Abstract
The Salt Range is the youngest and the most southern part of the western Himalayan Ranges in Pakistan. The oldest rocks that crop out are the Infra-Cambrian Salt Range Formation. The Salt Range Thrust separates the Infra-Cambrian from Proterozoic rocks, and deposits ranging in age from Infra-Cambrian to Recent are present in the Salt Range. A particular feature of the Salt Range is the presence of a thick salt sequence, and its distribution has affected thrust, normal, and reverse faults. The structural changes across the Salt Range area reflect a systematic variation in the stage of their tectonic development. These structural features are related to the presence of incompetent formations in the successions. The sedimentary record of the Salt Range is filled with thick Infra-Cambrian calcareous to siliciclastic sediments of the Indian Plate and relatively very thick Miocene-Pliocene mollassic deposits of the Indus foredeep. To better understand the relationship of the main tectonic features, these features of the Salt Range are marked on Landsat satellite imagery. Overall, structural interpretation associated with sedimentation styles permits the differentiation between the eastern, central, and western Salt Range.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abid IA, Abbasi IA, Asif Khan M, Shah MT (1983) Petrography and geochemistry of the siwalik sandstone and its relationship to the himalayan orogeny. Geological Bull Univ Peshawar 16:65–83
Acharyya SK, Ray KK (1982) Hydrocarbon possibilities of concealed Mesozoic-Paleogene sediments below Himalayan nappes: reappraisal. AAPG Bull 66(1):57–70
Baig MS, Lawrence RD (1987) Precambrian to early paleozoic orogenesis in the himalaya. Kashmir J Geol 5:1–22
Baker DM, Lillie RJ, Yeats RS, Johnson GD, Yousuf M, Zamin ASH (1988) Development of the Himalayan frontal thrust zone: salt range, Pakistan. Geology 16(1):3–7. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1988) 016 < 0003:dothft > 2.3.co;2
Balme BE (1970) Palynology of Permian and Triassic strata in the salt range and surghar range, west Pakistan. In: Kummel B, Teichert C (eds) Stratigraphic boundary problems: Permian and Triassic of West Pakistan. Special Publication, Lawrence, University of Kansas, pp 305–453
Brühwiler T, Bucher H, Goudemand N (2010) Smithian (Early Triassic) ammonoids from Tulong, South Tibet. Geobios 43(4):403–431. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2009.12.004
Brühwiler T, Bucher H, Roohi G, Yaseen A, Rehman K (2011) A new early Smithian ammonoid fauna from the Salt Range (Pakistan). Swiss J Palaeontol 130(2):187–201. doi:10.1007/s13358-011-0018-3
Brühwiler T, Bucher H, Ware D, Hermann E, Hochuli PA, Roohi G, Rehman K, Yaseen A, Krystin L (2012) Smithian (Early Triassic) ammonoids from the Salt Range (Pakistan) and Middle and Late Smithian (Early Triassic) ammonoids from Spiti (India), Special Papers in Palaeontology 88. John Wiley and Sons, New Jersey
Butler RWH, Coward MP, Harwoodm GM, Knipe RJ (1987) Salt control on the thrust geometry, structural style and gravitational collapse along the Himalayan mountain front in the Salt Range of northern Pakistan. In: Lerche I, O’Brien JJ (eds) Dynamical geology of salt and related structures. Academic, London, pp 339–418
Calkins JA, Offield TW, Abdullah SKM, Ali ST (1975) Geology of the southern Himalaya in Hazara, Pakistan, and adjacent areas. Geological Survey Professional Paper 716-C. U.S. Geological Survey, Washington
Crawford AR (1974) The salt range, the Kashmir syntaxis and the Pamir Arc. Earth Planet Sci Lett 22(4):371–379. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(74)90147-2
Davies RG, Crawford AR (1971) Petrography and age of the rocks of bulland hill, kirana hills, sarghoda district, west Pakistan. Geol Mag 108(03):235–246. doi:10.1017/S001675680005158X
Davis DM, Engelder T (1985) The role of salt in fold-and-thrust belts. Tectonophysics 119(1–4):67–88. doi:10.1016/0040-1951(85)90033-2
Farah A, Mirza MA, Ahmad MA, Butt MH (1977) Gravity field of the buried shield in the Punjab plain, Pakistan. Geol Soc Am Bull 88(8):1147–1155. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1977) 88 < 1147:gfotbs > 2.0.co;2
Fatmi AN (1973) Lithostratigraphic units of Kohat-Potwar Province, Indus basin, vol 10. Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoirs, Quetta
Fatmi AN, Haydri IH (1986) Disappearance and reappearance of some mesozoic units in the lalimi section, western salt range: a stratigraphic riddle. Acta Minerlogica Pakistanica 2:53–59
Fatmi AN, Akhtar M, Alam GS, Hussein I (1984) Guide book to geology of Salt Range. First Pakistan Geological Congress, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Lahore
Gansser A (1964) Geology of Himalaya. Wiley, New York
Gansser A (1981) The geodynamic history of the Himalaya. In: Gupta HK, Delany FM (eds) Zagros, Hindu Kush, Himalaya: geodynamic evolution. AGU, Washington, pp 111–121
Gardeszi AH, Ashraf AM (1974) Gravitative structures of the Katha Masral region of the central Salt Range, Pakistan. Geol Bull Punjab Univ 11:75–80
Gee ER (1980) Pakistan Salt Range series geological maps. 1:50000, 6 sheets. Geological Survey of Pakistan
Gee ER (1983) Tectonic problems of Sub-Himalayan region of Pakistan. Kashmir J Geol 1:1–18
Gee ER, Gee DG (1989) Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. Geol Soc Am Spec Pap 232:95–112. doi:10.1130/SPE232-p95
Ghazi S, Mountney N, Butt A, Sharif S (2012) Stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework of the early permian sequence in the salt range, pakistan. J Earth Syst Sci 121(5):1239–1255. doi:10.1007/s12040-012-0225-3
Grelaud S, Sassi W, de Lamotte DF, Jaswal T, Roure F (2002) Kinematics of eastern salt range and south potwar basin (Pakistan): a new scenario. Marine and Petroleum Geology 19(9):1127–1139. doi:10.1016/S0264-8172(02)00121-6
Hallam A, Maynard JB (1987) The iron ores and associated sediments of the chichali formation (oxfordian to valanginian) of the trans-indus salt range, pakistan. J Geol Soc 144(1):107–114. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.144.1.0107
Heron AM (1953) The geology of central Rajputana, vol 79. Geological Survey of India Memoir, New Delhi
Jaumé SC, Lillie RJ (1988) Mechanics of the Salt Range-Potwar Plateau, Pakistan: a fold-and-thrust belt underlain by evaporites. Tectonics 7(1):57–71. doi:10.1029/TC007i001p00057
Johnson NM, Stix J, Teauxe L, Cervey PF, Tahirkheli RAK (1985) Palaeomagnetic chronology, fluvial processes and tectonic implication of the Siwalik deposits near Chinji Village, Pakistan. Pak J Geol 93:27–40
Johnson GD, Raynolds RGH, Burbank DW (2009) Late Cenozoic tectonics and sedimentation in the North-Western Himalayan foredeep: I. Thrust ramping and associated deformation in the Potwar region. In: Foreland basins. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 273–291. doi:10.1002/9781444303810.ch15
Kazmi AH (1977) Application of ERTS-I imagery to recent tectonic studies in Pakistan. Project Report 10. U.S. Geological Survey
Kazmi AH, Rana RA (1982) Tectonic map of Pakistan. Scale 1:2000000, first edn. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta
Keller HM, Tahirkheli RAK, Mirza MA, Johnson GD, Johnson NM, Opdyke ND (1977) Magnetic polarity stratigraphy of the Upper Siwalik deposits, Pabbi Hills, Pakistan. Earth Planet Sci Lett 36(1):187–201. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(77)90198-4
Khan SD, Chen L (2009) Geomorphometric features and tectonic activities in sub-Himalayan thrust belt, Pakistan, from satellite data. Comput Geosci 35:2011–2019
Kochhar N (1982) Petrochemistry and petrogenesis of the Malani igneous suite, India: discussion and reply: discussion. Geol Soc Am Bull 93(9):926–927. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1982) 93 < 926:papotm > 2.0.co;2
Krishnan MS (1966) Salt tectonics in the Punjab Salt Range, Pakistan. Geol Soc Am Bull 77(1):115–122. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1966) 77[115:stitps]2.0.co;2
Kummel B, Teichert C (1970) Stratigraphy and palaeontology of the Permian-Triassic boundary beds, Salt Range and Trans Indus Ranges. West Pakistan. In: Kummel B, Teichert C (eds) Stratigraphic boundary problems: Permian and Triassic of West Pakistan. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, pp 1–110
Latif MA (1970) Explanatory notes on the geology of south-eastern Hazara, Pakistan, to accompany the revised geological map. Wein Jb Geol B A Sonderb 15:5–20
Lillie RJ, Johnson GD, Yousuf MH, Zamin AS, Yeats RS (1987) Structural development within the Himalayan foreland fold-and-thrust belt of Pakistan. In: Beaumont C, Tankard AJ (eds) Sedimentary basins and basin forming mechanisms, vol 12, Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists Memoir., pp 379–392
Martin NR (1962) Tectonic style in the Potwar, Western Pakistan. Geol Bull Punjab Univ 2:39–50
McDougall JW (1989) Tectonically-induced diversion of the Indus River west of the Salt Range, Pakistan. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 71(3–4):301–307. doi:10.1016/0031-0182(89)90057-6
McDougall JW, Khan SH (1990) Strike-slip faulting in a foreland fold-thrust belt: the Kalabagh Fault and Western Salt Range, Pakistan. Tectonics 9(5):1061–1075. doi:10.1029/TC009i005p01061
Mertmann D (2000) Foraminiferal assemblages in Permian carbonates of the Zaluch Group (Salt Range and the Trans-Indus Range, Pakistan). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte 3:129–146
Mertmann D (2003) Evolution of the marine Permian carbonate platform in the Salt Range (Pakistan). Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 191(3–4):373–384. doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(02)00672-7
Noetling P (1901) Beitrage zur Geologie der Salt Range, insbesondere der permichen und triasuchen Ablagerungen: Ueues Jahrb. Miner Beilage Band 14:369–471
Powell CM, Conaghan PJ (1973) Plate tectonics and the Himalayas. Earth Planet Sci Lett 20(1):1–12. doi:1016/0012-821X(73)90134-9
Powell CM, Roots SR, Veevers JJ (1988) Pre-breakup continental extension in East Gondwanaland and the early opening of the eastern Indian Ocean. Tectonophysics 155(1–4):261–283. doi:10.1016/0040-1951(88)90269-7
Raynolds RGH, Johnson GD (1985) Rate of Neogene depositional and deformational processes, north-west Himalayan foredeep margin, Pakistan. Geol Soc London Mem 10(1):297–311. doi:10.1144/gsl.mem.1985.010.01.24
Seeber L, Armbruster JG (1979) Seismicity in the Hazara arc in northern Pakistan: décollement versus basement faulting. In: Farah A, De Jong K (eds) Geodynamics of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta, pp 131–142
Seeber L, Armbruster JG, Quittmeyer RC (2013) Seismicity and continental subduction in the Himalayan Arc. In: Gupta HK, Delany FM (eds) Zagros Hindu Kush Himalaya geodynamic evolution. American Geophysical Union, pp 215-242. doi:10.1029/GD003p0215
Shah SMI (1977) Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta
Sinha AK (2013) Geology and tectonics of the Himalayan region of Ladakh, Himachal, Garwhal-Kumaun and Arunachal Pradesh: a review. In: Gupta HK, Delani FM (eds) Zagros Hindu Kush Himalaya geodynamic evolution. American Geophysical Union, pp 122–148. doi:10.1029/GD003p0122
Smith AG, Hallam A (1970) The fit of the southern continents. Nature 225(5228):139–144
Thakur VC (1981) An overview of thrusts and nappes of western Himalaya. Geol Soc London Spec Publ 9(1):381–392. doi:10.1144/gsl.sp.1981.009.01.35
Valdiya KS (1980) The two intracrustal boundary thrusts of the Himalaya. Tectonophysics 66(4):323–348. doi:1016/0040-1951(80)90248-6
Valdiya KS (1984) Evolution of the Himalaya. Tectonophysics 105(1–4):229–248. doi:1016/0040-1951(84)90205-1
Valdiya KS (1989) Trans-Himadri intracrustal fault and basement upwarps south of Indus-Tsangpo Suture Zone. Geol Soc Am Spec Pap 232:153–168. doi:10.1130/SPE232-p153
Valdiya KS (1997) Himalaya, the northern frontier of East Gondwanaland. Gondwana Res 1(1):3–9. doi:1016/S1342-937X(05)70002-2
Wadia DN (1994) Geology of India, 3rd edn. Macmillan, London
Wardlaw BR, Mei S (1999) Refined Conodont biostratigraphy of the Permian and Lowest Triassic of the Salt and Khisor Ranges, Pakistan. In: Proceedings International Conference Pangea and Paleozoic-Mesozoic Transition. Wuhan, pp 154-156
Wells NA (1984) Marine and continental sedimentation in the early Cenozoic Kohat Basin and adjacent northwestern Pakistan, Dissertation. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Yeats RS, Hussain A (1987) Timing of structural events in the Himalayan foothills of northwestern Pakistan. Geol Soc Am Bull 99(2):161–176. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1987) 99 < 161:toseit > 2.0.co;2
Yeats RS, Lawrence RD (1984) Tectonics of the Himalayan thrust belt in northern Pakistan. In: Haq BU, Milliman JD (eds) Marine geology and oceanography of Arabian Sea and Coastal Pakistan. Von Nostrand Reinhold, New York, pp 177–198
Yeats RS, Khan SH, Akhtar M (1984) Late Quaternary deformation of the Salt Range of Pakistan. Geol Soc Am Bull 95(8):958–966. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1984) 95 < 958:lqdots > 2.0.co;2
Acknowledgments
Ghazi is supported by a scholarship from the University of the Punjab. We are grateful to Nigel Mountney for providing valuable discussions regarding the interpretation of this manuscript. We express our gratitude to Aftab Ahmad Butt for the advice and guidance. We also acknowledge the careful reviews performed by Abdullah M. Al-Amri (Editor-in-Chief).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ghazi, S., Ali, S.H., Sahraeyan, M. et al. An overview of tectonosedimentary framework of the Salt Range, northwestern Himalayan fold and thrust belt, Pakistan. Arab J Geosci 8, 1635–1651 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-014-1284-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-014-1284-3