Cenozoic • Neogene GSP memoir

Ormara Formation

Middle Pleistocene (Calabrian; ~1.39-0.77 Ma)

Cited in 6 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Neogene · Middle PleistoceneMiddle Pleistocene (Calabrian; ~1.39-0.77 Ma)
Named by: Not recorded
Type locality: Ormara hammerhead section, Makran Flysch Province25.2100°N, 64.6400°E
Thickness: 60-900 m (combined Gwadar-Ormara succession)
Lithology: Sandy claystone; the combined Gwadar-Ormara succession is predominantly sandy clay.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A Pliocene shallow-sea mudstone-and-sandstone along the Makran coast near Ormara, full of clam and snail shells, marking the last marine deposits before the coastline emerged.

Shallow marine to coastal deposits in western Makran. Contains well-preserved molluscan fauna.

Fossils

Bivalves (lamellibranchs)Gastropods Foraminifera

Contacts

In the Makran Coast column

Shale / mudSandstoneFossils 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

Makran Coast

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: shallow marine, coastal
Coordinates: 25.2100°N, 64.6400°E

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Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

A Pliocene shallow-marine to coastal unit of the eastern Makran coastal belt, dominantly soft mudstone with subordinate siltstone, sandstone and marl; it overlies the Talar Formation with a gradational lower contact and yields a molluscan (bivalve-gastropod) and foraminiferal fauna. It records the youngest marine sedimentation of the accreting Makran wedge before final coastal emergence.

Sources (5)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.
Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).
Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.

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: Appears in a single-author Geological Survey of Pakistan memoir (Malkani & Mahmood 2017), not cross-confirmed against the Shah lexicon. The Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan is largely inactive, so documented provenance — not formal ratification — is the available signal.

Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_ormaraformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Ormara 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/ormara-formation (accessed August 30, 2026).

Below · older

Talar Formation

Neogene

Above · younger

Jiwani Formation

Quaternary

Referenced in other successions

Underlain by Gwadar Formation