The Late Paleogene remnant sea to foreland basin sedimentation along the western margin of the Himalayas, an insight into early Himalayan evolution

The well preserved late Paleogene sedimentary record of the north Sulaiman Range offers a unique record of the early Himalayan evolution along its western margin. This study is focused on the provenance, biostratigraphy and sedimentary facies analysis of this important sedimentary archive. The petrographic and geochemical analysis of the late Paleogene sandstone units reveals their derivation dominantly from a recycled orogenic and suture belt zone of the nascent Himalayas in the north with some contributions from Indian fore bulge and or cratonic areas in the east-northeast. The source rocks for these sandstones are acidic igneous and low to medium grade metamorphic and uplifted fold and thrust belt sedimentary rocks within a semi humid to humid tropical settings. The biostratigraphic and sedimentary facies analysis shows that epicontinental marine sedimentation took place in inner to outer shelf settings in middle Lutetian to Priabonian times, the deposition in the lower Oligocene time occurred in mid to high tidal flat settings prior to subsequent filling of the north Sulaiman basin in upper Oligocene and Miocene time with fluvial sediments in response to the uplift associated with India-Asia collision.