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Formations of Devonian period in Pakistan

DEVONIAN​

Inzari limestone​
Ali Masjid formation​
Shagai formation​
Nowshera formation​
Pir Sabak formation​
Charun quartzite​
Shogram formation​
Sarikol shale​
Owir formation​
Wakhan formation​
Chilmarabad formation​
 Devonian

The Silurian and Devonian Systems are reported

from Khyber and Nowshera-Swabi areas.

No exposures of Silurian and Devonian rocks have

been recorded in the southern and southwestern part
of Pakistan. The best exposures, containing several
Devonian formations, are lying in thrust sheets, in
Chitral District.
 Inzari limestone

Type locality
 Its type of locality is Attock-Cherat Range.
Contact
 The upper contact of the Inzari limestone is faulted.
lithology
 The Inzari limestone is finely crystalline and thin to thick bedded. Manganese
staining and dendrites are common.
 The formation may be equivalent to limestone of the Nowshera formation of Early
Devonian age and no fossils have been found.
 Ali Masjid formation

Type locality
 Mashkani Mela village is designated as the type locality of the Ali Masjid
formation.
Contact
 Quartzite of Ali masjid formation lies at the top of thick limestone of Shagai
formation.
Lithology
 Ali Masjid formation is mainly composed of limestone in the upper part ,
sequence of arenaceous quartzite and small amount of shale in the lower part.
 This formation is completely devoid of fossils and the volcanic ash is also
present as patches.
 Shagai formation

Contact
 The lower contact of the Shagai formation is seemingly normal and placed at
the base of thick sandstone. The upper contact with the Ali Masjid formation is
placed at the top of thick limestone bed.
Type locality
 It lies less than one km west of old Shagai Fort
Lithology
 The lowest unit is 5 metre of limestone which is thin bedded and medium to fine
grained.
 Overlying this unit is 16 m thick dolomitic limestone of light brown color. At
various stratigraphic positions the limestone is massive and show coarse-
grained texture.
 Above this unit a 1.7 m thick limestone is present which is thin bedded,
fractured, and fine-grained with abundant iron filling probably replacement of
organic matter.
 Nowshera formation

Type locality
Its type locality is 5 km east of Nowshera.
Contact
The Nowshera Formation has an unconformable contact with the Jafar Kandao Formation.
lithology
The formation, mainly composed of limestone and dolomite, has been subdivided into three units.
a. Reef core: The reef cores are made up of fossils with calcareous sediments and fossil debris in
and around them. The reef core at the type locality is highly fossiliferous.

b. Carbonate containing reef breccia or fossil debris: Carbonates containing reef breccia or fossil
debris have been divided into (i) crinoid banks (ii) carbonate with dominant reef breccia or fossil
debris and (iii) carbonate with subordinate reef breccia or fossil debris.

c. Carbonate containing few or no fossils: They consist of pale red or light grey fine to medium-
grained dolomite and contain few corals, brachiopods and crinoids
 Pir Sabak formation

The
Type locality
 Its type locality is in the east of Pir Sabak village.
Contact
 The contact with the lower Misri Banda quartzite of Devonian age is
conformable, while the upper contact is terminated by alluvial cover.
Lithology
 The lower part of the formation is thick-bedded dolomitic limestone;
 the middle part is thin- to thick- bedded limestone
 and the upper part is grey limestone, coarse grained, partly dolomitized.
 The formation is highly fossiliferous.
 Charun quartzite

Type locality
He suggested the type locality of the formation along Charun
Gol

Contact
There is a unconformable contact of the Charun quartzite with
the overlying Shogram formation.
Lithology
Charun quartzite at the type locality consists of white, medium
grained quartzite. Charun quartzite is thin bedded than
Shogram formation, which lies above it.
 Shogram formation

Type locality
 The type locality is at southeastern slope of Mount Shogram.
Contact
 There is a unconformable contact of the Charun quartzite with the overlying Shogram formation.
Lithology
 Shogram formation into three units:
a. The lower-most unit consists of a massive, fossiliferous dolomite .
b. The middle unit of the formation consists of well-bedded dolomite and extremely fossiliferous
limestones.
c. The upper part of this unit contains fine-grained quartzite beds.
 Sarikol shale

Type locality
 Its type locality is Sarikol Range.
Contact
 Sarikol shale have a contact with granite bodies.
Lithology
 The formation is mostly black shale and slate with minor limestone
beds.
 The formation is fossiliferous and has yielded nautiloids to which
Tipper it has been assigned Devonian age.
 Owir formation

Type locality
Its type locality lies "at the west end of this Owir
series which covers the Tirch Mir (granite) Pluton
with vertical dipping"
Lithology
This formation consists of dolomitized limestones.
 Wakhan formation

Type of locality
Wakhan formation has no designated type locality.
Contact
The formation is in faulted contact with a huge
carbonate rock body named "Atark formation'
Lithology
The predominant lithology is slate. Also consist of
siltstone, and quartzite with some minor schist.
The age of formation is early Triassic.
 Chilmarabad formation

Type locality
Its type locality is not designated.
Lithology
Lithologically the formation is predominantly
dolomite, with dolomitic limestone and slates
The formation essentially constitutes of patch reefs
with compound corals.
 References

 http://nceg.uop.edu.pk/GeologicalBulletin/Vol-4-1969/Vol
-4-1969-Paper5.pdf

 STRATIGRAPHY OF PAKISTAN BY M. IBRAHIM SHAH.pdf

 https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0716g/report.pdf