Cenozoic • Paleogene In GSP lexicon

Lockhart Limestone

Middle to Late Paleocene

Cited in 11 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene · PaleoceneMiddle to Late Paleocene
Named by: Davies (1930)
Type locality: Near Fort Lockhart, Samana Range
Thickness: 30–240 m
Lithology: Dark grey nodular (rubbly) limestone
Synonyms: Khairabad Limestone

A grey Paleocene sea-floor limestone full of larger foraminifera, recording a marine flooding of the region above the Hangu sandstone.

Named after Fort Lockhart in Samana Range. Distinctive nodular limestone rich in larger foraminifera including type genus Lockhartia. Part of the Hangu Group.

Fossils

Operculina subsalsa Miscellanea miscella Miscellanea stampi Lockhartia haimei Lockhartia newboldi Lepidocyclina punjabensis Discocyclina ranikotensis

Contacts

In the Salt Range 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

Salt Range Hazara Basin Kohat Basin Potwar Basin

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: shallow marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Coal & lignite Cement & lime Metals & minerals

Quarried as cement rock in the shingled-thrust zone north of the Potwar Plateau; the formation also carries some coal seams, bauxite and clays.

Remarks

A widespread Paleocene shallow-marine limestone — the middle, fully marine unit of the Makarwal Group; its larger-foraminiferal assemblage records the Paleocene marine transgression across the Kohat–Potwar–Hazara platform.

Sources (12)

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.
Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Drewes, H., Ahmad, Z. & Khan, R. (2007). Resource Evaluation of Selected Minerals and Industrial Commodities of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan. Chapter H of Regional Studies of the Potwar Plateau Area, Northern Pakistan (P.D. Warwick & B.R. Wardlaw, eds.), U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2078-H, 22 p.
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.
Sameeni, S.J. (1989). A Note on the Stratigraphic Distribution of Eoannularia eocenica Cole & Bermudez. Geological Bulletin of the Punjab University, 24, 77-79.
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). Lockhart Limestone. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_lockhartlimestone,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Lockhart Limestone} --- 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/lockhart-limestone (accessed August 30, 2026).

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

Below · older

Hangu Formation

Paleogene

Above · younger

Patala Formation