Precambrian • Precambrian formation In GSP lexicon

Manki Formation

Precambrian

Northern Indus Suture

Cited in 5 sources Last reviewed Aug 2, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Precambrian · PrecambrianPrecambrian
Named by: Tahirkheli (1970)
Type locality: Southern Gandghar Range and northern Attock-Cherat Range, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Thickness: in excess of 1000 m
Lithology: Argillite, slate and phyllite, dark greenish-gray to dark gray (weathering olive-gray to reddish-brown); commonly with two cleavage sets giving a splintery texture, graded bedding the only sedimentary structure observed. Metamorphic grade increases northward, argillite/slate passing into phyllite with extensive quartz veining, chevron folds and kink bands.
Synonyms: Not recorded

The thick basal slate-and-phyllite unit beneath the Shahkot limestones in the Attock-Cherat and Gandghar hills.

Thick basal argillaceous unit of the southern Gandghar Range and northern Attock-Cherat Range. Originally 'Manki Slate' of Tahirkheli (1970); assigned a probable Proterozoic age by Hylland, Riaz & Ahmad (1988) on the basis of its correlation with the Hazara Formation, the lack of fossils and the gradational nature of the succession contacts (Tahirkheli, 1971, had favoured a Paleozoic assignment). Outcrop width implies a thickness in excess of 1000 m, though isoclinal folding makes this uncertain.

Fossils

Not recorded

Contacts

In the Khyber–Nowshera Belt column

LimestoneMetamorphicConformable

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

Khyber–Nowshera Belt

Basin: Northern Indus Suture
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

Thick basal argillite-slate-phyllite unit of the Attock-Cherat / Gandghar basement succession; correlated with the Hazara Formation and gradational into the overlying Shahkot Formation. Displays a northward increase in metamorphic grade, reaching greenschist facies in the Gandghar Range.

Sources (5)

Hylland, M.D., Riaz, M. & Ahmad, S. (1988). Geology of the Southern Gandghar Range, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, Vol. 21, pp. 1-14.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
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.
Pogue, K.R., Hylland, M.D., Yeats, R.S., Khattak, W.U. & Hussain, A. (1999). Stratigraphic and structural framework of Himalayan foothills, northern Pakistan. In: Macfarlane, A., Sorkhabi, R.B. & Quade, J. (eds) Himalaya and Tibet: Mountain Roots to Mountain Tops. Geological Society of America Special Paper 328, 257-274.

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_mankiformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Manki 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/manki-formation (accessed August 30, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Tahirkheli (1970).

Above · younger

Shahkot Formation

Precambrian

Referenced in other successions

Overlain by Sobrah Formation