Cenozoic • Neogene In GSP lexicon

Ormara Formation

Middle Pleistocene (Calabrian; ~1.39-0.77 Ma)

Cited in 7 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Neogene · Middle PleistoceneMiddle Pleistocene (Calabrian; ~1.39-0.77 Ma)
Named by: Not recorded
Type locality: Ormara hammerhead section, Makran Flysch Province25.2100°N, 64.6400°E
Thickness: 60-900 m (combined Gwadar-Ormara succession)
Lithology: Sandy claystone; the combined Gwadar-Ormara succession is predominantly sandy clay.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A Pliocene shallow-sea mudstone-and-sandstone along the Makran coast near Ormara, full of clam and snail shells, marking the last marine deposits before the coastline emerged.

Shallow marine to coastal deposits in western Makran. Contains well-preserved molluscan fauna.

Fossils

Bivalves (lamellibranchs)Gastropods Foraminifera

Contacts

In the Makran Coast column

Shale / mudSandstoneFossils recordedContact 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

Makran Coast

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: shallow marine, coastal
Coordinates: 25.2100°N, 64.6400°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

A Pliocene shallow-marine to coastal unit of the eastern Makran coastal belt, dominantly soft mudstone with subordinate siltstone, sandstone and marl; it overlies the Talar Formation with a gradational lower contact and yields a molluscan (bivalve-gastropod) and foraminiferal fauna. It records the youngest marine sedimentation of the accreting Makran wedge before final coastal emergence.

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)

Shah (2009) synonymises the Ormara Formation into the Gwadar Formation (preferring the name Gwadar). Kept as a distinct unit here: Ormara overlies Gwadar with a younger (Middle Pleistocene) age, following Hunting Survey (1961) and modern Makran usage.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Age & correlation (2)

Age refined from 'Pliocene' to Middle Pleistocene (Calabrian) per the Indian Plate Lexicon (compiler N.K. Siddiqui). Conformably overlies the Gwadar Formation (not yet a separate unit here).

Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Ormara Formation (Late Pleistocene) forms the Ormara headland — an uplifted horst of mudstone, sandstone, conglomerate and shelly limestone (shelf deposits) connected to the mainland by tombolos, dipping 3–5° seaward on the Makran coast.

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

Sources (6)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.
Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).
Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
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.

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Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_ormaraformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Ormara 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/ormara-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

Below · older

Talar Formation

Neogene

Above · younger

Jiwani Formation

Quaternary

Referenced in other successions

Underlain by Gwadar Formation