Mesozoic • Cretaceous In GSP lexicon

Parh Limestone

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian)

Part of Mona Jhal Group

Cretaceous in the time scale →

Cited in 7 sources Last reviewed Aug 2, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Mesozoic · Cretaceous · Late Cretaceous (Barremian–Maastrichtian)Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian)
Named by: Blanford (1879)
Type locality: Parh, Sulaiman Range26.9125°N, 67.0958°E
Thickness: 100-300 m
Lithology: Very uniform, persistent, thin-bedded light-grey, white or cream porcellaneous limestone with a characteristic pink-purple-maroon band and interbeds of variegated shale and marl.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A distinctive, very persistent Late Cretaceous deep-sea limestone with a pink-to-maroon band — a regional marker.

Pelagic limestone deposited during global sea level highstand. Contains Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) markers.

Fossils

Planktonic foraminifera (Globotruncana spp.)

Contacts

In the Sulaiman Fold Belt column

Shale / mudLimestoneSandstoneFossils 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

Sulaiman Fold Belt Kirthar Range

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: pelagic marine
Coordinates: 26.9125°N, 67.0958°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Metals & minerals

Building-limestone source; the Ziarat laterite (ochre pigment) forms on its weathered contact with the Dungan Limestone (Kach-Sanjawi).

Remarks

A very persistent Late Cretaceous pelagic limestone of the Kirthar–Sulaiman region and a key regional marker bed, deposited in deep, open-marine conditions.

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)

Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee's compiled lexicon. Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Type locality & location (1)

Published type section, upper Gaj River area (lat 26 deg 54' 45" N, long 67 deg 05' 45" E) — Williams (1959), in Hemphill & Kidwai (1973).

Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973)

Stratigraphic contacts (1)

Umar et al. (2024): the Parh Limestone rests conformably on the Goru Formation and is conformably overlain by the Mughal Kot Formation (SKFTB) and the Bibai Formation, but is disconformably overlain by the Fort Munro Formation or the Hanna Lake Limestone in other sections; a thin red gypsiferous shale marks an uplift-induced unconformity at its top in some sections. It is laterally equivalent to the Kawagarh Formation of the northern basins.

Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024)

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.
Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.
Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.
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.
Umar, M., Kassi, A.M., Jamil, M., Kasi, A.K. & Khan, A.S. (2024). Cretaceous stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture, Pakistan: signatures of rift-drift tectonics and submarine volcanism along the western continental margin of the Indian Plate. In: Hart, M.B. et al. (eds) Cretaceous Project 200 Volume 2: Regional Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 545.

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_parhlimestone,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Parh Limestone} --- 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/parh-limestone (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Blanford (1879).

Below · older

Goru Formation

Cretaceous

Above · younger

Mughal Kot Formation