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Pakistan Stratigraphy

Indo-Pakistan Shield (Precambrian Craton)

Indo-Pakistan Shield

Scattered exposures: Sargodha-Chiniot (Punjab), Nagarparkar (Sindh), Besham-Swat (KP), Nanga Parbat (GB) · Stable cratonic shield with scattered inselberg exposures and Himalayan tectonic windows

Precambrian crystalline basement of the Indian Plate exposed as inselbergs in Punjab-Sindh plains (Kirana Hills, Nagarparkar) and in the Lesser Himalayan nappes (Besham, Swat). Includes Archean to Neoproterozoic gneisses, granites, volcanics, and metamorphic complexes. Records the oldest geological history of Pakistan (>2.5 Ga).

Units

20

Tectonic setting

Stable cratonic shield with scattered inselberg exposures and Himalayan tectonic windows

This reference records 20 units in the Indo-Pakistan Shield spanning 1 geological era, most commonly metamorphic rocks, conglomerate, igneous rocks.

Correlate with other provinces → Explore the basin → Filter all units →

At a glance

20
units
1
era
10
georeferenced
0
with fossils
14
type localities
3,000 m
max thickness
10
sources

Rock types

  • metamorphic rocks (11)
  • conglomerate (5)
  • igneous rocks (2)
  • evaporite (2)

Based on the primary lithology recorded for each unit; some units span more than one rock type.

Units in this province

20 units

Line these up against other basins on the correlation panel →

Era colours
  • Quaternary
  • Cenozoic
  • Mesozoic
  • Paleozoic
  • Precambrian
Indo-Pakistan Shield
  1. Chiniot GraniteNeoproterozoic
  2. Hachi Volcanic GroupNeoproterozoic
  3. Kirana GroupNeoproterozoic
  4. Nagarparkar Igneous ComplexNeoproterozoic
  5. Sharaban GroupNeoproterozoic
  6. Taguwali FormationNeoproterozoic
  7. Nanga Parbat GneissMesoproterozoic
  8. Petaro-Hyderabad RidgeProterozoic
  9. Asianwala FormationPrecambrian
  10. Buland Hill FormationPrecambrian
  11. Chak 102 ConglomeratePrecambrian
  12. Chak 112 ConglomeratesPrecambrian
  13. Hadda QuartzitePrecambrian
  14. Machh Super GroupPrecambrian
  15. Wad Sayyidan FormationPrecambrian
  16. Iskere GneissPaleoproterozoic
  17. Mangla GneissPaleoproterozoic
  18. Shingus GneissPaleoproterozoic
  19. Sargodha Ridge BasementArchean-Proterozoic
  20. Besham GroupArchean-Paleoproterozoic
IgneousMetamorphicConglomerateConformable

Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type. True scale makes height ∝ recorded thickness; hatched = thickness not recorded. Ages approximate, for ordering.