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Matla Formation
Click to display on map of the Ancient World at:
Matla Fm base reconstruction

Matla Fm

Period: 
Paleogene, Neogene

Age Interval: 
Late Eocene to Pliocene.


Province: 
NE.India West Bengal Basin

Type Locality and Naming

Type section is in the well Port Canning-1. [Original Publication: Chandra, M., Mallik, S., Das, D., Thakur, R.K. and Sinha, M.K. (1993) Lithostratigraphy of Petroliferous Basins, Document IX, West Bengal Basin, KDMIPE ONGC Publication, pp 1-216]

[Figure 1: Location map showing tectonic elements and drilled wells (after R.N Dwivedi in Raju and Misra, 2009)]


Lithology and Thickness

Claystone. This unit is represented by dark grey, grey, fissile shale or clay, occasionally glauconitic. Sand bands, wherever present, are very thin. Its thickness is 1500 m. in 1 Chapur-1 and 4000 m in SMM-2 and Raghunod wells.

[Figure 1: West Bengal Basin lithostratigraphy (after R.N. Dwivedi in Raju and Misra, 2009) with red-arrow showing position of this formation]


Lithology Pattern: 
Claystone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Lower boundary is conformable with the Diamond Harbor Fm, Burdwan Fm and Sylhet Fm.

Upper contact

Upper boundary is conformable with the Ranaghat Fm or the Debagram Fm and unconformable with Bengal Alluvium Fm.

Regional extent


GeoJSON

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Fossils

The Malta Formation is highly fossiliferous and comprises of forms represented in the Hooghly Fm, Burdwan Fm, Diamond Harbour Fm and Pandua Fm.


Age 

As the formation has intertonguing relationship with Burdwan Fm, Diamond Harbour Fm, Pandua Fm and Ranaghat Fm, its age varies from Late Eocene to Pliocene in well SME-5, Early Oligocene to Pliocene in Jaguli-1 well, Miocene in IChapur-1, Miocene to Pliocene in Raghunath-1, SMM-2, Ranaghat-1 wells and Pliocene in Port Canning well (Chandra et al., 1991). Shown as Priabonian through Burdigalian on Bengal chart.

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Priabonian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.4

    Beginning date (Ma): 
36.19

    Ending stage: 
Gelasian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
0.3

    Ending date (Ma):  
2.35

Depositional setting

Marine environment

[Figure: Environments of Deposition of West Bengal Basin (from dghindia.gov.in)]


Depositional pattern:  


Additional Information


Compiler:  

D.S.N Raju