A.R. Chaudhri^1*, Rajesh Ranga¹, Mahavir Singh², Vikram Sharma¹ and Sarita Mann¹

¹Department of Geology, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra -136119, India

2Groundwater Cell, Department of Agriculture, Karnal -132001, India

*E-mail: archaudhri@gmail.com; rajeshranga333@gmail.com

Abstract

The Siwalik sediments extend from Jammu and Kashmir to Assam for > 2300 km. The heavy mineral assemblages of the Lower Siwalik Nahan Formation in the type area Nahan has been analysed to decipher the provenance of these sediments. The non-opaque heavy mineral assemblage identified in the purple and grayish-purple to grey coloured sandstones comprising the Lower Siwalik, Nahan Formation and adjoining region in the northwestern Himalaya include zircon, tourmaline, rutile, garnet, epidote, chlorite/chloritoid, biotite and staurolite. Garnet is the most abundant heavy mineral. The opaque minerals form a greater proportion of the mineral assemblage and are represented by ilmenite, magnetite, hematite and limonite. The heavy mineral assemblage is suggestive of the derivation of a major part of the detritus from the crystalline, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks exposed in the North of the Siwalik foredeep basin.

Keywords: Nahan Formation, Lower Siwalik, Sedimentology, Heavy minerals.