Cenozoic • Paleogene In GSP lexicon

Drazinda Formation

Middle to Late Eocene

Part of Early-Middle Eocene Kahan Group, Kahan Group, Kirthar Group

Cited in 7 sources Last reviewed Aug 10, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene · Middle EoceneMiddle to Late Eocene
Named by: Hemphill et al. (1973)
Type locality: Northeast of Drazinda31.7667°N, 70.1500°E
Thickness: 15–500 m
Lithology: Brown to grey clay with subordinate fossiliferous marl and limestone interbeds and, in the middle part, grey calcareous sandstone; locally with celestite nodules in the north.
Synonyms: Not recorded

The topmost Eocene marine clay of the Kirthar Group, capped by the unconformity beneath the continental molasse.

Named after Drazinda area. Upper unit of Kahan Group in southernmost Kohat. Records regression from marine conditions. Part of the Kahan Group.

Fossils

Foraminifera Bivalves Bryozoans Echinoids

Contacts

In the Kohat Basin column

Shale / mudLimestoneMarlFossils recordedConformable

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.

This unit (highlighted) within its province column; faded ends continue above and below. Line style marks the contact type.

Distribution & setting

Kohat Basin

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: marine
Coordinates: 31.7667°N, 70.1500°E

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Correlation

Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →

Economic significance

Metals & minerals

Hosts celestite (strontium sulphate) nodules in the northern Sulaiman Range.

Remarks

The youngest unit of the Eocene Kirthar Group in the Sulaiman Range; its clays and marls are unconformably overlain by the Oligocene molasse, marking the end of marine deposition.

Sources (7)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
Jones, R.W. (1997). Aspects of the Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Northern Sulaiman Ranges, Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 16(1), 51-58.
Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.
Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.

Reviewer confidence: high

Every fact on this page is source-cited. This entry is part of the peer-archived Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991, CC‑BY‑4.0).

Lexicon status: Name attested in the Shah (1977/2009) Geological Survey of Pakistan compilation — the national stratigraphic lexicon. This records where the name is documented; it is not an endorsement of the unit’s definition, age or figures.

Cite this unit

APA

Qudsi, L. (2026). Drazinda Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_drazindaformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Drazinda Formation} --- Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  doi       = {10.5281/zenodo.21363991},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991}
}

Archived dataset: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991 (CC‑BY‑4.0) · Direct link to this entry: https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/drazinda-formation (accessed August 30, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Hemphill et al. (1973).

Below · older

Pirkoh Formation

Paleogene

Above · younger

Chitarwatta Formation

Paleogene

Referenced in other successions

Underlain by Bugti Formation