Field Report Abbotabad

8/13/2019 Field Report Abbotabad

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It is well known hill station attracting thousands of tourists each year. Hindiko

is the major language spoken by the people in and around Abbottabad.

5. Accessibility of the areaAccessing Abbottabad is very easy since it is quite centrally located and has a

lot of high profile institutions. There are two metallic roads which lead towards

Abbottabad.

The first one is a traditional route which is Islamabad-Hassanabdal-Havelian-

Abbottabad. The second route is a bit long but it very scenic as the road is layed

through the Galliyat. It starts form Islamabad-Murree-Nathiagali-Abbottabad.

There is no rail link to Abbottabad however the adjacent railway station is

located in Havelian which is approximately 30 minutes from Abbottabad city centre.

6. Climate and VegetationThe city is surrounded by Sarban Hills from all sides giving spectacular views

of the region. The hills allow the region to experience mild summers and cold winters.

It is the climate of the area which makes it an attraction for the tourists. The Dol river

flows to the south of Abbottabad which then ends up in Tarbela dam.

CHAPTER 2

1. Tectonic Setting of the AreaOverall the Northern Pakistan is tectonically very complex starting from Slat

Range and going all the way up towards the Himalayas. This complex tectonism is a

result of the collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Pate, which took

place 40 Million years ago.

Due to this collision major orogeny belts was formed known as Himalayas and

the Karakoram also known as the Roof of the World.

The region in which we had to carry out our field work is part of Northern

Himalayan Fold and Thrust Belt. This belt occupies a 250 km wide and about 560

km long irregularly shaped mountainous region stretching from Afghan border up to

the Kashmir basin. The Hazara-Kashmir and Nanga Parbat Syntaxes form its borders.


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This belt covers all the topography between Main Mantle Thrust in the North and the

Salt Range Thrust in the South. 1

Figure 1: Regional Tectonic setting

The Himalayan Fold and Thrust Belt comprises of the following.

1. Hazara-Kashmir SyntaxThe Hazara-Kashmir Syntax is a multifaceted tectonic zone. It is

difficult to delineate its outer limit for it, though its axial zone is well defined

by a heap of thrust faults which form a loop around its axis.

The axial zone of the syntaxis has NNW orientation and is largely

covered by Murree Formation. The axial zone of the syntaxis, with its

Miocene molasse cover is in continuation of the Sub-Himalayan zone to the

southeast. The Himalayan Fold thrust continues from the Sub-Himalayan zone

1Kazmi, A.H., and Jan, Q., Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan, Graphic Publishers, Karachi, pp. 123-124

(1997)


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northeastward in to the core of the syntaxis and is terminated against the Main

Boundary Thrust (MBT). 2

2. Main Boundary Thrust (Murree Thrust)A system of faults truncates the Murree Formation on the east, north

and west. It abuts the Mesozoic and earlier rocks against the Murree

Formation. West and north of the this zone, with in the short distance 1-5 km,

there is a parallel thrust fault along which Precambrian sequences has been

pushed over the Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks. These two faults were named

as Murree and Panjal Thrust correspondingly. 3

The Murree fault runs in E-W direction south of the Margalla Hills.

Westward apparently it links up with the Parachinar Fault.4

3. Panjal Thrust (Khairabad Fault)The Panjal Thrust runs parallel to MBT (Main Boundary Thrust) on

the eastern limb of the syntaxis. The two faults arc around the apex of the

syntaxis then bend southward.

The Precambrian Salkhala Formation overlies a thick sequence of

Permain Panjal Volcanics along the Panjal Thrust, whereas on the western side

of the syntaxis Precambrian Tanwal Formation has been thrust over

Precambrian to Cambrian Abbottabad Group and Jurassic to Cretaceous rocks.

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2Kazmi, A.H., and Jan, Q., Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan, Graphic Publishers, Karachi, pp. 123-124

(1997)3Kazmi, A.H., and Jan, Q., Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan, Graphic Publishers, Karachi, pp. 123-127

(1997)4 Kazmi, A.H., and Jan, Q., Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan, Graphic Publishers, Karachi, pp. 127

(1997)5In rep: Kazmi, A.H., and Jan, Q., Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan, Graphic Publishers, Karachi, pp.

127 (1997)


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Field Report Abbotabad

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