Sedimentology of Marl and Marly Limestone Sequence of Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh Formation from Northern Kalachitta Range, Attock Hazara Fold and Thrust Belt, Pakistan

Abstract

Upper Cretaceous Kawagarh Formation is well exposed in the Attock Hazara Fold and Thrust Belt (AHFTB) and shows significant lateral and vertical variations in lithology. The present work deals with the sedimentological studies of marl and marly limestone sequence of Kawagarh Formation exposed at the Bagh Neelab, Ghariala north and Sojhanda villages in Northern Kalachitta Range. Detailed petrographic studies of marly limestone and hard marl substrate show that planktons and oysters are the main skeletal constituents of studied samples and clay and detrital quartz mainly composed the non skeletal fraction. X-Ray diffraction analyses of selected marl samples confirm the petrographic data. On the basis of skeletal and non skeletal content, two microfacies—marl microfacies and Planktonic microfacies are constructed. The faunal content, their paleoecology and detrital content of microfacies suggest that marl and marly limestone sequence of Kawagarh Formation was deposited over the mid and outer ramp settings.