone and shale (molasse)
Synonyms: Mari Group; Murree Beds; Murree Series

A thick Early Miocene pile of red and grey river sandstones and mudstones - the oldest of the 'molasse' deposits dumped in front of the newly rising Himalaya.

Continental molasse derived from rising Himalaya. First major phase of Himalayan denudation. Synonym/correlative of Kamlial Formation.

Fossils

Mammal bones Freshwater molluscs Plant fossils

Contacts

In the Potwar Basin column

ConglomerateSandstoneFossils 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

Potwar Basin Kohat Basin Hazara Basin Azad Kashmir

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: fluvial, continental
Coordinates: 33.4173°N, 72.5698°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

The basal unit of the Miocene Rawalpindi Group, named after the Murree Hills; a thick continental molasse of purple to reddish and grey sandstone, siltstone and shale shed from the rising Himalaya. It records the first major phase of Himalayan denudation into the foreland basin and passes up conformably into the Kamlial Formation.

Sources (9)

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.
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. & 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.
Calkins, J.A., Offield, T.W., Abdullah, S.K.M. & Ali, S.T. (1975). Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C, 29 p. (Geological Investigations in Pakistan).
Munthe, J., Hussain, S.T., Lukacs, J.R., West, R.M. & Shah, S.M.I. (1979). Neogene Stratigraphy of the Daud Khel Area, Mianwali District, Pakistan. Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology, 23, 1-18.
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.
Yasin, M., Ali, S.M.K., Munir, M.H. & Ishfaque, M. (2017). The sedimentary geology, remote sensing, geomorphology and petrology of Miocene to Late Pliocene sediments in District Sudhunhoti and Poonch, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. Earth Science Malaysia, 1(1), 8-14.

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_murreeformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Murree 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/murree-formation (accessed September 5, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Wynne (1874) 'Mari Group' / Lydekker (1876) 'Murree Beds' / Pilgrim (1910) 'Murree Series'; formalized by the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan, from the Murree hills, Rawalpindi.

Below · older

Kuldana Formation

Paleogene

Above · younger

Kamlial Formation

Neogene

Referenced in other successions

Underlain by Kohat Formation