Cenozoic • Neogene-Quaternary formation Literature

Sheri Gasha Formation

Pliocene to Pleistocene

Bannu Basin · Trans-Indus Ranges

Cited in 2 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Neogene-Quaternary · Pliocene-PleistocenePliocene to Pleistocene
Named by: Morris (1938); usage of Munthe (1981)
Type locality: Bhittani Range, Trans-Indus, NW Pakistan (Morris 1938; Munthe 1981).
Thickness: about 400 m
Lithology: Sandstone with a higher siltstone/sandstone ratio than the underlying Marwat Formation (the local equivalent of the Dhok Pathan facies).
Synonyms: Not recorded

The Sheri Gasha Formation is an Upper-Siwalik unit of the Bhittani Range (~400 m thick) that conformably succeeds the Marwat Formation and is overlain by the Malagan Formation (Javed Khan & Opdyke 1981); it is Plio-Pleistocene. Hemphill & Kidwai (1973) proposed renaming it the Dhok Pathan Formation, rejected because it is far younger than the Miocene Dhok Pathan type section. (Khan et al. 1988 drop the name, listing the succession as Kargocha–Marwat–Malagan.)

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

Lower contact — conformable; upper contact — not recorded.

In the Kohat Basin column

SandstoneFossils 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

Kohat Basin

Basin: Bannu Basin
Region: Trans-Indus Ranges
Depositional environment: fluvial, continental
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

The local Trans-Indus equivalent of the Dhok Pathan facies, Plio-Pleistocene rather than Miocene; not universally retained (dropped by Khan et al. 1988).

Sources (1)

Javed Khan, M. & Opdyke, N.D. (1981). The magnetic polarity stratigraphy and correlation of the Upper Siwalik sediments from the Bhittani Range. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 24, 133-141.

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: Defined in journal or other literature; not found in a GSP memoir. There is no body currently ratifying unit status, so provenance is shown in place of a formal ruling.

Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_sherigashaformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Sheri Gasha 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/sheri-gasha-formation (accessed September 5, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Morris (1938); usage of Munthe (1981).

Below · older

Marwat Formation

Neogene-Quaternary

Above · younger

Malagan Formation

Quaternary