Shanoz Conglomerate
Late Cretaceous–Early Palaeocene
Paleogene in the time scale →Cited in 2 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026
- Rank
- Not recorded
- Status
- Published
- Age
- Cenozoic · Paleogene · PaleoceneLate Cretaceous–Early Palaeocene
- Named by
- Desio & Martina (1972)
- Type locality
- Near Mount Shanoz, Upper Hunza Valley, Northern Karakorum (Gilgit-Baltistan); clasts also seen in streams near Khaiber village.
- Thickness
- Not recorded
- Lithology
- Pinkish-red, medium-textured conglomerate in a siliceous-argillaceous matrix; subangular to subrounded clasts (in ascending order of abundance) of limestone-dolomite (Guhjal Dolomite), slate and schist (Gircha Formation and Passu Slate), and quartzite (Pak-China Friendship Formation).
- Synonyms
- Not recorded
A pinkish-red, little-deformed conglomerate — the youngest rock of the Upper Hunza Valley — made of pebbles shed from the older Karakorum formations after the mountains were folded.
The Shanoz Conglomerate is the youngest formation of the Upper Hunza Valley (Northern Karakorum), named by Desio & Martina (1972) for exposures near Mount Shanoz. As described by Tahirkheli et al. (1990), it is a pinkish-red post-orogenic conglomerate whose clasts are derived from the older Upper Hunza units, and it is little deformed because it was deposited after the major tectonic episodes that folded the valley. It is correlated with the Reshun Conglomerate of Chitral (assigned an Upper Cretaceous–Lower Tertiary age on fossil-bearing boulders), though the Shanoz itself lacks such fossiliferous clasts.
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
- Not recorded
- Region
- Not recorded
- Depositional environment
- alluvial, molasse
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
Correlation
Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →
Economic significance
Not recorded
Remarks
The youngest, least-deformed unit of the Upper Hunza Valley, marking post-orogenic molasse deposition after the main Karakorum folding; correlated with the Reshun Conglomerate of Chitral, giving an inferred Late Cretaceous to Early Palaeocene age (Tahirkheli et al. 1990).
Sources (2)
- Tahirkheli, R.A.K., Sun Dongli, Pan Yushang, Deng Wanming, Zhang Yuquan, Baqri, S.R.H. & Dawood, H. (1990). Review of stratigraphy of the Upper Hunza Valley (UHV), NW Karakoram, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 23, 203-214.
- Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, J., Thirlwall, M. & Windley, B.F. (1984). Geology of the South Central Karakoram and Kohistan. In: Miller, K.J. (ed.), The International Karakoram Project, Vol. 2, 71-84. Cambridge University Press.
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: Defined in journal or other literature; not found in a GSP memoir. There is no body currently ratifying unit status, so provenance is shown in place of a formal ruling.
Cite this unit
Qudsi, L. (2026). Shanoz Conglomerate. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991
@misc{stratigraphypk_shanozconglomerate,
author = {Qudsi, Lareb},
title = {{Shanoz Conglomerate} --- 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/shanoz-conglomerate (accessed August 30, 2026).
To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Desio & Martina (1972).
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