Paleozoic • Devonian formation Literature

Vandanil Formation

Early Devonian (Pragian)

Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Central Karakoram Batholith

Cited in 2 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Devonian · Early DevonianEarly Devonian (Pragian)
Named by: Gaetani et al. (2008)
Type locality: Type section on the southeast side of the Ribat Bar, above the summer meadows of Vandanil, Karambar Unit; recognized only in the Karambar Unit.
Thickness: about 625 m
Lithology: About 625 m in five lithozones: (1) grey slightly dolomitized limestone with crinoids, brachiopod and tabulate-coral fragments (~135 m); (2) light grey dolostones (~50 m); (3) grey carbonatic siltstones with nodular limestones and dolostone banks, capped by calcareous slates (~150 m); (4) grey nodular limestones rich in brachiopods, corals, crinoids and nautiloids (~120 m); (5) grey dolostones with massive mounds built by dendroid-to-phacelloid rugosans, tabulates and calcareous algae (~170 m).
Synonyms: Not recorded

The Vandanil Formation is an Early Devonian (Pragian) carbonate-ramp succession about 625 m thick, recognised only in the Karambar Unit of the Karakoram, where it forms the thickest and most complete Devonian–Carboniferous section of the range. Five lithozones grade from high-energy bioclastic limestones through sheltered nodular limestones and slates to a coral–algal mound at the top; conodonts (Pandorinellina steinhornensis miae and others, identified by R. Mawson) date it to the Pragian. It overlies the Ordovician Vidiakot slates and is overlain by the peritidal Chilmarabad Formation.

Fossils

Conodonts (Pandorinellina steinhornensis miae, Ozarkodina spp., Amydrotaxis spp.)Crinoids Brachiopods Tabulate corals Rugosans Calcareous algae Nautiloids

Contacts

Lower contact — conformable; upper contact — conformable.

In the Hindukush-Chitral column

LimestoneMetamorphicMixedFossils recordedContact not recordedConformable

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

Hindukush-Chitral

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

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

A Pragian (Early Devonian) carbonate ramp in the Karambar Unit, the thickest and most complete Devonian–Carboniferous succession of the Karakoram; conodonts (R. Mawson in Gaetani et al. 2008) date it to the Pragian. It underlies the peritidal Chilmarabad Formation and overlies the Ordovician Vidiakot slates.

Research notes (1)

Field-by-field findings drawn from the cited literature. Every statement is traced to a registered source — follow a citation for the full reference.

Age & correlation (1)

Gaetani, Mawson, Sciunnach & Talent (2008) — the primary paper that FORMALLY DEFINES the Vandanil Formation (type section at Vandanil, Karambar thrust sheet): ~625 m of dolostones and recrystallized limestones lying above the black shales/siltstones of the Baroghil Group. Its base (scree-covered) approximates latest Silurian or earliest Devonian; conodonts prove a Pragian age (late sulcatus to dehiscens Zone) in the 4th of its 5 lithozones, with a ?Givetian top below the Chilmarabad Formation upper-dolostone member. Corroborates the curated Early Devonian (Pragian) age and ~625 m thickness; adds the definitional source (previously carried only on Zanchi & Gaetani 2011).

Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Sciunnach, D. & Talent, J.A. (2008)

Sources (3)

Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram Range, Pakistan. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.
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.
Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Sciunnach, D. & Talent, J.A. (2008). The Devonian of Western Karakorum (Pakistan). Acta Geologica Polonica, 58(3), 261-285.

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.

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Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_vandanilformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Vandanil 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/vandanil-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Gaetani et al. (2008).

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