Paleozoic • Carboniferous formation In GSP lexicon

Ribat Formation

Early Carboniferous

Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Central Karakoram Batholith

Carboniferous in the time scale →

Cited in 5 sources Last reviewed Jul 31, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Carboniferous · Early CarboniferousEarly Carboniferous
Named by: Gaetani et al. (2004)
Type locality: Ribat River, upper Karambar region
Thickness: >300 m in the Karambar Unit (Ribat Valley type section), reduced to <100 m in the Baroghil-Lashkargaz Unit (upper part eroded/non-deposited before the Gircha Fm.)
Lithology: Fossiliferous limestone and marl.
Synonyms: Not recorded

An Early Carboniferous limestone-and-marl unit above the Margach Formation.

Fossils

Conodonts (Gnathodus, Siphonodella lobata)Brachiopods (spiriferids, productoids)Crinoids

Contacts

In the Karakoram column

MetamorphicConglomerateLimestoneFossils recordedConformable

Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type. 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

Karakoram

Basin: Karakoram-Hindukush Basin
Region: Central Karakoram Batholith
Depositional environment: marine, shallow marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

An Early Carboniferous fossiliferous-limestone unit overlying the Margach Formation.

Sources (7)

Gaetani, M. et al. (2004). Northern Karakoram sedimentary belt.
Malkani, M. S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Vol. 24.
Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
Gaetani, M., Zanchi, A., Angiolini, L., Olivini, G., Sciunnach, D., Brunton, H., Nicora, A. & Mawson, R. (2004). The Carboniferous of the Western Karakoram (Pakistan). Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 23(2), 275-305.
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.

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.

Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_ribatformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Ribat 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/ribat-formation (accessed September 5, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Gaetani et al. (2004).

Below · older

Margach Formation

Devonian–Carboniferous