Mesozoic • Cretaceous–Paleogene formation In GSP lexicon

Savoia Formation

Cretaceous–Eocene (uncertain; unfossiliferous)

Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Central Karakoram Batholith

Cretaceous–Paleogene in the time scale →

Cited in 4 sources Last reviewed Jul 31, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Mesozoic · Cretaceous–PaleogeneCretaceous–Eocene (uncertain; unfossiliferous)
Named by: Desio (1963)
Type locality: Savoia glacier, a tributary of the Godwin-Austen (Baltoro) glacier35.8463°N, 76.4650°E
Thickness: about 1000 m
Lithology: About 1000 m of schist, marl and conglomerate.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A thick (about 1000 m) metasedimentary unit of the Baltoro glacier region.

The Savoia Formation is named after the Savoia glacier, a tributary of the Godwin-Austen glacier in the Baltoro basin, by Desio (1963) for 1000 m of schist, marl and conglomerate. It is associated with the Sarpo Lago slate (named after the Sarpo Lago valley on the northern slope of the Karakoram by Desio 1963), mainly slates with intercalations of gneiss of upper Palaeozoic age.

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

In the Karakoram column

ConglomerateIgneousMetamorphicLimestoneFossils 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

Karakoram

Basin: Karakoram-Hindukush Basin
Region: Central Karakoram Batholith
Depositional environment: Not recorded
Coordinates: 35.8463°N, 76.4650°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

A thick metasedimentary schist–marl–conglomerate unit of the Baltoro region of the central Karakoram; its precise age is not established.

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). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Age & correlation (1)

Kazmi & Abbasi (2008) gap-fill: the Savoia Formation ('Savoia calc-schist', Desio 1963; Shaksgam/Baltoro) is referred to the Cretaceous–Eocene metamorphic suite, though it is unfossiliferous and Searle regards its age as unknown. Blank age gap-filled to Cretaceous–Eocene (uncertain).

Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008)

Type locality & location (1)

Type-locality coordinate set from reviewer-supplied GPS (35.846335 N, 76.465002 E), Shaksgam/K2-Baltoro area, eastern Karakoram.

OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.

Sources (4)

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.
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.

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_savoiaformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Savoia 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/savoia-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Desio (1963).