Provenance of the Early Cambrian Abbottabad Formation in the Hazara region, Pakistan

Abstract

The early Cambrian Abbottabad Formation mainly comprises of dolomite, sandstone, shale and conglomerates at Khote-di-Qabar section, Hazara region, Pakistan. The formation makes lower contact with Hazara Formation and upper contact with Hazira Formation. The formation is comprehensively studied during the field and lab work to interpret its provenance. Five distinguishable sedimentary units including 1) Tanaki boulder bed; 2) Sanghargali siltstone/shale; 3) Mohammdagali Dolomite/quartzite; 4) Mirpur sandstone; 5) Sirban dolomite can be identified in the field that indicate variable depositional strata of the formation under various depositional setting. Additionally, petrographic analysis of Sanghargali siltstone/shale unit and Mirpur sandstone unit of the formation indicate the main lithologies of these units are litharenite and sublitharenite respectively. Moreover, the provenance of these sandstone units of the formation most probably belong to Aravali and Malani Ranges located in the South of the study area.