Paleozoic • Permian formation In GSP lexicon

Gharil Formation

Middle to Late Permian (Kubergandian–Midian)

Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Central Karakoram Batholith

Cited in 7 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Permian · Late Permian–Late TriassicMiddle to Late Permian (Kubergandian–Midian)
Named by: Gaetani et al. (1995)
Type locality: Gharil36.8800°N, 73.4200°E
Thickness: ~5 m (Lasht/Siru) to ~20 m (Lashkargaz/Baroghil)
Lithology: Siltstone, sandstone and marl, with poorly sorted microconglomerate and dark red hematitic cross-bedded sandstone (ironstone) at its scoured base in the Baroghil region.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A Late Permian to Late Triassic sandstone-and-marl unit of the Baroghil area, between the Lashkargaz and Ailak formations.

Gharil formation is named after the Gharil village in upper Yarkhun valley, 5km east of Baroghil pass by Gaetani et al. (1995), and consists of siltstone, sandstone and marl of Late Permian to Late Triassic age.

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

In the Hindukush-Chitral column

SandstoneLimestoneShale / mudConglomerateFossils recordedUnconformityConformable

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

Hindukush-Chitral

Basin: Karakoram-Hindukush Basin
Region: Central Karakoram Batholith
Depositional environment: marginal marine, marine
Coordinates: 36.8800°N, 73.4200°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

A largely siliciclastic unit of the Upper Yarkhun (Baroghil) succession that rests on a deeply scoured surface of the Lashkargaz Formation and is overlain by the Ailak Formation.

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.
OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.
Zanchi, A. & Gaetani, M. (2011). The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 130(2), 161-262.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
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.
Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.

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). Gharil Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_gharilformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Gharil 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/gharil-formation (accessed August 30, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Gaetani et al. (1995).

Below · older

Lashkargaz Formation

Permian

Above · younger

Ailak Formation

Triassic