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Upper Siwalik Formation
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Upper Siwalik Fm base reconstruction

Upper Siwalik Fm

Period: 
Neogene, Quaternary

Age Interval: 
Pliocene-Pleistocene


Province: 
N.India Punjab Basin, N.India Ganga Basin, N.India Purnea Basin

Type Locality and Naming

Pilgrim (1910, 1913, 1934) classified the Siwalik Group into Lower, Middle and Upper divisions. It is further subdivided into the Tatrot Fm (the lower part of the Upper Siwalik Fm Subgroup; type-section in Potwar Plateau in eastern Pakistant), the Pinjor Fm and the upper Boulder Conglomerate Fm (the middle and upper parts of the Upper Siwalik Fm Subgroup), which are best exposed in the vicinity of Chandigarh in India.


Lithology and Thickness

Upper Siwalik Fm are fully conglomeratic in most sections, however in Jammu region brown, pink grey mudstones along with greenish grey, brown, soft sandstones are also well developed. In Ganga Basin, the Upper Siwalik Fm consists of sandstone, silty clay and pebbly at places. The sandstone is soft, medium to coarse grained, micaceous, poorly sorted, with light grey to light brown, silty, micaceous and at places, nodular clay. This formation is characterized by complex heavy mineral suite. In Ganga Basin, this formation is thickest in Gandak depression where it attains a thick up to 1070 m . The thick increases towards north.


Lithology Pattern: 
Conglomerate


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

The formation is conformably underlain by Middle Siwalik Fm and the contact is gradational

Upper contact

Upper Siwalik Formation is overlain by the Gangetic Alluvium. The contact has been taken on the occurrence of soft, unconsolidated and relatively more clayey sandstone. The contact appears to be gradational.

Regional extent

It extends from Indus in the west to Brahmaputra in the east except for a small break near Sikkim where the Lesser Himalaya comes in direct contact with the Indo-Gangetic plains. Tectonically, it is the least affected sequence of the Himalaya. The northernmost boundary of the Siwaliks Group is marked by the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT), over which the low-grade metasedimentary rocks of the Lesser Himalaya overlie..


GeoJSON

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Fossils

No fossils of any diagnostic value are recorded. The sediments are poor in palynofossils. Pollen grains of Arucariacites sp., Laevigatasporites sp., and Cupuliferopollenites in rare numbers are found.


Age 

Middle Pliocene to Pleistocene = 5.7 to 0.2 Ma from magnetostratigraphy, etc.

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Zanclean

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.0

    Beginning date (Ma): 
5.34

    Ending stage: 
Chibanian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
0.8

    Ending date (Ma):  
0.26

Depositional setting

The Upper Siwalik represents environments perhaps similar to those of the present day. Deposition took place in widespread fluvial braid plain flanked to the north by coarse grained alluvial fans.


Depositional pattern:  


Additional Information


Compiler:  

Modified from Ravi Misra (Ganga, Punjab and Purnea basins; Chap. 6; ONGC Bull 44, 2009)