Cenozoic • Paleogene In GSP lexicon

Hangu Formation

Latest Cretaceous to Early Paleocene

Cited in 12 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene · Early PaleoceneLatest Cretaceous to Early Paleocene
Named by: Davies (1930)
Type locality: South of Fort Lockhart, Samana Range33.5500°N, 70.9200°E
Thickness: 15–150 m
Lithology: Sandstone, grey shale, coal, laterite
Synonyms: Dhak Pass Beds

A Paleocene coal-bearing sandstone laid on a deeply eroded surface — the first deposits after the region rose above the sea at the end of the Cretaceous.

Named after section south of Fort Lockhart. Contains coal seams. Patala Formation is considered lateral equivalent/synonym. Correlated with Vitakri coal of Sulaiman. Part of the Hangu Group.

Fossils

Miscellanea miscella Lockhartia haimei Lockhartia conditi Lepidocyclina punjabensis Operculina canalifera Daviesina longhami

Contacts

In the Hazara Basin column

SandstoneLimestoneShale / 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

Hazara Basin Kohat Basin Potwar Basin Salt Range

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: terrestrial, marginal marine
Coordinates: 33.5500°N, 70.9200°E

Google Maps ↗ OpenStreetMap ↗

See it in the field

Geoheritage site where this unit is exposed at outcrop.

Makarwal Coalfield

Salt Range

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Coal & lignite Metals & minerals

Hosts the economically important Makarwal coal seams in its lower part; laterite–bauxite also occurs at its basal unconformity (Chhoi–Akhori).

Remarks

The basal terrestrial sandstone of the Paleocene Makarwal Group, deposited on the deeply eroded, unconformable surface of Cretaceous-to-Cambrian rocks; it marks the return of deposition after the end-Cretaceous emergence of the Indus foreland and is conformably overlain by the marine Lockhart Limestone.

Sources (13)

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.
Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Afzal, J., Williams, M. & Aldridge, R.J. (2009). Revised stratigraphy of the lower Cenozoic succession of the Greater Indus Basin in Pakistan. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 28(1): 7-23.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
Ali, S.K. et al. (2026). Paleocene stratigraphic framework and sedimentary architecture in the Sub-Himalayan Fold and Thrust Belt. Journal of Sedimentary Environments, 11, 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.
Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.
Butt, A.A. (1989). An Overview of the Hazara Arc Stratigraphy, Northern Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 1-11.
Malik, I.A. (1989). Geodynamics and Coal Deposits of Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 12-43.
Munir, M.-H., Baig, M.S. & Mirza, K. (2005-2006). Upper Cretaceous of Hazara and Paleogene Biostratigraphy of Azad Kashmir, North West Himalayas, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 40-41, 69-87.
Craig, J., Hakhoo, N., Bhat, G.M., Hafiz, M., Khan, M.R., Misra, R., Pandita, S.K., Raina, B.K., Thurow, J., Thusu, B., Ahmed, W. & Khullar, S. (2018). Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the North-West Himalaya of India and Pakistan. Earth-Science Reviews, 187, 109-185.

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_hanguformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Hangu 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/hangu-formation (accessed August 30, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Davies (1930).

Below · older

Indus Formation

Cretaceous

Above · younger

Lockhart Limestone

Paleogene

Referenced in other successions

Underlain by Kawagarh Formation