Microfacies Analysis of Eocene Margalla Hill Limestone Hazara Basin Kuza Gali, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

This study examines the stratigraphic, paleontological, and diagenetic features of the Early Eocene Margalla Hill Limestone in the northern Pakistani district of Kuza Gali. Assilina, Nummulites, and Lockhartia are among the important faunal assemblages identified by the study's petrographic investigation and biostratigraphic evaluations. Analysis of microfacies reveals a depositional environment with low to moderate energy conditions that ranges from lagoonal to middle-shelf marine environments. Micritization, recrystallization, and stylolitization are examples of diagenetic characteristics that show post-depositional processes impacted by tectonic and burial forces related to the Himalayan orogeny. Despite diagenetic porosity loss, these results underline the limestone's economic significance and its potential as a hydrocarbon deposit. Understanding the region's geological development and its implications for resource extraction is improved by the research's integration of stratigraphic, paleoenvironmental, and diagenetic data.