Salt Range Escarpment (Khewra–Choa Saidan Shah)
Salt Range · also Salt Range front
Photo: stratigraphy.pk, © stratigraphy.pk
The south-facing escarpment of the Salt Range exposes an almost complete Cambrian-to-Eocene section in a single traverse — from the Precambrian–Cambrian Salt Range Formation up through Permian Gondwanan and Tethyan strata to Paleogene carbonates — recording the drift of the Indian plate from Gondwana onto the Tethyan margin.
- Classic Cambrian → Permian (Nilawahan/Zaluch) → Paleogene traverse
- Frontal thrust of the Salt Range–Potwar belt, detached on the Salt Range Formation evaporites
- Iconic red-and-white banded hillsides
The geology here
The stratigraphic units exposed at this site — every geological fact above traces to their cited sources.
Salt Range Formation
Late Precambrian (Ediacaran)Rock salt (Billianwala Salt Member), gypsum (Bandar Kas Gypsum Member), marl (Sahwal Marl Member)
Tobra Formation
Early Permian (Asselian-Sakmarian)Tillite, diamictite, boulder beds with striated clasts
Wargal Limestone
Middle–Late Permian (Capitanian–Wuchiapingian)Light grey to cream fossiliferous limestone
Chhidru Formation
Late Permian (Changhsingian)Grey to greenish sandstone, siltstone, limestone
Quantitative assessment
Scored with the Brilha (2016) method — each value 0–400. Desk-based first pass; the full score matrix ships with the open dataset.
Nearby geosites
Sources
Every statement on this page traces to a registered source. Full records ship with the open dataset.
This geosite is an editorial selection; the geological facts trace to the cited sources on the linked unit pages. Coordinates are indicative and not surveyed. ← All geosites · Suggest a correction