Talar Formation
Late Miocene (Messinian; ~6.7-5.3 Ma)
Balochistan Basin · Makran-Siahan Basin, Wazhdad Arc And Mashkel/Kharan Basin
Neogene in the time scale →Cited in 7 sources Last reviewed Jul 31, 2026
- Rank
- formation
- Status
- Published
- Age
- Cenozoic · Neogene · Late MioceneLate Miocene (Messinian; ~6.7-5.3 Ma)
- Named by
- HSC (1961)
- Type locality
- Makran Flysch Province, Balochistan Basin25.9842°N, 62.5113°E
- Thickness
- not less than 5000 m
- Lithology
- Clayey sandstone; sandstone, shale and mudstone.
- Synonyms
- Hinglaj Group (in part)
A Miocene–Pliocene shallow-marine sandstone capping the Makran sequence — a potential reservoir.
Talar Formation is named after the Talar gorge (31 K/10; HSC, 1961). It is considered equilent to Hinglaj group of HSC (1961). It consists of sandstone, shale, mudstone and shelly limestone. Its lower contact with Parkini and Chatti formations is transitional but at places sharp. The fossils like gastropods (Mollusks) and lamellibranches are common. The microforms are Miocene age diagnostic (HSC 1961). The age of the formation is Late Miocene to Early Pliocene.
Fossils
Not recorded
Contacts
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
- Basin
- Balochistan Basin
- Region
- Makran-Siahan Basin, Wazhdad Arc And Mashkel/Kharan Basin
- Depositional environment
- shallow marine, shelf
- Coordinates
- 25.9842°N, 62.5113°E
See it in the field
Geoheritage sites where this unit is exposed at outcrop.
Correlation
Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →
Economic significance
A potential shallow RESERVOIR unit of the Makran, with stacked sandstones above the deeper turbidite reservoirs.
Remarks
A Miocene–Pliocene shallow-marine sandstone capping the regressive Makran succession, recording the final shoaling of the accretionary wedge to near sea level.
Research notes (5)
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)
-
Shah (2009) absorbs the 'Talar sandstone' into the Hinglaj Formation. Kept separate here as a distinct Late Miocene Makran unit (Hunting Survey 1961 and modern usage); Hinglaj's own type thickness is in fact measured at Talar.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009)
Age & correlation (2)
-
Age set to Late Miocene (Messinian) per the Age Span in the Indian Plate Lexicon (compiler N.K. Siddiqui); conformably overlies the Parkini Fm and is overlain by the Hinglaj/Chatti formations.
-
Kazmi & Abbasi (2008): the Talar Formation (type Talar gorge, south Makran; up to ~5,000 m of soft cross-bedded sandstone, shale, mudstone and shelly limestone) is assigned a Miocene–Pliocene age on molluscs (nannofossils place it in the Pliocene; Harms et al. 1984), transitional over the Parkini Formation and conformably overlain by the Chatti Mudstone. This is broader/younger than the curated 'Late Miocene (Messinian)' (from indplex-geolex) — recorded as a note; the precise lexicon age is retained pending reconciliation.
Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008)
Economic significance (2)
-
Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Talar Formation is a Makran-basin sandstone cited as a hydrocarbon reservoir ('Talar and Panjgur sandstones'); the Makran stratigraphic charts label it Plio-Pleistocene, younger than the curated Late Miocene (Messinian) — recorded as a note pending a fuller source.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997)
-
The Pliocene Talar Formation comprises medium- to coarse-grained sandstones with minor mudstone/shale whose upper part has shallow reservoir potential, above the deeper Panjgur turbidite play (Cromie et al. 2022).
Cromie, C., Scarselli, N., Craig, J., Khan, M.R. & Hussain, A. (2022)
Sources (7)
- Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
- Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).
- OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.
- Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
- Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
- 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.
- 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.
Cite this unit
Qudsi, L. (2026). Talar Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991
@misc{stratigraphypk_talarformation,
author = {Qudsi, Lareb},
title = {{Talar 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/talar-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).
To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: HSC (1961).
Related units
Referenced in other successions
Overlain by Ormara Formation
More from Makran Coast
Possible equivalents (shared name or synonym)
Same age (Cenozoic · Neogene)
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