Cenozoic • Paleogene In GSP lexicon

Nammal Formation

Early Eocene (Ypresian)

Cited in 8 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene · Early EoceneEarly Eocene (Ypresian)
Named by: Not recorded
Type locality: Nammal Gorge, western Salt Range32.6700°N, 71.8000°E
Thickness: 50-100 m
Lithology: Shale, marl and limestone.
Synonyms: Not recorded

An Early Eocene shale-and-limestone unit of the Salt Range, between the Patala and Sakesar formations.

Named after Nammal Gorge in western Salt Range. Early Eocene marine sequence following Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Part of the Nammal Group.

Fossils

Planktonic foraminifera Nannofossils

Contacts

In the Salt Range column

LimestoneShale / mudFossils recordedContact not recordedConformable

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

Salt Range Kohat Basin Potwar Basin Hazara Basin

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: marine, shallow marine
Coordinates: 32.6700°N, 71.8000°E

Google Maps ↗ OpenStreetMap ↗

See it in the field

Geoheritage site where this unit is exposed at outcrop.

Nammal Gorge & Lake

Salt Range

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

An Early Eocene marl-shale-limestone unit of the Salt Range and Trans-Indus foreland that conformably overlies the Patala Formation and grades up into the Sakesar Limestone.

Research notes (4)

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)

Afzal, Williams & Aldridge (2009) assign the Nammal Formation to planktonic foraminiferal Zones P7-P9, with nannofossil Zones NP11-NP12 and equivalent dinoflagellate zones (Weiss 1993; Afzal & Butt 2000; Sameeni & Butt 2004; Kothe et al. 1988), i.e. Ypresian (Early Eocene). Consistent with the curated Early Eocene (Ypresian) age.

Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009)

Type locality & location (1)

Geocoded (medium confidence) from the published type locality "Nammal Gorge, western 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: Nammal Gorge, western Salt Range.

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

Economic significance (1)

Craig et al. (2018): the Lower Eocene Nammal Formation (shallow-marine to lagoonal calcareous claystones and limestones) is, together with the coeval Patala shales, among the main source rocks of the Potwar Basin (Type II/III), and is listed among the Palaeocene-Eocene producing reservoir formations (Lockhart-Patala-Nammal-Bhadrar-Chorgali).

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)

Sources (8)

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.
Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.
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.
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). Nammal Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_nammalformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Nammal 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/nammal-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

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