Geological Map of Asia and The Far East

I I
Earth sciences 11
Second edition 115 000000
Explanatory note
Earth sciences 1 1
Titles in this series
1. The seismicity of the earth, 1953-1965/Ladismicitk

du globe, 1953-1965
by/par J. P. Rothe
2. Gondwana stratigraphy. IUGS Symposium, Buenos
Aires. 1-15 October 1967/La estratigrafia del
Gondwana. Coloquio de la UICG, Buenos Aires,
1-15 octubre de 1967
3. Mineral m a p of Africa. Explanatory note/Carte
minerale de 1’Afrique. Notice explicative.1/10 000 000
4. Carte tectonique internationale de 1’Afrique. Notice
explicative/Intemational tectonic m a p of Africa.
Explanatory note. 1/5000 000
5. Notes on geomagnetic observatory and survey
practice
by K. A. Wienert
MBthodes d’observation et de prospection
gkomagn&tiques,
par K. A. Wienert
6. Tectonics of Africa/Tectonique de 1’Afrique
I. Geology of saline deposits. Proceedings of the
Hanover Symposium, 15-21 M a y 1968/G6ologie
des dBp6ts salins. Actes du colloque de Hanovre,
15-21 mai 1968
8.The survelllance and prediction of volcanic activity.
A review of methods and techniques
*9. Genesis of Precambrian iron and manganese deposits.
Proceedings of the Kiev Symposit’m, 20-25 August
1970/Gen&e des formations prkatiibriennes de fer
et de mangan8se. Actes du colloque de Kiev,
20-25 aoiit 1970
10. Carte geologique internationale de 1’Europe et de
la region mbditerrankenne. Notice explicative/
International geological m a p of Europe and the
Mediterranean region. Explanatory note.
115 000 000
11. Geological m a p of Asia and the Far East. 1/5000 000.
Second edition. Explanatory note
Carte geologique de 1’Asie et de 1’Extrdme-Orient.
1/5000 000.Deuxi8me edition. Notice explicative
*12. Geothermal energy. Review of research.
(Multilingualedition: French, English, German,
Spanish, Italian, Russian.)
* T o be published
Geological m a p
of Asia and the Far East
Second edition 1 / 5 000000
Explanatory note
United Nations.
Unesco Economic Commission for Asia
and the Far East.,
Published in 1972 by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization
Place de Fontenoy, 75 Paris-7"
and the
United Nations Economic Commission
for Asia and the Far East,Bangkok
Printed by Imprimerie Louis-Jean,05-Gap
0United Nations 1971

Printed in France
5c.71/XVII.ll/A
1972 International
Book Year
T h e designations employed and the presentation of the

material in this publication do not imply the expression
of any oplnion whatsoever on the part of the
Secretariats concerning the legal status of any
country or territory, or of its authorities, or concerning
the delimitations of the frontiers of
any country or territory.
Preface
This second edition of the Geological M a p of Asia and the’Far East has been
prepared under the sponsorship of the United Nations Economic Commission
for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) in consultation with the Commission for
the Geological Map of the World and Unesco.
Since the publication of the first edition of this map in 1961,much more
systematic geological mapping has been carried out in most countries of ,the
region and new national maps have been compiled. At the sixth session of the
ECAFE Working Party of Senior Geologists held at Bangkok in 1966,5t was
decided that a second revised edition be published and the offer of the
Director-General of the Geological Survey of India to act as co-ordinator for
the task of revision was accepted.
At its seventh session (Teheran, 1968) the Working Party recommended
that Unesco be jointly associated with the publication and distribution of the
map and its explanatory note.
No geological map can be regarded as perfect or final, as substantial
amendments and additions are constantly being made to geological knowledge.
This edition of the map, therefore, represents a stage in the growth of the
understanding of the geology of the region, which will be added to and
improved continually subsequent to its preparation. It has been compiled from
information available up to 1969, mainly from geological maps and other data
supplied by the appropriate agencies of the governments of member countries
in the ECAFE region.
Those who have taken part in the compilation and preparation of the map
and the secretariats of ECAFE and Unesco wish to express grateful
acknowledgements to :
All governments of member countries in the ECAFE region for their ready
co-operation;
The Government of India for contributing the facilities available at the
Geological Survey of India and the services of its staff ;
The national geological surveys of all member countries in the ECAFE region
for supplying the required material ;
The Commission for the Geological Map of the World for its support and
assistance.
The final draft of the map was completed at the Geological Survey of India,
Calcutta, under the guidance of the Director-General,and the map was printed
in Tokyo under the supervision of the Geological Survey of Japan. The
brochure was prepared by the Geological Survey of India in co-operationwith
the ECAFE Secretariat (Mineral Resources Development Section) and the
ECAFE/Unesco Science and Technology Unit.
It is well known that the region designated as Asia and the Far East is
geologically and tectonically a highly complex one. The new map should
therefore be of considerable value not only to scientists, specialists and
academic circles, but also to everyone concerned with or interested in the
development of Asia’s mineral resources.
Contents
Foreword 9
1. Introduction 13
2. Summary of general stratigraphy 16

Precambrian 16
Precambrian-Paleozoic 20
Paleozoic 22
Paleozoic-Mesozoic 44
Mesozoic 47
Mesozoic-Tertiary 66
Tertiary 67
Tertiary-Quaternary (Cenozoic) 79
Quaternary 82
3. Intrusive rocks 86
F’recambrlm 86
Precambrian-Paleozoic 88
Paleozoic 88
Mesozoic 91
Pre-Tertiary 93
Cretaceous-Tertiary 93
Tertiary 94
Nondated or undifferentiated 95
Foreword
At the meeting of the ECAFE Working Party of Senior Geologists

held at Bangkok in August 1966, the Geological Survey of India agreed
to continue to act as Co-ordinator for the preparation of the second
(revised) edition of the ECAFE Geological M a p of Asia and the Far
East, at a scale of 1:5,000,000. T o facilitate compilation of the revised
map, the Working Party requested the ECAFE secretariat to ask the
appropriate organizations in all member countries of the ECAFE region
to forward their latest geological maps to the secretariat for trans-
mission to the Co-ordinator.
By the end of March 1968, the latest maps issued by eleven
m e m b e r countries had been received by the Director General, Geolo-
gical Survey of India. A draft m a p was then prepared, embodying the
changes shown on these maps that had been made since the first
edition was compiled, and using the topographic details of the Mineral
Distribution M a p of Asia and the Far East (first edition) as a base;
this was displayed at the seventh session of the Working Party of
Senior Geologists, held at Tehran in July 1968.
Copies of the portions of the draft m a p covering each of the coun-
tries involved were subsequently sent by the Co-ordinator through the
ECAFE secretariat for scrutiny by the organizations concerned in the
respective member countries. At the suggestion of the Co-ordinator,
the m e m b e r countries were also requested to supply the following, for
incorporation in the revised map: (1) data for distinction between
continental and marine facies of sedimentary rocks; (2) submarine
9
Foreword
geological data; (3) criteria for distinction between different types of

metamorphic rocks; and (4) the general trend of foliation of meta-
morphic rocks. A s this information was suppliedforvery few countries,
it was decided, in consultation with the ECAFE secretariat, to issue
the revised regional m a p without these additional details, except for
foliation trends in India and Ceylon.
At the suggestion of the ECAFE secretariat, the blank areas of

the portion of the m a p covering Nepal were filled by incorporating the
data shown in the published geological m a p of the Himalayas by A.
Gansser; this draft was subsequently approved by the authorities
concerned in Nepal, subject to certain modifications incorporated at
[heir request,
After scrutiny by the respective survey departments, the sections
of the m a p dealing with Taiwan (China), the Philippines, Malaysia,
Pakistan and Iran were returned to theCo-ordinator,with certain modi-
fications. The latest geological maps of Afghanistan (printed in 1969),
Thailand (unpublished), China, and Mongolia were received through the
ECAFE secretariat during the latter half of 1968and early in 1969. The
receipt of these maps necessitated extensive changes and recasting of
the draft m a p and, in consultation with the professional staff of the
ECAFE secretariat, the legend was modified in October 1969; prepa-
ration of the final draft was completed near the end of December 1969.
In the revised map, the recommendations of the Commission for
the Geological M a p of the World (CGMW) concerning legends for
geological maps have been followed as far as possible. A s a result,
the Precambrian rocks have now been subdivided into groups A, B and
C instead of Archean, Lower Precambrian, and Upper Precambrian,
and the Deccan Traps have been assigned a separate symbol and
colour. The data on bathymetric contours have also been revised and
these have been plotted from the base m a p of the Asian portion of the
World Geological Atlas at scale of 1:10,000,000. Some geographic
details have been amended and others added to the base map.
The Co-ordinator takes this opportunity to express his sincere
appreciation for the co-operation and help received from the organiza-
tions concerned in the member countries, and the ECAFE secretariat,
in the preparation of the revised edition of the regional map. H e wishes
10
Foreword
to acknowledge the assistance rendered by Messrs. D.V. Ramanamurthy

and S.K. Roy, geologists of the Geological Survey of India, Mr. Y.B.
Kazmin of the ECAFE secretariat and Dr. D.J.C. Laming of UNESCO
in the compilation and checking of the map. The Co-ordinator is also
grateful to Miss F. Delany, Secretary General, Commission for the
Geological M a p of the World, for supplying the base m a p of the Asian
portion of the World Geological Atlas from which the bathymetric
contours used in the present edition have been taken.
M.S. Balasundaram
(Co-ordinator)
Director-General,
Geological Survey of India
11
1. Introduction
Purpose and validity

This brcchure sets out to provide an explanation of how the
geology of the Asia and Far East region has been represented on the
map, and to give more geological details than can be shown thereon.
In general, the geological detail has been presented geographically
(usually from west to east) for each stratigraphic subdivision or
igneous rock-type, and percipient readers will notice the influence on
such descriptions of having to derive the information from numerous
country surveys, each with its own methods of description and pre-
sentation.
Neither the m a p nor the brochure should betaken as an authorita-
tive account of the geology of the region; such an account is well
beyond the resources of the compilers, and the information presented
is only as accurate as the country sources can make it. Additionally,
the information in most cases represents what was known in 1969, and
it may well be that some details will be invalidated by the date of
publication. Nevertheless, it is felt that any such limitations are far
outweighed by the value of so much geological information assembled
and co-ordinated in one publication. Users requiring confirmation of
details of the geology shown on the m a p are recommended to approach
the geological survey or bureau in the country or countries concerned.
Stratigraphic names
Most national geological surveys or bureaux are in process of
modifying their stratigraphic terminology in conformity with national
13
Introduction
or international codes of stratigraphicnomenclature,which are generally

similar in nature to the 1961 recommendations of the Amercan C o m -
mission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature. However, such a task is a
formidable one, needing long periods of time for completion, and, for
this publication, the terminology of actual use at the time (with a few
exceptions) has been included whether it conforms to the moderns
codes or not.
Capi'talization of formal terms has been standardized, however,
so that all formal stratigraphic names are capitalized in the text and
the legend, whether they accord with a modern code or with former
established usage. It should be noted that former usage often permitted
the terms System, Series and Beds to be applied where now the terms
Supergroup, Group and Formation would be appropriate. These terms
have not been altered to accord with m o d e m usage, however, as this
is the prerogative of the geologists working in the areas concerned.
Representation of geological information on the m a p

Both on the m a p and in the brochure, formations are identified
primarily by age, with indications of lithology only in the case of
igneous rocks. A s shown by the legend on Sheet 111, geological systems
are indicated by colours and code letters, with formations overlapping
more than one system being given distinctive shades andcompound
code letters. The legend mentions the more important formations
included in each subdivision, and the countries where they m a y chiefly
be found; further information on such points is presented in this
brochure and the lithology of the stratigraphic units is described,
together with a listing of characteristic fossils where possible.
The colours selected to represent the various stratigraphic units
have been chosen in accordance with the International Colour Scheme
suggested by the Commission for the Geological Mapof the Wbrld at its
meeting in Paris in April 1968. For Precambrian rocks, various shades
of crimson are used; shades of green represent Cambrian, Ordovician
and Silurian rocks, brown for Devonian, grey for Carboniferous, light
yellowish-green for Permian, mauve for Triassic, Prussian blue €or
Jurassic, yellowish-green for Cretaceous, yellow for Tertiary andyell-
owisbgrey for Quaternary. Stratigraphic units overlapping two systems
14
Introduction
are shown by the colour of the lower system with an ornamentation of

easily-discernible character in a colour akin to that of the upper system.
For igneous rocks, the ages of acidic and intermediate intrusions
are indicated by various shades of orange and red, augmented in some
cases by subscript numerals from 1 to 7 (from Precambrian to
Tertiary). Basic and ultrabasic intrusive rocks are all coloured
yellowish-green, age being shown by subscript numerals only, placed
after symbols indicating rock type. In the case of volcanic rocks,
Quaternary and Cenozoic formations are coloured distinctive shades
of red, purple and brown, indicating age and petrographic class. All
other volcanic rocks, however, with the exception of traps, are indicated
by a black overprint on the colour assigned to sedimentary rocks of
the same age, the style of overprint indicating the petrographic class.
Petrographically, the intrusive igneous rocks have been grouped
into acidic and basic. All syenites, porphyries, porphyrites and most
diorites are included with granites and granodiorites in the acide group;
the basic group includes gabbros, dolerites and some diorites, and all
ultrabasic rocks. Rock types are indicated by Greek-letter symbols,
' b for granites and granodiorites,& for diorites and syenites,MPfor
gabbros and allied rocks, and sr7 for peridotites and other ultrabasic
rocks. The Deccan Traps have been shown separately from intrusive
and volcanic rocks, at the suggestion of the Commission for the
Geological M a p of the World, and are identified by the symbolT,
Volcanic rocks are also distinguished petrographically, acidic
(P) including keratophyre, rhyolite, dacite and some andesites; the
basic group (p) includes basalt and most andesites. Unclassified
volcanic rocks bear the symbol (p).
Rocks of varying composition and uncertain age have been
included under the heading Unclassified Igneous Rocks (i).
Metamorphic rocks are distinguished, where data permit, by
broken red lines indicating general foliation trends.
Where information is available, Quaternary eolian deposits
(including sand dune areas) have been marked out by black dots. No
distinction has otherwise been made between marine and non-marine
deposits of any age.
15
2. Summary of general stratigraphy
PRECAMBRLAN
Despite their wide distribution, precise correlation of the Pre-
cambrian formations in Asia is not possible as they are classified
differently in the various countries of the ECAFE region. O n the m a p
they are divided in order of descending stratigraphic position into
three groups: Precambrian A, Precambrian B, and Precambrian C;
in general terms, A and B comprise Proterozoic rocks, while C con-
stitutes rocks of Archean age.
Precambrian C
The most ancient basement rocks, generally highly metamor-
phosed and deformEd as well as intensely granitized, are included in
this subdivision. In most cases they are referred to as Archean, or
merely as basement crystalline rocks known by local names. Rock
types are variously orthogneisses, paragneisses, crystalline schists,
amphibolites, quartzites and marbles, and also large masses of
granite-gneiss and granite.
In Iran, Precambrian C includes the basement complex which
consists mainly of gneisses, various schists, phyllites, quartzites and
marbles, with local granite intrusions. Slightly and non-metamorphosed
rocks of the Kohar Formation, Morad Series and other units are also
included, mostly green slates, sandstones and some green volcanic
rocks; their Precambrian age is indicated by their stratigraphic
position below dated Lower Cambrian.
16
Summary of general stratigraphy
In Afghanistan, the oldest basement rocks consist of gneisses,

quartzites, green schists, mica schists and marbles. In India, Nepal
and Burma, Archean and unclassified crystalline rocks consist mainly
of various gneisses, crystalline schists and granites. A n Archean age
is assigned to the Kadugannadwa Gneiss and Biotite Gneiss of Ceylon,
and the Crystalline Schist System in Korea. The metamorphic rocks
grouped under Precambrian C in Laos and Viet-Nam are crystalline
schists and gneisses of the basement complex, which is exposed in
scattered Precambrian massifs.
In China, the Archean is represented by gneisses, gneiss-
granites, crystalline schists and some marbles, known in various
regions as the Taishan Complex, Sangkanand Liaotung Series, Meijentou
Gneiss, Kunglin Schist, etc. The Wutai System is also included in this
classification, comprising metamorphic rocks of clearly recognizable
sedimentary and volcanic origin, often intruded by igneous masses;
the rock types are mainly crystalline schists, magnetite-bearing
quartzites, mica schists, green schists and some marbles. Although
many geologists in China refer the Wutai System to the Archean,
some consider it to be younger than the Taishan and Sangkan Series,
probably Proterozoic in age. In the lower part of the Wutai System in
Anshan a recent Pb/U/Th age determination of orthitefrom migmatites
gave 2,560 m.y., and a K/Ar age determination of muscovite from
crystalline schists gave 2,270 m.y.
Precambrian 8-C
The pre-Sinian basement rocks of China are undifferentiated
A rchean-Proterozoic, and are therefore shown in this subdivision
which embraces both Precambrian C and Precambrian B. They are
widely exposed along axes and uplifted blocks within fold belts in the
south-western and western regions, generally consisting of variably
metamorphosed and deformed gneisses, crystalline schists, mica
schists, green schists, granites, limestones, and in some places
shales and phyllites.
Precambrian B
The rocks included in this subdivision are generally highly meta-
morphosed, often intruded by both granites and basic rocks, and have
17
undergone severe folding and faulting. They have previously been

identified either as Proterozoic or Lower Precambrian, or described
under local names.
The Dharwar System of India comes within this classification,

comprising highly metamorphosed sedimentary and igneous rocks, such
as banded hematite-quartzite, garnet-sillimanite-schist (known as
khondalite), cordierite-biotite-gneiss, pyroxene gneisses and calc-
granulites. Besides the type area in Mysore, formations corresponding
to the Dharwar System are also found in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra
Pradesh, southern Bihar, northern Orissa and Rajasthan. The Salkhala
and Jutogh Series in the northwestern Himalayas and the Daling Series
of the Darjeeling Himalayas, in Bhutan and Nepal, are also included in
this subdivision; they consist of various slates,phyllites and quartzites,
with some schists and gneisses.
In Burma, this subdivision is represented by undifferentiated

metamorphic rocks and crystalline limestores, and also includes the
Mogok Series, which is composed of biotite, cordierite and pyroxene-
scapolite gneisses, garnet-biotite schists, crystalline limestones and
quartzites. Khondolites and crystalline limestone compose the Pre-
cambrian B in Ceylon.
The Proterozoic formations in China unconformably overlie the
Archean rocks, including the Wutai System; they are referred to in
various localities as the Huto, Liaoho, Namdechou, Kuyang, Kunyang
and Lingchuan Series, and some others. These are comparatively
weakly metamorphosed and less deformed rocks, mostly slates,
phyllites, green schists, roofing slates, marbles and quartzites, and,
in places, include 6ome metamorphosed volcanic rocks. The upper
age limit of this group m a y correspond to the figures of 1,440 100 to
1,550 f 200 m.y., the absolute age recently determined for the Hut0
(Bayan-Obo) Series.
In Mongolia, this subdivision comprises the metamorphic rocks
assigned to the Lower and Middle Proterozoic on the latest geological
maps of Mongolia (1965). These formations constitute a single tectonic
complex forming the Precambrian crystalline basement which appears
within Paleozoic fold-belts. Most of the exposed Lower Proterozoic
18
S u m m a r y of general stratigraphy
rocks are gneisses, crystalline and mica schists, with some amphi-
bolites and marbles. The Middle Proterozoic consists mainly of
crystalline limestones and dolomites, quartzites, some crystalline
schists, gneisses and amphibolites; in Gobi, it is represented by mica
schists, green schists and metavolcanic rocks, with some limestones.
In general, the Middle Proterozoic depositional facies in Mongolia
appears to change eastward from carbonate through terrigenous-
volcanic into terrigenous.
Precambrlan A -B
Undifferentiated Proterozoic rocks exposed in northeastern
Mongolia are placed in this subdivision They forma basement complex
made up of crystalline schists, mica schists and green schists, in
places associated with some limestones and sandstones.
Precambrian A
The rocks of this subdivision, previously referred to as Upper
Precambrian or Upper Proterozoic, rest unconformably over the older
Precambrian formations and are relatively less metamorphosed and
less disturbed.
In India, Precambrian A includes the quartzites, limestones,
slates, hornstone breccias, etc. of the Cuddapah System inAndhra
Pradesh, with scattered intrusions of granites and basic sills, and its
equivalents in Mysore, in the Chhattisgarh Basin, and inparts of
Bihar, Orissa and Rajasthan.
The Martoli Series and other Upper Precambrian formations in
Nepal consist of various schists and quartzites.
In China, this subdivision is represented by the SinianSystem,
which, in most regions, consists of a flat-lying or gently dipping thin
sequence on pladorms and uplifts where superposed Cambrian rocks
overlie them quite conformable. Quartzites ,shales and some quartzitic
sandstones are predominant in the lower part; limestones, particularly
siliceous limestones with slates, compose the upper part of the
sequence. In foldbelts, the Sinian rocks are metamorphosed and
generally folded, and include mainly slates, phyllites and limestones,
and, in some localities (Kurug Tagh, Nanshan), are associated with
volcanic rocks, conglomerates and tillites. The Sinian limestones are
19
commonly characterized by abundant problematic algae, such as

stromatolites and oncolites.
The Upper Proterozoic in Mongolia unconformably overlies the
Lower-Middle Proterozoic basement formations and consists of a
geosynclinal sequence of variably metamorphosed rocks, mainly green
schists, mica schists, metamorphosed volcanic rocks and some lime-
stones. In Gobi, predominantly crystalline limestones are associated
with quartzites and cherts. Stromatolites and oncolites have been found
in the Upper Proterozoic limestones in some localities.
The Sangwon System of Korea, comprising quartzites, phyllites,
limestones, slates, etc., is believed to be late Proterozoic in age; it
uncomformably overlies crystalline schists and granite-gneiss (Pre-
cambrian C). Some of the limestones have yielded the doubtful fossil
Collenia.
P R E C A M B RIAN-PALEOZOIC
The Vindhyan System of India, consisting of limestones, quartzitic
sandstones, shales, grits, conglomerates, etc., is a sequence of less
disturbed strata with more or less horizontal beds. This system
unconformably overlies the Cuddapah rocks classified as Precambrian
A. Some shales of the Vindhyan System have yielded small concentric,
wrinkled discs of a carbonized chitinous substance, several spores and
a few woody remains which indicate the possibility that the Vindhyan
rocks may extend in age up to Ordovician. The Malani suite of igneous
rocks, consisting of granites, granophyres and rhyolites, intrude the
Vindhyan System in Rajasthan. The Hazara Slates, Simla Slates and
the Nagthat, Chandpur and Jaunsar Series in the northwesternand
central Himalayas, and the Buxa Series in the Himalayas of Sikkirn
and Bhutan are probably of late Precambrian to early Paleozoic age.
In West Pakistan, this subdivision is mainly composed of un-
fossiliferous sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, including slates,
limestones and sandstones.
The Precambrian-Paleozoic rocks in Nepal consist of schist8,
gneisses, phyllites, quartzites and limestones.
In Thailand, pre-Permian gneisses and schists occurring in the
Chieng Mai, Tak and Uthai Thani areas are placed in this subdivision.
20
In southern Thailand, small outcrops of these rocks are exposed near

Thapsakae and Ranong.
In Laos and Viet-Nam, some gneisses and metamorphic rocks,
mainly various schists, quartzites, phyllites and crystalline limestones,
m a y be both Upper Precambrian and Lower Paleozoic in age. They are
widely exposed in the northern regions of those countries as well as
east of the Bolovens Plateau.
The undifferentiated Sinian-Silurian deposits of China, included
in this classification, are generally represented by a thick (2 to 7 km)
geosynclinal sequence of variably metamorphosed and deformed rocks,
mostly exposed within foldbelts in the central and southeastern regions;
these are mainly schists, slates, phyllites, quartzites and some
limestone. South of the lower Yangtze valley, the sequence consists
mainly of marine clastic rocks, with limestones and shales in the
middle part. In the Cathaysian foldbelt, in the southeasterncoastal
region, the Sinian-Silurian is represented by the Lungshan Series
made up of green schists, phyllites, clayey slates, limestones and
cherts, with some quartzites, dolomites and local graphitic deposits.
The Nanshan Series in Nan Shan (west central region) is composed of
green schists, phyllites and quartzites; in the upper part, it also
includes Devonian siliceous limestones with Puchypwu and Fuvosites.
In Mongolia, this subdivision includes Upper Proterozoic-Lower
Cambrian metamorphosed geosynclinal rocks, mainly sandstones,
phyllites and some limestones; in places they contain metamorphosed
volcanic rocks, tuffs and cherts. Some limestones contain stromatolites
and oncolites (Os@, Fungussia and Semichatovia).
In Indonesia., Japan., the Philippines and elsewhere in the region,

basement complexes consist of gneisses and crystalline schists formed
by metamorphism of rocks ranging from Precambrian to Paleozoic
in age. In the Philippines, the basement complex is recognizedas
pre-Jurassic and consists of broadly folded undifferentiated amphibo-
lites, quartzo-feldspathic mica schists, phyllites and slates, frequently
associated with marble and quartzites.
21
PALEOZOIC
Cambrian
Cambrian rocks in the Spiti Valley, in the Himalayas of India.,
are known as the Haimanta System, and consist of shales, micaceous
quartzites and dolomites. The system is divided into lower, middle and
upper divisions, of which only the upper one is fossiliferous; it contains
Redlichda noetlingi, Ptychoparda spitiensis, Lingula spitiensis, etc.,
which indicate a middle to late Cambrian age. Some pre-Silurian
schists are also included in this group.
In West Pakistan, Cambrian sedimentary rocks include the
Jhelum Group, comprising the former Salt Pseudomorph Beds,
Magnesian Sandstone, Neobolus Beds, Purple Sandstone and the under-
lying Salt Range Formation (the former Punjab Saline Series) of
doubtful late Precambrian age. The fossils include Redlichia noetlingi,
Neobolus warthi, Lingula, olrthis and Hyolithes, indicating a middle
Cambrian age.
In Thailand, certain Upper Cambrian deposits are known inthe
southern peninsula region west of Nakorn Si Thammarat, on Tarutao
Island, and in Tak province of northern Thailand; they are represented
by the Tarutao Group, consisting of red sandstones containing saukid
trilobites and orthid brachiopods. Also shown on the m a p as Cambrian
is the Phuket Series, mainly shales and slates, extending northward
from Phuket Island; however, according to informaiion received after
the m a p had k e n compiled, the Phuket Series should be considered
as the upper part of the Kanchanaburi Formation, which ranges in age
from Silurian to early Carboniferous (shown on the m a p as Silurian-
Devonian).
In Indonesia, presumed Cambrian rocks are exposed near the
eastern part of the Central Range in West Irian. In the lowest part they
include basalt flows of the Awitagoh Formation; most of the sequence
is represented by the overlying Kariem Formation, consisting of close
alternations of fine clastic and carbonate rocks with some cherts.
Cambrian rocks have a wide distribution in China, where in many
localities they overlie Sinian rocks quite conformably. Lower Cambrian
shales, sandstones and impure limestones are widely scattered in
22
northeastern, east central and southeastern China, and they contain a

characteristic Redlichia fauna. The Middle Cambrian consists mainly
of limestones and shales with Ptychoparia, Anornocarella, Dorypyge,
hmesella, Dvepanura and AgnoscuS. The Upper Cambrian is generally
represented by limestones with some shales, containing Ptychaspis,
Tsinania, Cerutopyge, Chuangia, etc. The Middle and Upper Cambrian
rocks have a wide distribution in northern, eastern and central pro-
vinces (south Manchuria, Liaotung, Shantung, Shansi); in southern
China they are developed only in Anhwei, Hupeh and eastern Kwangsi.
In hngolia, this system is represented by Lower Cambrian
deposits in-most parts of the country, and by Upper Cambrian rocks
exposed only in the Altai mountain range, westernMongolia. The Lower
Cambrian is composed of geosynclinal deposits characterized by
rapid changes of facies. In the extreme north, west of the Hobsogol
lake, these are mainly limestones, dolomites, sandstones and shales.
Within depressed zones in western, northwestern and central Mongolia,
the Lower Cambrian is represented by spilite-diabase flows interbedded
with carbonate and terrigenous deposits, andesitic and diabasic lava,
pyroclastic deposits and embedded ultramafic intrusions. I n uplifted
structural zones, this sequence is replaced by terrigenous and terri-
genous-carbonate rocks, associated with submarine volcanic rocks,
mainly rhyolitic and dacitic. In eastern and southeastern regions,
nearly all exposed Lower Cambrian deposits are exclusively of
carbonate-terrigenous facies. The lower Cambrian fossils in Mongolia
include Spirocyathus yavwskii, S. densus, S. conden.sus, CoscinocyaUzus
cornucopia and C. diantus.
The Upper Cambrian geosynclinal sequence in the Altai Range is
represented by flysch-like deposits, metamorphosed to green-schist
facies; they include various schists, slates, phyllites and some sand-
stones.
Cambr ian-Ordovician
Cambrian-Ordovician deposits are present within the North
China-Korean Platform and the Sourh China Platform in eastern China
(Liaotung, Hopei, Shansi, Shantung, Hupeh, Anhwei, HunanandKweichow
provinces); they consist mostly of limestones and some shales, with
23
sandstones and dolomites developed locally. A geosynclinal sequence

of the Cambrian-Ordovician is represented in Manchuria and Inshan
(Inner Mongolia) by carbonate rocks. Cambrian-Ordovician deposits
include mainly schists, gneisses, phyllites and some limestones in
Tien-Shan and Kunlun, and predominantly metamorphosed marine
clastic and volcanic rocks in Kurug Tagh. Phyllites, sandstones,
limestones and cherts, with some metamorphosed volcanic rocks and
jaspilites compose the Cambrian-Ordovician in Nan Shan In the Kalpin
Tagh Uplift of the Tarim Stable Block in Sinkiang, western China, the
Lower Paleozoic (shown as Cambrian-Ordovician) consists of slates,
metavolcanic rocks and conglomerates.
In Mongolia, this subdivision includes the Lower Paleozoic Khara
and Tszaga Series composed of unfossiliferous marine clastic rocks,
mainly phyllites, sandstones and some conglomerates, extensively
developed in the northern and central parts.
Ordovician
The Ordovician in Thailand is represented by the Thung Song
Group, consisting mainly of massive black limestones with Actinoceras
and fragments of brachiopods andcrinoids,identified to be of Ordovician
or at least early Paleozoic age. Brachiopods and trilobites have
recently been discovered in the black calcareous shale of the Thung
Song Group at Amphoe Thungwa.
In China, widely distributed Ordovician deposits, predominantly
composed of limestones and some shales, are found within the North
China-Korean and South China Platforms in Liaotung, Shansi, Hopei,
Shantung, Hupeh, Hunan and Kweichow provinces of southeastern and
eastern China. The Lower Ordovician beds contain Piloceras,
Suecoceras, Ophelita, Dendrograptus, Dictyonema, Dichogvaptus,Loga-
mgrap tus, Desmograptus , Phyllograp tus, A m p Lexogvaptus , Didymo-
g r a p h , Tetragraphs and Callo,yapEus. The Middle Ordovician beds,
with Actinoceras, Orthoceras, Glossogvaptus hincksii and Trigono-
papcuS lineatus, 'are separated in places from the Lower Ordovician
beds by an unconformity. Upper Ordovician platform sediments of
A shgillian age containing Climacopaplus latus and Wcellograplus
sextans occur in western Hupeh and Anhwei.
24
In most part of Mongolia, this system is represented by Middle-

Upper Ordovician geosynclinal formations, mainly slates, phyllites,
shales, limestones and sandstones, containing the fossils Camaratoechia
bairimica, Stegerhynella sp., Nicholsonella, Dyplob-ypa, Zygospira,
Rafinesquina, Catazyga, Cyathophylloidescf. aktahoubdeus,Streptelasma
(Grewingkia) cf. buceras, Catenipora, Cyathophyllum cf. laxurn,
Catenipwa robusta, Saffordophyllum ,Lyopara,Nyetopora,Prohel io1ites ,
etc. In southern Mongolia, the Ordovician terrigenous deposits are
associated with metamorphosed basic and andesitic volcanic rocks,
locally with thin limestones in the upper part; this sequence m a y also
include Lower Ordovician strata.
Cambr ian-Silur ian
In Iran, a widely distributed distinctive group of cherty dolomites
and red or variegated micaceous shales and sandstones is designated
as %fra-Camhrian". Though separated from the Precam'srian base-
ment by an unconformity, the "Infra-Cambrian" everywhere grades
upwards without any sharp break into a red sandstone sequence (Lalun
Sandstone) of early Cambrian age which in turn is conformably overlain
by dolomites, limestones and shales, containing a rich middle to late
Cambrian trilobite fauna. In northern, eastern and northwestern Iran,
shaly and sandy deposits with graptolites, and marls and limestone rich
in trilobites, brachiopods and cystoids indicate an early to middle
Ordovician age. Conodonts are the only paleontological evidence for
the presence of Upper Ordovician in Kerman, and the Silurian, re-
presented by coral limestones, is confirmed only in two areas.
In the Himalayas of West Pakistan, India and Nepal, Lower
Paleozoic formations of the Himalayan geosyncline are developed,
especially in Hazara, Kashmir, the Spiti Valley, Almora and Garhwas
and in Nepal. The Spiti Valley area shows the best development of
these formations, where the constituent beds include conglomerates,
quartzites and grits, overlain by shales and limestones. The Ordovician
fauna is rich in brachiopods (Orthis, etc.) and the Silurian fauna is
dominated by corals (Favosites, etc.); they show closer affinities to
the North American than to the northern European faunas. The Lower
Paleozoic in Nepal consists mainly of siltstones and carbonate rocks,
including the Iron Ore Formation in the Kathmandu area which has
yielded trilobites and brachiopods of Ordovician-Silurian age.
25
In Burma, no fossiliferous Cambrian rocks have yet been reported

although a part ofthe ChaungMagyi Series of the Shan States, the Mer@
Series (quartzites, limestones, schists, argillites) of Mergui and some
volcanic rocks (Rawdwin Volcanics) may probably be referable to the
Cambrian. The Ordovician strata of the northern Shan States include
(in upward order) the Ngwetaung Sandstone, the Naungkangyi Series and
the Naunghaw Limestone. The Ngwetaung Sandstone has yielded Orthis
and some crinoid stems. The Naugkangyi Series, consisting of lime-
stones, marls and shales, has yielded Orthis, Calymene, AgnoscuS,
Plectambonites, etc., which show close affinities with the corresponding
European forms. The Nyaungbaw Limestone contains a remarkable
crinoid, Camarocrhus aSiQticus, In the sourthern Shan States, the
Ordovician is represented by the Mawson Series, consisting of calca-
reous shales and limestones bearing 'Orthoceras,Actimceras, Oxygites,
etc., together with the Orthoceras Beds and Pindaya Beds, which are
purple argillaceous limestones and shales containing crinoid stems and
species of Orthis, MonograPCUS, etc. The Silurian of Burma has three
subdivisions, in ascending order: the Panghsa Pye Graptolite Beds, the
Namshim Seds (sandstones and marls) and the Zebingyi Beds (lime-
stones and shales). The Graptolite Beds contain Diplograptus, M ~ o -
graphs, Orthis, Phacops, etc., and the Namshim Beds have yielded
Calymene, Encrinurus, Phacops, Fenestella, etc. The Zebingyi Beds
contain a rich fauna of graptolites, brachiopods and cephalopods.
The Cambrian strata in West Malaysia are predominantly arena-
ceous, with minor amounts of argillites, pebbly sandstones, conglo-
merates and some silicified limestone at the top. The fossils in the
arenaceous beds are poorly preserved saukid trilobites and
brachiopods of late Cambrian age, The Ordovician, however, is more
widespread and is found in the Langkawi Islands, Perlis, Kedah and
Perak as a thick succession of limestones with some shale and
sandstones. Fragments of the cephalopod Robsunoceras, indicating an
early Ordovician age are found near the base of the succession. In the
Langkawi Islands and Perlis, the deposition of limestone was continuous
into Silurian time.
In southern Viet-Mm,the Dalat Series (shales, slates, phyllites,
schists, some quartzites and sandstones) is considered to be of
Cambrian to Silurian age from its stratigraphic position, but without
26
any supporting fossil evidence. Formations similar to and correlated

with the Dalat Series are exposed in some southern and eastern parts
of the Khmer Republic.
Undifferentiated Cambrian-Silurian rocks in China generally
comprise a rather thick geosynclinal sequence within foldbelts in the
northern, western and central region; they consist mostly of shales,
slates, quartzites and cherty limestones, with some phosphatic rocks
in eastern Tien Shan (Ma-tsung Shan) whereas shales and sandstones,
with some limestones and volcanic rocks, are predominant in Astin
Tagh and Nan Shan. Marine clastic and carbonate rocks comprise the
geosynclinal sequence in Tsinling Shan, Inshan and eastern Gobi. In
southern central China (Yunnan, Sikang and southern Szechwan),
Cambrian-Silurian deposits are represented by marine clastic rocks
and limestones.
The Chosun System of Korea, ranging in age from early Cambrian
to middle Ordovician, rests with a pronounced unconformity on Archean
rocks, and, wich a slight angular unconformity, on Proterozoic rocks.
The fossils found within this system include Redlichia, Obolus,
Ptychoparia and Tonkinella. The Cambrian faunas of northern and
southeh Korea are closely similar to each other, but the Ordovician
faunas in these two regions are different: that of northern Korea is
akin to the corresponding fauna from Arctic North America, whereas
the southern Korean fauna shows affinities to the Ordovician fauna of
Europe.
Ordovician-Si lur ian
Undifferentiated Ordovician-Silurian rocks in north-eastern China
consists of shales, sandstones, slates and some limestone; they
comprise a geosynclinal sequence within foldbelts in eastern Tien Shan
and Dzungaria.
Silurian
The Silurian in northern Laos consists of shales, phyllites and
sericite schists with greywackes. Sandstones and limestones contain
Encrinums pum.ctacuS var. laoensis, L i c k s cf. scabra and Spirifw
su1caCu.s. In some localities the lower part of the sequence may include
Ordovician beds; some Ordovician sericitic schists with Trinucleus
cf. m C u s are known near Ban Ban.
27
In China, the Lower and Middle Silurian shales, sandstones and

some limestones are widespread within the SQuth China Platform in
parts of the southeastern provinces (Hunan, Kweichow, southwestern
Hupeh, northeastern Y unnan, Kwangsi, southeastern Szechwan); they
contain Momgraptus, Encrinus, Spirifer, Rastrites, Climacograptus,
P e n t a m e m and Coromcephalus in most localities, and Favosites,
Eospirifer, Protathyris, Modiolopsis, etc, in northeastern Y unnan. The
highest Silurian beds of the South China Platform are generally con-
tinental red sandstones with fish and plant remains; sediments of
marine facies are known only in southern Szechwan andnorthern
Kweichow. A geosynclinal sequence of the Silurian in Yunnan consists
of shales, limestones and phyllites. Shales, sandstones and slates,
containing Akidograpclcs, Climacop-apclcs and Monograptus, with some
phosphorites at the top, compose the Lower-Middle Silurian in the
lower Yangtze valley. In northern Kiangsi (Mu-Ho), Silurian meta-
morphosed shales and sandstones contain Monograptus, Climaco-
&-raptus, Eospirifer, Coronocephalus, etc. Shales and sandstones,
with some slates and limestones containing Halysites, Favosites,
&Zmanella and P e n t a m m , compose the deep water geosynclinal
facies of the Silurian in the Tsinling-Shan. Geosynclinal deposits in
Nan Shan and TienShan consist of weakly metamorphosed carbonate
and marine clastic rocks; in western Kun Lun and Mustagh Ata they
also include metamorphosed volcanic rocks.
In western Mongolia, this system is represented exclusively by
Lower Silurian, consisting mainly of Wenlockian molasse-like marine
clastic rocks with some limestones. Llandoverian strata, locally
developed in the Altai, include black shales and limestones. A more
complete sequence, including Lower and Upper Silurian geosynclinal
deposits, is exposed within a west-east foldbelt, occupying the southern
part of the country. In the west (the Gobi Altai) this sequence is made
up of metamorphosed sandstones, siltstones, phyllites and cherts,
with some limestones in the upper part. In the central and eastern part
of the foldbelt, these deposits are associated with siliceous and volcanic
rocks, including andesitic flows and tuffs, spilite and diabase; in some
localities, the volcanic rocks comprise the major part of the sequence.
In eastern and southeastern Mongolia, the Silurian deposits are
characterized by carbonate and carbonate-terrigenous formations,
28
with some acidic volcanic flows and conglomerates. The Lower Silurian
fossils in Mongolia include Monograptus, Monoclimacis, SpirograpcuS,
Retiolites, Microplasma, Propora, Mesofavosites, Favosites, Pynos-
tylus, Crassilasma and Cerisster. The Upper Silurian beds contain
Semicoscinium, Neomphyma, Cyrcaphyllum, etc.
Silurian deposits in West lrian are represented by strongly
folded rocks of the K e m o e m Formation, exposed in the northwestern
region (northern Vogelkop); they consist mainly of slates with
subordinate quartzites, containing M m g r a p C U s marri and M. hwi-
culab.
Silurian-Devonian
In the northern montane area of West Pakistan, Silurian-Devonian
rocks include the Swabidhamla Sedimentary Group and the Lower
Swat-Buner Schistose Group northeast of Peshawar, and the Abbottabad
and Tanawal Formations (mainly quartzites, schists and dolomites) in
Hazara.
In Kashmir and the Himalayas of India, the Silurian-Devonian
consists of the Muth Quartzite which conformably overlies Silurian
rocks with Pentarnerus oblongus in the Spiti Valley, and in turn is
overlain by fossiliferous Lower Carboniferous rocks. The age of the
Muth Quartzite is mainly Devonian, but the lower part is of late
Silurian age.
In Thai land., the Silurian-Devonian Kanchanaburi Formation is
the lower part of the newly-designated Tanaosi Group (Silurian-
Carboniferous); it comprises the metamorphic rocks of the former
Kanchanaburi Series and the equivalent strata of sedimentary rocks
which m a y contain Silurian and Devonian faunas. The Kanchanaburi
Formation consists of phyllites, slates, quartzites and shales, with
some intercalations of bedded limestone.
Silurian-Devonian deposits in northern Laos and Viet-Nam are
represented mainly by shales and greywackes with Spirifw, @this,
Conocardium, Calymene, SCropheodonta and Atrypa reticularis.
In southeastern China, south of the Lower Yangtze valley, the
Silurian-Devonian is represented by shales and sandstones. In Kalpin
29
Tagh (western Sinkiang), the Silurian-Devonian rocks are mainly

marine clastic deposits. In Tien Shan, a geosynclinal sequence of
Silurian-Devonian is mainly composed of marine clastic and carbonate
rocks, with volcanic rocks in places.
In Mongolia, this subdivision includes the Upper Silurian-Lower
Devonian geosynclinal deposits found in scattered exposures within
the east-west foldbelt in the southern regions. In the Gobi Altai, in
the west there are phyllites, shales, limestones and some sandstones;
eastwards they are commonly associated with intermzdiate and basic
volcanic rocks and cherts, which are extensively developed in the
eastern Gobi. In eastern Mongolia, the predominant part of the se-
quence is composed of carbonate and terrigenous-carbonate rocks.
The Upper Silurian-Lower Devonian beds in Mongolia contain the
fossils Riphacolites, Placoenites,Favosites gasimuricus,Lioclema aff.
tenuirama, etc.
In Japan., Silurian and Devonian Strata crop out in narrow areas
of Shikoku and northern Honshu. The lower part of the Crinoyana
Series in Shikolcu, composed of limestones, sandstones, tuffaceous
shales and small amounts of acidic volcanic rocks, is the oldest dated
deposit; a Silurian (Wenlockian) age is indicated for it by fossils,
including Falsicatenipmcr, Halysites, Scutellum and Covonocephalus.
The lower half of the Devonian succession in the southwest is charac-
terized by an abundance of pyroclastic material and reef limestones;
in one part, limestones near the base contain corals, including Favo-
sites, Thamnopora, Thecostegites and Cymatelasma. Large amounts
of pyroclastic rocks also occur in the upper part in the southwest, but
in the northeast, this interval consists mainly of thick clastic deposits.
Devonian
In southern Viet-Nam, Devonian and Devonian-Carboniferous
(Dinantian) deposits are mainly represented by non-fossiliferous
continental-epicontinental clastic strata, including slates, shales, sand-
stones and some siliceous shales. In central Viet-Nam (Annamitic
zone) and in eastern and central Laos, Devonian neritic, partly brackish-
water sediments include shales, marls, sandstones with minor lime-
stones and, locally, with some red beds. The fossils include Athyris
concentrica, Atrypa desquamata, A. reticularis, Sbropheodonta anna-
30
mitica, Calceola sandalina, Favosites styriacus. Heliolites porosus,

Spirifer ziczac and Actinopteria subdecussatu, indicating an age from
Emsian through Francian. In western Laos and northern Viet-Nam,
the Devonian geosynclinal deposits are characterized by rapid changes
of facies from one place to another and from one part of the sequence
to another. The rocks are mainly shales, greywackes, limestones,
some sandstones, cherts, quartzites and jasper beds; they contain
rich faunas of brachiopods, corals and lamellibranchs, and range in
age from early to late Devonian in Laos, and from early to middle
Devonian in many places in northern Viet-Nam.
In southeastern China, within the South China Platform and

Cathaysian Foldbelt, the Lower Devonian generally consists of con-
tinental red sandstones and shales containing Arthrost&ma gracile
and fish remains. The Middle and Upper Devonian, however, are
represented there by marine deposits (shales, sandstones), exposed
mainly in eastern Yunnan, Kweichow, Hunan, Kwangsi and south-
eastern Kwangtung, which contain the fossils Calceola sandalina,
Stringocephalus burtini, Sinospirqer sinensis and Manticoceras. North-
eastward, these rocks give way to continental deposits; in eastern
Hunan and western Kiangsi the Middle-Upper Devonian consists of
marine and continental clastic rocks, but, in the southeastern coastal
region, within the Cathaysian Foldbelt, it includes predominantly
continental clastic rocks with some residual iron and manganese ore.
The Devonian geosynclinal rocks in Tsinling Shan are represented by
limestones, phyllites, greywackes and some tuffs; in Lun-men Shan
(northeastern Szechwan) they are mainly conglomerates and quartzites
in the lower part, and limestones in the upper part. A geosynclfnal
sequence of Devonian deposits in the Nan Shan consists of phyllites,
greywackes, some volcanic rocks and limestones; in Tien Shan and
Kurug Tagh it includes mostly carbonate and clastic rocks.
In southern and central Mongolia, and also in the easternmost

region south of the Hailhain Go1 valley, this system is represented
by a Lower-Upper Devonian geosynclinal sequence made up of phyl-
lites, shales, cherts, greywackes, slates and some limestones, asso-
ciated with large volumes of volcanic rocks including basaltic and
andesitic lavas and tuffs, diabases and spilites. In northeastern and
31
eastern Mongolia, including northeastern Gobi, and also in Gobi Altai

in the southwest, this sequence is mainly composed of marine terri-
genous and terrigenous-carbonate formations. North of the Kerulen
valley, the Middle-Upper Devonian marine deposits are 'replaced by
littoral and continental clastic rocks, including conglomerates, sand-
stones and some pyroclastic rocks. Continental clastic deposits of
late Devonian age are known also southeast of Ulan Bator. In northern,
northwestern and western Mongolia, this system is represented pre-
dominantly by lower Devonian-Eifelian molasse-like marine clastic
rocks, with widespread andesitic, dacitic and rhyolitic flows and
pyroclastic deposits. The younger Devonian beds in western Mongolia
are known in western Altai, where they are represented by Givetian
marine terrigenous rocks. The Lower Devonian fossils in Mongolia
include Camarotoec hia daleidensis , Spirifer hys tericus,Leptostrophia
beckii, L. explanata var. Kharkraica, Leptaena bouei and Phacops
subcristata. The Middle Devonian beds have yielded the fossils Pa-
chypora cervicomis, P. reticulata, Cyphaspis hydrocephala, Atrypa
re ticularis, Natallophyllum give ticum, Alveolites aff. lemniseus and
the plants Taeniocrada decheniana, Aphyllopteris sp. , Pseudouralia
sibirica, Uralia cf. camdjalensis and Parvandeinopsis cf. beliakovii.
The Upper Devonian contains Cyrtospirifer, Reticularia, Euphemites,
etc.
Devonian-Carboniferous
In the Khmer Republic, Devonian-Carboniferous deposits consist
of shale, shaly sandstones, marls and siliceous shales, with some
limestones near the top. The limestones contain the foraminifera
Endothyra, M m g e n e r i n a and Geinitzia, which make possible the dating
of the upper part of the sequence as Lower Carboniferous (Dinantian).
O n the South China Platform in southeastern China (northwestern
Y unnan, Kweichow, northern Kwangsi) rather thin epicontinentalforma-
tions of Devonian-Carboniferous age occur, consisting mainly of sand-
stones, shales and limestones. In the southeastern coastal region (eas-
tern Kiangsi, Chekiang, Fukien, northern Kwangtung), this subdivision
includes Devonian-Lower Carboniferous continental sandstones.
In south central and central China (western Yunnan, Sinkiang,
western Szechwan), a Devonian-Carmniferous geosynclinal sequence
32
consists mainly of marine clastic rocks and limestones; in Tsinling

Shan, limestones form the bulk of the sequence. Devonian-Lower
Carboniferous deposits are represented by marine shales, sandstones
and limestones in eastern Kunlun and by mixed marine and continental
clastic rocks with some coal in northern Nan Shan.
Undifferentiated Devonian-Carboniferous deposits in central and
northeastern Mongolia are represented by sandstones, cherts, silt-
stones and volcanic rocks in the lower part, and mainly mudstones,
coarse sandstones and conglomerates in the upper part. In the lower
part, they contain Devonian-Carboniferous fossils, including Thamno-
p w a , Crassialveolites, Ceonites and Spirifer duplisicostus, and in
the upper part, the plants Tomiodendron latchaticum, Chacassopteris
coneinnu, Noeggera thiopsis, Pecop teris and Paracala m ites.
Carboniferous
In the Hindu Kush, in northern West Pakistan, the Carboniferous
includes the Sarikol Shale or its equivalents.
In Kashmir and the Spiti Valley of the Himalayas of India, Car-
boniferous limestones and shales contain Productus, Spirifer, Phillip-
sia, Cmularia, Fenestella and Syringopora.
In southeastern China, within the South China Platform (eastern
Y unnan, Kweichow, central and southern Hunan, northern Kwangtung,
eastern and northern Kwangsi) the Lower Carboniferous marine epi-
continental deposits, made up of limestones with some sandstones
and shales, have been divided into four zones which, in ascending
order, are the Cystophrentis zone, the Pseudouralina &ne, the Thy-
sanophyllum zone and the Yuunophyllum zone. Typical fossils include
Athyris, Schellwienella, Syringopora, Productus and kviesie1la* A
continental deposit of early Carboniferous age occurs in the south-
eastern coastal region (Chekiang, Fukien, eastern Kiangsi) and in
the lower Yangtze valley; the Wutung Sandstone within this bears
the plant fossil Lepidodendron mzrabile. The Middle and Upper Car-
boniferous strata in southeastern China are mainly composed of
white limestones containing Fusulinella, Fusulinu, Chaetetes, En-
teletes lamarcki, Choristites mosquemis, Striatifera striata, etc.
33
In the North China-Korean Platform within eastern, central and

partly northeastern China, Lower Carboniferous deposits are absent
and Middle Carboniferous (Moscovian) sediments rest on Ordovician
limestones with a faintly recognizable discordance. The Middle-Upper
Carboniferous rocks in this area are represented by alternations of
marine and continental deposits; they include shales, sandstones,
limestones, occasional thin seams of coal and also some alumina
shales and iron ores (in Shansi). Staffella, Fusulinella, Choristites,
etc., are found in the limestones and the typical flora from the shales
includes Neuropteris giganteus and Palaeoweichseliu.
In Tsinling Shan, central China, the Carboniferous geosynclinal
beds consist of alternating continental and msrine clastic rocks, with
some coal and limestones in the lower part of the sequence, marine
clastics (shales, phyllites, quartzites) and limestomes in the middle
part, and predominantly limestones in the upper part. Innorthern
Nan Shan, the Lower Carboniferous includes marine clastic and some
volcanic rocks while the upper strata are represented by coal-bearing
formations. In Ma-tsung Shan and southwestern Gobi (northwestern
Kansu), a thick (5-1 1 km) Carboniferous sequence is composed of
sandstones, shales and limestones, with great volumes of basic and
andesitic volcanic flows and tuffs in the middle part. In western
China, the Carboniferous is com7osed of black shales, phyllites and
sandstones, with thin beds of limestones in the Mustagh Ata Range
and western Kunlun. In Tien Shan and Dzungaria, the Lower Carbo-
niferous marine shales, sandstones and limestones pass upwards
into Middle-Upper Carboniferous mixed marine and continental clastic
rocks, associated with volcanic flows and tuffs.
In northern, western and eastern Mongolia, the Lower Carbo-
niferous (including Namurian) is represented in most areas by mafine
and continental, sometimes mixed marine-continental molasse-like
clastic deposits, including sandstones, siltstones, gritstones and conglo-
merates, locally containing some limestones and thin coal beds; in
Gobi Altai and western Gobi, southwestern Mongolia, they also include
andesitic and dacitic lavas with rhyolitic lavas and pyroclastic rocks
locally. A geosynclinal sequence of Lower Carboniferous sandstones,
phyllites, cherts and tuffs is exposed in central Mongolia. In the
southernmost areas, the Lower Carboniferous includes marine terri-
34
genous deposits, some limestones and great volumes of andesitic and

dacitic flows and tuffs. The Lower Carboniferous beds inMongolia
carry the fossils Archaediscus, Eostaffella, Mediocriocris,Lonsdaleia,
Fenestella, Polypora, Lingula,Productus,Spirifer,Schizophoria,C a m a -
rotoechia, etc, and the plant remains Angaropteridium cardiopteroides.
A. vescum, Cardiopteridium asiaticum, Asterocalamites, etc. The
Middle-Upper Carboniferous in most parts of Mongolia is composed
of andesitic, dacitic and rhyolitic flows and pyroclastic rocks, asso-
ciated with predominantly continental and some marine molasse-like
clastic deposits, containing the fossils Phestia, Pseudoedmondia,
Edmondiella, Crenipecten, etc., and the plants Noeggerathiopsis,
Angarop teridium, Stenopteris, Cinkgophyllum, Cardiocarpus, L epido-
dendron, Angarodendron, Tomiodendron, Pecopteris, Paracalamites,
etc. In northwestern Mongolia and the Altai Range, the Niiddle-
Upper Carboniferous formations consist of marine and continental
clastic rocks with coal beds. Marine geosynclinal deposits of this
age (greywackes, cherts and phyllites with andesitic and spilitic lavas
and tuffs) are known in southern Gobi.
Devonian-Perm ian
A continuous sequence of mainly limestones is present in Iran,
ranging in age from Devonian to Permian and possibly Triassic. Upper
Devonian and Carboniferous dark limestones containing brachiopods
and corals, occur from Azerbaijan through Alborz to central Iran,
together with subordinate basic volcanic rocks; north of Kerman, the
dark limestones m a y be of Middle Devonian age on evidence of conodonts
and brachiopods. Lower and Upper Permian beds consist of sandstones,
quartzites, black carbonaceous shales, red shales and subordinate
sandy oolitic limestones containing brachiopods and fusulinids. In
places, Permian limestones and dolomites show a transition into lime-
stones of up to Lower-Middle Triassic age, which are also included in
this subdivision.
In the Spiti Valley region of the Himalayas of India, this sub-
division includes undifferentiated rocks of the Kanawar and Kuling
Systems, the Krol and Infra-Krol Series, Zewan Beds, etc. In the Spiti
Valley, the Muth Quartzites are overlain by limestones, shales and
quartzites of the Kanawar System; the topof the lower part of the Kana-
35
war System contains Lower Carboniferous fossils, including Productus

Cora, P. semireticulatus, Chonetes hardrensis, Sparifer kashmiripsis,
Syringothyris cuspidata, Phillipsia cf. cliffordi and Cmularia wdrisul-
cata. This part is correlated with the Syringothyris Limestone in
Kashmir. The upper part of the Kanawar System, corresponding to the
Fenestella Shales in Kashmir, contains middle Carboniferous fossils,
including Fenestella, Productus scabriculus, P. undutus and Spirifer
triangularis. The overlying Permo-Carboniferous Kuling System is
composed of calcareous sandstones in the lower part, andincludes
the Productus Shales in the upper part which form a persistent horizon
in Kashmir, the Indian Himalayas and Nepal; it contains abundant
Productus purdoni, P. abichi, P.giganteus ,Spirifer spirigera,Xempsis ,
Cyclolobus oldhami, etc. In Kashmir, the Zewan Beds, consisting
mostly of shales and limestones with a Middle-Upper Permian fauna
of brachiopods, corals and bryozoa (Protoretepora amplal, lie on Upper
Carboniferous-Permian shales and sandstones, associated with agglo-
meratic slates and volcanic rocks. The Krol (shales and limestones)
and Infra-Krol (shales with thin beds of quartzites) Series compose
the Upper Carboniferous-Permian in the Simla-Garhwal Region.
In Nepal, the Upper Paleozoic includes, in the lower part, the

Everest Pelitic Series (mostly shales and slates of probable Devonian
or Carboniferous age) which is overlain' by the Everest Limestone of
Carboniferous age. The Everest Limestone is overlain conformably by
the Lachi Series (limestones, calcareous sandstones, shales, quartzites
and some pebble beds) containing Permian fossils and covering large
areas north of Mount Everest and in northern Sikkim.
In Burma , the Devonian-Carboniferous is represented by the

Plateau Limestone, the Moulmein Limestone and their equivalents.
The Lower Plateau Limestone, mainly dolomite or dolomiticlimestone,
contains an Eifelian and Upper Devonian fauna including Calceola
sandalina, Favosites, C h m t e s and hvilleina. The Upper Plateau
Limestone (dark limestones), with Fusulina elongata, Spirifer fasciger,
Productus Cora, etc., is Carboniferous-Permian. The Moulmein Lime-
stone beds, with some intercalated sandstones and shales, are also
Carboniferous-Permian in age.
36
The Ratburi Series of Thailand, identified on the m a p in this

subdivision, consists mastly of limestones, although they are associated
in the south with shales, sandstones, siltstones and some quartzites;
the brachiopods and fusulinids in them indicate a Carboniferous-
Permian age.
In the Khmer Republic the Devonian-Permianconsists of Devonian-
Carboniferous slates, shales and sandstones, with some siliceous
shales and jasper, and Permian carbonate rocks.
In southern V jet-Nam, this subdivision includes mainly Devonian-
Lower Carboniferous (Dinantian) shales, sandy shales, sandstones and
some limestones, locally with siliceous shales and marls. En northern
and central Laos and the western part of northern Viet-Nam, the
Devonian-Permian is represented mainly by marine clastic rocks asso-
ciated locally with volcanic material. These geosynclinal deposits
consist of shales, greywackes, sandstones, grits, some lavas and tuffs,
and minor limestones; carbonate rocks become predominant in north-
western Laos. These Devonian-Permian rocks contain brachiopods,
corals, bryozoa and lamellibranchs, indicating a late Devonian
(Frasnian), Carboniferous and Permian (including Kazanian) age. In
central eastern Laos and central Viet-Nam (Annamitic zone), as well
as northeastern Viet-Nam, Carboniferous-Permian strata, mainly
limestones but with some dolomites, locally with intercalations of
marine clastic rocks, are shown in the Devonian-Permian subdivision.
In central Viet-Nam and eastern central Laos, they include Lower
Carboniferous-Upper Permian strata, although in most areas their
age ranges from Westphalian (Moscovian) to Kazanian and Tartarian
(late Permian); the limestones contain a large and varied fauna, in-
cluding bryozoa, brachiopods, lamellibranchs, gastropods, corals and
abundant fusulinids.
A: Pulau Langgun in West Malaysia, Devonian non-calcareous

deposits contain at the base a rich fauna of dacryoconarid tentaculites
together with some lamellibranchs and graptolites. Middle-Upper Devo-
nian fossils, in mudstones at the same locality, include gastropods,
lamellibranchs, brachiopods and trilobites;southwards,in centralPerak,
the Devonian is predominantly calcareous.
37
Lower Carboniferous deposits of West Malaysia consist of a

thick succession of carbonaceous shales, phyllites and quartzites,
with bands of limestone occurring in the upper part. These limestones
have yielded a rich brachiopod fauna, including Schizophoria,Avonia,
Linoproductus and Spirifer. The shales contain mainly corals (Canznia,
Lithostrotion, etc.) and plant remains (Lepidodendron, Stigmaria),
indicating a near-shore environment. Middle and Upper Carboniferous
sediments are found sporadically in southern Kelantan (mudstones and
pyroclastic rocks) and Perak (limestones). Throughout West Malaysia,
the Permian is typically calcareous, but, in places, the predominating
limcstones are associated with shales, siltstones, quartzites and
andesitic-rhyolitic lavas and pyroclastic rocks. Fossils are fairly
abundant both in number and variety and include foraminifera, corals,
bryozoans, brachiopods, scaphopods, gastropods, crinoids and algae.
Shown under this subdivision, Upper Paleozoic (predominantly

Carboniferous-Permian) formations in Burma are represented by sedi-
mentary, metamorphic and volcanic rocks, including radiolarian cherts
and ophiolites. They contain Fusulinu, Endothyra, Trochammina,
Radiolaria, etc.
Also included in this subdivision are Upper Paleozoic, primarily

Carboniferous-Permian, rocks of Indonesia, which occur in Sumatra
and other islands of the archipelago. They consist mostly of limestones
and shales, interbedded with thick masses of lava and tuff, and contain
spivifer and Productus and fossil plants such as Pecopteris, Lepido-
dendron. Sigillaria, Sphenophyllum, Calamites and Cordaites.
Carboniferous-Permian
Undifferentiated Carboniferous-Permian platform-type deposits
in southeastern China (the South China Platform and Cathaysian Fold-
belt) are represented mostly by limestones, with some coal-bearing
for:ndi'wz !n the upper part. In the southeastern coastal region,
marine limestone and shales are also interbedded with coal-clastic
deposits. In the North China-Korean Platform, within east central
and partly northeastern China, this unit includes beds of Middle Car-
boniferous to Permian age; the lower part of the succession is made
38
up of alternating marine and continental clastic rocks and limestones,

the upper part being predominantly continental deposits with coal.
In northern Takla Makan (Tarim Basin) in western China, the Carboni-
ferous-Permian and Upper Paleozoic formations contain alternating
marine and continental beds.
In the foldbelts of central China, including Kunlun and Tsinling,
the Carboniferous-Permian or Upper Paleozoic deposits are generally
represented by limestones, associated in the lower part with marine
clastic rocks and in the upper part with mixed marine and continental
clastics, some coal and conglomerates. In eastern Tien Shan and M a -
tsung Shan (western Gobi) of northwestern China, this group includes
a Middle-Upper Carboniferous marine sedimentary-volcanic formation
and Permian molasse-like marine and continental clastic rocks. In
northeastern China, including Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, the Upper
Paleozoic and Carbbniferous-Permian deposits are represented gene-
rally by metamorphosedlimestones, phyllites, some greywackes,cherts,
sandstones, and, locally, some conglomerates and tuffs. In Tibet,
Carboniferous-Permian marine clastic and carbonate rocks are asso-
ciated with some volcanic rocks and coal beds; in Sikang and western
Yunnan, carbonate rocks comprise the major part of the sequence.
In most parts of Mongolia, rocks ranging from Middle Carboni-
ferous (Upper in places) to Lower Permian are common. The sequence
consists of marine and continental molasse-like clastic deposits,
mainly sandstones and siltstones; great volumes of andesitic, dacitic
and rhyolitic lavas commonly associated with these strata are most
extensively developed in the central and southern regions, in places
forming the main part of the sequence. In southernmost Mongolia,
southern Gobi, the Middle Carboniferous-Lower Permian is repre-
sented by a geosynclinal sequence consisting of greywackes, cherts
and andesitic and spilitic volcanic rocks, in the upper part including
some limestones with Lower Permian foraminifera Schwagerina,
Schubertella, Parastaffella, Pseudofusdim, Qunsifusulina, Rugosofu-
sulina and Pseudoschwagertna.
In Japan, Carboniferous and Permian strata consist of a thick
accumulation of clay slates, greywackes, cherts, schalstein and lime-
stone. The Lower Carboniferous is divided into four series and the fos-
39
sils include brachiopods (Kitakamithyris, Syringothyris, etc.) and

corals (Suqiyamaelta, Dibunophyllum, Lithos trotion,etc.). The zoning
of the Upper Carboniferous-Permian strata by fusulinids is established
as follows (in ascending order): Millerella zone, Profusulinella zone,
Fusulinella zone, Fusulina zone, Pseudoschwagerina zone, Parafusulina
zone, Neoschwagerina zone and Yabeina-Lepidolina zone.
The Carboniferous-Permian in West Irian in Indonesia is repre-
sented by the hifam Formation which occurs in scattered outcrops
in the northwest (Vogelkop) and in the Central Range. It consists of
terrestrial clastic deposits, mainly red Sandstones, shales, quartzites
and conglomerates, exposed only in the Vogelkop, followed by a shallow
marine sequence of slates, sandstones and limestones, which becomes
paralic at the top, as indicated by coal beds and plant remains; the
fossils include Productus, Spirifer, Derbyia, Neospirifer, tetracorals
and fusulinids, and the plants Sphenophyllurn,Pecopteris, Taeniopteris,
Calamites, etc., indicative of late Carboniferous-Permian age.
Permian
In Afghanistan, the Permian is represented mostly by sandstones
and limestones containing Neoschwaqerina, Spiroloculina, and Tex-
tularlidae, etc.
In the Salt Range of West Pakistan, the Lower Permian is re-
presented by the Nilawachan Group (formerly the basalTalchir Boulder
Bed, Olive Series, the Speckled Sandstone and the Lavender Clay)
consisting mainly of calcareous sandstones and shales, with red sand-
stones, gypseous beds and some glacial or glacio-fluvial boulder beds
at the base. The fossils include brachiopods, gastropods, lamellibranchs
and bryozoa. The Nilawahan Group is overlain by the Zaluch Group
(the former Productus Limestone), consisting mostly of limestones
with some shales and sandstones in the basaland upper part, containing
a rich fauna of brachiopods (especially Productus), gastropods and
cephalopods, which indicate an age ranging from Artinskian to
Thuringian.
The Permian in eastern central China (Shansi, Hotjei, Shantung)
within the North China-Korean Platform, is represented by continental
sandstones, shales and clays, containing, in the lower part, productive
40
coal measures with plant remains (Sphenophyllum thoni, Taeniopteris

multinervis and Walchia). In southeastern China (Szechwan, Kweichow,
eastern Y unnan, Kwangsi, Hunan, Kiangsi, Fukien, southern Hupeh and
Anhwei) the Lower Permian is essentially composed of limestone with
shales, containingGlyph ioceras ,Neoschwagerina, Verbeekina,Waaqeno-
phyllum, etc. In Yunnan and western Kweichow, the Middle Permian is
characterized by large sheets of basic lavas alternating with tuffs
and shales. The Upper Permian includes in the lower part the Loping
Formation, made up of shales, sandstones and coal seams with Gigan-
topteris flora; this formation often includes thin beds of limestones
with the well-known Loping fauna containing Productus, Lyttonia
richthofeni, Richthojenia laurentiana and Orthotetes ti@. The Loping
Formation is overlain by limestones, intercalated in some places with
sandstones and shales which have yielded the Gigantopteris flora and
the late Permian forms Pseudomonites, Pecten, Bellerophm, etc;
Phillipsia is occasionally associated with these forms. In Tsinling
Shan, central China, the Lower Permian is composed of limestones,
which are overlain by thin shales with some limestones; the Upper
Permian includes a coal-bearing formation and marine limestones.
In Tien Shan, northwestern China, the Lower Permian consists of
marine clastic strata with occasional beds of limestones; the Upper
Permian includes mostly continental clastic deposits.
In Mongolia, the Lower Permian in most areas is represented

by volcanic rocks, including rhyolitic, dacitic and locally andesitic
flows and pyroclastic rocks, associated with marine and continental
clastic rocks. These deposits contain the flora Paracalamites sibiricus,
P. planicos tatus, Noeqqerathiopsis derzavini,N. sib irica,Cordaicarpus,
etc. The Lower Permian marine deposits are developed in eastern,
southwestern and southernmost Mongolia; in the southwestern (Gohi
Altai) and eastern regons they consist of marine terrigenous deposits,
including sandstones and siltstones with some conglomerates and
1i m e stones, containing Hexagonella, Cya thaxonia, Lophophyllidium,
Goniocladia,Diplopolaria,Streptorhynchus and Uncinunellina timorensis.
In southern Gobi, the Lower Permian includes cherts, sandstones,
some basic volcanic rocks and limestones with Lower Permian
foraminifera.
41
The Upper Permian marine terrigenous deposits form extensive

exposures in central and northeastern Mongolia; these are mostly
sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates accumulated within a large
southwest-northeast elongated basin. In the southernmost regions, the
Upper Permian consists of marine clastic rocks and limestones
containing Streptorhynchus, Marginifera, Anidanthus, Spiriferella,
Fenestella, Hexagonella, Dyseritella, etc. The Upper Permian, in
widely scattered exposures within the rest of the country, generally
consists of mainly continental, in places mixed marine and continental,
molasse-like clastic deposits, locally associated with coal beds and
intermediate-acidic volcanic rocks; the latter are extensively developed
in northern Mongolia. These rocks contain the flora Pecopteris, Callip-
tevis, Crass inevvia, Prynodacopteris, Puvacalamites,Noeggerathiopsis
mit inaens is, Parasclzizoneura, etc.
Undifferentiated Paleozoic
In Iran, a succession of partly undifferentiated Paleozoic rocks
shown by this designation on the m a p generally includes Infra-Cambrian
dolomites, shales, cherts and some limestones, Lower Cambrian
purple sandstones, and the Mila Formation which consists of shales,
limestones and dolomites of Middle and Upper Cambrian age; in
eastern Iran (north of Kerman) this formation is replaced by red beds.
Overlying these beds in eastern Iran are Ordovician and Silurian
marine limestones, shales and some dolomites and sandstones, which
are followed by carbonate rocks of Devonian age. However, in other
parts of Iran the Mila Formation is succeeded by Upper Paleozoic
rocks which in northeastern Lran are limestones, quartzites and shales
of Upper Devonian-Permian age. Elsewhere, including eastern, central
(south of Kashan) and southwestern Iran (the Zagros ranges) Carboni-
ferous quartzites, sandstones and shales are found, usually succeeded
by Carboniferous-Permian and Permian limestones and dolomites,
also including Lower-Middle Triassic carbonaceous strata in places.
The undifferentiated Paleozoic deposits in Afghanistan include
rocks that are generally strongly deformed and variably metamor-
phosed, ranging in age from Ordovician to Carboniferous. They consist
mainly of schists, phyllites, sandstones, limestones, quartzites and
42
locally, mica schists. Ordovician and Silurian rocks are best developed
in eastern (near Kabul and Jalalabad) and northeastern Afghanistan;
the Ordovician limestones and quartzites contain trilobites and bra-
chiopods and the Silurian deposits have yielded conodonts and ortho-
ceratites. Devonian marine sediments are known in the eastern (south
of Kabul), central and western regions; in the western part of central
Afghanistan they contain some gypsum and salt. Fossils in the Devonian
sediments include Spivifer, Zaphrentzs and trilobites. Carboniferous
deposits have a wide distribution; in places they contain brachiopods,
crinoids and fusulinids.
The Paleozoic in the Hindu Kush area of West Pakistan consists
of metamorphic and volcanic rocks, including the Carboniferous-
Permian Darkot Group. In Kashmir, the unfossiliferous Tanawal
Series, composed of phyllites, quartzites, quartz schists and conglo-
merates is included in this subdivision.
Paleozoic rocks in north-ccntral Nepal (in the Tibetan or Tethys
Himalayas) include dark grey limestones, dolomites and shales with
Silurian graptolites, which are succeeded by Carboniferous-Permian
fossiliferous limestones rich in brachiopods, corals and bryozoans
including Fenestella. In the lower Himalayas of southern Nepal, the
Paleozoic is represented predominantly by carbonate rocks, with
some shales, quartzites and phyllites.
In central Laos and Viet-Nam, the Paleozoic is represented by
unfossiliferous schists, slates and carbonate rocks, underlying the
Lower Indosinias.
In south-central China (Sikang, western Szechwan and southern
Tsinghai), there is an undifferentiated Paleozoic geosynclinal sequence
of marine clastic rocks, limestones, some conglomerates and volcanic
rocks; these are generally folded and locally metamorphosed. In
northern Manchuria (northeastern China) undifferentiated Paleozoic
deposits include mainly limestones, shales and some sandstones,
varying in age from Cambrian-Ordovician to Carboniferous-Permian.
In Taiwan, the Paleozoic comprises gneisses, sericite schists, green
schists and crystalline limestones exposed in the Central Range. A
few fusulinids (Neoschwagerinu, Schwaqerina) of Permian age have
been found in the crystalline limestones of the metamorphic complex.
43
In Japan., the Hi&, Sangun, Ryoke and Sambagawa metamorphic

rock units are shown as Undifferentiated Paleozoic on this map. The
Hi& and Ryoke metamorphic rocks (gneisses and schists) indicate
regional metamorphism of a low pressure-high temperature type.
The age of the original rocks of the Hida metamorphic unit is not
known, but for the Ryoke unit it is known to be Carboniferous-Permian.
The Sangun and Sambagawa crystalline schists are of high pressure-
low temperature type, and their original rocks were of Paleozoic age.
PALEOZOIC-MESOZOIC
Carboniferous-Tr iasstc
The Gondwana System of India is included in this subdivision
although it extends to as late as early Cretaceous in age. This thick
sequence of mainly clastic rocks is divided into two on the basis of
the GZossopteris flora, which characterizes the lower division, of late
Carboniferous to early Triassic (Scythian) age, and the PtyZophyZZum
flora in the upper part, of middleTriassic(Anisian) to early Cretaceous
age. The basal formation of this system is the Talchir Boulder Bed,
consisting of sandstones, shales and tillites, which give evidence of
glaciation, and is referred to the late Carboniferous. Humid conditions
which followed the glaciation favoured the growth of luxuriant vegetation,
resulting in the deposition of the Damuda Series (mostly grits and
sanddtones) about 2,400 m thick and containing numerous coal seams.
Red and variegated sandstones, clays and shales of the Panchet and
Mahadeva Series and their equivalents were subsequently deposited
under arid climatic conditions; they contain remains of reptiles and
amphibians. Basic intrusions, mostly lamprophyres, are c o m m o n in
the Lower Gondwana rocks.
After the Hercynian Orogeny in West Pakistan and India, a part

of Kashmir, Hazara and the northwestern Himalayas formed a highland.
Volcanic activity in the region produced agglomerates and other pyro-
clastic rocks of the Agglomeratic Series and, later, lava flows ranging
from andesite to basalt of the Pir PanjalVolcanic Series. This volcanic
activity commenced during middle to late Carboniferous times and
extended into late Triassic, as some of the lava flows are interbedded
44
with Triassic strata. Though usually unfossiliferous, the underlying

Agglomeratic Slates, in some places, have yielded well-preserved
fossils, including Spirifer, Dielasma, Protoretepora and Lima. Inter-
bedded with the pyroclastic strata are some beds containing Lower
Gondwana plant fossils, including Gangamopteris and Vertebraria.
In the Hindu Kush range, northern West Pakistan, the Greenstone
Complex of Carboniferous-Triassic age indudes volcanic, sedimentary
and meta-sedimentary rocks.
In Laos and Viet-Nam, the Lower Indosinias strata, ranging in
age from middle-late Carboniferous to middle Triassic, are pre-
dominantly sandstones and shales, with grits, calcareous shales and
sandy limestones closely interbedded with massive limestones con-
taining brachiopods and fusulinids of late Carboniferous and Permian
age. In many places, the Lower Indosinias are intercalated with large
volumes of andesitic, dacitic and rhyolitic lavas, tuffs and breccias. In
many localities, especially in western Laos, northern Viet-Nam and
north-central Khmer Republic, there are also intrusions and flows of
porphyrites, gabbros and dolerites (shown on the m a p as Paleozoic
basic intrusive rocks) which m a y be Carboniferous-Permian to early
Triassic and some of them even older in age.
In China, undifferentiated Carboniferous-Triassic deposits are
shown in vicinity of Nan Shan, in northern central China; they are
composed mainly of coal-bearing formations and continental clastic
rocks, with some limestones in the lower part.
In Mongolia this classification is represented by Middle Carbo-
niferous-Lower Triassic terrigenous deposits in a monotonous flysch-
like sequence mainly of sandstones and siltstones, which is developed
in the northeasternmost regions along the border with the USSR.
In the Pyongan System of Korea, the basal Moscovian (Upper
Carboniferous) beds and the succeeding lower part of the Lower Per-
mian deposits are of marine origin, and the rest, up to Triassic, are
of shallow water or terrestrial origin. The marine faunas include
Fusulinella, Fusulina and Pseudoschwagerina. The Lower Permian
flora includes Lepidodendron, Pecopteris, Pterophyllum, Cordaites
and Noeggerathiopsis. The Triassic rocks contain Neocalamites,
Thinnfeldiu, Gigantopteris, L aba tannularia, etc.
45
In the northwestern part of the island of Borneo (East Malaysia,

Brunei and tndonesiu) the Carboniferous-Triassic sequence consists
-
of shales, conglomerates, sandstones and some pyroclastic rocks of
the Terbat and Sadong Formations.
In Indonesia., the Carboniferous-Cretaceous deposits in West
Irian, comprising the Aifam (Carboniferous-Permian), Tipoema, Brug
(Triassic-Jurassic) and Kembelangan (Jurassic-Cretaceous) Forma-
tions, which occur over a large area innorthern Vogelkop, in the north-
western part of West Irian, are not differentiated on the m a p and are
all shown as Carboniferous-Triassic.
Permian-Triassic
In Afghanistan, undifferentiated Permian-Triassic limestones,
sandstones and shales are widely distributed in the southern part; the
Permian and Triassic limestones appear to form a continuous succes-
sion. In northern Afghanistan, the Permian-Triassic, occurring as
scattered exposures, is mainly composed of sandstones and volcanic
rocks.
In southeastern China, this subdivision includes mainly marine
limestones and shales, with some coal, of middle Permian and late
Triassic age; continental formations are present at the top of the
sequence. In eastern China (Shantung, Hopei and Shansi) the Permian-
Triassic is composed of continental red sandstones, shales, conglo-
merates and some coal. In north-central China, in Nan Shan, mixed
marine and continental clastic rocks comprise1 the lower part of the
sequence and the upper part consists predominantly of continental clastic
rocks. In western Tsinling Shan and eastern Kunlun Shan, central
China, the Permian-Triassic geosynclinal sequence is composed of
marine clastic rocks and limestones.
In Mongolia., this unit includes the Upper Permian-Triassic
marine terrigenous deposits, mainly sandstones, shales and some
conglomerates, exposed in eastern Gobi.
Und iffevent iuted Pa leou,ic-Mesozo ic

In the Khmer Republic, Laos and Viet-Nam, this category in-
cludes undifferentiated Indosinias, an extended sequence of dominantly
46
continental deposits ranging in age from late Carboniferous to Creta-

ceous; they are mostly of lagoonal and fluvial facies with intercalated
neritic strata in some areas and, to a lesser extent, coal seams, lava
flows and tuffs,
In West Irian, Indonesia., undifferentiated rocks of Cambrian-
Jurassic age include the Kariem, Aifam, Tipoema and Brug Forma-
tions developed on the southern slopes and foothills of the Central
Range, where more detailed subdivision is hampered by lack of data
and the strongly folded and faulted condition of the rocks. Pebbles
containing fossils of Silurian and Devonian age in rivers flowing south
from the central range indicate the presence of Silurian and Devonian
strata on the southern slopes.
MESOZOIC
Tr iassic
The Triassic sequence in Iran starts in most places with charac-
teristic thin platy limestones and calcareous shales containing poorly
preserved lamellibranchs and abundant worm tracks, dated as early
Triassic (Scythian). These are followed by dolomites and limestones
attributed to Middle Triassic but devoid of diagnostic fossils. These
are overlain by as much as 2,800 m of sandstones, shales and thin
limestones, containing a rich fauna of corals, lamellibranchs and
gastropods indicating late Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian) age. A very
different sequence of the Triassic appears in northeastern Iran (the
eastern Kopet Dagh Range), consisting of shales, sandstones, coal
beds, conglomerates, limestones and abundant volcanic material; it
contains a middle-late Triassic cephalopod fauna.
In northern Afghanistan,the Lower Triassic consistsof limestones,
shales and sandstones. Middle Triassic limestones are overlain by
Upper Triassic sandstones with intercalations of conglomerate, gravel,
argillite and clay, and some lenses of tuff, basalts and porphyrite.
Marine clastic and carbonate rocks compose the Triassic sequence in
central and eastern Afghanistan. Triassic fossils found include Meeko-
ceras, Ophiceras, Megalodon, Dicerocardiurm, Ceratites and Daonella.
47
In northern West Pakistan, undivided Triassic rocks west of

Rawalpindi are a succession of limestones and dolomites, with some
sandstones and shales.
The most complete section of the Himalayan marine Triassic in
India is exposed in the Spiti region where the Lilang System, consisting
of black limestones and shales, Gonformably overlies Permian beds;
there is an abrupt change in fauna, however, with complete extinction
of the Permian brachiopods. Beds of Lower Triassic (Scythian) age
contain Otoceras, Ophiceras, Meekoceras and Hedenskoernia; the
Middle Triassic (Anisian-Ladinian) beds containRhynchonella, Siberites
and Daonella; while the Upper Triassic (Karnian) beds contain Halobia,
Spiriferina and Tropites, and the Norian is characterized by Juvavites,
Monotis and Megalodon. Rocks of this age are known to be extensive in
the Himalayan region, and have been studied in Painkhand (Kumaon),
Byans, Kashmir, Sikkim and Johar. In the Kumaon area of the Hima-
layas, a Triassic sequence of dominantly carbonate rocks is divided
into four major units (in descending order): Kioto Limestone, Kuti
Shales, Kalapani Limestone and Chocolate Series. In Kashmir, the
Triassic is well represented by fossiliferous limestones with some
shales, which contain a rich fauna of brachiopods, ammonites and
cephalopods of early, middle and late Triassic age.
In Burma, shales, sandy marls, sandstones and limestones of the
Napeng Beds contain pelecypods of Rhaetian age. The Kamawkala
Limestone is regarded as Norian, and the dark limestones of Karennia
with Halobia and Monotis are also of Triassic age.
In Thailand., the Triassic is represented by the Lampang Group
which consists of marine and non-marine sandstones, shales, conglo-
merates and some limestones, including red beds and volcanic rocks;
it contains Halobia and &onella. These rocks are exposed mostly in
northern Thailand, but are also found iri the peninsular part of the
country, from where they extend southwards to west Malaysia. In
northwestern Thailand, the Upper Triassic continental red beds of
the lower part of the Khorat Group unconformably overlie folded
Paleozoic rocks along the western margin of the Khorat Plateau.
In northern Viet-Nam, east of the Red River valley, marine
Triassic deposits, mainly shales and sandstones, with some lime-
48
stones containing intercalations of acidic volcanic rocks, range in age

from Scythian to Karnian. The Upper Norian and Rhaetian contain
continental coal-bearing formations. West of the Red River basin,
Triassic rocks include a sequence of Lower-Upper Triassic marbles,
shales, sandstones, with some cherts and limestones, associated with
basic and intermediate volcanic rocks. A detailed classification of
marine Triassic rocks in the region can be based on ammonite zones.
In most parts of Laos, southern Viet-Nam and the Khmer Re-
public, the lower Triassic is represented mainly by the upper part
of the Lower Indosinias and also includes andesitic, dacitic or rhyo-
litic pyroclastic rocks and lavas which were erupted over large areas.
In northeastern Laos, marine Triassic shales, marls, sandy shales
and sandstones with some limestones ,contain fossils indicating an
age from Anisian to Norian. The marine Norian is overlain by red
beds of late Norian-Rhaetian age (Middle Indosinias) which are locally
replaced by beds of lagoonal facies. Rhyolite vulcanism persisted
into the Karnian, and, in places, into the Norian.
Marine Triassic beds are widely spread over northern and
northwestern Laos. Although there are some rare occurences of
Scythian shales, the principal marine formations are of Karnian-Norian
age and include fossiliferous shales, marls and limestones with
Halobia, Placites, Trachyceras costulatum, Discokopites cf. sand-
lingensis, Anodontophora munsteri, etc. The marine Triassic is over-
lain by continental deposits of the Middle Indosinias. In southern
Viet-Nam and the Khmer Republic, the marine Triassic is repre-
sented within the Indosinias as fossiliferous beds of sandstones,
shales, marls and limestones; among the known fossiliferous horizons,
the entire range of the Triassic is present. In Laos, the Khmer
Republic and southern and central Viet-Nam, widely exposed Upper
Triassic continental deposits of the Middle Indosinias consist of
sandstones, sandy shales, red shales and marls, with some conglo-
merates and breccias. In many localities, this continental facies is
intercalated with marine or lagoonal strata. The Middle Indosinias
rest unconformably on marine Triassic (Norian) and older strata,
and themselves contain intercalations of fossiliferous marine beds of
late Norian age. The upper part (unfossiliferous red beds) of the Middle
Indosinias are probably Liassic in age.
49
Except for a few isolated areas where deposition appears to have

been continuous, the late Permian to early Triassic appears to have
been a period of non-deposition throughout West Malaysia. Where
deposition occurred .in the early Triassic, the sediments are similar
to those of the Permian, with limestone dominating the sequence along
with shales and pyroclastic rocks. By middle Triassic times, however,
the pattern of deposition had changed and, throughout the country,
flysch-type sedimentation occurred during middle and late Triassic
times. Volcanic rocks are common, predominantly acidic tuffs, es-
pecially in south-central Pahang. Lamellibranchs, ammonites and
conodonts Are the most commonfossils,and the abundance of ammonites
has made zonation of the Triassic possible from the Scythian to the
Karnian stages.
In Borneo, the Triassic is represented by both sedimentary and
volcanic rocks; the fossils Monotis salinaria, Halobia, etc., suggest
an Upper Triassic (Norian) age for these beds.
In the islands of Indonesia, Triassic rocks rest unconformably on
Carboniferous-Permian or older rocks. In the eastern islands (Misool,
Ceram, B u m , Sulawesi and Butung) t!!ey are composed of limestones,
sandstones, marls and clays containing numerous species of &onella,
Halobia, etc. In Timor, the Triassic deposits are characterized by
rapid changes of facies, and include sandstones, limestones, oolitic
limestones, shales, marls, cherts and some tuffs. They contain a rich
fauna of ammonites, brachiopods, pelecypods, gastropods and forami-
nifera, indicating an age range from early to late Triassic. In Sumatra,
the Triassic is represented by shales, sandstones and limestone
containing Cardita, Myophoria, etc.
In Japan, the Triassic sequence overlies the Permian, usually
with an unconformity, and is divided into Lower and Upper, with the
demarcation at the Ladinian-Karnian boundary. These sections show
a striking contrast in facies, suggesting an orogenic movement; the
lower division is in a facies similar to the flysch and the upper is
represented by molasse. Fossils include Pecten ussuricus, Mono-
phyllites wengensis,Dictyoconites nipponicus ,Eumorphotis multiformis,
E. shikokuensis, Azonella kotoi, D. yoshimurai, M m t i s (Entornonotis)
ochotica and Minetrzipnea kataymali.
50
In some parts of southeastern China, Upper Permian limestones

grade imperceptibly into Lower Triassic in some places. Shales
containing Pseudomonites aff. peisbachi replace the lower part of
the limestone at some places, but in others the limestone is impure
and bears Lower Triassic fossils which include Myophoria, Ophiceras,
Clypeoceras, Meekoceras, Xenodiscus and Sibirites. The Middle
Triassic is composed of limestones, marls and sandstones which
conrain Entrochus lilii$ormis, Tirolites, Dimrites, Halobia, etc. The
Upper Triassic is mostly represented by continental deposits which
have yielded Cladophlebis, Taeniopteris, Dictyophyllum, Podozamites ,
etc. In southern Kwangtung, the Triassic consists mainly of continental
clastic rocks. In western Y unnanand southeastern Sikang, a geosynclinal
sequence of Triassic rocks is composed of alternating marine and
continental clastic rocks, limestones and some volcanic rocks. In
east-central and northeastern China (Ordos, Shansi, Hopei, Shantung,
Hupeh and Kiangsu), all Triassic deposits are continental and often
devoid of fossils; these are red and greenish sandstones, conglomerates
and shales. In Hupeh, there are also basic lava flows in the upper part.
The middle and upper portions of the Upper Triassic Yenchang Forma-
tion are composed essentially of sandstones and contain petroleum;
this formation has yielded the flora Schizoneura gondwanensis, Thinn-
feldia, Noeggerathiopsis, Gingko, etc. In the lower Yangtze valley,
the Upper Triassic sandstones and sbles with some coal contain
Cladophlebis, Taeniopteris, Dictyophyllum and Podozamites. In Tsinling
Shan, Triassic sandstones, conglomerates and shales with some coal
seams are metamorphosed and highly disturbed. In western Sinkiang
and the northwestern regions, the Triassic is also represented by
continental clastic deposits. Triassic marine shales and limestones
form a geosynclinal sequence in the Himalayas, and epicontinental
formations in Tibet.
In most localities of Mongolia, the Triassic depositsare generally

continental; they contain mainly sandstones, siltstonesand some conglo-
merates, commonly associated with large volumes of volcanic rocks.
The latter include basaltic, andesitic and trachyandesitic lavas and
pyroclastic deposits in the northern and central regions, and andesitic,
dacitic and rhyolitic flows and tuffs in otherareas; in northern (Selenga
51
valley) and central Mongolia, they compose a predominant part of the

sequence and are closely connected with early Mesozoic acidic and
calc-alkaline intrusions. The Triassic continental deposits in Mongolia
contain the flora Taeniopteris, Cladophlebis, Sphempteris , Neocala-
mites , S c h i z m r a , etc. Triassic marine terrigenous deposits are
known in the northeasternmost regions near the border with the
USSR.
Triassic-Jurassic
In the Salt Range andTrans-Indus Ranges of West Pakistan, this

subdivision includes the Sanuna Suk Limestone and Datta Formation,
both Jurassic in age, and also the Triassic rocks represented by the
Kingriali Dolomite, the Khatkiara Sandstone Member, and the Landa,
Narmia and Mittiwali Members (the last being equivalent to the former
Ceratite Beds). Also in these areas are included narrow, inseparable
outcrops of the Upper Jurassic-lower Cretaceous Chichali Formation
and the Permian Zaluch Group. In the Quetta area, the Wulgai Forma-
tion is Triassic in age. The ShiranobFormation,exposed in Baluchistan
and the Central Axial Belt west of the Lndus basin, consists of lime-
stone and interbedded shales; although it contains Permian fossils at
the base, it is partly Triassic and mostly early Jurassic in age.
The Upper Gondwana rocks of India are Middle Triassic (Mus-
chelkalk) to early Cretaceous in age. The constituent divisions include
the Mahadeva, Rajmahal and Jabalpur Series. Some of these formations
contain locally developed inferibr quality coal seams. The earlier
Glossopteris flora of the Lower Gondwana is replaced by the Ptylo-
phy22um flora. The topmost Umia Beds, probably of Barremian (Lower
Cretaceous) age, contain Plesiosauw indica, and are succeeded by
marine beds of Aptian age. Marine equivalents of the Upper Gondwanas
are developed at places along the east coast.
The lower part of the Khorat Series of Thailand includes the Phu
Kradung, N a m Phong and Huay Hin Lat Formations. Near the base of
the sequence, fossil plants have been obtained from calcareous sand-
stones and siltstones intercalated with predominant conglomerates,
and these have been dated as late Triassic or Rhaetian-Liassic. Plant
52
fragments, including silicified wood, have been obtained also from the
siltstones and sandstones of the Phu Kradung Formation, which suggest
an early Jurassic age. The middle part of the Khorat Series or the
Phra Wihan Formation includes the Sau Khau and Phu Phan Formation
and consists predominantly of sandstones, conglomerates, siltstones,
and some shales. Molluscan and reptilian fossils indicate a middle
Jurassic age for the Sau Khua Member, while the non-fossiliferous
Phu Phan Formation is regarded as the late Jurassic.
In the eastern part of the Khmer Republic, marine intercala-
tions of Triassic-Liassic age occur in predominantly unfossiliferous
rocks of the Indosinias, and marine horizons continue as far as
the Upper Liassic. The marine beds, mostly sandstones, shales
and marls with occasional limestones, contain ammonites and
brachiopods ranging in age from early Triassic (including Scythian)
to late Liassic (Toarcian).
In West Irian, Indonesia, this group is representedby the Tipoema
and Brug Formations of presumably Triassic to early Jurassic age.
The Tipoema Formation includes widely scattered red clastic and
carbonate rocks, and the Brug Formation consists of oolitic dolomites
exposed in the eastern part of the Central Range.
In eastern and central Yunnan, southern China, this subdivision

includes Upper Triassic-Jurassic deposits, including coal-bearing
beds in the lower part and red beds in the upper part. In western and
southern Y unnan, they are replaced by alternating marine and con-
tinental clastic rocks, some limestones and, locally, volcanic rocks.
In Dzungaria, northwestern China, the TriassicJurassic is composed
mostly of continental clastic deposits with some coal.
In northern Mongolia (north of the Selenga valley) this sub-

division is represented by Triassic-Lower Jurassic sandstones and
conglomerates associated with great volumes of andesitic and rhyo-
litic flows, tuffs and agglomerates.
Jurassic
In Iran, the lower part of the Jurassic sequence is developed
mainly in the central, northern and eastern regions. The coal-bearing
53
sandstone and shale facies are mostly Liassic but in places extend
into Middle Jurassic. Fossiliferous marine beds of early Jurassic
age occur in the sequences containing plant fossils as intercalations
of thin ammonite-bearing sandstones and limestones; the oldest se-
quence, of early Liassic age, is found in the Kerman area. Calcareous
deposits predominate in the higher Middle Jurassic and Upper Juras-
sic. The Upper Jurassic limestones in the Kerman Tabas area are
associated with evaporites.
In northern Afghanistan, the Lower Jurassic consists mostly of
carbonaceous shales with intercalations of siltstones, sandstones
and some coal. The Middle Jurassic includes mainly sandstones,
clays and conglomerates. Upper Jurassic shales and sandstones
contain some limestones and dolomites. In western Afghanistan, the
Jurassic includes oolitic limestones, while in the central regions
there are clays, sandstones and calcareous rocks. In southern Afgha-
nistan, this system consists of dark clays and shales, in places
including some limestones and reefs.
In West Pakistan, the Jurassic includes the Winder Group and
Zidi Formation in the southern Axial Belt (west of the lower Indus
valley), consisting mainly of limestones with interbedded shales. In
the central and northern Axial Belt, the Jurassic contains the Sulaiman
Limestones Group and the underlying Spingwar Formation. In the Salt
Range, the Samana Suk Limestone and Datta Formation are Jurassic
in age.
In the Himalayan region of India, Jurassic deposits are well
developed in the Spiti Valley, where the Megalodon Limestone (Trias-
sic4urassic) is overlain by Sulcacums Beds (ferruginous oolite) con-
taining Belemnites sulcacutus in abundance. These in turn are un-
conformably overlain by the Spiti Shales carrying Belemnites gerardi,
Perisphinctes oppelia, Hoplites and Holcostephanus (Spiticeras), and
range in age from Oxfordian to Tithonian. The upper parts of the
Spiti Shales, known as Lochambal Beds, also contain Hoplites (fleoco-
mites) neocomemis and Acanthodiscus subradiah , which indicate
a Neocomian age. East of the upper Ganges valley in the Himalayas,
the Tal Quartzite (mostly quartzites, shales and limestones) overlies
the Krol Series and contains molluscs and corals. It may represent
the Jurassic, or even part of the Cretaceous.
54
The Jurassic of the Kutch Region of India includes mainly marine

limestones, sandstones and shales in the lower parr, while the upper
is predominantly non-marine and plant-bearing. The fossil assemblage
includes Macrocephalites , Reineckeia, Perisphinctes, Peltoceras ,
Tarammelliceras, Torquutisphinctes, Waagenia, Phylloceras, Clado-
phlebis and Colombiceras. Jurassic rocks occurring in Bikaner and
Jaisalmer in Rajasthan consist of sandstones, limestones, shales and
conglomerates, containing ammonites.
In Ceylon, the Jurassic is represented by fresh-water deposits,
mainly sandstones, clays and conglomerates. They have been dated
as of Upper Gondwana age, although no exposures of Cretaceous rocks
have been found.
The Jurassic of Burma includes the Namyau Series consisting of
red sandstone, conglomerates, shales and occasional limestone bands,
with brachiopods and lamellibranchs of Bathonian age (Bumirhymhia,
TerebraEula, Pecten, etc.); it also includes the shales, sandstones and
coal seams of the Loi-an Series and the red sandstones of the Tenas-
serim and Kalaw areas (the Kalaw Red Beds), The flora of these for-
mations include species of Ginkgoites, Cladophlebis, Pagiophyllum.
Brachyphyllum and Podozamites.
The history of marine sedimentation in eastern Indochina ends
with the Liassic marine beds in theeasternpart of the Khmer Republic,
southern Laos and central and southern Viet-Nam. Ln the eastern part
of the Khmer Republic and southern Viet-Nam, marine intercalations
of Liassic age occur in the predominantly unfossiliferoussandstones
and shales of the Middle Indosinias. The marine beds include the
ammonite Coroniceras multicostahm. In southern Laos, various marine
marl, sandstone and limestone horizons occur interbedded with the red
beds of the Lower Indosinias and include characteristic ammonites
and lamellibranchs. In central Viet-Nam, the marine shales and sand-
stones, with limestone intercalations, are rich in ammonites, lamelli-
branchs and gastropods.
In Indonesia the Jurassic rocks in the western part of the
archipelago are generally metamorphosed; in Sumatra, they are
composed of altered phyllites and schists with some belemnites,
corals and pelecypods. In Java, schists with basic volcanic rocks and
55
radiolarian cherts are considered to be of doubtful Jurassic age. In

Misool, the Jurassic includes shales with Macrocephalus, Oppelza,
Stephanoceras, lnoceramus, Aucella, etc., which are succeeded by
bathyal limestones and tuffites containing the radiolaria Cadosina
and Stomiosphaera.
In western Borneo, (East Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia),
Jurassic sandstones, shales, and limestones contain a fairly rich
fauna of ammonites, including Reineckeia, and the pelecypods Mytilus,
Cardium, Pecten, Ostraea and Pholadomya, as well as corals and
plant remains. The so-called Danau Formation with its radiolarian
cherts may be partly of Jurassic age.
In the Philippines, arkose, subgreywacke and mudstone in Min-

doro, associated with chert in Busuanga and northern Palawan, are
included in the Jurassic. The fossils include Myoporella orientalis and
Heticocera.
In the inner belt of south-western Japan, Jurassic deposits are
of inland basin type. However, the Upper Jurassic is marine on the
Pacific side and contains reef limestone. In Hokkaido, the Jurassic
is of the geosynclinal type, characterized by basaltic submarine
vulcanism. The fossil groups represented include algae, foraminifera,
stromatoporoids, hydrozoa, corals, echinoids, crinoids, lamellibranchs,
gastropods, brachiopods and ammonites
The coal-bearing formations of the Taedong System of Korea,
early to middle Jurassic in age, were deposited in widely scattered
and isolated basins which survived the post-Triassic folding.
In China, Jurassic marine argillaceous sediments occur in
Kwangtung province and in Hong Kong, where they contain the ammonite
Hongkongites. A thick sequence of marine Jurassic limestones and
shales is known in western Yunnan. Marine Jurassic sediments extend
from the Himalayas into southern Tibet, where considerable areas
are covered by limestones, slates, quartzites and conglomerates, with
the Spiti Shales at the top of the sequence. In all other parts of China,
the widespread Jurassic strata are represented by continental or fresh-
water lacustrine deposits which are usually coal-bearing and contain a
copious Angara flora, including Pterozamites, Thyrsopteris, Hyrnenop-
56
teris, Dicksonia, Pterophyllum, Taxites, Todites and Podozamites.

These deposits are associated in some localities with volcanic flows
and tuffs which are most extensively developed in the northeast (pre-
dominantly andesitic) and the southeast (mostly rhyolitic).
In Mongolia, the widely scattered exposures of Jurassic rocks

are generally represented by Middle and Upper Jurassic mainly con-
tinental deposits formed within intermontane depressions. The Middle
Jurassic is mostly composed of clastic rocks, including sandstones,
siltstones, gritstones and conglomerates, locally with some coal, and
containing Coniopteris, Cladophlebis nebbensis, C. ex gr. hoiburnesis,
Carpolithus, and Phaenicopsis. The Upper Jurassic, and in places
also the upper part of the Middle Jurassic, consist mainly of volcanic
rocks, most extensively developed in eastern Mongolia, and continental
clastic rocks. The volcanic rocks are predominantly andesitic in the
lower part and mainly dacitic-rhyolitic in the upper part of the sequence.
The clastic deposits contain the flora Gingkoites corninnu, Carpolithus
cinctus, Equisetites, Coniopteris ex gr. obmtschewi, Phoenicopsis and
Podozamites. In the middle Selenga valley in northern Mongolia, this
system is represented mainly by Lower Jurassic rhyolitic flows and
tuffs and the top of a Triassic-Lower Jurassic volcanic sequence.
Jurass ic-Cretaceous
In Iran, undifferentiated Jurassic-Cretaceous is represented
mainly by calcareous facies (limestones, marls, calcareous slates),
although, in the Zagros Mountains, the Jurassic-Cretaceous deposits
are more siliceous.
In Afghanistan, undifferentiated J urassic-C retaceous deposits
include mainly limestones and sandstones in the southeastern region
and predominantly shales, marls and limestones in the south and
southwest.
The Jurassic-Cretaceous in the western part of West Pakistan
(Waziristan) consists of sandstones, limestones, some marls and
shales.
In India, the Umia Series of Kutch is composedof sandstones,
conglomerates and shales. Its lower part contains a Tithonian fauna,
57
including Hibolites clavigev and Ptychophylloceras tithonicwn, and

beds with TrigOnia. At the top of the Umia Series, there are plant
beds containing a flora of early Cretaceous (Aptian) age.
The Upper Indosinias of the Khmer Republic, Laos and Viet-Nam
comprise members of the Terrain Rouge facies, as well as equivalents
of the Ban N a Yo and Salt Formations (Cretaceous) of Thailand. The
lower part of the Upper Indosinias includes sequences of massive
sandstones, while the upper part comprises the succeeding salt-
bearing red formations. In the southwesternpart of the Khmer Republic,
the Upper Indosinias rest unconformably over the folded Lower Indo-
sinias and consist essentially of massive white or pink quartzites and
sandstones interbedded with shale or marl. Pollen analyses of samples
from the upper part of the group have indicated an early Cretaceous
age. In the eastern part of the Khmer Republic, southern Laos and
neighbouring parts of Viet-Nam, the sandstones overlie and contain
intercalations of the marine Upper Lias (Sinemurian-Toarcian).
The continental red beds of the upper part of the Upper Indosinias
are developed in southern central Laos (exLending eastward from
Savannakhet), where Occurrences of gypsum and rock salt are known
and Cretaceous fossils have been recorded (including plant remains,
reptilian bones and the fresh-water lamellibranchs Trigonoides, Plica-
tounio and Unio).
In West Malaysia, the J urassic-Cretaceous continental deposits

include the Gagau Group, consisting of sandstones and conglomerates
with minor shales, sandstones, coal and volcanic rocks; they contain
a flora indicating late Jurassic-early Cretaceous age.
The Bau Series of Borneo (shales, sandstones, radiolariancherts,

greywackes and some limestones) contain the foraminifera Pseudo-
cyclammina litzcus and Orbitolina birmanica, and is of late Jurassic
to early Cretaceous age. Some early Cretaceous rocks containing
Ammobaculites, Nodosaria, Textularia, etc., also occur near Bau.
In West Irian, Indonesia., the Kembelangan Formation belongs to

this subdivision. It is widely distributed in the northeastern and central
regions where it consists mainly of marine clastic strata including
58
shales, sandstones, claystones, some phyllites, quartzites and glauco-

nitic rocks with subordinate limestones intercalated locally. The
fossils Sternrnatoceras cf. fiechi, Macrocephalites, Globigerina infva-
cretacea, Globotruncam, etc., indicate a Bajocian-Maestrichtian age,
although in some places the presence of Globorotalia velascoensis in
limestones in the upper part indicate that locally the Kembelangan
Formation persists into the Paleocene.
The Kyongsang System of Korea consists of a lower Naktong

Series (terrigenous sediments), a middle Silla Series (terrigenous
and volcanic rocks) and an upper Pulguksa Group consisting almost
entirely of intrusive and a few extrusive rocks. The Naktong Series
contains one or two coal seams developed locally. The associated
fossils include Unw, Melania, Conioptaria, Equisetites, Dictyozamites
and Ginkgodium, which indicate a late Jurassic to early Cretaceous
age. The Silla Series carries plant fossils, including Filicales, Cyca-
dites, Caniferales and Angiospermae, which indicate early to late
Cretaceous age.
In China, undifferentiated Jurassic and Cretaceous continental

and lacustrine dsposits are widely scattered in interior basins and
grabens; they are commonly associated with volcanic rocks, most
extensively developed in the eastern regions, and include some coal
beds of Jurassic age. Andesitic and basic volcanic rocks are typical
of the Jurassic, and rhyolitic and dacitic flows and tuffs are mainly
associated with the Cretaceous deposits. In northeastern China (Great
Khingan), and in the southeastern coastal region, this subdivision is
represented mostly by Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous volcanic and con-
tinental formations. The same formations are exposed also in north-
eastern Mongolia.
Cretaceous
The most complete Cretaceous succession in northern Iran is
found in the Kopet Dagh Range where it consists mainly of marine
shales, marls, limestones and subordinate sandstones. In the Alborz
Mountains, the oldest marine beds are Orbitolina-bearing limestones,
regarded as Aptian-Albian, but they may include stages as old as
59
Barremian and as young as Cenomanian. Detailed stratigraphic studies

of the Upper Cretaceous in a few limited areas show a succession of
detrital limestones, reef limestones, marls and shales interrupted by
conglomerates, and red beds indicating sedimentary gaps and un-
conformities which reflect the unstable sedimentary environment during
the initial phases of the Alpine Orogeny. In southeastern Iran, volcanic
rocks, mainly basic lavas apart from the ophiolites of the Coloured
Melange, are associated with limestones, marls and radiolarian cherts
of late Cretaceous age.
In northern Afghanistan, the Lower Cretaceous is represented
by Neocomian terrigenous deposits, Baremian marine deposits and
Aptian-Albian continental and marine deposits consisting of sandstones,
clays and limestones. The Upper Cretaceous is composed of a succes-
sion of marine clays, marls and limestones which were deposited
continuously from Cenomanian through Maestrichtian and Danian times.
In southern Afghanistan, the Lower Cretaceous is represented by con-
tinental formations of Hauterivian and Aptian age, while the Upper
Cretaceous consists of marine sandstones and limestones with some
conglomerates and alkaline volcanic rocks. In the southwestern region,
south of Herat, the Upper Cretaceous includes calcareous beds and
marls with some gypsum. Cretaceous rocks in central Afghanistan
are metamorphosed.
In West Pakistan, the Cretaceous rocks are widely exposed west
of the Indus valley, in the Axial Belt and Baluchistan. The Lower-
Middle Cretaceous includes the Belemnite Beds (the Chichali and
Sembar Formations), mainly ,shales and sandstones, with hvalziz
dilatatus, Belemnites latus, Gryphaea oldhami, etc, and the Parth
Limestone (limestones, some marls and shales), containing lmceramus.
The Upper Cretaceous is represented by rhe Hemipneustes Limestone
(Campanian-Maestrichtian), beds carrying Cardita subcomplanuta, lndo-
ceras baluchistamsis, etc., and flysch-like sandstones known as the
Pab Sandstones which contain Cardita (Venericardita)beaumonti. These
sandstones are intercalated with and occasionally overlain by volcanic
materials, mainly dolerite and basalt. In Chagai (northwestern
Baluchistan) the Cretaceous includes the Sinjrani andKuchakki Volcanic
Groups (mostly agglomerate, lava and tuffaceous sediments) and the
Humai Formation composed of limestones, shales, sandstones, conglo-
60
merates and agglomerates, containing late Cretaceous lamellibranchs,

gastropods, foraminifera, etc. In the Quetta area, the Cretaceous is
represented mainly by the Lower Cretaceous Sembar Formation, while
in Sulaiman, Waziristan and Kohat-Potwar provinces, it consists of
various beds and formations of early and late Cretaceous age. In
Hazara, different facies of rocks are developed in the northwestern
and southeastern parts; in the former area some cherty and ferru-
ginous patches in sandstones contain the Albian ammonites Lyelliceras
lyelli, Douvilleiceras mamillotum, etc., whiie, to the southeast, sand-
stones ranging in age from Neocomian to Albian have calcareous
intercalations containing Trigonia.
In India, Cretaceous marine geosynclinal deposits are widely

distributed in the Himalayan area. In the Spiti area, the Jurassic
Lochambul Beds gradually merge into sandstones and quartzites which
constitute the Giumal Sandstone, containing Holcostepharus (Astieria)
aff. atherstoni, Stephanoceras, Perisphinctes and abundant Cardium
gicumalense, Pseudomonites superstes, etc. The age of the Giumal
Sandstone ranges from upper Valanginian through Albian. It is overlain
by the Chikkim Series (mostly limestones and shales)with a Maestrich-
tian fauna, including BeZemnites, Hippurites and some foraminifera.
A group of unfossiliferous sandstones and shales of flyschfacies
overlies in turn the Chikkim Series, and, in places, even the Neoco-
mian is represented by flysch formations. In North Kumaon, the Upper
Cretaceous is represented by the Upper Flysch deposits of Turonian-
Senonian age, mostly shales and sandstones, with glauconitic sand-
stones and radiolarian chert, containing a very few ammonites. A
similar assemblage of flysch-type sediments occurs in the Johar area
near the Tibet-Indian border.
The Bagh Beds of central India (southwest of Allahabad)
are overlain by the Deccan Traps; they include sandstones, shales,
limestones, quartzitic sandstones and some marls, and contain
Knemiceras minoti, Protocardium pondicherriense, Turritella multi-
striata, etc., ranging in age from Cenomanian to Senonian (but
mainly Turonian). The Lametas Beds of Turonian age occur in the
central part of the Deccanpeninsula;they consist of estuarine and lacus-
trine deposits containing dinosaurian remains and P ~ Y S (Bullinus)
Q
61
prinsepii. The Cretaceous in the east coast, south of Madras, is

represented by marine deposits, mainly limestones, marls, clays,
silts and sandstones, which are divided into four stages (in ascending
order): Uttattur, Trichinopoly, Artyalur and Niniyur, and which have
yielded a rich ammonitic fauna of Albian-Danian age. In Kutch, the
Cretaceous is represented by sandstones with the marine fossils
Colombiceras and Cheloniceras, indicating Aptian age. Marine Creta-
ceous rocks occur in Assam, where *ey consist of sandstones, shales
and limestones and contain a Senonian fauna closely related to that
of the southern east coast.
In Burma, geosynclinal sediments, probably of flysch type,
constitute the Cretaceous in the Arakan coast and I n d o - B u m ranges.
In the Irrawaddy basin of northern Burma, the Cretaceous rocks are
mostly limestones and calcareous shales containing Orbitolina and
other foraminifera and molluscs.
The upper part of the Khorat Series of Thailand is divided into
two, with the Salt Formation as the uppermost part and the Khok
Kruator Ban N a Yo Formation as the lower. The latter consists of
red to purple-grey bedded sandstone, siltstone and shale with inter-
bedded calcareous conglomerates, sandstones, sandy limestone, calca-
reous siltstones, etc., and includes fossils which indicate an early
Cretaceous age. The Salt Formation comprises siltstones, shales,
sandstones and rock salt with minor sandstones, and is assigned a
late Cretaceous age from its stratigraphic position.
In western central Borneo, a geosynclinal sequence of Cretaceous
rocks, mainly shales, sandstones and marls, ranges in age from
Valanginian to Senonian and contains abundant ammonites, pelecypods,
echinoids, orbitoids, etc. In southeastern Borneo, limestoneswith minor
sandstones and shales containing Cenomanian-Senonian fossils are
exposed.
In Sumatra, Indonesia, Cretaceous shales, limestones and sand-
stones contain Neocomites, Tumannites, Osterella,Nerinea, Ov-bitolina,
etc. The Cretaceous on Misool is represented by Lower Cretaceous
bathyal limestones, often cherty, with some fine clastic rocks and tuffs;
they contain Globigerina infiacretacea and Globotmcncana. The Upper
Cretaceous consists of locally exposed marls and marly limestones
with rudists (Duraniu), echinoids and Inoceramus.
62
In the Philippines, an extensive transgressive greywacke-shale

sequence intercalated with spilites constitutes the Cretaceous. These
rocks are associated with tuffaceous clastic strata in Rizal and with
limestones in the Caramoan Peninsula, Catanduanes Island and central
Cebu. Fossils include Orbitolim aff. kurdica, Orbitolina texana and
Globotruncana ama.
In Japan, the Cretaceous is represented by marine, estuarine,
neritic littoral and terrigenous deposits, and ranges in age from
Berrasian to Maestrichtian-Danian. It is divided into six series: the
Kochian Series (Lower Neocomian); the Aritan Series (Upper Neoco-
mian) with OYbitolina shikokuensis; the Miyakoan Series (Aptian and
Albian) with Cheloniceras, Colombiceras and hsmoceras latidorsatum;
the Gayliakian Series (Cenomanian and Turonian) with Desmoceras
japonica and Tragodesmoceroides subcostatus; the Urakawan Series
(Lower Senonian) with Kossmaticeras kotoi, Anapachydisczes fascico-
status and A. mz.wnanni; and the Hetenaian Series (Maestrichtian-
Danian) with Canadoceras kossmati. The biostratigraphic division of
the Cretaceous System in Japan is based mainly on lnoceramus and
ammonites.
In China, within the Tibetan zone of theHimahyas, the Cretaceous
is composed of a geosynclinal sequence of flysch-like terrigenous
deposits with some limestones and volcanic rocks. Marine limestones
and clastic rocks of Cretaceous age are known in westernKunlun
Shan and Tibet. In other parts of the country, the Cretaceous is re-
presented mostly by lacustrine and continental clastic deposits formed
within continental basins, the largest of which are Ordos-Shensi and
Szechwan. The fossils include Lycopteria sinemis, L. woodwardi,
Estheria, Cyrena, Unio, Mycetopus and Brachyphyllum. Some of the
gypsiferous beds associated with the Cretaceous m a y belong to the
Tertiary. Both the Ordos-Shensi and Szechwan basins are known for
their petroleum reserves. In Inner Mongolia, this system is made up
of fresh-water lacustrine deposits. In eastern China, particularly in
the northeast (Manchuria, Great Khingan) and southeast, the C retaceous
continental formations include great volumes of volcanic rocks, mostly
dacitic and rhyolitic flows and tuffs.
63
The conglomerate bed found in the lower part of the Paleogene

shale sequence in Taiwan contains corals (Actrocenia sp. and Elephan-
taria sp.) of probable late Cretaceous age.
Exclusively continental and lacustrine Cretaceous deposits in

Mongolia consist mainly of sandstones, shales and conglomerates, with
some coal, marls and sandy limestones. In places they include volcanic
rocks, mainly acidic-intermediate and trachy-basaltic flows and tuffs
in the Lower Cretaceous, and andesitic-basaltic lavas in the Upper
Cretaceous. The associated fossils and flora indicate an age for the
sediments ranging from Neocomian (Valanginian) to Turonian. They
include the molluscs Cyrem, Lwplax, Benedictia, Vivipara, Limnaea,
Cypridea, Trignoides, Sainschandia, Physa, Hydrobia and Bithynia;
the reptiles (in the Gobi region) Psittacasaurus, lguunodon, Saurolo-
phus, Caumsaria, Omithomimidae,Paralligator, Sysmosauncs, Proto-
ceratops and Dyoplosaurus; and a flora including Xemxylon, Cupres-
sinoxylon, Mesernbrioxylon, Taxodioxylon, Podocarpoxylon, Arawario-
xylon, Cedroxylon and Dvyoxylon.
Undifferentiated Mesozoic
In Iran, undifferentiated Mesozoic deposits include limestones
with sandy marls and calcareous slates which unconformably overlie
Permian or older formations. They contain some bryozoans, algae
and hydrocorals, and most likely range in age from late Triassic to
Jurassic, although they m a y include lower Cretaceous strata. In places
these calcareous deposits are replaced by a littoral facies, including
sandstones, slates, conglomerates and some limestones.
In the northern montane 'area of West Pakistan, this subdivision

includes undivided Cretaceous, Jurassic and Upper Triassic deposits,
mainly marine clastic and carbonate rocks.
In Nepal, the Triassic fossils Halobia cf. charleyanaand Ptychites

sp. , and Jurassic fossils Belemnites (Discoelites)sulcacutus, Hoplites
wallichi, Perisphinctes cf. beplex, etc., have been collected from
Mesozoic clastic and carbonate rocks of the Tethys zone of the Hima-
layas near Mukhtinath, north of the crystalline peaks in the central
part of the country.
64
In Thailand, a group of Mesozoic volcanic rocks, including rhyo-

lites, andesites, tuffs and agglomerates are of post-Permian age; they
are closely associated with the Khorat Group, although in some places
they underlie it.
In western Borneo (East Malaysia) a Mesozoic age is assigned to

the Serabang and Sejingkar Formations, both consisting of shales,
sandstones, radiolarian cherts, greywackes and basic volcanic rocks,
and to the Sebangan Formation, made up of cherts and hornstones,
although there is no direct evidence of their age. Radiolaria from cherts
indicate that the formations are, at least in part, of young Mesozoic age.
Also in Borneo, andesitic and undifferentiated lavas and tuffs,

comprising the Matan Complex in southwestern Kalimantan, are
associated with pre-Tertiary plutonic and hypabyssal rocks, and
were extruded during a pre-Tertiary phase of folding in early Mesozoic
or possibly late Paleozoic times.
In the eastern islands of IRdoResla., the Mesozoic deposits com-

prise Cretaceous, Jurassic and partly Triassic strata. In Sulawesi
(Celebes), clay-shales, sandstones and limestones of Triassic age
contain Cussianellu, Hoemesia, MisolM, Rhynchonella arpadica, etc.
Triassic limestones, shales and cherts are known in the Timor
archipelago, where the Jurassic consists mostly of shales and lime-
stones with cephalopods, pelecypods and brachiopods. Most stages
of the Jurassic are developed as dark calcareous shales with some
cherts on the islands of Sula, Obi, Ceram and Buru. In Sulawesi,
Cretaceous beds are composed mostly of limestones, but, on the Sula
Islands, there is a shale facies containing Phyllocerus, Hoplites,
Styeblites, etc.
In the Timor area, the Cretaceaus is represented by fossiliferous

limestones, shales and cherts; in some places, red shales with man-
ganese nodules and radiolaria are also present.
In China, undifferentiated Mesozoic marine clastic and carbonate

rocks are present in Tibet and western Kunlun Shan.
65
MESOZOIC - TERTIARY
hnesozoic - Paleogene
The outermost belt of southwest Japan contains the Shimanto
Group of thick geosynclinal deposits consisting mainly of sandstones
and shales with small amounts of limestones, cherts and submarine
basic volcanic rocks; in this group, molluscan fossils of Cretaceous
and Paleogene age occur very rarely, and ammonites and Paleogene
foraminifera are also rare.
Cretaceous -Tert iary

The Cretaceous-Paleogene deposits in northern Afghanistan are
represented by the Ghori Limestone of late Cretaceous toearly
Paleogene age, distributed over a large area north of the Kho-i-Baba
Range.
In the Chagai Hills, southwestern Afghanistan and northern
Baluchistan (West Pakistan), the Cretaceous-Paleogene consists of
acidic-intermediate lava flows, agglomerates, tuffaceous sedimo,nts
and unseparable Chagai intrusions, and, along the southern edge, some
shales and sandstones of the Upper Cretaceous Humai Formation.
North of Rawalpindi, the Cretaceous-Tertiary strata consist mostly
of Eocene nummulitic limestones, Cretaceous limestones and the
Cretaceous Giumal Sandstone.
The Cretaceous-Paleogene in peninsular India is characterized
by intensive volcanic activity, resulting in the formation of the Deccan
Traps; these are composed of basaltic and doleritic lava flows wnich,
due to repeated eruptions from Cretaceous to early Eocene times,
attain a thickness of up to 2,000 m; the lava flows are intercalated
with thin beds of tuffs and lacustrine sediments known as the Inter-
Trappean Beds.
In Burma, the Arakan Yoma Beds, consisting of flysch-like
deposits, mainly sandstones, limestones and shales, form 8 wide
belt extending northward from the Arakan Yoma; they contain Acantho-
ceras, Placenticeras, Mortoniceras, Cardita beaumonti, Orbitoides,
etc., and range in age from Cretacous to Eocene.
66
In Borneo, the Cretaceous-Tertiary is represented by predo-

minantly geosynclinal clastic rocks and some limestones, with develop-
ments of chert and spilite at several stratigraphic levels. The Chert-
Spilite Formation of probable late Cretaceous-Eocene (in places
including Miocene) age are present in many places in northern and
western Borneo; it comprises chert, spilite, basalt, green tuff and
agglomerate, together with red sandstone, siltstone, Trey and red
shale, limestone and marl; in some localities in the north, chert is
predominant.
In West Irian, Indonesia, this subdivision includes the Imskin
Formation exposed west of Geelvink Bay, which consists mainly of
limestones with occasional marls and contains the foraminifera
G l o b o t m m m , Globorotalia, Globigerina, etc., indicating an age from
Cretaceous to Miocene. Also included in this subdivision is the Onin
Formation, made up of pelagic limestones with Globorotalia and marls.
According to latest information, the Onin Formation m a y include strata
of Eocene-Miocene age only.
Undifferentiated greywackes and metamorphosed shales in the
Philippines, interbedded or intercalated with spilitic, basic and inter-
mediate lava flows or pyroclastics, are probably of Cretaceous-
Paleogene age.
In Mongolia, this group includes undifferentiated Upper Creta-
ceous-Tertiary lacustrine and continental basin deposits, most exten-
sively developed in the south; they include mainly cross-bedded
calcareous and clayey sandstones, drab and red clays, and, locally,
some chalk
TERTIARY
Tertiary deposits from Paleocene to Pliocene are present over
much of Iran. Flysch-like deposits of Paleocene age lollow the Upper
Cretaceous of southeastern Iran and in turn are overlain by the Mekran
Formation of Miocene age. Elsewhere, deposition commenced inEocene
times; in northwestern and east central Iran, these sediments consist
of thin limestones and conglomerates containing AZveoZina and N u m -
mulites of early to middle Eocene age. In the Zagros Mountains, south-
67
western Iran, the Eocene facies changes from marls to conglomerates

and limestones with nummulites. In northern, eastern and central Iran
pyroclastic deposits and lavas (mainly andesites and porphyrites) com-
mence the Eocene succession, associated with conglomerates and red
beds; eruption of intermediate lavas continued into the Miocene in the
volcanic belt extending from the southeast towards the northeast and
in some places in the Alborz Mountains. In southwestern Iran the
Eocene is followed by the Asmari Limestone of Oligocene to early
Miocene age, which is directly overlain by the Caprock Anhydrite
containing stringers of foraminiferal limestone. The Miocene Fars
Formation comprises evaporites and red beds of the Lower Fars,
marine beds of the Middle Fars, and freshwater or estuarine beds
of the Upper Fars; the sequence ends with the Bakhtiari Beds of Mio-
Pliocene age, with thick conglomerates in the upper part.
In central Iran, the Oligocene-Miocene sequence begins with
gypsiferous and saline red beds of the Lower Red Formation, followed
conformably by middle Oligocene-early Miocene marine limestones of
the Qum Formation. This is succeeded by red beds and gypsum of the
Upper Red Formation (Miocene). Conglomerates of Mio-Pliocene
(possibly Pliocene) age, probably equivalent to those in the Bakhtiari
Beds, end the succession.
The Tertiary sequence north of the Alborz Mountains is quite

different from that of central Iran; the Eocene is characterized here by
the presence of volcanic rocks, the Oligocene-Miocene includes thick
conglomerates, and the Miocene and Pliocene resemble similar deposits
in the Caspian basin.
In northern Afghanistan, the lower part of the Paleogene sequence
includes the Paleocene Bokhara Limestone in the west, equivalent to
the upper part of the Ghori Limestone in the east. The Eocene is re-
presented by marine limestones, marls, clays, sandstones and silt-
stone. The Oligocene consists of clays and sandstones in the north-
west, while in most of northern Afghanistan it is represented by the
lower part of the Shafa Formation of Oligocene to Miocene age, made
up of red clays, siltstones, sandstones and conglomerates. In the
eastern part of southern Afghanistan, the Paleogene is represented
by Paleocene-Eocene flysch-like sediments containing Nummulites
68
and Alveolites, locally with sand beds and some thin layers of salt
and coal. In the western part of central and southern Afghanistan,
these Paleogene red conglomerates and sandstones are associated
with volcanic fomitions.
The Neogene sequence in northern Afghanistan consists of red
terrigenous sediments known as the Miocene Khoshtanga Formation,
the upper part of the Oligocene-Miocene Shafa Formation,and the Plio-
cene Rustaq, Kockchy and Kishm Formations. Talus deposits were
formed during Oligocene-Miocene times in the Hindu Kush. In central
Afghanistan, the Neogene red beds, locally associated with acidic
volcanic rocks, are widely distributed from the east (Jalalabad) to the
western border. In the southeastern regions,within the Indus-Baluchistan
geosynclinal sedimentary basins, the Neogene molasse-like deposits con-
tain conglomerates, cross-bedded red sandstones and clays. In the
Helmand depression, covering a large part of the southwestern area,
the Neogene beds consist of clay, sandstonesand some conglomerates.
The Paleocene of West Pakistan is a marine sequence of shales
and sandstones, with some limestones andconglomerates,also including
some volcanic rocks in Chagai (northwestern Baluchistan). The Eocene
deposits are predominantly marine calcareous and argillaceous; lime-
stones are dominant in the Indus Basin, whereas a m3re argillaceous
sequence, including the thick Ghazi Shales, is developed in Baluchistan.
Thin coal seams are present at Quetta and in parts of Sind. In most
parts of Baluchistan, the Oligocene is composed of the Kojak Shales,
which extend from north of Quetta (the Toba Kokar Range) southwest
to the Makran Range; this formation is a thick flysch-like sequence
composed mainly of shales and sandstones. It is overlain by mainly
marine siltstones, sandstones and some limestones and shales of
Miocene age, which form the upper part of the Oligocene-Miocene
marine formation In the South Makran Belt, the Miocene-Pliocene
sequence includes the Talar Sandstone, and the sandy clays, sandstones
and conglomerates of the Omara Formation, representing a deltaic
and offshore environment.
Near Quetta, the Oligocene is represented by the marine Nari
Series, consisting of fossiliferous limestones in the lower part, with
mostly shales and sandstones in the upper part. Farther south, in the
69
lower Indus basin, the N a n Series is followed by the Lower Miocene

Gaj Series, consisting of marine limestones and shales in the lower
part which are succeeded by red and green shales, occasionally
gypseous.
In the Salt Range, the Eocene limestones are overlain by the
Murree Series (Lower Miocene), and that in turn by the Siwalik System
of Upper Miocene to Pleistocene age. Oligocene rocks are missing
from this area, and also from the Potwar and Kohat regions.
In East Pakistan, the Miocene of Chittagong includes the S u m a
Series (sandstones, shales with some conglomerates), Tipam Sandstone
(ferruginous sandstones and shales) and Girujan Clay.
In the Himalayan region of India, the Eocene in the Simla-Garhwal
region consists of grey and red shales (partlygypseous) and limestones
of the Subathu Beds. In the central western Himalayas and Jammu,
Eocene deposits consists of nummulitic limestones, shales and marls.
The Himalayan Eocene is overlain by the Lower MioceneMurree
Series, which is known also as the Dharmsalas in Himachal Pradesh
and the Dagshai and Kassauli Beds in Simla; these are brackish or
lagoonal deposits consisting of purple and grey sandstones, shales and
pseudo-conglomerates, with remains of mammals, impressions of palm
leaves (Sabal major) and Unio shells. The Murree Series is overlain
unconformably by the Siwalik System of late Miocene-Pliocene age.
In western India, the Eocene deposits of Ku~ch,Cambay and
Rajasthan comprise the marine Laki Beds(most1y shales with Assilim)
of early to middle Eocene age, which, in places, are underlain by gyp-
seous shales with lignite. The overlying Middle-Upper Eocene Kirthar
Series includes nummulitic limestones and shales; they are followed
by the Nari and Gaj Series, comprising the Oligo-Miocene sequence
of limestones, shales and marls. The Nari Series contains Nummulites
intewnedius and Lepidocyclina and the Gaj Series is rich in fossils,
including Breyaia carimta, Ostrea angulata, Camarinu intermedia
and C. clipea; they are overlain by the Dwarka Beds (gypsiferous
clays and limestones) or the Manchhar Series (sands, clays, conglo-
merates), included in the Mio-Pliocene sequence. In the southern part
of the Deccan peninsula, fossiliferous Miocene beds are found near
Trivandnun; they comprise Quilon Beds consisting of limestones with
70
0vbiculin.a malabarica, corals, lamellibranchs and gastropods, over-

lain by shales with lignite, known as the Warkalli Beds. O n the eastern
coast, there are Tertiary rocks in which Eocene foraminifera have been
found recently, but the extent of these rocks is not known; they are
unconformably overlain by the Mio-PlioceneCuddalore Sandstone, which
contains some lignite beds, and its equivalents.
In Assam, the Eocene is represented by the Disang Series (northern
Assam) and the Jainta Series (southern Assam) consisting of calca-
reous shales and nummulitic limestones. They are succeeded by the
Barail Series composed of sandstones and carbonaceous shales,
representing marine and estuarine facies. The Barail Series, shown
on the m a p as Oligocene, also includes Upper Eocene strata. The
Surma Series, separated from the Barail Series by a marked un-
conformity, is Oligocene-Miocene in age; the Miocene part of the
sequence consists of ferruginous sandstone, conglomerates and shales
of the Tipam Series, containing occasional lignite and fossil wood,
while the overlying Dupitila Series (sandstones and clays) is Mio-
Pliocene.
The Tertiary rocks in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India)
are composed mostly of sandstones and conglomerates of Eocene age,
although they may include younger strata.
In Nepal, the Eocene includes shales, which may be correlated
with the Subathu Beds of India. Undifferentiated Tertiary deposits on
the m a p comprise mostly the Siwalik System, mainly the Lower and
Middle Siwalik, and the coarse sediments of the upper part of the Siwalik
are shown as Pliocene-Pleistocene.
In Ceylon, the only exposedTertiary rocks are Miocene limestones
and some sandstones of the Kudermalai and Jaffna Series, which carry
abundant foraminifera and molluscs.
In Burma, the Tertiary rocks of the central basin show an alterna-
tion of marine and continental facies, the latter gradually increasing
higher in the stratigraphic column and towards the north. The Eocene
is developed in the Arakan Yoma and comprises the Y a w Stage (shales),
Pondaung Sandstone, Tabyin Clays, Tilin Sandstone, Laungshe Shale
and Paunggi Conglomerate. The Oligocene consists of sandstones and
clays belonging to the Lower Pegu System. The undifferentiated P e p
71
System includes Oligo-Miocene deposits. The Miocene is represented

by sandstones and shales of the Upper P e p System in the lower
Irrawaddy basin and the Tipam Series in the upper Chindwin basin.
The Irrawaddy System of Mio-Pliocene age consists of a fluviatile
succession of cross-bedded sandstones, and coarser rocks with pebbles
and boulders, containing mammalian fossils and silicified wood.
Undifferentiated Tertiary deposits in the northern part of Burma are
of estuarine and freshwater facies.
In northern Thailand.,Tertiary deposits are developed in isolated

intermontane basins. These are mainly clays, sands and some lignite
with fish remains, mastodont fossils and leaves. They have been
assigned a mainly Pliocene age, although, in some places, there are
Paleogene plant remains. In peninsular (southern)Thailand, calcareous
shales and sandstones locally with lignite beds and some limestones,
contain marine and non-marine fossils of early to late Tertiary age.
Restricted outcrops of Neogene lacustrine and fluviatile deposits

(mostly Pliocene) are recognized in a number of small isolated basins
in Viet-Nam and northern Laos.
In West Malaysia, Tertiary rocks occur in isolated lacustrine

basins of limited extent consisting predominantly of carbonaceous
shales and lignitic beds of non-marine origin.
The Kulapis Formation, consisting of red sandstone and shales,

is shown separately as Eocene in the northernpart of Borneo, whereas,
in other parts of the islands, it is included in the undifferentiated
Tertiary sequence. Oligocene-Miocene deposits succeeding the KOlapis
Formation have a varied lithology, mainly sandstones and argillaceous
rocks with volcanic tuffs and agglomerates, with some limestones,
calcareous shales and cherts. The Miocene-Pliocene rocks comprise
mainly shallow-water marine, neritic and deltaic deposits (mudstones,
sandstones and some marls).
In northwestern Borneo (Ease Malaysia and the adjacent part of

Kalimantan) Eocene marine shales and sandstones (the Belage, Kelalas
and Trusmadi Formations) are present; they become increasingly
arenaceous northwards to the northern part of the island, where
72
flysch-type sedimentation continued well into Miocene time. The

Oligocene-Miocene in the central part of East Malaysia includes
deposits with facies changing from paralic to neritic towards the
present coast line, and also characterized by increasing deltaic facies
southwards and upwards through the sequence. The deposits inland
consist mainly of alternations of sandstones, sands and clays, with
some lignite and conglomerate; towards the present coast, the facies
becomes marine, including shales, sandstones and some limestones.
Mainly arenaceous deposits of great thickness were deposited in basins
which subsided during Miocene-early Pliocene time (the Belait, Seria,
Miri Formations, etc.), which were succeeded in late Pliocene time
by neritic and deltaic deposits, which continued in places into the
Pleistocene.
In western and central Borneo (western East Malaysia and
west-central Kalimantan) Paleogene-Neogene sandstones, subordinate
shales and some conglomerates have been referred to as the
Plateau Sandstone Formadon, The Paleogene in southeastern Borneo
consists of orbitoid limestones, marls and green sandstones with
coal seams; in eastern Borneo, the Paleogene com2rises fossiliferous
limestones. In southeastern Borneo, the Neogene is mostly of marine
facies and includes shales, clays, sandstones, coal seams, some tuffs
and occasional beds of massive reef limestones. In northernand
central Borneo there are basaltic lavas and tuffs of Neogene age.
In other islands of Indonesia, the Tertiary covers large areas.

The Paleogene of Sumatra starts with conglomerates which grade
upwards into sandstones and shales (with coal seams in the south),
interbedded tuffs and some marine deposits near the top. The Older
Andesite developed near Danau Toba represents terrestrial vulcanism
at the end of Paleogene time. The Neogene is represented by deeper
marine facies, including clay shales, m a r k and fossiliferous lime-
stones. Marine conditions of sedimentation prevailed during late
Neogene time in the north, while, in the south, the Upper Neogene is
composed mainly of continental deposits with coal seams and volcanic
tuffs, which are predominant also in the Neogene of southern Sumatra.
The Telisa Beds, Lower and Middle Palembang Series and their equiva-
lents comprise a Miocene sequence of predominantly marine and vol-
73
canic deposits. The Upper Palembang Series of Pliocene-Pleistocene

age includes tuffs, tuffaceous sandstones, bentonites and a few coal
stringers, and contains silicified wood. In Java, the Paleogene rocks are
conglomerates, sandstones, coal seams, shales and limestones with
Camevinu, Discocyclina, Pellatispira, etc. The Neogene, however, is
developed in different facies; massive limestones occur in the north and
south, Globigerina marls are predominant in the east, and clayey marls
and some sandstones are typical of the central part. Tuffaceous layers
become more frequent towards the top of the Neogene.
The Tertiary of Sulawesi (Celebes) is characterized by great
volumes of volcanic material (liparites, basalts and tuffs). In southern
Sulawesi, the Paleogene begins with conglomerates and sandstones
with a few coal seams, followed by a thin limestone sequence which
continues into the Lower Neogene. The limestones are overlain by
marine shales and clays with some coal seams.
In West Irian, Paleocene-Miocene deposits in most areas consist
of shoal limestones known as the Ogar Formation (in the northernmost
part of the Onin Peninsula), the Koemawa Formation (in the Koemawa
Peninsula) and the N e w Guinea Limestone Group; the last-named is
developed over the whole length of West Irian from West Vogelkop
and has been subdivided in many areas into several formations. Fossils
include bryozoa, algae, corals, molluscs and larger foraminifera,in-
cluding Alveolina, Lacazina, Neoalveolina, Flosculinella bontangensis,
F. bomeensis, Alveolinella quoyi, Marginopora and Smites. Undiffe-
rentiated Eocene-Miocene deposits are represented by the Auwewa
Formation (and its equivalent, the Botana Formation) developed in
northern West Irian, including the islands of Batana and Waigeo. In its
lower part, it comprises predominantly basalt and spilite lavas, brec-
cias, tuffs and tuffaceous sandstones, with some limestones near the
top; in the upper part, limestones are predominant over the volcanic
rocks and contain abundant pelagic foraminifera and occasional larger
benthonic foraminifera. Undifferentiated Paleogene on Misool is re-
presented mostly by limestones, which are sandy and oolitic in the
lower part (Paleocene-Eocene) and predominantly shoal facies in the
upper part (Eocene-Oligocene); they contain Alveolina, L a c a z h , N u m -
mulites fichteli-intermedia and Neoalveolina pypaea. The Oligocene-
Miocene in the northwestern part of West Irian (Vogelkop) comprises
74
clastic strata of the Sirga Formation, including some coal beds. O n the
islands of Soepiori and Biak, north of Geelvink Bay, the Oligocene-
Miocene Soepiori Limestone is laterally replaced southward and
northward by the Wafoerdori Marls, containing pelagic foraminifera,
corals and algae. The Middle-Upper Miocene (shown on the m a p as
Miocene) Klasafet, Akimeugeh and Iwoer Formations consist of clastic
strata and are developed in the Vogelkop, as well as west of Geelvink
Bay and south of the Central Range; some intercalations of pelagic
limestone occur locally in the lower part of the Klasafet Formation.
East of Geelvink Bay, the Middle-Upper Miocene Makats Formation is
composed of greywackes and shales; its fauna includes benthonic and
pelagic foraminifera, molluscs, corals, algae and bryozoa. Undiffe-
rentiated Paleogene deposits have been found in a number of places,
mostly in the form of creamy orbitoid limestones. Associated Neogene
deposits consist of sandstones, shale, conglomerates, some lignite
seams, marls, massive limestones and Globigevim marls; they are
associated locally with volcanic rocks.
In the Philippines, Paleogene deposits comprise thick trans-
gressive mixed shelf and deep water marine deposits, largely grey-
wackes and shales, associated with reef limestones, together with
conglomerates, dacite-andesite (Paleocene) and keratophyre-andesite
(Oligocene) flows and tuffs. The Paleocene in Mindoro and Palawan
consists largely of arkosic and quartzitic clastic deposits; on Catan-
duanes Island there are Paleocene paralic coal measures., The Paleo-
gene fauna includes the foraminifera Globoratalia velascoensis, G.
aequa, G. ciperoensis, Globigerina triloculinoides,Alveolinu prirnaeva,
Nummulites fitcheli and N. globulosa.
Oligocene-Miocene mixed shelf marine deposits, primarily sand-
stones, greywackes, shales and reef limestones, are found in Luzon,
the Visayan islands and Mindanao, associated with basic to intermediate
lavas and pyroclastic deposits; in places they include paralic coal
beds. In southern Mindoro and Palawan, this sequence consists of
marine clastic rocks. The fossils include Globigerinoides bisphaerim,
Borelis p y g m a m and Miogypsinoides.
Neogene rocks (Upper Miocene-Pliocene) in the Philippines
include, in the lower part, predominantly maril?e clastic deposits
75
overlain by extensive, locally transgressive tuffs and tuffaceous sedi-

mentary rocks, associated with silty limestones and calcarenites in
some parts of Luzon, Mindanao and the islands between them. In
western Mindanao, there are limestones intercalated with dacite. and
andesite flows; mainly arkosic sandstones are developed in Palawan.
The fossils include Globorotalia crassifomis, Sphaeroidinella dehiscens
immatura, Miogyps ina and Triblio1ep idina.
In Japan, the Eocene marine rocks of Kyushu and southwestern
Honshu carry Nummulites and Discocyclina, and the fresh water de-
posits of northern Japan (Hokkaido) contain a flora of Woodwardia,
Musophyllum, etc. The marine Oligocene of southwest Japan contains
the Ashiya fauna, which includes Chlamys ashiyaensis and Venericardia
subnipponica. The main coal seams occur within the Paleogene sedi-
ments. The Lower Miocene is represented by shallow marine sedi-
ments conmining Lepidocyclina while the Middle Miocene shallow
marine deposits contain a Miogypsina-Operculina fauna; brackish
water deposits contain Vicarya and non-marine deposits contain the
L iquidambar-Comptoniphyllum flora. The Omma-Manganji shallow
marine fauna, comprising Acila insignis,Pecten kurosawaensis, Ana-
dura amicula, etc., is the characteristic Pliocene fauna in south-
western Japan on the northern (Sea of Japan) side, while the Lower
Pliocene Kakegawa w a r m shallow marine fauna, comprising Amussio-
pecten praesignis, Venericardia panda, etc., is found on the south-
eastern (Pacific) side. A cold sea current greatly influenced the
fauna on the Pacific side of northeastern Japan. The non-marine
uppermost Pliocene beds carry the flora Pinus trgolia,Pseudolark,
Acer, etc., associated with Stegodon orientalis and other mammalian
remains. All of the oil and gas reservoirs being exploited in Japan
are restricted to the Neogene sequence.
In Korea, the Tertiary is represented by alternating marine and
terrestrial deposits, in places terrestrial only, consisting mainly of
shales, sandstones and some conglomerates, associated with rhyolitic
volcanic rocks, lignite and coal seams and containingmarine and terres-
trial fossils, including plant remains. In northern Korea there are in-
terbedded basalt flows, tuffs and agglomerates of Tertiary age.
In China, Paleogene marine deposits in the Himalayas are
76
mostly composed of carbonate rocks with Orbitolina. In southern

Tibet, the Paleogene is represented by Eocene marine deposits,
while elsewhere in mainland China the Paleogene deposits are found
within continental depressions and down-faulted basins. In southeastern
China, including the Yangtze valley, the Paleogene occupies elongated
intermontane basins and is represented mostly by red beds. In central
and eastern China (southern Kansu, Shensi, Hopei, Shansi, Honan and
Shantung), continental clastic rocks are normally associated with
lacustrine deposits and contain beds of marls, fresh water limestones
and some gypsum. Lacustrine deposits are predominant within Inner
Mongolia, where they are locally interbedded with some basaltic flows.
In Manchuria, northwestern China, Oligocene coal beds and basaltic
lava flows are intercalated in the Paleogene sequence; the Oligocene
coal in southern Manchuria is of great economic value. In western
and northwestern China, a Paleogene continental clastic sequence
includes lacustrine deposits, thin lignite beds, coal-bearing sand-
stones and some gypsum. The Paleogene basin sediments inChina
have yielded such fossils as Planorbis, Physa, Lophioletes or Caeno-
lopsis, Sinohadrianus, Protitanothwbm, Baluchitherbm and Amynodon.
Neogene formations in mainland China are exclusively conti-
nental. In south-central and southeastern China, they are predomi-
nantly Pliocene lacustrine deposits which contain some coal beds in
Yunnan and Kwangsi. In Inner Mongolia and in Ordos and Shantung
(northeastern China), Miocene formations contain Lamprotula, Platy-
belodon, Stephanoceras, Melosira, etc. Pliocene fluvio-lacustrine and
continental deposits are extensively developed in northern China. Three
cycles of erosion and deposition have been recognized in the Neogene
of northern and northeastern China. The first cycle, Lower Pliocene
(Pontian) in age, is represented by a series of fluvio-lacustrine
deposits of the Paotuh Stage which contain Prosiphneus and Hipparion
richthofeni. The second cycle, known as the Ertemte Stage, is re-
presented by terrace gravels along the Huang Ho (Yellow River) and
by red clays bearing Prosiphneus intermedius. The third cycle of
erosion, the Fencho Stage, was followed by deposition of red clays
with Siphacus tingi and fluviolacustrine deposits with Melania, L a m -
p-rotula, Eqwus, Hipparion, Ulmus,A c w , etc. In western andnorth-
western China, the Neogene is characterized by red beds found within
77
intermontane basins. In northern and northeastern China, the Neogene

deposits are associated with basalt flows.
For lack of sufficient information, and partly on account of the
scale of the map, the above-described Paleogene and Neogene con-
tinental deposits in many regions of China, particularly in its northern
part, are shown as undifferentiated Paleogene-Neogene.
The earliest sediments laid down in the Tertiary geosyncline of
western Taiwan are dark gray shales and siltstones of Paleogene age.
A considerable part of Taiwan underwent regional orogenic movement
in late Oligocene to early Miocene times. The shelf sediments of
Miocene age in the north include sandstones, orthoquartzites and thin
coal beds, locally associated with basic volcanic rocks; basin deposits
of the same age in the south are characterized by clastic sediments,
including greywackes, shales and claystones. In eastern Taiwan, the
Miocene includes shales, conglomerates and sandstones with andesitic
lavas and agglomerates in the lower part. The exposed Pliocene
deposits are mainly marine sediments of geosynclinalfacies,consisting
of shales, sandstones and grewackes.
In Mongolia, the Paleogene deposits are exclusively of continental
or lacustrine facies. The widely scattered outcrops of these strata are
not differentiated on the m a p but are included as a part of the Upper
Cretaceous-Neogene or Cenozoic sequences. The Paleogene andNeogene
deposits are composed mainly of variegated and red clays, sands,
sandstones, conglomerates, gravels, some siltsronesand m a r k Neogene
volcanic activity resulted in the extrusion of basalts which are present
mostly in the northern and southeastern regions. Paleogene formations
range in age from Paleocene to Oligocene and have yielded a rich
mammalian fauna (mainly in Gobi)including,Prodinoceras,Pseudictops,
Palaescaptar, Mesonyx, Mongolothwium, Amynodon, Caenolophus, Ca-
durcodon, Hypsamynodon, Baluchitherhm, Allacerops, Hyaenodon, Cy-
clomylus, Parahyrachodon, Ergila, Brachiodon, Schizothwhm, Entelo-
don, Coenopus and Cadurocotherum. The Neogene is represented by
both Miocene and Pliocene sediments, containing Hipparion, Anchi-
therium, Sevridentinus, Samotherium, Gobiocerus, Gobitherium, Chilo-
thevium, etc.
78
TERTLARY - Q U A T E R N A R Y (CENOZOIC)
In Iran, the Plio-Pleistocene comprises red beds, consisting of
gypsiferous silty clays and marls with some sands and pebbles, and
also fresh-water deposits composed of sands and white chalky lime-
stones with gastropods and lamellibranchs.
In the coastal region of Pakistan (Westwing), the Plio-Pleistocene
consists of the Pliocene Chatti Mudstone and the Ormara Formation
of late Pliocene and possible Pleistocene age. In Pakistan (East wing),
this includes the undivided Dihing and Dopitila Formations, mainly
sandstones, clays and pebble beds with some lignite in the lower part.
In India, Nepal and West Pakistan, the Siwalik System com-
prises the well-known sequence of Middle Miocene-Lower Pleisto-
cene freshwater molasse deposits, forming the foothills of the Hima-
layas and extending from Assam to the Salt Range. Sandstones, grits,
conglomerates, clays and silts of fluvial character comprise the rocks
of the Siwslik System; the great bulk of them are unfossiliferous, but
locally there are fossils of molluscs, fishes, reptiles and mam;nals,
as well as plant remains. The Siwalik System is usually divided into
Lower, Middle and Upper Siwalik.
In northeastern Assam, India, the Plio-Pleistocene DAhing Series
consists of pebble beds with subordinate sandstones and clays, and
is equivalent to the Upper Siwalik. In Nepal, the Pliocene-Pleistocene
includes mainly coarse clastic deposits of the upper part of the Siwalik
Series.
In Burma, basaltic and acidic flows and pyroclastic deposits of
the Chindwin, Popa and Mergui Volcanics are broadly describedas
Cenozoic.
Volcanic activity during Tertiary and Pleistocene times resulted
in extrusion of basaltic lavas over large areas in southern Viet-Nam,
the eastern part of the Khmer Republic and southern Laos, and in
smaller scattered areas in northwestern Laos and in northernand
central Thai land.
In Borneol, Pliocene-Pleistocene deposits near the seashore
include marine shelf and other shallow water sediments (the Togopi,
Sebahet, Timohing Formations, etc.). Undifferentiated Cenozoic volcanic
79
rocks in northern Borneo range in composition from intermediate to

acidic.
In Indonesia.,the Upper Palembang Series represents the Pliocene-
Pleistocene in the eastern part of Sumatra; it consists of tuffaceous
sandstones, tuffs, bentonites and some coal stringers with silicified
wood. In western Java, the Plio-Pleistocene includes predominantly
marine deposits (marls, clays, sandstones) associated with great
volumes of tuffaceous rocks, including tuffs, tuffaceous sandstone
and tuffaceous glauconitic marls. In central Java, the deposits of this
age start with transitional beds, and, higher in the sequence, the facies
changes from marine to continental, with an admixture of conglo-
merates and volcanic rocks. The Plio-Pleistocene in eastern Java and
Madura consists of marine clays, marls and some limestones of neritic
or littoral facies. Undifferentiated Cenozoic volcanic rocks of Indonesia
are represented by lava flows, tuff6, agglomerates and tuffaceous
rocks, which range in composition from intermediate-basic (predo-
minantly andesite to basalt) to intermediate-acidic (primarily dacite-
rhyolite, but also andesite-dacite), although change in composition
from basic to acidic within a sequence is typical in many localities.
In West Irian, the Miocene-Pleistocene includes clastic sediments
of the Kalsaman, Steenkool and Boerol Formations in Vogelkop,
Bomberai and the southern part of the Central Range. In the western-
most regions (Salawati basin) the sediments are marine and they
contain abundant pelagic foraminifera, including Globiqerina dubia,
Pulleniatina obliquiloculata and Globoquudrana conglomerata; in the
eastern regions they contain the benthonic foraminifera Alveolinella,
Marginopcwa, Rotaliu, Elphidium and some corals. In northern regions
east of Geelvink Bay, mainly clastic strata (theMamberamo Formation)
comprise the Upper Miocene-Pleistocene, but limestones (theHollandia
Formation) occur locally, with Lepidocyclim, Miogypsina, Alveolina
quoyi and Culcurina. O n the island of Wsigeo, this interval is predo-
minantly limestone (the Waigeo Formation), and mainly marls (the
Seoerdori and Korimdori Marls) on the islands of Soepiori and Biak,
with abundant pelagic foraminifera, including Pulleniatina obliquilo-
culuta. O n Misool, the Plio-Pleistocene deposits contain banked coral
limestones with intercalated marls and lignite.
80
In the Philippines, the Plio-Pleistocene deposits compriselargely

marine and terrestrial molasse-like clastic sediments, associated with
extensive reef limestones in the Bicol peninsula (southeastern Luzon),
in the central islands and in Mindanao; and pyroclastic deposits in the
western and southern parts of the central basin of Luzonand the
northern Bicol lowland. In places, they consist predominantly of
marls and reworked tufls, and also include coastal and fluvial terrace
gravels. The fauna includes Globorotalia tmcatulinoides, Sphaeroidi-
nella dehiscens, Cycloclypeus carpenteeri and Alveolinella; Pliocene-
Quaternary volcanic rocks include plateau basalts, pyroxene andesites
of non-active cones, dacitic and andesitic plugs and basaltic dykes,
associated with pyroclastic beds and volcanic piedmont deposits.
Cenozoic volcanic rocks in Korea consist of plateau basalts and

some andesitic lavas and tuffs, which are primarily of Quaternary age,
but m a y also include some Upper Tertiary flows.
In China, this subdivision is represented by continental molasse-

like deposits developed in western, mainly northwestern, China which
were accumulated in intermontane basins and foreland depressions
and plains. These are mainly sandstones, clays and siltstones in the
lower part and predominantly coarse clastic rocks, including conglo-
merates in the upper part.1n the Dzungaria and Tsaidam basins, there
are also thin beds of limestones and saline deposits.
Undifferentiated Cenozoic sedimentary deposits in southern

Mongolia and northern China (Gobi and Gobi Altai) are represented
by limestones and continental clastic strata, consolidated and un-
consolidated, including conglomerates, sandstones, sands, clays and
some gravels.
Cenozoic volcanic rocks are widely developed in northern and
eastern Mongolia, and northern and eastern China, where basaltic,
andesitic and doleritic lava flows are associated with continental
deposits of Paleogene, Neogene and Pleistocene age. The Cenozoic
plateau basalts cover rather large areas iileasternMongolia and north-
eastern China, including Inner Mongolia and Kirin and Heilungkiang
in Manchuria.
81
In Taiwan, the Rio-Pleistocene is represented by the Toukoshan

Formation, consisting of fluviatile to deltaic conglomerates, coarse
sands, some silts and shales. According to some recent information,
this formation m a y be Lower Pleistocene in age.
QUATERNARY
In Iran, Quaternary deposits are widespread and include alluvium

of valleys and plains, marine terraces and beach sediments, fans, m u d
and salt flats, sand dunes and loess. Quaternary lava flows are of
basaltic and andesitic type.
In Afghanistan, the lower part of the Quaternary is represented
by Pleistocene variegated and drab clays, sands, conglomerates and
siltstones, developed in some intermontane depressions (Mazar-i-
Sharif, Kabul, etc.). The younger deposits in the depressions consist
of fluvial and talus sediments, loess and some tuff. Recent deposits
generally include unconsolidated continental deposits of different origin,
mostly alluvium. In the southwest, there are eolian deposits and sand
dunes. In the southern regions, the Quaternary sediments are asso-
ciated with some volcanic rocks; dacitic and andesitic flows and tuffs
occur over a large area north of the Chagai Hills in southernmost
Afghanistan.
In West Pakistan, the Pleistocene includes clastic sediments of
molasse type, laid down in depressions and reflect'ng the Himalayan
Orogeny. These are poorly consolidated or unconsolidated deposits,
including shales, sandstone, conglomerates, sands, clays and pebbles.
They also include some littoral marine formations, older alluvial
deposits of river valleys and plains, and some loess and eolian sands.
Pleistocene volcanic rocks in Chagai (Baluchistan) consist of agglo-
merate, tuff and andesitic lava. Recent deposits are represented by
alluvium, coastal, deltaic and tidal deposits, dune sands and other
unconsolidated superficial material. The Pleistocene &posits of the
Karewa Formation in Kashmir and the Himalayas are of freshwater
origin at the basal part and lacustrine at the top and they contain several
interbedded glacial deposits. The flora includes Trapa, Vullisnsria
and Garophyta, and the fauna comprises Equus, Elephas namadicus,
Sivatherium,etc.
82
The Pleistocene of India includes glacial andfluvioglacial deposits

in the Himalayan region, laterite deposits in the Deccan peninsula and
loess and the Older Alluvium of the Indus-Ganges plain. Recent deposits
include coral reefs, the Younger Alluvium, coastal deposits, young
glacial deposits, sand dunes and other surficial sediments.
In Nepal, the unsorted glacial and alluvial sediments of the Kali-

Gandak River are of Pleistocene and Recent age (shown on the m a p as
Neogene-Quaternary) whereas the alluvium of the Ganges plain is shown
as Recent.
Pleistocene deposits in Ceylon include mottled gravel, the Red

Earth deposits (red sands and clays) and laterite. The Recent deposits
consist of alluvium, residual deposits, coastal sands and some lateritic
earths.
In Burma, the Pleistocene deposits are represented by the Plateau

Gravels (mainly ferruginous sands with pebbles) and associated Red
Earth of the Plateau Region, the Uru Boulders, some laterite and the
Older Alluvium, The Recent includes surficial alluvium and coastal
deposits.
The Quaternary deposits of Thailand, the Khmer Republic, Laos

and Viet-Nam consist mostly of alluvium, lacustrine deposits and some
laterite. The thickest alluvial deposits are in the Mekong and Tonkinese
deltas, and the Chao Phraya River basin. Much of the central and
western parts of the Khmer Republic are covered by the alluvium of
the Tonle Sap basin. Coastal deposits and beach sands are developed
along the sea shores of Thailand, the Khmer Republic and Viet-Nam.
In West Malaysia, the Quaternary consists predominantly of

Recent river alluvium inland, and this alluvium is admixed with marine
coastal deposits along the shore-line.
In Borneo, the Quaternary includes mainly Recent alluvium,

covering extensive alluvial plains, and coastal deposits. The Quaternary
volcanic rocks comprise mainly andesitic and some basaltic lava flows
and pyroclastic deposits.
83
In the islands of Indonesia.,Quaternary sedimentsinclude alluvium,

terrace and coastal deposits and coral reefs;the latter are an important
feature in the eastern half of the archipelago. In Java, the Pleistocene
terrestrial deposits have yielded the hominid fossils Meganthropus
paleojavanicus, Pithecanthropus sp, Homo soloensis, etc; Stegodon
trigonocephalus flwensis is known from Flores. Quaternary volcanic
activity was almost continuous from Pleistocene to Recent and was
widespread over the whole Indonesian archipelago. The Quaternary
volcanic products, ranging in composition from basaltic to dacitic-
rhyolitic in most islands, were derived from a calc-alkali m a g m a of
Pacific type. Although some areas with predominantly basic, inter-
mediate-basic, or basic volcanic rocks m a y be distinguished, a more
or less gradual change from basic eruption products to acidic within
one volcanic cycle m a y be observed inmany localities. The unclassified
volcanic rocks in Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sulawesi and Halma-
hera comprise normal intermediate basic volcanic rocks of the calc-
alkali Pacific type, associated with potash-bearing volcanic rocks of
the Mediterranean type, including leucite basanites,tephrites, trachytes
and syenite-porphyries. In West Irian, Recent alluvial deposits cover
large areas in coastal plains and valleys. M u d volcano deposits are
known in the Van Rees mountains, east of Geelvink Bay. O n Noemfoor
and Biak Islands, north of Geelvink Bay, the youngest rocks consist of
sub-Recent uplifted coral reefs.
In the Phi I ippines, Quaternary sediments are re2resented by

Recent alluvium, fluviatile, lacustrine and beach deposits, raised
coral reefs and atolls. The Quaternary volcanic rocks consist mainly
of active volcanoes and their products, mostly andesitic and basaltic
lava flows and tuffs.
In Japan, the Pleistocene comprises predominantly continental,

but also marine deposits, composed mainly of coarse sediments but
containing in places some lignite beds and often associated with
volcanic material and Recent deposits in alluvial and coastal plains.
The Quaternary vulcanism in Japan is recorded in the same areas as
during the Neogene. More than two hundred volcanoes were developed
in Quaternary times and fifty of them have been active in historic
84
times. The products are mainly calc-alkaline and range in composition

from acidic to intermediate-basic,
The Pleistocene in China is represented by alluvium in plains

and valleys, loess, moraines, drift and fluvio-glacial deposits, some
cave deposits, eolian deposits and sand dunes. In northern China, the
Choukoutien deposits of the fourth erosion cycle contain remains of
Sinanthropus pekinensis, Elephas, Rhinoceros, etc., of early Pleisto-
cene age, which have been found in isolated caves. The fifth cycle re-
cognized in northern China began with the Chingshui Stage of erosion,
which was followed by the deposition of the Malan Loess covering vast
areas in northern China. It contains Helix, Mastodon, Boss etco The
loams of the high (20m) terrace inthe lower Yangtse valley have yielded
Traumotophora, Ganesella, Opeas, etc. At least three successive
glaciations, separated by interglacial periods, are represented by
glacial and fluvio-glacial deposits, The Recent deposits are represented
by alluvium of lower terraces in valleys and lowland plains, eolian
deposits, sand dunes and other surficial material. Volcanic activity
during the Pleistocene resulted in the extrusion of basalt flows which
occupy fairly large areas in southern Kwangtung and the island of
Hainan.
In Taiwan, Pleistocene post-orogenic deposits formed after the

early Pleistocene orogeny include gravels and lateritic deposits, with
marine deposits along the coast. Active vulcanism during the Pleisto-
cene resulted in the formation of andesitic lavas and pyroclastic
deposits in Taiwan and plateau basalts in the Penghu Islands, west of
Taiwan. Recent deposits are mainly alluvium, beach deposits and
reef limestones.
In Mongolia., the Quaternary deposits include alluvium in valleys,

glacial and fluvio-glacial deposits in mountain regions, lacustrine sedi-
ments, loess and sand dunes in southern Mongolia. Quaternary basaltic
flows are scattered through central and northern Mongolia.
85
3. Intrusive rocks
PRECAMBRIAN
Precambrian metamorphic and crystalline rocks, particularly

of the Precambrian C (generallyArchean)andPrecambrianB (generally
Lower Proterozoic) divisions in most of the region, are generally
granitized, migmatized and intruded with great masses of granitic
rocks also of Precambrian age. They also contain embedded bodies
of metamorphosed basic and ultrabasic rocks of Precambrian age.
O n the map, most or all of these are not separated from Precamhrian
metamorphic and crystalline rocks, but, in some places, some Pre-
cambrian granites occupy sufficiently large areas to warrant separate
representation.
Large intrusions of Precambrian basic and ultrabasic rocks

are known in Kashmir and the northeastern part of peninsular India.
In the peninsula, the Precambrian basic and ultrabasic rocks comprise
anorthosites, labradorite-pyroxene rocks, anorthosite gabbro, norite,
diorite, etc., of post-Dharwar age. The Dharwar System itself includes
metamorphosed and folded basic igneous and metavolcanic rocks.
The earliest acidic intrusions include the Champion Gneiss (gneissic
granites and granite-porphyry stocks and bosses) and the Peninsular
Gneiss (granites, gneissic granites, granodiorites), and their equiva-
lents. T h e later Precambrian granites are represented by the Closepet
Granite, Mylliem Granite, Erinpurna Granite, Singhbhum Granite, etc.
86
Intrusive rocks
The chamockites widely developed in the Precambrian of penin-

sular India and Ceylon include a suite of rocks ranging in composition
from acidic to ultrabasic and characterized by the presence of hyper-
sthene. There is considerable difference of opinion on the origin of
these rocks; although they were originally considered to be of igneous
origin, many workers regard them as being the metamorphosedand
recrystallized products of different rock types.
In Burma, Precambrian acidic intrusions are mainly granites
with associated pegmatites and some earlier syenites.
In Laos and Viet-Nam, Precambrian igneous rocks associated
with the gneisses of the basement complex are exposed over large
areas in the north; they are mainly foliated plagioclase granites,
granite-gneisses and granites.
Precambrian granitic intrusions are extensively exposed in
China, although they are not separated on the m a p from Precambrian
metamorphic and crystalline rocks. The oldest granitic plutons include
the Taishan granite, mainly biotite gneissic granites and granite-
gneisses, invading the metamorphic rocks of the Taishan Complex
in northern China and its equivalents in other regions. The younger
granitic rocks intruded into the Wutai Series have yielded absolute
age datings of 1,800 f 100 m.y.; some radiometric dates show the pre-
sence of older granitic migmatites (2,560 m.y.) in the lower part of
the Wutai Series. The absolute age of the pre-Sinian older rapakivi-
granite in northeastern China is 1,320 m.y. The acidic plutonic in-
trusions disrupting the Precambrian supracrustal rocks are mainly
granites, plagioclase granites and minor granodiorites, commonly
with gneissic texture; they are accompanied by pegmatites and aplites
and gsnerally form extensive zones of migmatites and granitized
rocks. Younger metamorphic rocks of the Hut0 Series in Shansi and
Hopei are also intruded by gneissic graniteso Other intrusive rocks
of pre-Sinian (Proterozoic) age include large granite intrusions and
small bodies of granite, syenite and diorite.
In Mongolia.,rhe Precambrian intrusive rocks are mostly con-
centrated in the northern and northeastern parts of the country. Small
pods, lenses and stocks of ultrabasic and basic rocks (mainly perido-
tites, pyroxenites and gabbros) are exposed in the north, west of the
87
Intrusive rocks
Hobsogol lake, and are classified as Precambrian A (Upper Protero-

zoic) in age. Connected with an unconformity between Middle and Upper
Proterozoic rocks are intrusions of granites, granite-gneisses and
binary granites, which form large batholiths as well as small dis-
persed massifs with extensive migmatite zones.
The Granite Gneiss System of Korea is shown on the m a p as Pre-
cambrian intrusive rocks; it consists of granites, gneissic granites,
granite-gneisses and intensely migmatic and granitized metamorphic
rocks, including gneisses and crystalline schists, which are equivalent
in age to rocks of the Precambrian C subdivision.
PRECAMBRIAN-PALEOZOIC
In Iran, the most ancient intrusive rocks are dated as Precambrian-
Paleozoic and they comprise Precambrian and possibly Cambrian in-
trusions; these are mainly biotite and two-mica granites, ranging from
granodiorite to alkali-granite and coarse-grained pegmatitic granite
rich in feldspar. Their age is uncertain; however, they are certainly
younger than the Precambrian metamorphic rocks but older than some
Cambrian and Eo-Cambrian rocks.
India, compose the Malani Igneous Suite of probable late Precambrian

early Cambrian age.
-
T h e Jalor and Siwaria granites and their equivalents in Rajasthan,
PA LEOZOlC
Paleozoic basic rocks in the Khmer Republic, Laos and Viet-Nam
are confined to the areas of Paleozoic-Triassic volcanic activity and
include intermediate basic intrusive and associated extrusive types
(andesite, dolerite, porphyrite, gabbro, micro-gabbro, etc.) occurring in
the form of dykes, sills, small laccolithic intrusions, lava flows, etc.,
emplaced mostly during late Carboniferous, Permianandearly Triassic
times. The Paleozoic intrusions in most areas of the Khmer Republic,
Laos and Viet-Nam consist of widespread granitic-granodioritic
intrusions of the Hercynian orogenic cycle, most probably emplaced in
mid-Carboniferous times. In western Laos (southwest of L u n g
Prabang), this group also includes Permian-(?) early Triassicintrusive
rocks composed of granodiorite-tonalite, with monzonitic and dioritic
88
Intrusive rocks
affinities,which were formed during an early phase of the Endosinian

orogeny.
In Japan, latePaleozoic-early Mesozoic intrusionsare represented
by granitic gneisses and some granites in the metamorphic complex
in the Hi& and Abakuma Mountains, and also include some granodio-
rites with cataclastic texture. Some of the intrusions of this group are
considered to be Permian or pre-Permian in age.
In China, Paleozoic intrusions, mainly granitic rocks generally
associated with ultrabasic and basic rocks of mafic phases, are
extensive in all the foldbelts; they occur as large batholiths and
smaller plutons in the form of concordant to massive discordant
bodies. Most batholiths are complex and have a wide range of structure,
composition and age. In central (Nan Shan) and southeastern China the
oldest Paleozoic intrusive rocks are peridotites and gabbros of Cam-
brian age;synorogenicintrusionsinthatarea include granites and grano-
diorites of pre-Silurian age. Late orogenic pre-Devonian biotite-
hornblende granites, granodiorites and some diorites form large
concordanc batholiths. In Tsirding Shan, Kunlun and eastern Tien-
Shan, in central and northwestern China, Paleozoic granitic intrusions
are nlvnerous and widespread, in t!he form of large plutons and small
linear bodies. The main emplacement took place in late Paleozoic
time, although early Paleozoic (Cambrian-Silurian) granites and ultra-
mafic and mafic rocks are also known. The synorogenic granites of
Carboniferous age in places are characterized by gneissic and cata-
clastictexture. Permian granitic rocks comprise late-orogenicmedium-
and coarse-grained biotite and hornblende-biotite granites, granodio-
rites and some diorites. In Manchuria, northeastern China, Paleozoic
granitic rocks form a huge batholith nearly continuous for more than
1,000 k m in a north-east direction and several hundred k m wide.
Geologic relations indicate a prolonged time for the emplacement of
these granitic rocks, which consist of fine- to coarse-grained biotite
granites, hornblende granites, biotite-hornblende granites, granodio-
rites and two-mica granites; they are accompanied by pegmatites,
aplites, quartz diorites, gneissic granites and granite porphyries.
The main assemblage of rocks is probably of late Paleozoic age
although some parts may be older.
89
Intrusive rocks
In Mongolia, Paleozoic granitic rocks are extensively ewosed,

but the largest exposures and probably the greatest volumes of granitic
rock occur in central northern Mongolia and in the Altai Range in the
west, where they form large batholiths as well as smaller bodies. The
Paleozoic batholiths have been shown by recent detailed study to be
internally complex in both age and composition, and ta be composed
of many discrete plutons, which according to their age can be divided
into three main groups: early, middle and late Paleozoic. The main as-
semblage of early Paleozoic granitic rocks in northern, northwestern
and central Mongolia consists of middle-late Cambrian plagioclase
granites, granodiorites and some granites, in places with gneissic
and cataclastic texture, but there are also smaller bodies of Ordovician
rocks, mainly leucocratic biotite and binary granites. In the Altai
Range in the west, and in some parts of southernMongolia, Ordo-
vician granites and some granodiorites form quite large batholithic
bodies.
Lower Paleozoic ultramafic and mafic intrusions, mainly pods,
dykes and stocks, are in part related to the middle-late Cambrian
granitic phase, but some intrusions are connected with a Lower
Cambrian spilite-diabase suite. The middle Paleozoic plutonic rocks
range in age from Silurian to early Carboniferous and exhibit a wide
variety of form, structure and composition and most of them have
several mafic phases. There are also some discrete smallplutons
of peridotites, pyroxenites, gabbros and gabbro-diorites which are
either contemporaneous with the granitic @ m e or slightly earlier in
age.
The main emplacement of middle Paleozoic granitic rocks took
place during the Devonian (middle and late Devonian granites, grano-
diorites, tonalites, some leucocratic granites and granite-syenites),
but there are also granitic bodies of late Silurian, post-Devonian and
early Carboniferous age. In the northeast, some batholithic intrusions
of middle Devonian age are composed of granite-syenites, syenites,
and some alkali-syenites with nepheline. Late Paleozoic plutonic
rocks also include mafic intrusions, in part related to the dominant
granitic rocks; the latter, complex in age and composition, are most
extensive in central Mongolia, where they form large batholiths,
90
intrusive rocks
although smaller plutons are widely scattered over mostof the country.
The major granitic emplacement occurred in late Carboniferous time;
most granitic intrusions of this age comprise mainly medium- and
coarse-grained granites and granodiorites, with biotite or both biotite
and hornblende, sometime with poqhyritic texture. The granitic
rocks of Permain age are mainly granites and granodiorites with
some diorites, which form shallow intrusions associated with volcanic
rocks.
MESOZOIC
In Iran, Mesozoic intrusions include biotite-granodiorite ranging
to granite of probable late Jurassic age, sometimes porphyritic, and
late Cretaceous diorites.
Extensive igneous activity commenced towards the end of the
Cretaceous in the Himalayas, and granites and particularly basic rocks
of this period m a y form part of the undifferentiated granites of the
Himalayas.
In India and Burma, late Cretaceous igneous activity is known
in A s s a m and the Arakan-Andaman belt where intrusions of basic and
ultrabasic rocks, mostly peridotites and serpentines locally containing
chromite, are found. In northern Burma, these are largely serpen-
tinized peridotites, dunites, pyroxenites and amphibolites. In the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, gabbros, serpentines and enstatite-
peridotites form a zone which continues southeastwards into Sumatra
and Java.
Mesozoic intrusions in the southwestern and northern parts of
the Khmer Republic consist of stock-like batholithic bodies of coarse
porphyritic adamellite, biotite granite and granodiorite. Previously
considered as late Cretaceous, these intrusions at present are clas-
sified as early Jurassic in age.
Age determinacions made recently of intrusive rocks in norEhern
Viet-Nam have indicated a period of magmatic activity in Jurassic-
early Cretaceous time (gabbros, granites) and another in late Cre-
taceous-Paleogene time (granites); these rocks are exclusively con-
centrated in the extreme north of Viet-Nam and are shown on the
m a p as Paleozoic.
91
Intrusive rocks
In Thai land, Mesozoic basic and ultrabasic intrusions (dykess

plugs and stocks) occur in the north and northeast. This group consists
of diorite, gabbro and pyroxenite, partly serpentinized. The age of
the rocks is uncertain, but geologic relationships suggest they may
be Mesozoic and post-Triassic in age.
in Japan, Cretaceous acidic intrusions are the most widespread
and they are the most important in connexion with ore mineralization;
they are developed along north-south tectonic lines in northeastern
Japan and form large batholiths in the southwest. The main rocks are
granites and granodiorites.
In Korea., Mesozoic plutonic rocks are generally represented
by granites of Jurassic age, and granites, granodiorites, some diorites
and related porphyritic hypabyssal rocks of Cretaceous age.
Mesozoic granicic rocks in China are moscly confined CO an
intrusive belt which lies along the eastern and southeastern margin of
the continent and extends from the southeastern coastal region of
China including the islard of Hainan, through Shantung and Korea to
the Sikhota Alin Range in che eastern USSR. Appendages to the main
belt occur in Tsinling Shan ana Inshan (eastern China). The belt is
characterized by numerous shallow stocks and batholiths of Mesozoic
granitic rocks associated with small bodies of gabbros and gabbro-
diorites of probable Jurassic age. The main emplacement of granitic
intrusions probably occurred in early Cretaceous time, although, in
some places, there was some emplacement of granite and granodiorite
in late Jurassic time. The major assemblage of early Cretaceous
rocks consists of granodiorites and leucocratic biotite granites, gene-
rally coarse-grained, succeeded by aplitic granites, granite-porphyries,
granodiorite-porphyrites, etc., representing younger phases of the
early Cretaceous intrusive activity. In places, granites and grano-
diorites are associated with felsitic granites, syenites and diorites,
and sometimes grade into porphyritic granites and granite-porphyries.
The younger rocks of late Cretaceous age are commonly represented
by shallow intrusions of leucocratic granites, felsitic granites, granite-
porphyry and quartz-porphyry, as well as granodiorite-porphyrite
and syenite-porphyry in some places.
92
Intrusive rocks
In Mongolia, Mesozoic mafic rocks form small bodies (stocks,

plugs, etc.) emplaced mainly in Triassic-early Jurassic times. The
Mesozoic granitic rocks are post-orogenic and commonly more alkalic
than earlier ones. They form mostly discordant bodies of different
size and shape and are largely confined to fault zones. Triassic
granitic rocks, mainly leucocratic granites, granodiorites, grano-
syenites and some diorites, form large plutons in northern and north-
eastern Mongolia and smaller bodies in the south. The middle Jurassic
intrusive phase resulted in the formation of alkalic leucocratic gra-
nites, coarse hornblende-biotite granites with porphyritic texture,
some granodiorites, and related felsic plutonic rocks. The younger in-
trusive rocks form stocks, dykes, plugs, laccoliths and other shallow
intrusions, composed of late Jurassic (in places probably early
Cretaceous) granites, granite-syenites, granite-porphyries and other
porphyritic rocks.
PRE-TERTIARY
Pre-Tertiary intrusive rocks are exposed in western and central

Borneo where they form a batholithic massif occupying a large area,
with some isolated relics of the former roof, made up of metamor-
phosed Carboniferous-Permian rocks. In the northern part of the
island, this massif is composed mostly of diorite, quartz diorite,
some syenite, and aplitic and alkali granites. The southern part is
occupied by granite, granodiorite, tonalite and quartz porphyry.
In Japan, pre-Tertiary basic and ultrabasic intrusions include
peridotites, pyroxenites, hornblendites, gabbros and gabbro-diorites,
which were emplaced during a long period in connexion with late
Paleozoic-early Mesozoic, Jurassic-Cretaceous and probably late
Mesozoic phases of igneous activity in Japan.
C R E T A C E O U S -TERTIARY
In Iran, ultrabasic intrusions of the "Coloured Melange" assem-

blage of rocks (basic lava flows and serpentine intrusions associated
with marls, calcareous shales and radiolarian cherts) form part of
the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene @ossible Upper Cretaceous) Ophiolite
Formation.
93
Intrusive rocks
In West Pakistan, basic and ultrabasic rocks in the Axial Belt,

occupying the mountain ranges between Baluchistan and the lower
Indus basin, range in composition from diorite and gabbro to ser-
pentinized peridotite, and, in places, are associated with volcanic
rocks; the age of these intrusions appears to be either late Cretaceous
or early Paleocene. In Baluchistan (Chagai), mafic intrusions of the
same age are mostly sills, dykes and boss-like bodies. In this region,
the granitic intrusions were emplaced at various times from the
Cretaceous period onward, probably ending during Oligocene time;
these rocks range in composition from granite to granodiorite and
diorite, and include some monzonite. The younger rocks (post-Eocene)
are more alkalic than those of the Cretaceous.
In the Phi 1 ippines, undifferentiated Cretaceous-Paleogene ultra-
mafic and mafic plutonic rocks are predominantly peridotites associated
with late gabbro and diabase dykes. In some places (Zambales Moun-
tains, western Euzon) they form complex layered intrusions generally
thrust or upfaulted into Tertiary and older rock formations.
TERTIARY
In Iran, Tertiary granites and granodiorites form rather small
intrusive bodies, mainly in northern Iran; some of these intrusions
are post-Eocene and m a y be as young as Pliocene in age.
In the Himalayan region of Afghunistan, India and West Pakistun,
considerable igneous activity commenced towards the end of Cretaceous
time and especially during the earlier part of the Tertiary; basic
rocks and large masses of granites, mostly tourmaline granites,
were intruded at that time in the northern and central Himalayas.
Tertiary intrusions in northeastern and central Thai land, re-
presented by bosses, stocks and small batholiths of diorite and quartz-
diorite, intrude the Khorat Series and older rocks.
In West Irian, Indonesia., Tertiary granitic to quartz-dioritic
intrusions occur mainly in the northwest (Vogelkop); they consist
of granites, granodiorites, monzonites, and locally quartz diorites,
accompanied in some places by dykes of posrphvritic rocks. The age
of most of these intrusions is certainly post-Mesozoic and possibly
post-early Miocene.
94
Intrusive rocks
In the Philippines, the Tertiary intrusions comprise Paleogene

and Neogene dioritic rocks. The Paleogene intrusive rocks consist
mainly of quartz diorites, but also include granodiorite in eastern
Luzon and quartz monzonite in Palawan. The Neogene intrusions con-
sist mainly of intra-Miocene quartz diorite in the form of batholiths,
stocks, some laccoliths, sills and dykes, but diorite-porphyry and late
Miocene dacites are also found.
NON-DATED OR UNDIFFERENTLATED
In Iran, most of the non-dated basic and ultrabasic intrusions
are most probably associated with ophiolites of late Cretaceous-
Paleocene age, while granitic rocks of uncertain age m a y iary in age
from Precambrian to Tertiary.
The basic and ultrabasic intrusions in southern and southeastern
Afghanistan represent the initial magmatism, in the form of ophiolites,
lasting from late Cretaceous through Paleocene time. It is likely that
many of the granites in central Afghanistan and the volcanic activities
in the western part of central Afghanistan m a y have occurred at this
stage. In the Indus-Baluchistan geosyncline within Afghanistan, however,
the presence of granite has not yet been proved. In eastern Afghanis-
tan (Hindu Kush), the Paleozoic granitic rocks m a y be connected with
the Hercynian Orogeny. In northern Afghanistan, granitic rocks of
unknown age intrude a highly deformed and metamorphosed basement
complex of Paleozoic age.
In the northern mountainous areas of West Pakistan (Hazara,
Hindu Kush) undifferentiated acidic intrusions include granites and
gneiss-granites of possible Precambrian age, and granodiorite, sye-
nite and diorite of probable early Tertiary age.
The Himalayan granites of India and Nepal consist of undif-

ferentiated products of igneous activities in several different periods.
The main part m a y comprise the tourmaline and hornblende granites
introduced during late Eocene and Miocene times. Some of the granites
are probably of Cretaceous or earlier age, as they contributed material
to Paleogene conglomerates in the Kara Koram and Trans-Himalayan
Ranges.
95
Intrusive rocks
In Nepal, the undifferentiated granitic rocks comprise biotite

granites, probably of Cretaceous or early Tertiary age, and tourmaline
granites (the Mustang Granite and Manasulu Granite in the Kathmandu
area) associated with late phases of the Alpine Orogeny during the
Tertiary (most probably late Eocene and Miocene).
In Burma, non-dated basic intrusions include gabbro and other

basic crystalline rocks, generally associated with Precambrian meta-
morphic rocks.
Non-dated altered peridotite and serpentine intrusions are ex-

posed in the extreme northeastern part of Laos, where they are
aligned along a major northwest-southeast structural trend which
extends into Viet-Nam.
Undifferentiated acidic intrusive rocks exposed in southern Viet-

N a m include undifferentiated granite-gneisses and gneissic granites
of Precambrian or possibly Paleozoic age, probable early Paleozoic
alkaline granites, and locally some syenites, early-middle Carboni-
ferous granites, granodiorites with associated monzonites, tonalites,
diorites and some minor basic rocks.
The undifferentiated granites of eastern Thailand (east of the

Chao Phraya basin), which contain no tin in significant quantity, consist
of Carboniferous granite, Triassic granite and granodiorite, and
granites of probable Tertiary age. Recent radio-isotopic age determi-
nations have shown that the granites northeast of the Gulf of Thailand
are mainly Triassic or older (190-198 million years) while some
smaller granitic intrusive bodies are possibly Tertiary, with an age
of 72 plus or minus 3 m.y.
A distinctive feature of southeast Asia is a belt of stamserous
granitic intrusions which extend southward from southern China
(Yunnan), through eastern Burma, western and peninsular Thailand,
and West Malaysia to the "tin islands" of Indonesia, of which the
largest are Bangka and Billiton. .This belt, forming the well-known
Southeast Asian metallogenic province, is the most important tin
producing region in the world. Exposed within this belt are mainly
highly-differentiated granitic rocks which form dispersed elongated
96
Intrusive rocks
plutons. Both the geologic relations and radiometric dates indicate

that they were emplaced in various phases during a prolonged period
from Paleozoic into Tertiary time. The main assemblages of granitic
rocks are of Carboniferous (300-285 m.y.), Triassic (230-175 m.y.)
and late Cretaceous-early Tertiary (85-48 m.y.) age. Recent investiga-
tions have yielded evidence indicating that, locally, there are granites
of late Jurassic-early Cretaceous age (145-120 m.y.) and that two
phases of granitic emplacement occurred in the Triassic, one in the
early (230 plus or minus 6 m.y.) and the other in the late Triassic
(199 plus or minus 2 may.). The presence of granite pebbles in some
Silurian-Carboniferous sediments suggests the possible occurrence
of older granites in or close to thearea. The granites vary in composi-
tion from alkaline and monzonitic to calc-alkaline and m a y differ in
chemical and modal composition within the same granitic mass.
Locally, some of the granitic rocks have mafic phases; these are not
separated on the m a p from the main granitic phases. Carboniferous
granites intruding Lower Paleozoic rocks are in places gneissic with
planar foliation marked by prolific biotite and prominent feldspar
phenocrysts. The Triassic granites are usually hornblende-biotite
granite with hornblende more abundant than biotite, while the younger
late Cretaceous-early Tertiary rocks are generally binary or biotite
granites, often with a coarsely porphyritic texture.
According to the concept of age relationship between the primary

tin deposits and the granitic rocks in Thailand, the late Cretaceous-
early Tertiary granites are the main source of economic tin de-
posits, although older granites are also stanniferous. O n the other
hand, in West Malaysia, according to recent data, many primary
tin deposits appear to be connected with Triassic granite intrusions,
although Carboniferous granites have also yielded stanniferous
pegmatite.
Ultrabasic intrusions in Borneo occur mainly in the northern and

southeastern regions. They consist for the greater part of serpentinized
peridotites and serpentinites, but comparatively fresh peridotites,
together with dunite and pyroxenite, are present in a few scattered
localities. The basic intrusions of Borneo are composed largely of
97
Intrusive rocks
gabbros and intimately related diorites, with some dunite and pyroxe-
nites. Some of the ultrabasic and basic intrusions were apparently
emplaced at an earlier date, possibly in late Paleogene time, although
part of them m a y belong to the mafic phases of pre-Tertiary granitic
and dioritic intrusions. S o m e large batholiths and dykes in south-
eastern Kalimantan are composed of granite and quartz-porphyry,
locally with some alkaline tendencies; these batholiths were most
probably formed during different intrusive phases in Paleogene and
probably pre-Tertiary zimes.
In northern East Malaysia, the unclassified igneous rocks shown
on the m a p are intrusive rocks which vary in composition from ultra-
basic and intermediate types to acidic rocks. The ultrabasic rocks
include serpentinite, and also unaltered peridotite, pyroxenite and
dunite. The intermediate rocks are mainly dioritic, and the acidic
rocks are granodiorites with minor granites. The age of the rocks is
uncertain; some were probably emplaced in pre-Tertiary times, while
others m a y be related to Tertiary and younger igneous activity.
In Sumatra, Indonesia, ophiolitic rocks, shown on the m a p as
non-dated, are associated mainly with upper Mesozoic deposits. Large
intrusive masses of peridotites, serpentines and gabbros occur in
Sulawesi, Timor, and some other islands of eastern Indonesia. The
main assemblage of ultrabasic and basic rocks is related to the
ophiolitic suite which also includes extrusions of basalts (spilites).
There is considerable difference of opinion concerning the age of
these rocks; it is most probable, however, that the Intrusion of the
ultrabasic masses took place at several intervals during Mesozoic-
Tertiary times.
In Sumatra, a number of granite masses form a belt extending
southeastwards along the northeastern part of the Barisan Range. The
age of the oldest granites is probably Carboniferous or Carboniferous-
Permian, but many of the intrusions are possibly of post-Triassic age.
S o m e granodioritic and dioritic batholiths m a y have been emplaced
during a phase of igneous activity at the end of Paleogene time. In
Sulawesi, plutonic massifs of granitic and granodioritic rocks are
exposed in the west central part of the island; these are mainly granites
and granodiorites, some related microdiorites and quartz-diorites,
98
Intrusive rocks
with gneissic granites and gneisses, indicating a synorogenic or pre-

orogenic time of intrusion. Geological relations indicate the presence
of granitic intrusions of different ages, which are considered to be not
older than late Mesozoic or Tertiary. The presence of dacitic lavas in
the Pleistocene suggests the continued activity of acidic-intermediate
intrusions up to Quaternary time.
Undifferentiated igneous rocks shown in northern Java, Sulawesi
and some other islands in eastern Indonesia are of the Mediterranean
Suite, comprising alkaline igneous rocks of Neogene-Quaternary age,
associated with extrusive and intrusive products of potassic magmas of
the Mediterranean type. They include flows of leucite-bearing lavas
and hypabyssal stocks, bosses, necks and dykes of trachytes and
syenite-porphyries.
In West Irian, basic and ultrabasic rocks shown on the m a p under
this group consist of elongated plutonic massifs disposed in two parallel
belts extending east-west in the northern part of the Central Range and
the northern coastal region. They consist generally of peridotites,
harzburgites, dunites, serpentinites and gabbros; the gabbros occur
usually as small dykes or stocks in the ultrabasic rocks. The age of
these rocks is uncertain; the major part m a y be older than late Creta-
ceous, although some intrusions may have takenplace in Tertiary times.
In Korea, the basic rocks of uncertain age include mainly intru-

sions of gabbros in the Precambrian granite gneissic complex in the
southern part of the country.
In China,the undifferentiated and non-dated basic and ultra-basic
rocks shown on the m a p consist mostly of Paleozoic and minor Mesozoic
intrusions emplaced during mafic phases of granitic magmatic activity,
and also some Paleozoic ultrabasic rocks, connected with basic volcanic
activity in Paleozoic foldbelts. In southern Tibet, basic and ultrabasic
rocks include small ultramafic plutons of late Cretaceous(?) or late
Cretaceous-early Tertiary age.
Granitic rocks of uncertain age or undifferentiatedacidic intru-
sive rocks occur as intrusions of mainly late Precambrian, Paleozoic
or Mesozoic age, and, in places, include large complex batholiths
composed of many discrete plutons of different age, structure and
99
Intrusive rocks
composition. In northern China, these are mainly granites and grano-

diorites of late Paleozoic age, but locally early Paleozoic and Mesozoic.
In northeastern China (northern Manchuria), a great batholith, shown
on the m a p as undifferentiated, consists of pre-Jurassic granites and
gneissic granites, some granodiorites, diorites and quartz diorites,
and Mesozoic (mostly Cretaceous) leucocratic granites, porphyritic
biotite and hornblende-biotite granites and granodiorites, felsitic
granites, graphic granites, quartz porphyries, granite-porphyries,
some syenites and aplites. In central China, undifferentiated intrusions
range from granitic to dioritic bodies, mostly of late Paleozoic age.
In Tibet, elongate granitic plutons, mainly biotite granites, are of
probable late Mesozoic age. Tourmaline granites in southern Tibet
were emplaced during Tertiary time. Granites in southernmost China
and Hainan consist mainly of early Paleozoic and Mesozoic intrusions,
with associated small bodies and dykes of basic and ultrabasic rocks.
100

Geological Map of Asia and The Far East

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Geological Map of Asia and The Far East

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

I I

Second edition 115 000000

1. The seismicity of the earth, 1953-1965/Ladismicitk

Printed by Imprimerie Louis-Jean,05-Gap

0United Nations 1971

T h e designations employed and the presentation of the

2. Summary of general stratigraphy 16

At the meeting of the ECAFE Working Party of Senior Geologists

geological data; (3) criteria for distinction between different types of

At the suggestion of the ECAFE secretariat, the blank areas of

to acknowledge the assistance rendered by Messrs. D.V. Ramanamurthy

Purpose and validity

or international codes of stratigraphicnomenclature,which are generally

Representation of geological information on the m a p

are shown by the colour of the lower system with an ornamentation of

In Afghanistan, the oldest basement rocks consist of gneisses,

undergone severe folding and faulting. They have previously been

The Dharwar System of India comes within this classification,

In Burma, this subdivision is represented by undifferentiated

commonly characterized by abundant problematic algae, such as

In southern Thailand, small outcrops of these rocks are exposed near

In Indonesia., Japan., the Philippines and elsewhere in the region,

northeastern, east central and southeastern China, and they contain a

sandstones and dolomites developed locally. A geosynclinal sequence

In most part of Mongolia, this system is represented by Middle-

In Burma, no fossiliferous Cambrian rocks have yet been reported

any supporting fossil evidence. Formations similar to and correlated

In China, the Lower and Middle Silurian shales, sandstones and

Tagh (western Sinkiang), the Silurian-Devonian rocks are mainly

mitica, Calceola sandalina, Favosites styriacus. Heliolites porosus,

In southeastern China, within the South China Platform and

In southern and central Mongolia, and also in the easternmost

eastern Mongolia, including northeastern Gobi, and also in Gobi Altai

consists mainly of marine clastic rocks and limestones; in Tsinling

In the North China-Korean Platform within eastern, central and

genous deposits, some limestones and great volumes of andesitic and

war System contains Lower Carboniferous fossils, including Productus

In Nepal, the Upper Paleozoic includes, in the lower part, the

In Burma , the Devonian-Carboniferous is represented by the

The Ratburi Series of Thailand, identified on the m a p in this

A: Pulau Langgun in West Malaysia, Devonian non-calcareous

Lower Carboniferous deposits of West Malaysia consist of a

Shown under this subdivision, Upper Paleozoic (predominantly

Also included in this subdivision are Upper Paleozoic, primarily

up of alternating marine and continental clastic rocks and limestones,

sils include brachiopods (Kitakamithyris, Syringothyris, etc.) and

coal measures with plant remains (Sphenophyllum thoni, Taeniopteris

In Mongolia, the Lower Permian in most areas is represented

The Upper Permian marine terrigenous deposits form extensive

In Japan., the Hi&, Sangun, Ryoke and Sambagawa metamorphic

After the Hercynian Orogeny in West Pakistan and India, a part

with Triassic strata. Though usually unfossiliferous, the underlying

In the northwestern part of the island of Borneo (East Malaysia,

Und iffevent iuted Pa leou,ic-Mesozo ic

continental deposits ranging in age from late Carboniferous to Creta-

In northern West Pakistan, undivided Triassic rocks west of

stones containing intercalations of acidic volcanic rocks, range in age

Except for a few isolated areas where deposition appears to have

In some parts of southeastern China, Upper Permian limestones

In most localities of Mongolia, the Triassic depositsare generally

valley) and central Mongolia, they compose a predominant part of the

In the Salt Range andTrans-Indus Ranges of West Pakistan, this

In eastern and central Yunnan, southern China, this subdivision