The Quaternary in Pakistan
2.58 Ma – present
The most recent period, from 2.58 million years ago to today — the age of repeated ice ages and of human evolution.
In Pakistan
In Pakistan the Quaternary is the still-accumulating record of the active collision: the uppermost Siwaliks (Soan and Pinjor beds), the vast alluvium of the Indus plains, wind-blown loess and river terraces of the Potwar, and the coastal and deltaic deposits of the Makran coast and the Indus delta. Its river gravels also preserve Palaeolithic stone tools.
This reference records 16 units assigned to the Quaternary across 4 basins, most commonly conglomerate, sandstone, shale/mudstone.
At a glance
- 16
- units
- 4
- basins
- 8
- provinces
- 4
- georeferenced
- 3
- with fossils
- 13
- type localities
- 2,000 m
- max thickness
- 21
- sources
Rock types
- conglomerate (9)
- sandstone (3)
- shale/mudstone (1)
- limestone (1)
- igneous rocks (1)
Based on the primary lithology recorded for each unit; some units span more than one rock type.
Fossils recorded
- Mollusks
- Corals
- Mammal fossils
- Stegodon
- Early Paleolithic artifacts
- Stegodon rathiansis
Units of the Quaternary
- Bostan Formation Balochistan Basin
- Bunthang Sequence Skardu intermontane basin
- Dada Formation Kirthar Basin
- Gwadar Formation Middle Pleistocene
- Haro Conglomerate Formation Pleistocene
- Jiwani Formation Late Pleistocene
- Kamerod Formation Balochistan Basin
- Kech Formation Balochistan Basin
- Koh-i-Sultan Volcanic Group Late Pliocene–Pleistocene
- Lei Conglomerate Pliocene-Pleistocene
- Malagan Formation Bannu Basin
- Marwat Formation Bannu Basin
- Sakhi Sarwar Formation Kirthar Basin
- Sakhi Sarwar Group Balochistan Basin
- Sheri Gasha Formation Bannu Basin
- Soan Formation Pliocene-Pleistocene
Provinces — Chagai Hills · Karakoram · Kirthar Range · Kohat Basin · Makran Coast · Potwar Basin · Sindh Province · Zhob-Muslim Bagh.