Domanda Fm
Type Locality and Naming
Ghazij Gr – sixth formation in Sulaiman Province (SP). Holotype section: Domanda Post. Hypo: Dhurwali Chur. Author: Hemphill and Kidwai, 1973.
Reference section: Proposed by Nusrat K. Siddiqui (as in Shah, 2009), where it shows same lithology as in the type section. At reference section the outcrops are easily accesable as the formation is exposed along a black top.
Lithology and Thickness
Claystone. At the type section, the formation consists mostly of dark brown and greenish grey claystone. Northeast of Nili Kach, subordinate amounts of grey and brown sandstone crops out in the upper 50 m of the formation, while a few thin beds occur in the lower part; this sandstone is fine to medium grained, well sorted, massive to thick bedded and calcareous near the top. In the Moghal Kot area, and north of the type section, the formation is composed of chocolate, green to grey clays and contains some calcareous, gypsiferous marly layers and calcareous mudstone intercalations. Southward in Safed Koh Range (Zindapir anticlinorium), it is composed of shales with intercalations of limestone in the lower and middle part; the shales are brown and green, laminated and often calcareous. The limestone in the lower part is whitish grey and highly argillaceous, whereas in the middle part, it is greyish, platy, hard, and contains common bivalve shells.
Thickness: 130-330 m. At the type section it is 130 m, 220 m north of Nili Kach, and in the Safed Koh area it ranges between 180 to 330 m. In Sui gasfield, it is 86-90 m. It is 150 m thick north of Jandola (Waziristan); the formation pinches out southwards along Spin Ghora in southern Waziristan, and it is not present near Shinki Post.
Relationships and Distribution
Lower contact
Conformably underlain by Habib Rahi Fm
Upper contact
Conformably overlain by Pirkoh Fm
Regional extent
The formation is well exposed in the eastern Sulaiman Range and can be easily traced on satellite imagery, as this poor reflectance unit is sandwiched between Habib Rahi Fm and Pirkoh Fm of very bright reflectance. It is encountered in wells in Marri-Bugti Hills and farther south in the plains. The formation is also present in Waziristan.
GeoJSON
Fossils
Forams: Nummulites beaumonti, N. subbeaumonti, Alveolina elliptica and Discocyclina cooki. In the vicinity of Nili Kach about 20 cm long gastropods as well as abundant bivalves are found. Eames (1952) reported vertebrate remains from the middle part of the formation near Rakhi Nallah.
Age
Depositional setting
The presence of benthic foraminifera, especially the agglutinated forms, represent deposition under brackish water environment.
Additional Information