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Para Formation
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Para Fm base reconstruction

Para Fm

Period: 
Triassic

Age Interval: 
Rhaetian


Province: 
NW Himalaya Zanskar-Spiti

Type Locality and Naming

Spiti Valley. [Original Publication: Stoliczka, F. 1865. Geological section across the Himalayan mountain range from Wangtu Bridge on the river Sutlej to Sungdeo with an account of formations in Spiti accompanied by a revision of all known fossils from that district. Memoirs of Geological Survey of India, 5: 153p]

[Figure: Zanskar-Spiti-Kumaun region location (provided by Om Bhargava)]

Synonyms: lower part of Kioto Limestone (Hayden, 1904); Kioto Group

[Figure 0: History of Triassic lithostratigraphic nomenclature of Spiti (after Bhargava et al., 2004)]


Lithology and Thickness

Limestone. Gray, thin to medium-bedded limestone in basal part, in upper part dolomite predominates. 150 m,


Lithology Pattern: 
Dolomitic limestone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Lower contact with the Nunuluka Fm is conformable.

Upper contact

Gradational contact with the overlying Tagling Fm is gradational.

Regional extent

Zanskar-Spiti and Himachal Pradesh to Kumaun-Garhwal region of Northwest Tethyan Himalaya


GeoJSON

{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[{"type":"Feature","geometry":{"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[80.2,30.1],[78.5,31.4],[78,32.8],[77.6,34.6],[76,35.6],[74.4,36.3],[73.1,36.2],[73.1,35.7],[74.4,34.8],[75.6,34.5],[76.4,33.7],[76.9,32.7],[77.3,31.5],[78.3,30.3],[79.4,29.7],[80.1,29.4],[80.3,30.1]]]}}]}

Fossils

Megalodon ladakhensis, Entolium cf. subdemissum, Petcen chabrangensis, Lima cumaunica, Diceracardium himalayaensis, Spirigera noetlingi


Age 

Rhaetian

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Rhaetian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0

    Beginning date (Ma): 
205.74

    Ending stage: 
Rhaetian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
1.0

    Ending date (Ma):  
201.36

Depositional setting

Storm dominated winnowed shelf edge sand area with tidal channels and partly in shoal area (Bhargava, 2008).


Depositional pattern:  


Additional Information


Compiler:  

O.N. Bhargava & Birendra Singh.