Uch Khattak Formation
Precambrian
Northern Indus Suture
Precambrian in the time scale →Cited in 5 sources Last reviewed Jul 18, 2026
- Rank
- formation
- Status
- Published
- Age
- Precambrian · PrecambrianPrecambrian
- Named by
- Tahirkheli (1970)
- Type locality
- Attock-Cherat and Gandghar Ranges
- Thickness
- 200–250 m
- Lithology
- Limestone, argillite and shale; a lower stromatolite-bearing limestone is overlain by laminated argillite and shale, with an intraformational conglomerate carrying clasts of the Manki and Shahkot formations.
- Synonyms
- Not recorded
A Late Precambrian limestone-and-shale unit with stromatolites, between the Shahkot and Shekhai formations.
Uch Khattak formation consists of rubbly limestone with minor shales (Tahirkheli, 1970). Hussain et al. (1989) declared as Precambrian.
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
- Northern Indus Suture
- Region
- Not recorded
- Depositional environment
- marine
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
Correlation
Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →
Economic significance
Not recorded
Remarks
A Late Precambrian limestone-argillite-shale unit conformable between the Shahkot and Shekhai formations; its lower limestone carries stromatolites and it contains a conglomerate with clasts of the underlying units.
Research notes (2)
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)
Geological significance (1)
-
Contains a diagnostic intraformational conglomerate with clasts of both the Manki and Shahkot Formations, demonstrating that the Uch Khattak is younger than both; the same conglomerate is traced into the Attock-Cherat Range just west of the Indus River. Distinctive basal limestone (10-70 m) of bluish- to dark-gray carbonate in a wavy meshwork of brown clayey material, locally stromatolitic.
Hylland, M.D., Riaz, M. & Ahmad, S. (1988)
Sources (4)
- Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
- Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
- Hylland, M.D., Riaz, M. & Ahmad, S. (1988). Geology of the Southern Gandghar Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, Vol. 21, pp. 1-14.
- 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). Uch Khattak Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991
@misc{stratigraphypk_uchkhattakformation,
author = {Qudsi, Lareb},
title = {{Uch Khattak 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/uch-khattak-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).
To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Tahirkheli (1970).
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