Mesozoic • Triassic Literature

Guhjal Dolomite

Late Permian–Late Triassic

Cited in 3 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Mesozoic · Triassic · Late TriassicLate Permian–Late Triassic
Named by: Characterised for the Gujhal (Gojal) area of Upper Hunza by Gaetani et al. (1995)
Type locality: Gojal (Gujhal) area, Upper Hunza, Northern Karakorum (Gilgit-Baltistan).
Thickness: Not recorded
Lithology: Massive grey platform dolostones and dolomitic limestones with peritidal cycles.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A thick Late Permian to Late Triassic platform dolomite of Upper Hunza — the Hunza counterpart of the Ailak Formation — marking the Neo-Tethys carbonate flooding of the Karakorum.

The Guhjal Dolomite is a thick platform-carbonate succession of the Upper Hunza (Gojal) area in the Northern Karakorum. As characterised by Gaetani et al. (1995), it begins in the Permian and continues into the Late Triassic, and is the Hunza equivalent of the Ailak Formation dolostones of the Baroghil–Karambar area. Its Late Permian base records the Murgabian–Midian carbonate transgression tied to the initial opening of Neo-Tethys, and its Triassic part carries megalodontid bivalves and colonial scleractinian corals. A Parafusulina sp. assemblage in facies transitional between the Gircha Formation and the Guhjal Dolomite indicates a mid- to late Permian age for the base of the platform.

Fossils

megalodontid bivalves (Triassic)colonial scleractinian corals (Triassic)Parafusulina sp. (Permian base)

Contacts

In the Karakoram column

LimestoneShale / mudFossils 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

Karakoram

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: carbonate platform, peritidal, shallow marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

See it in the field

Geoheritage site where this unit is exposed at outcrop.

Passu Cones & Batura–Passu Glaciers

Karakoram

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

The Hunza platform-carbonate equivalent of the Ailak Formation; its Late Permian (Murgabian–Midian) dolostone transgression is part of a regional carbonate-platform event recorded from the Pamirs and Central Afghanistan to the Tethys Himalaya, marking a turning point in the initial opening of Neo-Tethys along the Perigondwanan margin (Gaetani et al. 1995).

Sources (3)

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.
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.
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.

Reviewer confidence: medium

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: Defined in journal or other literature; not found in a GSP memoir. There is no body currently ratifying unit status, so provenance is shown in place of a formal ruling.

Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_guhjaldolomite,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Guhjal Dolomite} --- 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/guhjal-dolomite (accessed August 30, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Characterised for the Gujhal (Gojal) area of Upper Hunza by Gaetani et al. (1995).

Below · older

Chapursan Group

Permian–Triassic

Referenced in other successions

Overlain by Shanoz Conglomerate

Underlain by Passu Slate