CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Geology of Afghanistan - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"ae7c39a3-40b4-4924-b00b-d34afa31ffff","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Geology_of_Afghanistan","wgTitle":"Geology of Afghanistan","wgCurRevisionId":1245226562,"wgRevisionId":1245226562,"wgArticleId":58909565,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Articles with short description","Short description with empty Wikidata description","Commons category link from Wikidata","Geology of Afghanistan"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Geology_of_Afghanistan","wgRelevantArticleId":58909565,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia", "wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":10000,"wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q12094829","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false, "wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","jquery.makeCollapsible.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","mediawiki.page.media","ext.scribunto.logs","site","mediawiki.page.ready","jquery.makeCollapsible","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init", "ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cjquery.makeCollapsible.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.4"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg/1200px-Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="803"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg/800px-Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="535"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg/640px-Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="428"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Geology of Afghanistan - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_Afghanistan"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_Afghanistan"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Geology_of_Afghanistan rootpage-Geology_of_Afghanistan skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Geology+of+Afghanistan" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Geology+of+Afghanistan" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Geology+of+Afghanistan" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Geology+of+Afghanistan" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Stratigraphy_&_geologic_history" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Stratigraphy_&_geologic_history"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Stratigraphy & geologic history</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Stratigraphy_&_geologic_history-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Stratigraphy & geologic history subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Stratigraphy_&_geologic_history-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Precambrian_(4540–539_million_years_ago)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Precambrian_(4540–539_million_years_ago)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Precambrian (4540–539 million years ago)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Precambrian_(4540–539_million_years_ago)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Paleozoic_(539–251_million_years_ago)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Paleozoic_(539–251_million_years_ago)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>Paleozoic (539–251 million years ago)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Paleozoic_(539–251_million_years_ago)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Mesozoic_(251–66_million_years_ago)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Mesozoic_(251–66_million_years_ago)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3</span> <span>Mesozoic (251–66 million years ago)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Mesozoic_(251–66_million_years_ago)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Cenozoic_(66_million_years_ago-present)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Cenozoic_(66_million_years_ago-present)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4</span> <span>Cenozoic (66 million years ago-present)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Cenozoic_(66_million_years_ago-present)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Natural_resource_geology" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Natural_resource_geology"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Natural resource geology</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Natural_resource_geology-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of Afghanistan</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 1 language" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-1" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">1 language</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%96%D1%8F_%D0%90%D1%84%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%83" title="Геологія Афганістану – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Геологія Афганістану" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q12094829#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Afghanistan" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Geology_of_Afghanistan" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Afghanistan"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Afghanistan"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Geology_of_Afghanistan" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Geology_of_Afghanistan" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&oldid=1245226562" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Geology_of_Afghanistan&id=1245226562&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FGeology_of_Afghanistan"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FGeology_of_Afghanistan"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-commons mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Geology_of_Afghanistan" hreflang="en"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q12094829" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg/220px-Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg/330px-Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg/440px-Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2775" data-file-height="1856" /></a><figcaption>Rugged mountain rock outcrop in Afghanistan</figcaption></figure> <p>The <b>geology of <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a></b> includes nearly one billion year old rocks from the <a href="/wiki/Precambrian" title="Precambrian">Precambrian</a>. The region experienced widespread marine transgressions and deposition during the <a href="/wiki/Paleozoic" title="Paleozoic">Paleozoic</a> and <a href="/wiki/Mesozoic" title="Mesozoic">Mesozoic</a>, that continued into the <a href="/wiki/Cenozoic" title="Cenozoic">Cenozoic</a> with the uplift of the <a href="/wiki/Hindu_Kush" title="Hindu Kush">Hindu Kush</a> mountains.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Stratigraphy_&_geologic_history"><span id="Stratigraphy_.26_geologic_history"></span>Stratigraphy & geologic history</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Stratigraphy & geologic history"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Precambrian_(4540–539_million_years_ago)"><span id="Precambrian_.284540.E2.80.93539_million_years_ago.29"></span>Precambrian (4540–539 million years ago)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Precambrian (4540–539 million years ago)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Afghanistan is underlain by <a href="/wiki/Precambrian" title="Precambrian">Precambrian</a> metamorphic rocks, which form high regions in the center of the country and in the Hindu Kush. The Central Afghan Swell, stretching from the <a href="/wiki/Sabzak_Pass" title="Sabzak Pass">Sabzak Pass</a> near <a href="/wiki/Herat" title="Herat">Herat</a> in the west to the <a href="/wiki/Little_Pamir" title="Little Pamir">Little Pamir</a> in the northeast, is the northernmost structural high, encompassing metamorphic rocks. The swell is connected to the Hindu Kush by Precambrian rocks in Koh-i-Baba. The Shahrestan swell between <a href="/wiki/Kabul" title="Kabul">Kabul</a> and <a href="/wiki/Malestan" class="mw-redirect" title="Malestan">Malestan</a> follows a northeast trend, but also extends to the southwest as the Malestan swell. Precambrian rocks <a href="/wiki/Outcrop" title="Outcrop">outcrop</a> locally west of <a href="/wiki/Jalalabad" title="Jalalabad">Jalalabad</a>, close to Kabul and <a href="/wiki/Khost" title="Khost">Khost</a>, and are likely present in the Safed Koh Range. The Precambrian rocks of Afghanistan include <a href="/wiki/Phyllite" title="Phyllite">phyllite</a>, <a href="/wiki/Greenschist" title="Greenschist">greenschist</a>, <a href="/wiki/Garnet" title="Garnet">garnet</a>-<a href="/wiki/Mica" title="Mica">mica</a> <a href="/wiki/Schist" title="Schist">schist</a>, and partially-melted <a href="/wiki/Gneiss" title="Gneiss">gneiss</a> that experienced <a href="/wiki/Anatexis" title="Anatexis">anatexis</a>. Near Kabul, schists (938 million years old) have been found, associated with much younger gneisses (644 million years old). In general, the Precambrian rocks in the Hindu Kush and Safed Koh Range are poorly studied. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Paleozoic_(539–251_million_years_ago)"><span id="Paleozoic_.28539.E2.80.93251_million_years_ago.29"></span>Paleozoic (539–251 million years ago)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Paleozoic (539–251 million years ago)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Fifty to 60 meter thick <a href="/wiki/Limestone" title="Limestone">limestones</a>, overlying 70 meter thick <a href="/wiki/Dolomite_(rock)" title="Dolomite (rock)">dolomite</a>, in the Panjao region host <a href="/wiki/Late_Cambrian" class="mw-redirect" title="Late Cambrian">Late Cambrian</a> <a href="/wiki/Trilobite" title="Trilobite">trilobite</a> fossils, dating to the time at which multi-cellular life proliferated. Non-fossil bearing <a href="/wiki/Sandstone" title="Sandstone">sandstone</a>, <a href="/wiki/Shale" title="Shale">shale</a> and limestone, southwest of Kabul are up to 680 meters thick, pinching out in the north. The formation underlies fossil-bearing sediments. </p><p>South of the Afghan swell are several outcrops of <a href="/wiki/Ordovician" title="Ordovician">Ordovician</a> rocks. A researcher in 1970 reported <a href="/wiki/Conodont" title="Conodont">conodont</a> fossils from the Tremadocian in a one kilometer thick quartzite, shale and limestone formation. Close to Surkh Bum, Cambrian limestone is <a href="/wiki/Disconformity" class="mw-redirect" title="Disconformity">disconformably</a> overlain by 60 meters of Ordovician shale and limestone, while to the southwest of Kabul in the Logar Valley region quartzite and shale ranges between 850 meters and 1.4 kilometers thick. Sediments 2.2 kilometers thick are present in the Dasht-i-Newar area, although they are not present in the east and southeast. <a href="/wiki/Silurian" title="Silurian">Silurian</a> rocks, such as 40 meters of black shale and limestone at Jalalabad, are only found in eastern Afghanistan. <a href="/wiki/Ludlovian" class="mw-redirect" title="Ludlovian">Ludlovian</a> age limestone with <a href="/wiki/Orthoceras" title="Orthoceras">orthocerid fossils</a> outcrops in the upper Logar Valley. In the Dasht-i-Newar area, <a href="/wiki/Silurian" title="Silurian">Silurian</a> and Early Devonian <a href="/wiki/Clastic_rock" title="Clastic rock">clastic rocks</a> grow coarser as it thickens from 650 meters of sandstone and shale to 2.2 kilometers of <a href="/wiki/Quartzite" title="Quartzite">quartzite</a> and <a href="/wiki/Conglomerate_(geology)" title="Conglomerate (geology)">conglomerate</a> further east. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Devonian" title="Devonian">Devonian</a> rocks are limited in area, but widely dispersed containing extensive fossils. Early Devonian conglomerates with interlayered dolomite and <a href="/wiki/Marl" title="Marl">marl</a> outcrop in the central Afghan swell and the Hindu Kush. Some conglomerates show signs of tectonic reworking. Other units include 100 meters of marl and limestone near Herat, 650 meters of the same type of rocks near Ghuk and up to 100 meters of limestone near Panjao. Devonian rocks unconformably overlap older rocks in the Logar Valley and close to Kabul, with calcareous sandstones up to 700 meters thick. In eastern Dasht-i-Nawar, 1.9 kilometer thick early Devonian quartzite and intercalated conglomerate are overlain by 550 meters of middle Devonian limestone. Late Devonian rocks are not present and an unconformity and conglomerate deposits point to a break in sedimentation. </p><p>Tournaisian and Westphalian calcareous rocks from <a href="/wiki/Carboniferous" title="Carboniferous">Carboniferous</a> are distributed across the west, ranging from 350 meters thick at Herat to 400 meters at Kotale Shutur Chun. These rocks grade to quartzite and shale to the east. In the upper Kabul valley and Dash-t-Nawar, early Carboniferous limestone is 100 to 420 meters thick, disconformably overlain by 1.5 kilometers of quartzite and shale. A similar sequence is found north of Moqor. Several other locations have Carboniferous rocks such as the western Hindu Kush, north of the Shibar Pass or north of Salang Pass. In between Do Ab and Khanabad is a three kilometer thick sequence of early Carboniferous limestone, sandstone and shale. </p><p>Afghanistan has numerous <a href="/wiki/Permian" title="Permian">Permian</a> rocks. In the west, south of Herat is a 150 meter sequence of dolomite and limestone. Permian rocks span the areas between the western Hindu Kush, Kandahar, Gardez, Jalalabad and Moqor. Carboniferous rocks transition to Permian sandstone and shale in the Dasht-i-Nawar and Logar valley area. A <a href="/wiki/Marine_transgression" title="Marine transgression">marine transgression</a> emplaced 1.5 kilometers of limestone and dolomite and in places north of the Hindu Kush, Permian rocks lie directly on top of folded Precambrian basement.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19973-4_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19973-4-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Mesozoic_(251–66_million_years_ago)"><span id="Mesozoic_.28251.E2.80.9366_million_years_ago.29"></span>Mesozoic (251–66 million years ago)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Mesozoic (251–66 million years ago)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Triassic" title="Triassic">Triassic</a> rocks are present north and south of the Hindu Kush-central Afghan swell area. To the south, limestone and dolomite 1.8 kilometers thick sit directly atop Permian limestones. In some places, there is no clear depositional break between the Permian and Triassic. North of the Hindu Kush, Triassic rocks unconformably overlie older rocks, with a transgressive sequence ranging between 350 meters and seven kilometers and composed of shale, sandstone and conglomerate. In the southern part of the basin, thick sequences of volcanic rock are common. Black shale near Badakshan has been found to contain extensive Triassic fossils. </p><p>In the east, <a href="/wiki/Jurassic" title="Jurassic">Jurassic</a> limestone, marl, shale and sandstone conformably overlies Triassic sediments. Volcanic rocks intercalate these units between Kabul and Khost. To the west, Jurassic rocks are different: mainly sandstone and shale, which are up to three kilometers thick, with subordinate limestone and marl. Close to Karkar, geologists have found 200 meter sandstone, shale and limestone sequence from the Middle Jurassic overlying coal. Researchers view the 650 meter thick sequence in the northwest as the remnants of deposition in the extinct Oxfordian age "Pamir Sea." </p><p>Like Jurassic deposits, <a href="/wiki/Cretaceous" title="Cretaceous">Cretaceous</a> rocks also differ from north to south. Between Asra and Khost, calcareous sediments interfinger with volcanic rocks. In east-central Afghanistan, 500 meters of sandstone, shale, marl and conglomerate overlies Paleozoic and Precambrian rocks. Conglomerate, <a href="/wiki/Greywacke" title="Greywacke">greywacke</a> and sandstone grading into limestone (rich in <a href="/wiki/Rudist" class="mw-redirect" title="Rudist">rudist</a> fossils), sandstone and marl in the north and southeast suggests a large sedimentary basin. Limestone, marl and claystone up to 1.5 kilometers thick indicates a major marine transgression in the Aptian, from the north.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19974_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19974-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Cenozoic_(66_million_years_ago-present)"><span id="Cenozoic_.2866_million_years_ago-present.29"></span>Cenozoic (66 million years ago-present)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Cenozoic (66 million years ago-present)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>South of the central Afghan swell, regional folding and faulting took place at the end of the Cretaceous and the beginning of the <a href="/wiki/Cenozoic" title="Cenozoic">Cenozoic</a>, with marine conditions only in the southeast. Around Khost, calcareous sedimentation continued until the <a href="/wiki/Eocene" title="Eocene">Eocene</a>. Beginning with a basal conglomerate, sedimentary rocks from the <a href="/wiki/Paleocene" title="Paleocene">Paleocene</a> through the <a href="/wiki/Oligocene" title="Oligocene">Oligocene</a> coarsen upwards in the southeast and between Khost and Sarobi. <a href="/wiki/Nummulites" class="mw-redirect" title="Nummulites">Nummulitic</a> limestone and volcanic rocks intercalate with these sedimentary rocks around the edge of the basin. Paleocene and Eocene marl up to 300 meters thick interbeds with limestone and gypsum, unconformably overlying Cretaceous limestone in the north. These units are overlain by Eocene and Oligocene sequence 500 meters thick with tuff and lava intercalation. </p><p>Tectonic activity began uplifting new mountains in the <a href="/wiki/Neogene" title="Neogene">Neogene</a>, bringing folding and driving erosion into intermontane basins as well as rift valleys and plains. Reddish conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, marl and claystone with small amount of <a href="/wiki/Travertine" title="Travertine">travertine</a>, gypsum and limestone from this age are dated to the <a href="/wiki/Miocene" title="Miocene">Miocene</a> and <a href="/wiki/Pliocene" title="Pliocene">Pliocene</a>. Similar sequences are found north of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya Depression holds up to 10 kilometers of material from the period. Clastic sedimentation continued into the last 2.6 million years of the <a href="/wiki/Quaternary" title="Quaternary">Quaternary</a>. Early Pleistocene and Neogene sedimentations were often covered over coarse gravels with an angular unconformity as a result of intensive uplift in the middle Pleistocene. Glacial moraines are found above 3000 meters in the Hindu Kush and some north facing mountain slopes above 5000 meters still have glaciers.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19974–5_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19974–5-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Natural_resource_geology">Natural resource geology</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Natural resource geology"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg/220px-Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="189" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg/330px-Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg/440px-Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1958" data-file-height="1679" /></a><figcaption>Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan</figcaption></figure> <p>Before the Soviet invasion in 1979, mining in Afghanistan was limited to <a href="/wiki/Lapis_lazuli" title="Lapis lazuli">lapis lazuli</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rock_salt" class="mw-redirect" title="Rock salt">rock salt</a>, natural gas and coal. Jurassic and Cretaceous limestones and sandstones in the north near Shibarghan contain extensive oil and natural gas—the Cretaceous gas is more than 95 percent <a href="/wiki/Methane" title="Methane">methane</a>. The northern Jurassic basin has 20 known coal deposits, previously mined at about 140,000 tons a year, with total reserves of around 500 million tons. The Hajigak Pass holds 110 million tons of high-grade iron ore, with a concentration of 63 percent in <a href="/wiki/Hematite" title="Hematite">hematite</a> and <a href="/wiki/Magnetite" title="Magnetite">magnetite</a>. The Kabul <a href="/wiki/Ophiolite" title="Ophiolite">ophiolite</a> in the Logar Valley holds a high-grade <a href="/wiki/Chromite" title="Chromite">chromite</a> deposit. Sulfur is known near Balkh, <a href="/wiki/Talc" title="Talc">talc</a> near Jalalabad, <a href="/wiki/Beryl" title="Beryl">beryl</a> in Nuristan and <a href="/wiki/Fluorite" title="Fluorite">fluorite</a> to the north of Kandahar, together with Cretaceous rock salt near Taluqan.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19976_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19976-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/45px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/59px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Wikimedia Commons has media related to <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Geology_of_Afghanistan" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Geology of Afghanistan">Geology of Afghanistan</a></span>.</div></div> </div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFMooresFairbridge1997" class="citation book cs1">Moores, E.M.; Fairbridge, Rhodes W. (1997). <i>Encyclopedia of European & Asian Regional Geology</i>. Springer. pp. 3–6.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Encyclopedia+of+European+%26+Asian+Regional+Geology&rft.pages=3-6&rft.pub=Springer&rft.date=1997&rft.aulast=Moores&rft.aufirst=E.M.&rft.au=Fairbridge%2C+Rhodes+W.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+Afghanistan" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19973-4-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19973-4_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFMooresFairbridge1997">Moores & Fairbridge 1997</a>, p. 3-4.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19974-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19974_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFMooresFairbridge1997">Moores & Fairbridge 1997</a>, p. 4.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19974–5-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19974–5_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFMooresFairbridge1997">Moores & Fairbridge 1997</a>, pp. 4–5.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19976-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMooresFairbridge19976_5-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFMooresFairbridge1997">Moores & Fairbridge 1997</a>, p. 6.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Geology_of_Asia" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Asia_topic" title="Template:Asia topic"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Asia_topic" title="Template talk:Asia topic"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Asia_topic" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Asia topic"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Geology_of_Asia" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Asia" class="mw-redirect" title="Geology of Asia">Geology of Asia </a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states" title="List of sovereign states">Sovereign states</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Afghanistan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Armenia" title="Geology of Armenia">Armenia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Azerbaijan" title="Geology of Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Bahrain" title="Geology of Bahrain">Bahrain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Bangladesh" title="Geology of Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Bhutan" title="Geology of Bhutan">Bhutan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Brunei" title="Geology of Brunei">Brunei</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Cambodia" title="Geology of Cambodia">Cambodia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_China" title="Geology of China">China</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Cyprus" title="Geology of Cyprus">Cyprus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_East_Timor" title="Geology of East Timor">East Timor (Timor-Leste)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Egypt" title="Geology of Egypt">Egypt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Georgia_(country)" title="Geology of Georgia (country)">Georgia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_India" title="Geology of India">India</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Indonesia" title="Geology of Indonesia">Indonesia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Iran" title="Geology of Iran">Iran</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Iraq" title="Geology of Iraq">Iraq</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Israel" title="Geology of Israel">Israel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Japan" title="Geology of Japan">Japan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Jordan" title="Geology of Jordan">Jordan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Kazakhstan" title="Geology of Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_North_Korea" title="Geology of North Korea">North Korea</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_South_Korea" title="Geology of South Korea">South Korea</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Kuwait" title="Geology of Kuwait">Kuwait</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Kyrgyzstan" title="Geology of Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Laos" title="Geology of Laos">Laos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Lebanon" title="Geology of Lebanon">Lebanon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Malaysia" class="mw-redirect" title="Geology of Malaysia">Malaysia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_the_Maldives" title="Geology of the Maldives">Maldives</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Mongolia" title="Geology of Mongolia">Mongolia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Myanmar" title="Geology of Myanmar">Myanmar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Nepal" title="Geology of Nepal">Nepal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Oman" title="Geology of Oman">Oman</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Pakistan" title="Geology of Pakistan">Pakistan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_the_Philippines" class="mw-redirect" title="Geology of the Philippines">Philippines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Qatar" class="mw-redirect" title="Geology of Qatar">Qatar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Russia" title="Geology of Russia">Russia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Saudi_Arabia" title="Geology of Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Singapore" title="Geology of Singapore">Singapore</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Sri_Lanka" class="mw-redirect" title="Geology of Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Syria" title="Geology of Syria">Syria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Tajikistan" title="Geology of Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Thailand" title="Geology of Thailand">Thailand</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Turkey" title="Geology of Turkey">Turkey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Turkmenistan" title="Geology of Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates" title="Geology of the United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Uzbekistan" title="Geology of Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Vietnam" title="Geology of Vietnam">Vietnam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Yemen" title="Geology of Yemen">Yemen</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_states_with_limited_recognition" title="List of states with limited recognition">States with<br />limited recognition</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Abkhazia" title="Geology of Abkhazia">Abkhazia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Northern_Cyprus" title="Geology of Northern Cyprus">Northern Cyprus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_the_State_of_Palestine" class="mw-redirect" title="Geology of the State of Palestine">Palestine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_South_Ossetia" title="Geology of South Ossetia">South Ossetia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Taiwan" title="Geology of Taiwan">Taiwan</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Dependent_territory" title="Dependent territory">Dependencies</a> and<br />other territories</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_the_British_Indian_Ocean_Territory" title="Geology of the British Indian Ocean Territory">British Indian Ocean Territory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Christmas_Island" title="Geology of Christmas Island">Christmas Island</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_the_Cocos_(Keeling)_Islands" title="Geology of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands">Cocos (Keeling) Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Hong_Kong" title="Geology of Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Macau" title="Geology of Macau">Macau</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow hlist" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/31px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Category:Asia" title="Category:Asia">Category</a></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Symbol_portal_class.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Portal"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/Symbol_portal_class.svg/16px-Symbol_portal_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/Symbol_portal_class.svg/23px-Symbol_portal_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/Symbol_portal_class.svg/31px-Symbol_portal_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></a></span> <a href="/wiki/Portal:Asia" title="Portal:Asia">Asia portal</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&oldid=1245226562">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&oldid=1245226562</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Category</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Geology_of_Afghanistan" title="Category:Geology of Afghanistan">Geology of Afghanistan</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_with_empty_Wikidata_description" title="Category:Short description with empty Wikidata description">Short description with empty Wikidata description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Commons_category_link_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Commons category link from Wikidata">Commons category link from Wikidata</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 11 September 2024, at 19:22<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Afghanistan&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-c2jr9","wgBackendResponseTime":136,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.469","walltime":"0.667","ppvisitednodes":{"value":13937,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":35946,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":7217,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":14,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":2,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":16115,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":1,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 605.363 1 -total"," 39.74% 240.572 1 Template:Asia_topic"," 38.94% 235.720 1 Template:Navbox"," 21.44% 129.805 1 Template:Short_description"," 21.36% 129.330 56 Template:Iso2country"," 18.00% 108.951 1 Template:Reflist"," 15.29% 92.559 1 Template:Cite_book"," 13.92% 84.280 1 Template:Commonscat"," 12.10% 73.219 1 Template:Sister_project"," 11.89% 71.968 63 Template:Main_other"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.252","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":6122025,"limit":52428800},"limitreport-logs":"anchor_id_list = table#1 {\n [\"CITEREFMooresFairbridge1997\"] = 1,\n}\ntemplate_list = table#1 {\n [\"Asia topic\"] = 1,\n [\"Cite book\"] = 1,\n [\"Commonscat\"] = 1,\n [\"Reflist\"] = 1,\n [\"Sfn\"] = 4,\n [\"Short description\"] = 1,\n}\narticle_whitelist = table#1 {\n}\n"},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.eqiad.main-5dc468848-w92j9","timestamp":"20241122173048","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Geology of Afghanistan","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Geology_of_Afghanistan","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q12094829","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q12094829","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2018-10-29T15:24:40Z","dateModified":"2024-09-11T19:22:41Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/c\/cc\/Fran%C3%A7oise_Foliot_-_Afghanistan_-_014.jpg"}</script> </body> </html>