Fault, suture or tectonic-boundary exposure Precambrian

Nanga Parbat–Haramosh Massif

Nanga Parbat Massif · also Nanga Parbat syntaxis

The western Himalayan syntaxis, where Indian-plate gneiss is being exhumed faster than almost anywhere on Earth, driving the 8,126 m peak of Nanga Parbat. The massif exposes deep-crustal rocks and young (Pliocene–Recent) metamorphism and granites.

ScientificScenic

Among the fastest-exhuming crust on the planet
Indian-plate basement gneiss cored into a tectonic 'pop-up'
Ninth-highest mountain on Earth

The geology here

The stratigraphic units exposed at this site — every geological fact above traces to their cited sources.

Nanga Parbat Gneiss

Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic

Paragneiss, pelitic schist, calc-silicate, quartzite, marble

Nearby geosites

Deosai Plains

79 km · Distinctive erosional/structural landform or scenery

Passu Cones & Batura–Passu Glaciers

139 km · Glacier or glaciogenic feature

Main Mantle Thrust & Jijal Complex

147 km · Fault, suture or tectonic-boundary exposure

This geosite is an editorial selection; the geological facts trace to the cited sources on the linked unit pages. Coordinates are indicative and not surveyed. ← All geosites · Suggest a correction