LITHOSTRUCTURAL MAPPING OF ABBOTTABAD-NATHIAGALI ROAD WITH SPECIAL
EMPHASIS ON BIOSTRATIGRAPHY AND SEDIMENTOLOGY OF THE MARGALLA HILL
LIMESTONE, KUZA GALI, HAZARA NORTHERN PAKISTAN
Muhammad Aqib Khan, Muhammad Naeem, , Prof. Dr. Kamran Mirza, Dr. Nosheen Akhter
Abstract
Hazara is the neighborhoods of Salt Range and Kashmir. South Hazara
basin is bounded by Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and in North bounded
by Main Central Thrust (MCT). Nathiagali Thrust (NGT) and Panjal Thrust
are the other major discon nui es of the area. Between NGT and Panjal
Thrust low grade metamorphosed Hazara Slates and sedimentary rocks
are present. NGT restrict Hazara Forma on towards south. Geology of
Abbo abad/Nathiagali road is comprised of Precambrian to Eocene rocks
sequence having low grade metamorphosed and sedimentary rocks with
two major unconformi es. The first unconformity spans a gap from late
Precambrian to Jurassic and is marked by the base of Da a Forma on.
The laterite base of the clas c Danian Hangu Forma on now represents
the second unconformity. In Hazara sedimenta on seems to have been
related closely to the sub Himalayan basin. Sediments comprise of
limestone, sandstone and shales. The Danian Hangu Forma on is also coal
and laterite bearing in this area which is being mined at different number
of places. Special emphasis is given to the Eocene Margalla Hill Limestone
of the project area and its locostra graphy and deposi onal environments
have been described
Introduc on
The study area is located in Hazara Basin, NW lesser Himalayas Pakistan.
The area is situated at Abbo abad-Nathiagali road. The area is confined
between la tude 33° 50' 30" N to 33° 55' 00" N and longitude 72° 59' 00"
E to 73° 03' 00" E. Hazara is one of the few well known areas in the
Himalayas, where the geological inves ga on started as early as of the
second half of the last century. Hazara Basin is restricted between Punjal
Fault in the north and MBT in the south. In the east, the Hazara basin
converges into western limb of Hazara Kashmir Syntaxis and has
undergone complex deposi onal and tectonic episodes. The Dunga Gali-
Kuza Gali area lies in a rela vely accessible part of northwestern Himalaya
and represents a region with a well developed stra graphic column and
interes ng structure. Reconnaissance geological work was carried out in
this area by Middlemiss (1896) as part of much larger project of
reconnaissance mapping. It was followed by rela vely detailed mapping
by La f (1970). This later work, too, however, was preliminary in nature.
The present work covers a much smaller area but is intended to provide a
much be er understanding of the stra graphy as well as the structure
based on a detail and more precise geological mapping at a rela vely large
scale ( 1:1250 ). The Margala
Hill Limestone is the subject of this thesis
Conclusions
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References
~ Ahsan, N., Chaudhary, M.N ., and Baloch (2002), Geology and deformation in lesser
Himalayan Sedimentaries, Bagnotar-Baragali section District Abbottabad, Northwest
Himalaya, Pakistan, Geol.Bull.Punjab 37,2002
¬ Ahsan, N., Ahmad, N, and Chaudhary, M.N.,(2002)Sedimentary of lower Jurassic to
middle Eocene rocks of Hazara and Kashmir Basin, Northwest Himalayas, pak.jour.
Geol.16 and 17, (1 and 2), 1-17
Methods and Materials Regional Geology Section Measurement
RESULTS AND DESCRIPTION
Field equipments such as Magnifying lens, dilute HCl, measuring tape, The mapped area represents a small sec on through
geological hammer, digital camera and clinometer were used to collect fied data. part of a much larger tectonic feature, the A ock-Hazara
folded belt (Sokolov and Shah, 1966) or the fold and
There are following objec ves of the present geological work: thrust belt (Yeats and Lawrence, 1984). It would not be
To evaluate the general lithology of Margala Hill Limestone by detailed inappropriate to combine the two cap ons men oned
sampling and measurement of stra graphic column as well as to observe above and call it the A ock-Hazara fold and thrust belt.
sedimentary structures. Structurally, this area represents a mega synclinorium.
To determine the paleontological aspects and age of Margala Hill Limestone. The northern p of this mega synclinorium was called
To examine the micro facies of Margala Hill Limestone as well as their the Garhi Habibullah syncline by Calkins et al (1975)
who mapped that part. Part of the a ock-Hazara fold
deposi onal environment.
and thrust belt was mapped by La f (1970) who described
To map the lithostra graphic structures of the Kuza Gali-Dunga Gali. the stra graphy of this area in the explanatory notes
To evaluate the different forma ons and their succession for mapping purpose. accompanying the geological map.
Iden fying different structures (folds and faults) throughout the mapping area.
Stra graphically the area of southeastern Hazara forms a
To iden fy different faunas in different forma ons.
part of the much larger so called Kohat Potwar sedimentary
Standard sampling collec on techniques were used to collect samples. basin.it shows a fairly complete stra graphic succession
The rock samples collected during the field were cut out with help of from Precambrian to Miocene with the notable absence
mechanical cu er. A er that we made slides of those chips. When slides are of middle and upper Paleozoic sequence in addi on to a
completely mounted, we grinded them on the GeoForm machine. Then the number of other smaller disconformi es.
slides were polished with the help of carborundum powder first on 600 then The A ock Hazara fold and thrust belt, of which Kuza
on 800 mesh. Microplaeontological and sedimentological studies have been Gali-Dunga Gali-Ayyubia area stra graphically as well as
tectonically forms the north eastern parts, runs in the form
carried out on thin sec ons prepared from selected samples under the
of an east west elongated linear belt which turns northwards
microscope. Microscopic photography was carried out for these thin sec on. in the east to merge into the Hazara Kashmir syntaxis. To the
north and south the A ock Hazara fold and thrust belt is
Stra graphy Of The Area bounded by the Punjal fault (the Abbo abad fault of Baig
and Lawrence, 1987) and the Murree falut (Calkins et al, 1975)
Intensive folding and faul ng, close lithological resemblance, thickness and facies respec vely and their lateral equivalents. To the east and
Ç◘ĊĂ▄Ċ╙╜ľ╫■śℓℓ59.09 m
Dip: 81° SE
varia ons and the influence of unconformi es are the characteris cs that have then north the two faults come closer and finely coalesce Strike: N 73° E
given rise to a number of stra graphic problems in the geology of Hazara. for a me near Hassa, north of Garhi Habibullah.
.Longitudes: 34° 1´ 9.32´´ N. Latitudes: 73º 23´ 35.07´´ E.
Eight units have been mapped within the project area, five are the Mesozoic
and three are the Cenozoic. In the project area Jurassic directly overstep over
A look at the geological map of south east Hazara (La f 1970) MICROPALEONTOLOGY
shows that the mega synclinorium of the A ock Hazara fold
the Precambrian rocks a er complete removal of Precambrian sequence. the thrust belt along the Murree Abbo abad road is divisible
5 ĵ ʼn╜■┼ Ċ╙ś ŕ śĊĂ╜▄ ℓĊĵ ŕ Ŧ ◘ź Ċ╙╜■ ℓśľĊ╜◘■ℓ Ă■ŕ ▄◘◘ℓś ▓ĂĊśʼn╜Ă▄ ŕ ╜źźśʼnś■Ċ
Lithostar graphic Units of the Project Area into at least two synclinoria, the Nawashahr synclinorium
Paleocene to Eocene species of foraminifera have been observed.
complex towards Abbo abad and the much larger the Kuza
C◘ʼn▓ĂĊ╜◘■ℓ Age ¬ Nummulities mamillatus (Fichtel & Moll)
Gali synclinorium complex towards Murree. The two
¬ Nummulities atacicus (Laymerie)
synclinorium complexes comprise a large number of
Margala Hill Limestone Eocene ¬ Ranikothalia sahnii (Davies)
northeast-southwest trending smaller structures.
¬ Ranikothlia sindensis (Davies)
Patala formation Late Paleocene The Kuza Gali synclinorial complex is the larger of the two
¬ Assilina laminosa (Gill)
synclinorial complexes and progressively enlarges and
Lockhart formation Late Paleocene ¬ Assilina subspinosa (Davies and Pinfold)
complicates towards the southwest. Further west it con nues ¬ Assilina spinosa (Davies and Pinfold)
Hungu Formation Lower Paleocene
as the main mega synclinorium or the A ock Hazara fold and ¬ Lockhartia conditi (Nuttall)
Kawagarh Formation Upper Cretaceous
thrust belt. On the Murree Abbo abad road the Kuza Gali
synclinorial complex is bounded in the northwest by the
¬ Lockhartia tipperi (Davies)
¬ Operculina salsa (Davies and Pinfold)
Nathia Gali fault or the Hazara fault of Baig and Lawrence ¬ Operculina patalensis (Davies and Pinfold)
Lumshiwal Formation Lower Cretaceous
(1987) against the Hazara slates near Kalabagh. Rocks older Total no. of slides: 36
Chichali Formation Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous
than the Mesozoic, however, are not exposed in the southeast, Genus: Nummulities
sugges ng that the deposi onal axis of the basin was Species: mamillatus
Samanasuk Formation Middle Jurassic systema cally shi ing towards the southeast and south Nummulities mamillatus (FICHTEL & MOLL), NUTTAL,
consequent upon the Himalayan upli . 1925, pl. 4, figs. 2,4, pl. 7, figs. 1,2,4.
~ Ahmad, Z. (1969). Directory of Mineral Deposit of Pakistan. Pp. 30-35 G.S.P. Quetta ~ Butt Aftab Ahmad (1972) problem of Staratigraphic nomenclature in the Hazara district ~ Chaudhary et.al (1990). Geology and Structure of Bagnotar, District Abbottabad, ~ Gardezi, A.H (1968) A note on the geology of the area around Nathiagali, District
¬ Butt, A.A. (1988) some geological aspects of Hazara arc, Northern Pakistan. Acta N.W.F.P Pakistan pp 65-66 Pakistan, Kashmir Jour Hazara, West Pakistan 71 p
Mineralogica Pakistanica, vol. 4, pp. 146-150 ¬ Bassart, et.al (1984). A new structural interpretation of the Hazara-Kashmir syntaxis, ¬ Calkins et.al (1975) Geology of Southern Himalayas in Hazara Pakistan and Adjacent ¬ Gansser, A. (1964), Geology of Himalayas, JohnWilley and sons, London.
Southern Himalayas, Pakistan, Kashmir Jour, Geol.2: pp.19-36 areas (Geological Investigation in Pakistan )
Butt, A.A. (1988). An overview of Hazara arc stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan,
Latif, M.A (1976) Stratigraphy and Micropaleontology of the Galis Group of Hazara,
Geol.Bull.Punjab univ pp 1-5 Billing M.P (1965), Structural Geology (3rd Ed.) Prectice Hall nternational inc. London. Ghazanfar, M. Chaudhry, M.N and Latif, M.A (1987) three stratigraphic provinces at Hazara
– Kashmir boundary, Kashmir Jour.Geol, 5,pp. 65-74 Pakistan pp