Basin modeling of Margalla Hill limestone Hazara basin, Pakistan and its relationship with equivalent paleofacies in Potwar basin (T-1498) (MFN 3889)

Abstract

Rumli area lies in the foothills of Islamabad, the capital territory of Pakistan. This area is traversed by a major thrust fault, the Main Boundary Thrust, whose eastern and western continuation is traceable in Indian occupied Kashmir, the disputed territory and Afghanistan respectively. The study area hosts Paleogenerocks namelyHangu, Lockhart, Patala formations, Margala Hill Limestone, Chorgali and Khuldana formations. The Margala Hill Limestone and Chorgali Formation, which are carbonates of Eocene age and deposited in Hazara basin, were studied for the identification of microfossils and their depositional environments.Bio traces, depth ranges of fossils on slope and lithology on slope level of deposition were taken as tool to correlate the Paleogene rocks of Hazara basin and ofPotwar basin. It suggeststhat Margalla Hill Limestone of Hazaraand the Sakesar limestone of Potwarbasins are product of different environments of deposition.The analyses of benthic foraminifers suggest that the deposition of the Paleogene sequence occurredin warm and shallow marine environments.