Gircha Formation
Late Carboniferous–Early Permian
Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Central Karakoram Batholith
Permian in the time scale →Cited in 12 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026
- Rank
- formation
- Status
- Published
- Age
- Paleozoic · Permian · Early PermianLate Carboniferous–Early Permian
- Named by
- Desio (1963)
- Type locality
- Gircha36.6300°N, 74.8500°E
- Thickness
- >50 m (Axial) to >500 m (Karambar); ~250 m in the Lashkargaz/Baroghil sheet
- Lithology
- Thick-bedded to massive arkosic and quartzarenitic sandstone with slate (argillite) intercalations, passing upward into dark argillites with thin limestone–dolomite beds; sandstones are rich in igneous rock fragments.
- Synonyms
- Not recorded
The oldest exposed rocks of the upper Hunza Permian sequence — river- and delta-laid sandstones and slates that grade up into the marine Chapursan Group.
Gircha formation is named after Gircha village in upper Hunza valley by Desio (1963), consists of sandstone and slate intercalations of earliest Permian. Gaetani et al. (1995) consider Pasu slates as being a local facies of the Gircha formation and also include in it the Shimsal slates of Casnedi et al. (1985) and Kilik formation of Desio (1963).
Fossils
Contacts
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
- Basin
- Karakoram-Hindukush Basin
- Region
- Central Karakoram Batholith
- Depositional environment
- fluvial, deltaic, rift
- Coordinates
- 36.6300°N, 74.8500°E
See it in the field
Geoheritage sites where this unit is exposed at outcrop.
Correlation
Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →
Economic significance
Not recorded
Remarks
Lowest exposed unit of the Permian sequence of the Sost/Upper Hunza tectonostratigraphic block; deposited in rapidly subsiding rift troughs in a fluvio-deltaic setting. Its base is not exposed and its top passes transitionally up into the marine Chapursan Group. The Pasu Slates, Shimshal Slates and Kilik Formation are treated as local facies of the Gircha Formation.
Sources (11)
- 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.
- Gaetani, M., Zanchi, A., Angiolini, L., Olivini, G., Sciunnach, D., Brunton, H., Nicora, A. & Mawson, R. (2004). The Carboniferous of the Western Karakoram (Pakistan). Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 23(2), 275-305.
- 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.
- Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.
- 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.
- Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Review of stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley (UHV), NW Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.
- Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuqua, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley, North Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.
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
Qudsi, L. (2026). Gircha Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991
@misc{stratigraphypk_girchaformation,
author = {Qudsi, Lareb},
title = {{Gircha 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/gircha-formation (accessed August 30, 2026).
To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Desio (1963).
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