Paleozoic • Permian In GSP lexicon

Wargal Limestone

Middle–Late Permian (Capitanian–Wuchiapingian)

Cited in 11 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Permian · Guadalupian–LopingianMiddle–Late Permian (Capitanian–Wuchiapingian)
Named by: Teichert (1966)
Type locality: Wargal, Salt Range
Thickness: 150-300 m
Lithology: Light grey to cream fossiliferous limestone
Synonyms: Middle Productus Limestone

A thick, fossil-rich Permian limestone forming prominent cliffs in the Salt Range; it is the main carbonate platform of the Zaluch Group, packed with brachiopods and fusulinids.

Major Permian carbonate platform forming prominent cliffs in Salt Range. Rich in productid brachiopods and fusulinid foraminifera. Part of the Zaluch Group.

Fossils

Productid brachiopods Fusulinid foraminifera Corals Gastropods Cephalopods

Contacts

In the Salt Range column

SandstoneShale / mudLimestoneFossils recordedConformableUnconformity

Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type (wavy = unconformity inferred from a missing period). 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 Kohat Basin Potwar Basin

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: carbonate platform, shallow marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

See it in the field

Geoheritage sites where this unit is exposed at outcrop.

Salt Range Escarpment (Khewra–Choa Saidan Shah)

Salt Range

Zaluch Nala — Permian–Triassic boundary section

Salt Range

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Cement & lime Building stone

Cement raw material, building stone

Remarks

The principal Middle-Late Permian carbonate-platform unit of the Salt Range (Zaluch Group), recording maximum marine flooding of the Neo-Tethyan shelf; its abundant productid brachiopods and fusulinid foraminifera underpin regional Permian biostratigraphy.

Sources (11)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Shah, S.M.I. (1977). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 12.
Mertmann, D. (2003). Evolution of the marine Permian carbonate platform in the Salt Range (Pakistan). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 191(3-4), 373-384.
Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Waterhouse, J.B. (2010). Lopingian (Late Permian) stratigraphy of the Salt Range, Pakistan and Himalayan region. Geological Journal, 45, 264-284.
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.
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.
Rafi, M., Sameeni, S.J. & Lodhi, K.K. (2016). Industrial Utilization of Permian Wargal Limestone of Dhokri Area, Central Salt Range, Pakistan. Science International (Lahore), 28(5), 4413-4418.
Hemphill, W.R. & Kidwai, A.H. (1973). Stratigraphy of the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Areas, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-B (Geological Investigations in Pakistan), 36 p.
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). Wargal Limestone. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_wargallimestone,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Wargal 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/wargal-limestone (accessed August 30, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Teichert (1966).

Below · older

Amb Formation

Permian

Above · younger

Chhidru Formation