Chitarwata Formation

The Chitarwata Formation is a geological formation in western Pakistan, made up of Oligocene and early Miocene terrestrial fluvial facies. The sediments were deposited in coastal depositional environments (estuarine, strandplain and tidal flats) when Pakistan was partly covered by the Tethys Ocean.

TypeGeological formation

Sub-unitsBugti Member

OverliesVihowa Formation

PrimarySandstone

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Chitarwata Formation
Stratigraphic range: Early Oligocene (Tabenbulakian)-Early Miocene ~28–17 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Sub-units	Bugti Member
Overlies	Vihowa Formation
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Claystone
Location
Coordinates	29.0°N 69.0°E / 29.0; 69.0
Approximate paleocoordinates	19.4°N 67.7°E / 19.4; 67.7
Region	Balochistan
Country	Pakistan
Type section
Named for	Chitarwata
Chitarwata Formation (Pakistan)

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Paleomagnetic data indicates an age range of around 28 to 17 million years ago, with its base in the Oligocene, and its upper boundary, where it meets the overlying Vihowa Formation, of the Early Miocene.

Together with the Vihowa Formation, the Chitarwata Formation records the sedimentation of the Himalayan foreland basin during the collision of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates, the transition from marginal marine to fluvial environments, and the rise of the Himalayas.