Mesozoic Period

The Cretaceous in Pakistan

145 – 66 Ma

From 145 to 66 million years ago — the last period of the dinosaurs, ending in a mass extinction; widespread warm seas and thick shelf carbonates.

In Pakistan

The Cretaceous holds the Lower Indus Basin’s main petroleum system — the Sembar Formation (source) and Goru Formation (reservoir) — together with the Parh Limestone and the Mughal Kot and Pab sandstones of the Sulaiman belt. In the north the Kohistan island arc was forming, and latest-Cretaceous volcanism is linked to the Deccan event as the Indian plate drifted north.

This reference records 58 units assigned to the Cretaceous across 7 basins, most commonly limestone, conglomerate, metamorphic rocks.

On the time scale → Correlate provinces → Filter all units →

At a glance

58
units: 7
basins: 15
provinces: 29
georeferenced: 24
with fossils: 51
type localities: 9,000 m
max thickness: 65
sources

Rock types

limestone (14)
conglomerate (13)
metamorphic rocks (10)
igneous rocks (7)
evaporite (6)
sandstone (4)
shale/mudstone (1)

Based on the primary lithology recorded for each unit; some units span more than one rock type.

Fossils recorded

turritellid gastropods
bivalves
brachiopods
gastropods
Belemnites
Ammonites
Inoceramid fragments
Coccoliths
Omphaocyclus sp
Orbitoides sp.
Foraminifera
Bivalves
Hippurites loftusi
Lepidorbitoides socialis
Omphalocyclus sp.
Rare plant fossils
Trace fossils
Globotruncana lapparenti
Globotruncana linneiana
Dicarinella carinata
Rugoglobigerina rugosa
Heterohelix globulosa
Globotruncanita stuartiformis
oysters

+20 more across the Cretaceous units.

Units of the Cretaceous

Provinces — Azad Kashmir · Bela-Khuzdar · Chagai Hills · Hazara Basin · Hindukush-Chitral · Karakoram · Khyber–Nowshera Belt · Kirthar Range · Kohat Basin · Kohistan Arc · Potwar Basin · Salt Range · Sindh Province · Sulaiman Fold Belt · Zhob-Muslim Bagh.