Cenozoic • Paleogene formation In GSP lexicon

Rakhi Gaj Formation

Paleocene

Sulaiman Basin

Cited in 7 sources Last reviewed Jul 18, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene · Middle PaleocenePaleocene
Named by: Malkani (2010a)
Type locality: Rakhi Nala, Sulaiman Range29.9539°N, 70.1917°E
Thickness: about 100m
Lithology: 70° 04' 40'' E) where it consists of thick and resistant beds of sandstone with minor shale.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A Middle Paleocene unit in the Rakhi Nala area, the middle of the Sulaiman Paleocene (Sangiali) succession.

Introduced by Williams (1959) as the lower Rakhi Gaj shales and formalized by Shah (2002), type section at Rakhi Gaj Nala, the Rakhi Gaj Formation is the middle unit of the Sangiali Group. Malkani (2010) recognized two members — a lower Girdu Member (about 100 m of grey, glauconitic and hematitic sandstone with minor shale) and an upper Bawata Member. The glauconitic–hematitic sandstones around Fort Munro and Rakhi Gaj carry notable iron and potash.

Fossils

Globogerina pseudobulloides Howecythereis multispinosa Paracypris rectoventra

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

Basin: Sulaiman Basin
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: marine
Coordinates: 29.9539°N, 70.1917°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Salt & evaporites Metals & minerals

Glauconitic and hematitic sandstone (Gorge beds) with anomalous iron (14-21%) and probable potash; prospective for uranium; thin aragonite in associated shale.

Remarks

A Middle Paleocene unit forming the middle part of the Sangiali Group (Sangiali–Rakhi Gaj–Dungan) of the Sulaiman basin.

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 of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents as 'Rakhi Guj Formation'). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Constituent units (1)

Malkani (2016) subdivides the Rakhi Gaj Formation into a Girdu Member (glauconitic and hematitic sandstone) and a Bawata Member (alternating shale and sandstone), within his Paleocene Sangiali Group. Recorded for provenance; member units not created in the dataset.

Malkani, M.S. (2016)

Geological significance (1)

Malkani (2019) reports Deccan volcanic dust in the Rakhi Gaj Formation (grey-green sandstone and shale) at its Rakhi Gaj section, Dera Ghazi Khan; it forms the middle unit of the Early Paleocene Sangiali Group, recording the earliest-Paleocene transgression above the latest-Cretaceous Vitakri beds.

Malkani, M.S. (2019)

Sources (6)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Malkani, M.S. (2010). Updated Stratigraphy and Mineral Potential of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 42(2), 39-66.
Malkani, M.S. (2019). Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology, 9, 671-673.
Malkani, M.S. (2016). Revised stratigraphy of Indus Basin (Pakistan): Sea level changes. In: Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific — Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608, Novosibirsk 2016, Abstract Volume, pp. 97-99.
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). Rakhi Gaj Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_rakhigajformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Rakhi Gaj 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/rakhi-gaj-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Malkani (2010a).

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