Wargal Limestone Fm
Type Locality and Naming
Zaluch Gr - middle formation. Holotype section: Near Wargal village, Western Salt Range. (NE of Warcha Nallah). Hypo: Zaluch Nallah, WSR. Saiyiduwali section, Khisor Range. Author: Teichert, 1966.
Synonym: Wargal Limestone
Lithology and Thickness
Dolomitic limestone. The formation mainly consists of thick- to massive-bedded light to medium grey, brownish grey limestone and dolomite with thin intercalations of dark grey to black shale. It is easily recognizable from a distance in the field because of its cliff-forming massive limestone. Reference section: Detailed stratigraphic wok on this formation has been done in Zaluch Nallah where ten units have been recognized by Teichert (1966), with limestone and dolomite being the lithology.
Thickness: 174-191 m. In Zaluch Nallah it is 183 m thick and 174 m in Khisor Range. Marwat-1 well drilled on Marwat Range north of Saiyiduwali section encountered 191 m of this formation at a depth of 1449-1640 m.
Relationships and Distribution
Lower contact
Disconformably underlain by Amb Fm
Upper contact
Conformably overlain by Chhidru Fm (transitional).
Regional extent
Exposures of the formation extend from Central Salt Range in the east to Khisor Range in the west. In Eastern Salt Range, the formation has been truncated by the base Paleocene unconformity.
GeoJSON
Fossils
LAD of Leela, Condonofusiella and Nipponites 66 m above the base of the formation (Rao and Verma, 1953) in Nammal Gorge located in Western Salt Range support Late Permian age.
Age
Depositional setting
The formation was deposited in generally shallow marine environment, with the exception of few strata, which might have been deposited under deep-water conditions.
Additional Information