Paleozoic • Devonian formation In GSP lexicon

Pir Sabak Formation

Devonian

Northern Indus Suture

Devonian in the time scale →

Cited in 4 sources Last reviewed Jul 18, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · DevonianDevonian
Named by: Shah (1977)
Type locality: Not recorded
Thickness: Not recorded
Lithology: Limestone and dolomite.
Synonyms: Not recorded

The upper limestone-and-dolomite part of the Nowshera reef complex, with pre-Late Devonian corals.

Pir Sabak formation of Shah, 1977 include dolomite/limestone. Pre late Devonian age by Shah (1977).

Fossils

Corals

Contacts

In the Khyber–Nowshera Belt column

MixedLimestoneMetamorphicFossils 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

Khyber–Nowshera Belt

Basin: Northern Indus Suture
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

The upper limestone/dolomite unit of the Nowshera Formation reef complex (originally the Pir Sabak Formation of Shah, 1977); its corals indicate a pre-Late Devonian age.

Research notes (1)

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 lists this unit as 'Pir Sabak formation'.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Sources (3)

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.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.

Reviewer confidence: medium

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_pirsabakformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Pir Sabak 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/pir-sabak-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Shah (1977).