Spalga Formation
The assigned Late Triassic age is based on stratigraphic position and lithological similarity to Late Triassic rocks of the Axial Belt (Carnian-Norian; ~237-216.52 Ma)
Triassic in the time scale →Cited in 3 sources Last reviewed Jul 18, 2026
- Rank
- formation
- Status
- Published
- Age
- Mesozoic · Triassic · Late TriassicThe assigned Late Triassic age is based on stratigraphic position and lithological similarity to Late Triassic rocks of the Axial Belt (Carnian-Norian; ~237-216.52 Ma)
- Named by
- Ahmad et al. (2000)
- Type locality
- Spalga village, 17 km SE of Miran Shah, in the northern extremity of the Axial Belt32.9292°N, 70.1292°E
- Thickness
- Not recorded
- Lithology
- Fine-grained sandstone. The formation consists of sandstone, siltstone and shale. The sandstone is light to dark grey and weathers to rusty brown color. It is fine to medium grained, thin to medium bedded and exhibit circular rims due to color variation called as liasegang. Slump structures and worm burrows are commonly found in the sandstone beds. The shale is greenish grey and weathers to brown…
- Synonyms
- Not recorded
Fine-grained sandstone. The formation consists of sandstone, siltstone and shale. The sandstone is light to dark grey and weathers to rusty brown color. It is fine to medium grained, thin to medium bedded and exhibit circular rims due to color variation called as liasegang. Slump structures and worm burrows are commonly found in the sandstone beds. The shale is greenish grey and weathers to brownish grey with well developed fissility planes. The siltstone is greenish grey to dark grey and weathers rusty brown. So far reported from Miran Shah area only, in the northern extremity of the Axial B…
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
- Not recorded
- Coordinates
- 32.9292°N, 70.1292°E
Correlation
Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →
Economic significance
Not recorded
Remarks
Not recorded
Sources (3)
- Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
- Ahmad, S., Ali, F., Rehman, N. & Gul, J. (2000). Lithostratigraphy of the Kurram Group along the Mirali-Miran Shah Road, North Waziristan Agency, NWFP, Pakistan. Geological Bulletin, University of Peshawar, 33, 79-86.
- Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
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
Qudsi, L. (2026). Spalga Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991
@misc{stratigraphypk_spalgaformation,
author = {Qudsi, Lareb},
title = {{Spalga 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/spalga-formation (accessed August 30, 2026).
To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Ahmad et al. (2000).
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