Karora Formation
Proterozoic (undifferentiated)
Northern Indus Suture · Malakand
Cited in 5 sources Last reviewed Jul 18, 2026
- Rank
- formation
- Status
- Published
- Age
- PrecambrianProterozoic (undifferentiated)
- Named by
- Fletcher (1986)
- Type locality
- Karora, Indus valley34.8878°N, 72.7685°E
- Thickness
- Not recorded
- Lithology
- Thick dark graphitic schist, marble, with subordinate non-schistose metapsammite and metaconglomerate; a basal conglomerate (the Amlo Conglomerate) rests on the Besham Group.
- Synonyms
- Not recorded
The lower Proterozoic cover unit on the Besham basement — graphitic schist and marble above a basal conglomerate.
The Karora Formation is named after Karora village near Besham by Fletcher (1986). It belongs to the Besham basement complex and cover sequence of the region east of Swat: near Alpurai the Swat nappe is structurally underlain by the Besham nappe and, further eastward, the Hazara nappe, resulting from thrusting of the Indo-Pakistan basement. Tahirkheli (1979) named this the Besham Group (with the Chali and Banna formations); other names applied in the area include the Lahor granite, Thakot metamorphic rocks, Pazang group and the Karora group and formation.
Fossils
Not recorded
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
- Northern Indus Suture
- Region
- Malakand
- Depositional environment
- Not recorded
- Coordinates
- 34.8878°N, 72.7685°E
Correlation
Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →
Economic significance
Not recorded
Remarks
The lower part of the Karora Group cover sequence, resting on the Besham Group along an angular unconformity (basal Amlo Conglomerate); greenschist-facies graphitic schist and marble, intruded by small plutons and lacking the garnetiferous rocks of the overlying Gandaf Formation. Leucogranites intruding the group give Early–Late Paleozoic ages, indicating a Middle–Late Proterozoic depositional age.
Sources (4)
- 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.
- Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
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: 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). Karora Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991
@misc{stratigraphypk_karoraformation,
author = {Qudsi, Lareb},
title = {{Karora 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/karora-formation (accessed August 30, 2026).
To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Fletcher (1986).
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