U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Pamphlet to accompany

Scientific Investigations Map 3120

U.S. Geological Survey Afghanistan Project Product no. 188

Prepared in cooperation with the Afghanistan Geological Survey and the

Afghan Geodesy and Cartography Head Office under the auspices of the

U.S. Agency for International Development

Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul 

North 30'× 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan
Cover photograph: Steeply folded Khengil series overlying Sherdarwaza series gneiss and migmatite. Photograph taken from the Jalalabad Highway by an unnamed 

dam about 30 km east of downtown Kabul, along the Kabul River. Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul

North 30'× 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

By Robert G. Bohannon

Prepared in cooperation with the Afghanistan Geological Survey and the

Afghan Geodesy and Cartography Head Office under the auspices of the

U.S. Agency for International Development

Scientific Investigations Map 3120

U.S. Geological Survey Afghanistan Project Product no. 188

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

KEN SALAZAR, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Marcia K. McNutt, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2010

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reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report.

Suggested citation:

Bohannon, R.G., 2010, Geologic and topographic maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' quadrangle, Afghanistan: U.S. 

Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3120, 34 p. pamphlet, 2 map sheets, scale 1:100,000. [Available at 

URL http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3120]
iii

Contents

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1

Mapping Methodology..................................................................................................................................1

Geologic Setting.............................................................................................................................................3

Synopsis of Mapped Units............................................................................................................................6

Precambrian Rocks ..............................................................................................................................7

Sherdarwaza Series....................................................................................................................7

Paghman Series...........................................................................................................................7

Nuristan Series...........................................................................................................................10

Intrusive Rocks of Mesoproterozoic(?) Age...................................................................................10

Walayati Series ..........................................................................................................................10

Phanerozoic Rocks.............................................................................................................................13

Undifferentiated Paleozoic Rocks...........................................................................................13

Carboniferous and Permian Sedimentary Rocks .................................................................13

Ultramafic Rocks........................................................................................................................13

Khengil Series.............................................................................................................................13

Triassic Rocks of Nuristan and Paghman Terranes.............................................................16

Cretaceous Igneous Rocks ......................................................................................................16

Kotagai Melange........................................................................................................................19

Paleogene(?) Conglomerate ....................................................................................................19

Lataband Series .........................................................................................................................19

Surficial Deposits................................................................................................................................23

Structure and Tectonics .............................................................................................................................23

Nuristan Terrane ................................................................................................................................23

Paghman Terrane ...............................................................................................................................27

Kabul Massif........................................................................................................................................27

Terrane-Boundary Faults...................................................................................................................32

The Kabul North Landscape ......................................................................................................................32

Outstanding Issues......................................................................................................................................32

Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................................33

References Cited..........................................................................................................................................33
iv

Figures

 1–2. Maps showing................................................................................................................................

 1. Afghanistan subdivided into tectonic provinces or areas ...........................................4

 2. Location of Kabul North quadrangle relative to the Paghman terrane, 

 Nuristan terrane, Kabul massif, and some of the larger fault zones ..........................5

3–16. Photographs showing ....................................................................................................................

3. Sherdarwaza gneiss and migmatite in the Kabul River gorge east of Kabul

urban area, and Sherdarwaza schist in the canyon of the Kabul River.....................8

4. One of the thicker light-colored, plagioclase- and garnet-rich bands in the

anorthositic gneiss body north of the Kabul airport ......................................................9

5. Biotite gneiss in the southern part of the Nuristan terrane .......................................11

6. Layered gneiss unit in the western part of Nuristan terrane.....................................12

7. Two exposures of mafic and ultramafic rocks in the northern part of 

the Koh-i-Sofe ....................................................................................................................14

8. Khengil series limestones, high on ridge top above the Kabul River gorge ............15

9. View to the east of quarries in the limestone and tuff unit of the Khengil series

in the north-central part of the quadrangle...................................................................17

10. View to the west-southwest of a large granodiorite pluton in the southern

part of the Paghman terrane............................................................................................18

11. View to the north from the Kabul River of an olistostrome of Ali-Pai-Bel 

Limestone tectonically emplaced within L–731-dark-blue Kotagai melange..........20

12. View to southeast of L–731-red schist unit within the Kotagai melange .................21

13. Oblique aerial view to the southeast in the northern Koh-i-Sofe region .................22

14. View to north across the Panjshir River in northern part of quadrangle. ................24

15. Thick section of fine-grained, white-colored Lataband series in slopes beneath

the walls of Kabul’s historic Bela Hissur fortress ........................................................25

16. View of rounded-clast conglomerate in Lataband series within Kabul city limits .26

17. Map showing relation of the Kabul North quadrangle to some of the larger tectonic 

features of Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan............................................................28

18. Photograph showing oblique-aerial view to the southwest across the northern 

Paghman Range front ................................................................................................................29

19. Photograph shwoing view to the west-northwest across the Kabul River gorge 

showing relationship between the Kotagai melange and the Sherdarwaza gneiss ......31

Sheets

 1. Geologic map of the Kabul North 30’ x 60’ quadrangle, Afghanistan

 2. Topographic map of the Kabul North 30’ x 60’ quadrangle, Afghanistan
v

Conversion Factors

Multiply By To obtain

Length

centimeter (cm) 0.3937 inch (in)

millimeter (mm) 0.03937 inch (in)

meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) 

kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi)

Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows:

°F=(1.8×°C)+32

Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) may be converted to degrees Celsius (°C) as follows:

°C=(°F-32)/1.8

Altitude, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum.

It should be noted that there are many variant spellings and pronunciations of features and 

geologic terms in this region. Spellings and terms have been chosen for consistency only.

Introduction

This report has been funded by the United States Agency 

for International Development (USAID) as a part of several 

broader programs that USAID designed to stimulate growth 

in the energy and mineral sectors of the Afghan economy. 

The maps that are included in this report represent works-inprogress in that they are simply intended to be the best possible 

product for the time available and conditions that exist during 

the early phases of reconstruction in Afghanistan. Most of the 

geologic interpretations and all of the topographic data were 

derived exclusively from images. A limited amount of fieldwork, in the spring of 2004 and the fall of 2006, was carried 

out within the quadrangle, but all the war-related dangers present in Afghanistan restricted its scope, duration, and utility. 

The main objective is to provide maps that will be used 

by scientists of the Afghan Ministry of Mines, the Afghanistan 

Geological Survey, and the Afghan Geodesy and Cartography 

Head Office in their efforts to rebuild the energy and mineral 

sectors of their economy. At the same time, the maps provide a 

jumpstart for the fledgling internal mapping programs of those 

agencies. It is hoped that this set of maps will emerge eventually in new and improved versions as Afghan earth scientists 

modify them in response to knowledge gained from more 

detailed field-oriented studies. 

The U.S. Geological Survey has produced a variety of 

geologic, topographic, Landsat natural-color, and Landsat 

false-color maps covering Afghanistan at the 1:250,000 scale. 

These maps may be used to complement the information 

presented here.

Mapping Methodology

Basemap topography and culture were derived from 

multiple sources. Shuttle Radar 90-meter digital topography (SRTM 90 m, http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org/selection/

inputcoord.asp) provided the basic elevation data. Cultural 

features and hydrography were digitized from DigitalGlobe 

Images (http://www.digitalglobe.com/) pan-sharpened to better 

than 1-m resolution, and from 1-m natural-color orthorectified 

aerial photography. The imagery was taken in summer and fall 

of 2006 in a cooperative effort by the U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS) and U.S. Naval Research Laboratory that was funded 

by the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines as part of a broader 

geophysical survey of the country. The base-map projection is 

Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM, zone 42N) in the World 

Geodetic System (WGS 84) coordinate system. 

The geology was derived and differentiated from several different image sources, including Landsat in false-color 

(National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 

http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/), DigitalGlobe in ‘natural color’, color air photography, AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer) data in ‘natural color’ 

(European Space Agency, http://earth.esa.int/) ASTERmultispectral data (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission 

and Reflection Radiometer, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), 

http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/index.asp) primarily using thermal bands, and HyMap hyper-spectral imagery (Cocks and 

others, 1998). DigitalGlobe data are provided by the QuickBird satellite, and IKONOS images are provided by Satellite 

Imaging Corp (available at http://www.satimagingcorp.com/

satellite-sensors/ikonos.html). AVNIR data are one of the 

products of the Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS). 

An airborne survey was conducted over the entire quadrangle 

using a HyMap hyperspectral optical sensor system (for 

example, Cocks and others, 1998) to gain additional mineralogical data. Afghanistan is an ideal place for image-based 

geologic interpretation because most areas lack vegetation and 

soil. Rocks are laid bare to the sky, but the high relief does 

create issues. Most images, particularly the high-resolution 

images, were geo-registered to the UTM map projection and 

ortho-rectified to the topography. 

Each image type corresponds to a unique view of the 

geology. The geologic interpretations presented here are 

the result of comparing and contrasting between the various images and making the best uses of the strengths of each 

image type. For example, the high-resolution photographs, 

DigitalGlobe, and AVNIR scenes provide the most accurate locations and views of features such as contacts, faults, 

internal layering, and points, but they do not yield much 

information regarding rock composition. False-color Landsat images are excellent for differentiating rock bodies, 

but their low resolution obscures any detailed information 

concerning contacts or internal structure. The multispectral 

Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul

North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

By Robert G. Bohannon
2 Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

and hyper-spectral data types provide a limited range of 

actual compositional information. Thermal-band ASTER is 

particularly good at identifying and discriminating between 

silica, carbonate, and mafic components, while hyper-spectral 

HyMap data can be used to differentiate types of carbonate 

minerals, serpentine, epidote, iron, micas, and clays. 

The Landsat imagery was pan-sharpened to 14.28-m 

resolution, and displayed using two combinations of falsecolor using bands 7, 3, and 1 (red, green, blue), or bands 

7, 4, and 1 (red, green, blue). Chromatic variations between 

the two band groups are only slight where rocks are exposed, 

but are significant for vegetation, which appears green in one 

(7, 4, and 1) and black in the other (7, 3, and 1). Landsat data 

covers the entire quadrangle in cloud- and snow-free scenes 

that were combined in a mosaic after removal of atmospheric 

affects and following color correction. The false-color images 

provide good chromatic contrast between adjacent rock bodies, although the colors produced are not necessarily calibrated 

to any established lithologic or mineralogic standards. The 

Landsat image (7, 3, and 1 version) is included as a layer in 

the geologic map file so mapped units can be compared to 

their image counterparts. Minor differences in the spatial location of some contacts might be apparent, because most were 

located using the higher-resolution files. The slight inaccuracy 

of the Landsat is probably a function of its lower resolution, 

and the lower resolution of the digital elevation model to 

which it was orthorectified. 

High-resolution images provided the control for all of the 

linework and point data shown on the geologic map (sheet 1). 

DigitalGlobe visible-and-infrared-spectrum images cover 

most of the quadrangle; most of the western half is covered 

by the overlapping scenes of color air photography, and one 

AVNIR visible-and-infrared-spectrum scene covers the entire 

eastern half (sheet 2). The DigitalGlobe images are available 

in 4-band color at resolutions of either 4 m (IKONOS) or 

2.4 m (QuickBird) and panchromatically at resolutions of 1 m 

(IKONOS) or 0.61 m (QuickBird). Both IKONOS and QuickBird data were used, depending on availability, and in both 

cases bands 3–2–1 (RGB) were pan-sharpened to approximate 

natural color at the highest possible resolution. The color air 

photography is available as digital RGB files at 1-m resolution. AVNIR data comes in 4-band color at a spatial resolution 

of 10 m. AVNIR data can be pan-sharpened with another of 

the ALOS products, PRISM data with a 2.5-m resolution, but 

this was not done for this study.

The high-resolution coverage is nearly complete over the 

surface area of the quadrangle, but no single dataset, except 

Landsat, provides complete coverage. The high-resolution 

images provide the best horizontal control for the edges of 

rock bodies identified using Landsat and many additional 

geologic features that were not resolved by Landsat could 

also be identified and located. Horizontal falls well within the 

50-m U.S. Government standard for 1:100,000-scale maps 

and mapped features were found to correspond reliably with 

Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of the feature 

where ground-checked. 

ASTER and HyMap datasets facilitate lithologic identification primarily because they provide many more bands 

of restricted width over a greater total bandwidth than any 

of the other image types. Spectral libraries are available 

that can be used to relate high reflectance within the bands 

to real-earth features, such as specific mineral abundances. 

ASTER data have proven useful because thermal emission 

bands are included that provide useful data on surface abundance of certain rock-forming minerals. The combination of 

thermal bands 3–2–1 (RGB) yields a distinct color pattern in 

which quartz (red), calcite or dolomite (green), and various 

mafic minerals (blue) can be easily distinguished. At the time 

of writing, the HyMap data have proven particularly useful 

in differentiating various carbonate minerals and serpentinite. Care must be taken using these techniques for bedrock 

identification. Ground penetration at available energies and 

wavelengths is minimal such that even thick dust deposits, 

which are common in Afghanistan, can lead to spurious identifications. Using these images in conjunction with the various 

high-resolution images helps to ameliorate this problem. 

Chromatic variations that appear on the images are used 

as a descriptive characteristic of different rock bodies throughout this report, especially in the absence of real lithologic 

information. However, the chromatic range differs between the 

different image types and within each type it depends strongly 

on the bands used and the order in which they are stacked. 

Fortunately there is good chromatic consistency across the 

entire Landsat dataset as it is processed. Landsat provides 

one of the better correlation controls available even if one is 

forced to guess a bit as to what type of lithology each color 

corresponds to. The color-and-contrast problem is pronounced 

in the high-resolution image types. Nonetheless, the apparent 

colors proved to be very useful in defining rock bodies, so they 

are retained as a descriptive element. Described chromatic 

variations are coded to the image source. Landsat colors are 

coded with an ‘L’ and include a numeric designation such as 

731 that represents the RGB-band-order. The L–731 designation is followed by the apparent color (for example, L–731-

blue-green). The ‘natural colors’ derived from high-resolution 

images are identified by ‘NC’ (natural color), followed by the 

apparent color. ASTER colors are designated A–321 followed 

by the color. HyMap data are commonly color coded, but colors are arbitrarily assigned, so identifications based on HyMap 

are simply stated as such. 

Even with the highest quality images, lithologic identifications can be dubious. Published geologic studies of the 

map area, although rare, are available and they helped guide 

the mapping. The countrywide geologic map of Afghanistan 

(Abdullah and Chmyriov, 1977) gives a rough outline of the 

geologic units present in each area. That map, which is currently not widely available, was re-released by Doebrich and 

Wahl (2006) at 1:850,000-scale. Bohannon and Turner (2007) 

compiled the Kabul-Chak-e-Wardak 1:250,000-scale map also 

based on Abdullah and Chmyriov’s (1977) version. No attempt 

was made on either of the latter maps to modify or reinterpret 

the original geology, so lithologic and geologic descriptions 
Geologic Setting 3

based on pre-existing maps are attributed to Abdullah and 

Chmyriov (1977), although the newer maps are more easily 

obtained and show the same thing. Because Abdullah and 

Chmyriov’s map was intended for 1:500,000-scale, it was too 

general to use as anything but a rough guide. Fisher (1971) 

conducted detailed stratigraphic study of the southern part of 

the Koh-i-Sofe and that work included a map. His work on the 

Khengil series proved invaluable. Mennessier mapped an area 

in the southeast part of the quadrangle, and he wrote about the 

age and regional relations in some of the melange and ultramafic units there and to the south (Mennessier, 1973, 1976).

This report consists of two map sheets, this pamphlet, 

and a collection of database files. Sheet 1 is the geologic 

map with two highly speculative cross sections, and sheet 2 

is a topographic map that comprises all the support data for 

the geologic map. Both maps (sheets 1 and 2) are produced 

at 1:100,000-scale and are provided in GeoPDF format that 

preserves the georegistration and original layering. The 

GeoPDF files can be viewed in Adobe Acrobat 9 or Acrobat Pro (free reader available at http://www.adobe.com), 

and a GeoPDF plug-in that also works with Adobe Acrobat Reader is available at no charge from TerraGo at 

http://www.terragotech.com/solutions/geopdftoolbar.php. 

The database files include images of the topographic hillshade (shaded relief) and color-topography files used to 

create the topographic maps, a copy of the Landsat image, 

and a gray-scale basemap. The image data are saved as 

georegistered TIF-image files. Vector data from each of the 

layers that comprise both maps are provided in the form of 

Arc/INFO shapefiles. 

Structural attitudes are shown on the map where they 

could be estimated from the imagery and topography. These 

include strikes and dips of bedding, metamorphic layering, and 

igneous layering. In rare cases these measurements are based 

on direct field observations, but more commonly they are 

derived from image analysis. Strike direction can be measured 

directly on the image in most cases. Dip value was determined 

from a three-dimensional drape of a high-resolution image 

over the best-available digital elevation model (DEM). Results 

are dependent on the vertical exaggeration chosen, so the optimal value of computer-generated exaggeration was determined 

by comparing derived results with known field values in the 

few places where accurate data exist. 

Geologic Setting

Afghanistan, from a geologic perspective, is a complex 

amalgamation of small tectono-stratigraphic terranes, each 

with its own unique geologic history. None of these terranes, 

save maybe the northwestern one, can be said to presently be 

in the place that it originated. Instead, most of Afghanistan 

was assembled bit-by-bit out of pieces that came from someplace else. Deciphering what constitutes a contiguous terrane 

or how many there actually are has proven difficult and no 

consistent pattern has emerged. Leven (1997) presented the 

most thorough picture to date and his conclusions are summarized on figure 1. In his view, the only stable terrane in 

Afghanistan is the one called the Turan plate (fig. 1, no. 1), 

which was always part of the Asian continental landmass. All 

the other terranes on figure 1 have been somehow thrust onto, 

slid by, or collided with the southern margin of Asia during 

a complex series of events that took place since the middle 

Mesozoic as the Paleo-Tethyan and Tethyan oceans slowly 

closed up, culminating in the collision of India and Asia. 

The timing of these events as well as the points of origin and 

travel-path histories of the various Afghan terranes is all very 

poorly understood. Papers by Tapponnier and others (1981), 

Sengor (1988), and Treloar and Izzatt (1993) represent viable 

attempts to reconstruct the Afghan terranes in a sensible manner, but all suffer from a general lack of knowledge regarding 

the detailed internal character and the boundary conditions 

between them. 

Numerous small terranes form an east-northeast grouping that bisects central Afghanistan between the northeast 

corner of the country and the western border with Iran (fig. 1, 

nos. 2, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27). This 

grouping is distributed along a large system of faults that can 

collectively be referred to as the Har-i-Rud/Panjshir/Wakhan 

(HPW) fault system. Leven (1997) pointed out that the Permian fusilinid assemblages that he studied define separate subbasins that have been fragmented along the HPW fault system 

in a way that suggests there might be hundreds of kilometers 

of displacement, probably right lateral, on the system between 

China and Iran (note particularly, tectonic area 13 on fig. 1). 

However, no detailed slip history has been resolved. Leven 

(1997) also observed that the Permian carbonate facies and 

fusulinid assemblages of the HPW group and those to the 

north are characteristic of tropical shelves. This contrasts with 

temporally equivalent facies in southern Afghanistan that are 

siliciclastic, lack fusulinids, and contain other fossils typical of low-latitude (cool-to-cold water) Perigondwanan seas 

(Leven, 1997). 

The terranes south of the HPW fault zone such as the 

Farah (fig. 1, no. 16), the Helmand-Argandab (fig. 1, no. 17), 

the Kabul (fig. 1, no. 19), and the Nuristan (fig. 1, no. 22), are 

thought to have converged on southern Asia from the south 

as the Paleo-Tethyan sea closed up during the Cretaceous 

(Sengor, 1988; Treloar and Izzatt, 1993). Ultramafic rocks in 

tectonic slices along the HPW fault zone and between some 

of the terranes is cited as evidence for suturing of these blocks 

to southern Asia, as well as to each other (Tapponnier and 

others, 1981). Other terranes such as the Suleiman-Kirthar 

area (fig. 1, no. 21) and the Kunar zone (fig. 1, no. 22) probably became part of Afghanistan during the collision of India 

with Asia between 42 Ma and the present. 

The Kabul North quadrangle is in east-central Afghanistan, mostly within the tectono-stratigraphic terrane that has 

been called the Kabul massif (fig. 1, no. 19). The land surface 

is high, much of it above 2,000 m, but widespread plains, 

such as the Shomali plain and Kabul basin (fig. 2) are present 
Faults

0

0

Scale 1:2,000,000

150 KILOMETERS

75 MILES

1

2

25

26

12 13

27

16

28

17

18

18

20

19

24

6

10

3

3

4

7

22

14

21

13

9

5

13

11

8

23

30°

72° 70°

68° 66°

64°

62°

1 Turan plate (stable Asia)2 Turkmenian-Khorasanian folded area3 Rudi Tchal structural-facies area4 Sourkhob structural-facies area5 Darvaz-Transalay structural-facies area6 West Hindu Kush structural-facies area7 Faizabad-Khazret Sultan structural-facies 

area

8 Kalaikhumb-Sauksai structural-facies area9 Jaway-Kurgovad structural-facies area10 Bamian structural-facies area11 Ak Jilga structural-facies area12 Darvaz-sarykol 13 Afghan-south Pamirian folded area14 South Badakhshanian-south Pamirian 

massif

15 Tash Kupruk zone16 Farahrud trough17 Hilmand-Argandab uplift18 Tarnak zone19 Kabul massif20 Suleiman-Kirthar area21 Kunar zone22 Nuristan massif23 Hagikak/Kohi Baba24 Harrirud central25 Herat zone26 Alijan Block27 Kohi Gardana28 Helmund Basin

Tectonic Provinces or Areas

AFGHANISTAN

Kabul

Jalalabad

PAKISTAN

INDIA

TURKMENISTAN

UZBEKISTAN

TAJIKISTAN

CHINA

IRAN

IRAN

0

0

200 KILOMETERS

100 MILES

Figure 1. Afghanistan subdivided into tectonic provinces or areas according to Leven (1977). This is only one of the ways that Afghanistan has been list of tectonic provinces or areas corresponds to the numbered areas on the figure. Faults are from Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977).
Geologic Setting 5

Koh-i-Sofe

Koh-i-Paghman

69° 70°

 34°

 35°

CHAMAN FAULT

Spin

Gar

PANJSHIR

FAULT

GOWERBAND

GHAZNI

TAGAB

FAULT

FAULT

PAGHMAN FAULT

KABUL Shomali plain

NURISTAN

PAGHMAN

KATAWAZ

TERRANE

TERRANE MASSIF

PAKISTAN

Kabul North

Quadrangle

AFGHANISTAN

KABUL

SORUBI

FAULT

Kabul

basin

50

30

100 KILOMETERS

60 MILES

0

0

HERAT

in its western half at altitudes of 1,500–1,800 m (fig. 2). A 

high and deeply dissected mountain belt known as Koh-iSofe makes up the central part of the quadrangle (fig. 2). 

The west edge of the quadrangle includes a small part of the 

mountainous Paghman terrane (fig. 1, part of 23, Hagikak/

Kohi Baba) and the eastern third of the quadrangle is within 

the equally high and rugged Nuristan terrane (fig. 1, no. 22). 

Two large rivers, the Kabul River (Kabul Rud), and the 

Panjshir River (Panjshir Rud), flow through the quadrangle 

and several smaller rivers drain the high country on either 

side of it. The Kabul River (Kabul Rud, sheet 2) follows a 

meandering path, flowing east down a gentle grade, across the 

Kabul basin where it has mildly dissected the soft Neogene 

and Quaternary sediments. Still meandering, it cuts a deep 

gorge (Kabul River gorge) and drops significantly through the 

bedrock of the southern part of the Koh-i-Sofe. The KabulPanjshir confluence occurs at Band-i-Naghlu, one of the larger 

reservoirs in Afghanistan. Below the reservoir, the Kabul 

River continues east and southeast through rocky, mountainous country to the alluvial plains around Jalalabad, to the east 

of the quadrangle. The Panjshir River (Panjshir Rud, sheet 2) 

flows southeast, across the east edge of the Shomali plain at 

a gentle gradient. At the north end of the Koh-i-Sofe the Panjshir River turns south, following a meandering path through 

a deep, precipitous gorge cut into bedrock with a significant 

drop to Band-i-Naghlu. 

Figure 2. Location of Kabul North quadrangle relative to the Paghman terrane, Nuristan terrane, Kabul massif, and some of the larger 

fault zones. Faults from Ruleman and others (2007), except those in red that are from Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977).
6 Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

The Kabul massif is not a single block, but is highly 

deformed and consists of at least two distinctly different 

ancient geologic environments. Nonetheless, the term ‘Kabul 

massif’ is a convenient one to designate the area between the 

Paghman and Tagab fault zones (fig. 2). The two contrasting environments of the Kabul massif make it different from 

any of the other tectono-stratigraphic terranes delineated 

by Leven (1997). One environment consists of a Permian 

to Jurassic marine platform-carbonate section that overlies 

crystalline continental basement (Fisher, 1971). The other is 

a widespread belt of schistose melange that is tectonically 

overlain by peridotite nappes (Mennessier, 1976; Tapponnier 

and others, 1981). The tectonic juxtaposition of mostly-stable 

continent and accretionary prism is localized along a welldefined system of faults that extends north-to-south through 

the Koh-i-Sofe. The two diverse environments of the Kabul 

massif record a unique long-term geologic history that contrasts sharply with that recorded in the adjacent Paghman and 

Nuristan areas (sheet 1). 

The Kabul massif is completely fault-bounded. Its west 

edge is at the Chaman-Paghman fault system (for example, 

Tapponnier and others, 1981; Treloar and Izzatt, 1993), a 

prominent linear structure that is aligned north-northeast. 

The Chaman fault, locally called the Paghman fault, extends 

from at least the southern Afghanistan border with Pakistan 

to the Koh-i-Paghman range front west and northwest of 

the Kabul urban area (fig. 2). Along its east edge the Kabul 

massif is juxtaposed with the Nuristan terrane at a large 

north-aligned structure called the Tagab fault (fig. 2; sheet 1). 

The Ghazni fault, a steep structure, with a northeast alignment, connects the southern extent of the Tagab fault with 

the Chaman (Treloar and Izzatt, 1993; see fig. 2). The Ghazni 

fault separates the southeast edge of the Kabul massif from 

the Katawaz area (fig. 1, no. 21 Suleiman-Kirthar). The 

Gowerband-Panjshir fault system, which is part of the HeratGowerband-Panjshir (HPW suture) zone (fig. 2), defines the 

northern tip of the Kabul massif. All these faults, save parts of 

the Ghazni, show evidence of Quaternary activity (Ruleman 

and others, 2007). 

According to Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977) the 

Nuristan terrane, to the east of the Kabul massif, is characterized by widespread Mesoproterozoic gneisses of various types, 

a thick and mostly clastic section of Carboniferous to Triassic 

sedimentary rocks, and numerous granitoid intrusions of Cretaceous and Oligocene age. Just across the border in northwest 

Pakistan, the adjacent rocks are mapped as metasedimentary 

rocks of Jurassic to Devonian age or Cretaceous greenstone 

and slate, both of which are intruded by Cretaceous granitoid 

rocks (Calkins and others, 1981). No Proterozoic gneiss was 

mapped in northwest Pakistan. The incompatibility of the two 

maps casts doubt as to the amount of Proterozoic basement 

actually present in Nuristan. Both maps depict a strong northeast fabric caused by numerous continuous faults and intrusive contacts. On the map of Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977) 

the Triassic clastic rocks are interwoven with the gneiss and 

granitoid rocks in narrow fault-bounded slivers.

The part of the Nuristan terrane within the Kabul North 

quadrangle remains largely unstudied. In this report, large 

areas of gneiss are mapped as Mesoproterozoic following 

Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977), but it must be noted that the 

age and character of the protolith and the age of metamorphism remain completely unresolved at this time. The intriguing possibility remains that they might actually be part of a 

metamorphosed Paleozoic rock section. Also, the grade of 

metamorphism cannot be reliably determined from the images. 

The clastic rocks mapped as Triassic are similar to those 

described elsewhere by Dronov and others (1982) as a thick 

pelecypod-bearing section of dark shale and sandstone of Late 

Triassic (Rhaetian and Norian) age. All the granitoid rocks are 

mapped as being Cretaceous (none as Oligocene), although 

none of them have been dated in this area. This is because 

K/Ar and Ar/Ar dates from other areas have shown that 

intrusive rocks similarly mapped as Oligocene by Abdullah 

and Chmyriov (1977) have all proven to be Cretaceous 

(Debon and others, 1987; Daniel P. Miggins, USGS, written 

commun., 2007). 

The Paghman terrane, west of the Kabul massif, consists 

of Proterozoic gneiss and granite, Carboniferous to Cisuralian (Early Permian) sandstone and siltstone, Lopingion (Late 

Permian) to Triassic limestone and dolomite, Rhaetian and 

Norian shale and sandstone (possibly like that in Nuristan), and 

Early Cretaceous gabbro and monzonite according to Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977). Their regional map suggests that the 

part of this terrane that falls within the Kabul North quadrangle 

is predominantly Proterozoic gneiss and granite with a small 

exposure of Carboniferous to Cisuralian sandstone and siltstone in the extreme northwest corner. In this report, I indicate 

that the granitic rocks are probably Cretaceous because they 

appear to intrude Paleozoic and Triassic sedimentary or metasedimentary rocks that are more widespread in the northwest 

corner of the map than previously thought. 

Synopsis of Mapped Units

A brief synopsis of the units that appear on the geologic 

map (sheet 1) is presented here. They are described from oldest 

to youngest. Much of what is known about many of the units 

is based more on the character of their optical reflectivity in 

the images rather than on actual lithological or mineralogical investigations. Thus, the descriptions reflect that in many 

cases. Basic lithologies are inferred unless otherwise noted. 

In Afghanistan, there is very little surviving published literature in which the original litho-stratigraphic nomenclature 

was officially defined. Much of the nomenclature that appears 

here comes primarily from word of mouth descriptions by 

Afghan geologists who have retained some of the pre-war 

knowledge regarding these matters. My usage is inferred and 

may not be correct in each case. This is a field of study that 

is in need of future work, primarily by the next generation of 

Afghan scientists. 
Synopsis of Mapped Units 7

Precambrian Rocks

Sherdarwaza Series

The west side of the Kabul massif is underlain by 

gneiss, migmatite, and schist of the Sherdarwaza series. Also 

included are amphibolite, quartzite, and rare marble. Two 

intrusive bodies are included in the Sherdarwaza: an anorthosite and a granodiorite. Saba (2002) described the same rocks 

in terms of two formations, the older Khairkhana and the 

younger Sherdarwaza, although he pointed out that there is 

little or no lithologic difference between them and no radiometric ages exist to substantiate an actual age difference. He 

did not elaborate on the distribution of the different formations, and no obvious differentiation is evident in the images. 

Thus, I opted to use a single name, the Sherdarwaza, for all 

these crystalline rocks. 

Gneiss, migmatite, and schist are all present throughout the Sherdarwaza. Limited field observations indicate 

that gneiss and migmatite (Xsgn) are in greater abundance 

in the eastern and northern parts of the Sherdarwaza and 

schist (Xss) is more common in the ranges around Kabul. In 

essence, there is little difference between the two units except 

for the finer layering and internal structure that is common in 

the latter. Both are biotite- and plagioclase-rich and strongly 

deformed. Figure 3 shows photographs of gneiss and migmatite from the western Kabul River gorge and schist from 

the canyon cut by the Kabul River in the southern part of the 

Kabul urban area. Gneiss, migmatite, and schist are typically 

L–731-pink-red or L–731-orange-red (sheet 1), probably 

owing to extensive desert varnish. 

The lithologic complexity of the Sherdarwaza is apparent on the Landsat image by its mottled appearance. This is 

due to presence of intercalated amphibolite, quartzite, and 

rare carbonate rocks. Some of the larger of these units are 

mapped separately (Xsa, Xsp, and Xsm) on sheet 1. The 

Landsat image also shows a large area of L–731-pale-orangebrown rocks just north of the Kabul River gorge in the Koh-iSofe. Limited field observation and study of the more detailed 

images indicates that this area is a zone of highly weathered 

Sherdarwaza gneiss. A similar-appearing area is present 

south of the gorge and these areas are mapped separately 

as unit Xsgna. This weathering may be the remnant of an 

ancient groundwater table that existed prior to Permian time, 

because it is localized beneath the basal Permian contact. The 

anorthosite (Xsia) body, just north of Kabul airport, appears 

L–731-black-to-dark-gray. It is a strongly foliated and layered 

orthogneiss with garnet anorthosite layers that are commonly 

1 m or more thick (fig. 4). Little is known of the unit mapped 

as granodiorite (Xsgd), except that it looks like gneiss on the 

Landsat image, but has the detailed morphology of a more 

homogeneous intrusive body on the more resolved images.

The Paleoproterozoic age assignment of the Sherdarwaza comes from preliminary U/Pb-zircon age determinations (laser-ablation) derived from two samples of gneiss 

from the western Koh-i-Sofe along the Kabul River at 

latitude 34.48563889°N and longitude 69.21608333°E, and 

one from amphibolite schist a few kilometers south of the 

quadrangle boundary at latitude 34.57027°N and longitude 

69.40623°E (Daniel P. Miggins and Lawrence W. Snee, 

USGS, written commun., 2009). Mafic gneiss from the Kohi-Sofe yielded an age of 2,400 Ma, and leucocratic gneiss has 

two possible ages of 2,200 Ma and 1,800 Ma. The amphibolite schist yielded an age of 2,382.7±17.1 Ma. Further 

analysis of the zircon data from the schist prompted Wayne R. 

Premo (USGS, written commun., 2008) to propose two 

possibilities for this sample: 

1. the protolithic mafic igneous rock was emplaced 

at 2,394±11 Ma and later thermally overprinted at 

1,820± 52Ma, or 

2. this rock was actually a mafic metasediment that was 

metamorphosed at 1,820±52 Ma, but contained a variety 

of inherited zircon components. 

Near-concordant, pseudo-arrays exist at about 1,970, 2,180, 

and 2,345 Ma, but these are dominated by the 2,395-Ma provenance. Andritzky (1971) reported much younger K/Ar ages 

of 928±8 and 938±8 Ma from schist north of Kabul, but these 

most likely reflect cooling ages.

Paghman Series

Gneiss in Koh-i-Paghman, the high rugged mountain 

range west and northwest of Kabul, was lumped with gneiss 

in Kabul basin by Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977), but it 

appears different on the images. The gneiss in the southernmost part of the Koh-i-Paghman has a L–731-pale-purple hue 

and is intensely intruded by younger light-colored dikes that 

are mostly oriented northeast (sheet 1). The intruded gneiss 

has a uniform NC-dark-gray appearance (NC, DigitalGlobe 

natural color), which contrasts with the distinctly mottled 

appearance of the Sherdarwaza gneisses of the Kabul area 

on the same image. The southernmost Paghman gneiss is 

inferred to be an amphibolitic gneiss (Xpagn on sheet 1). It 

probably does not contain the quartzite layers and amphibolite dikes that are known in the Kabul area. Most of the rest 

of the gneiss in the Paghman range is assigned to a generic 

biotite-gneiss unit (Xpgn) that lacks the light-colored dikes 

and is NC-light-gray. Some areas in the Paghman gneiss 

are very light in color on the Landsat image. These are near 

L–731-yellow zones that appear to be younger intrusive 

masses on the high-resolution images. The light-colored 

gneiss is mapped as altered and intruded granitic gneiss 

(Xpgga on sheet 1). 

No age data are available for the Paghman gneisses. 

They are assigned a Paleoproterozoic age in this report 

along with the Nuristan rocks, but both designations are 

admittedly arbitrary. 
8 Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

Figure 3. A, Sherdarwaza gneiss and migmatite (Xsgn) in the Kabul River gorge east of Kabul urban area, and B, Sherdarwaza schist 

(Xss) in the canyon of the Kabul River, within the southern part of urban area, near Kabul Zoo. Locations of photographs are shown on 

accompanying index map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road network shown in red. Photographs by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.

B

Locations of photographs

A

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Synopsis of Mapped Units 9

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Figure 4. One of the thicker light-colored, plagioclase- and garnet-rich bands in the anorthositic gneiss (Xsia) body north of the Kabul 

airport. Location of photograph is shown on accompanying index map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road network shown in red. 

Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
10 Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

Nuristan Series

The metamorphic rock units that are differentiated in 

the Nuristan terrane consist of banded biotite gneiss (Xngn), 

leucocratic granitic gneiss (Xnlgn), layered gneiss (Xngl), 

schist (Xns), marble (Xnm), a gneiss that has a distinct 

L–731-orange hue (Xngo), and small bodies of L–731-olive 

drab gneiss (Xngg). Published information regarding these 

rocks is scant. The banded biotite-gneiss is the most widespread on sheet 1, but that reflects little more than the fact that 

it is a somewhat generic unit within which a broad spectrum 

of rock types might have been included. Along the Kabul 

River east of Sorubi (see sheet 2 for location), where this unit 

is well exposed along the Jalalabad Highway, it is a coarse-tomedium grained, banded biotite gneiss with alternating dark 

and light bands 10-to-100 cm in thickness and local strong 

boudinage structures (fig. 5). The river exposures are uniform L–731-red-to-red-brown (sheet 1). The broad expanse 

of banded gneiss north of the river (near the central-eastern 

edge of the quadrangle) is a L–731-medium-brown and may 

be different, but it has not been studied. Leucocratic gneissic 

granite is easily differentiated from the biotite gneiss by its 

lighter color on all the images (L–731-light-yellow-tan), and 

the ubiquitous presence of dense leucocratic layers, bands, 

and dikes that are evident on the high-resolution images. Layered gneiss (Xngl) is exposed along the western mountain 

edge near the reservoir Band-i-Naghlu (sheet 1). This unit is 

distinct from the banded biotite gneiss by its thick, uniform, 

and continuous layers. It is probably metasedimentary (fig. 6). 

The remaining units were not studied and little is known 

about them, but the marble (Xnm) has a unique L–731-darkblue appearance causing it to stand out relative to the other 

rocks (sheet 1). 

No age data exist for the Nuristan metamorphic series. 

Their uniform NC-dark-gray appearance is consistent with a 

pelitic protolith, like the protolith of Paleozoic or Mesozoic 

age proposed for similar rocks nearby in Pakistan by Calkins 

and others (1981). However, a definitive determination as 

to the age of the protolith or the period when the metamorphism took place cannot be made with existing data. Thus, 

the Nuristan series is assigned a Paleoproterozoic age in this 

report based solely on the interpretation of Abdullah and 

Chmyriov (1977). 

Intrusive Rocks of Mesoproterozoic(?) Age

Two expanses of plutonic rock are noteworthy in that 

they may be Mesoproterozoic plutons. One is a granodiorite mass in the southern part of the Nuristan terrane (Yigd) 

and the other is a layered mafic pluton north of Kabul (Yil). 

In each case, these look different from typical Cretaceous 

plutonic rocks on the high-resolution images, but they lack 

the strong fabric of the surrounding Proterozoic gneiss. 

Megascopic layering is apparent in the layered intrusion north 

of Kabul. 

Walayati Series

Two latest Precambrian (Vendian?) stratigraphic units 

have been described from the Kabul massif. Saba (2002) 

summarized them as the Qorogh and Walayati Formations 

and he asserted that both of them are more widely exposed in 

the southern parts of the block than elsewhere. Saba (2002) 

was not clear how to differentiate Qorogh from Walayati 

or identify them in other areas (except maybe by the higher 

metamorphic grade of the former). The term Walayati has 

more common usage among Afghan geologists. Abdullah and 

Chmyriov (1977) mapped Vendian rocks all along the Tagab 

fault and in parts of the Koh-i-Sofe. They did not assign a formation name to these rocks, but they can easily be identified 

on all the images and they are termed Walayati series in this 

report. Saba (2002) pointed out that the Vendian age for the 

Walayati is highly speculative and based primarily on its lack 

of fossils and low metamorphic grade. Lacking better data, 

that age assignment is retained in this report. 

A highly variable stratigraphy is apparent on the images 

in the Vendian rocks as mapped by Abdullah and Chmyriov 

(1977). The different units are easy to map, but hard to reliably associate with different lithologies in the absence of 

field descriptions. Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977) list marble, 

quartzite, metamorphic sandstone, and mica schist as the 

primary lithologic types. 

Seven distinct-appearing stratigraphic units can be seen 

on the images near the Tagab fault. Here I have mapped, from 

east to west: 

1. a variable, but predominately L–731-brick-red unit called 

schist (Zws); 

2. a L–731-white unit of probable quartzite (Zwq); 

3. a L–731-pale-brown undifferentiated unit (Zwu); 

4. a L–731-pale-blue-and-light-brown unit that is mostly 

dolomite according to the HyMap (HyVista Corp., 

http://www.hyvista.com/) hyper-spectral data (Zwd); 

5. a mottled L–731-deep-brown with discontinuous 

L–731-bluish masses that might be a mix of phyllite and 

metavolcanics (Zwp); 

6. a L–731-blue unit that is probably a mix of limestone 

and marble according to the HyMap hyper-spectral data 

(Zwlm); and 

7. a L–731-pale-brown-to-pale-green unit that might be 

sandstone (Zwss). 

Walayati series also occurs on the west side of the Koh-iSofe and in the central part of the range, where it was identified by Fisher (1971). The western outcrops are discontinuous 

beneath Permian limestone and are mostly undifferentiated 

except for a distinct dolomite unit that is conspicuous in the 

HyMap data. Dolomite is also present in the interior of the 

range where it is mapped separately. 
Synopsis of Mapped Units 11

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Figure 5. Biotite gneiss in the southern part of the Nuristan terrane. This banded and boudinaged gneiss is within the Xngn unit. 

Location of photograph is shown on accompanying index map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road network shown in red. Photograph 

by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
12 Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

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Lataband (fine)

Lataband (coarse)

Layered gneiss (Xngl)

Granitic

rock

Figure 6. Layered gneiss unit (Xngl) in the western part of Nuristan terrane. View is to north across reservoir of Band-i-Sorubi and 

Kabul River. Layered gneiss is the moderately east-dipping rock in the middle ground. A small part of a granitoid sill is visible in this 

section as well. Rocks in low hills just across reservoir are Lataband conglomerate above fine-grained white unit (Nlc and Nlfw). 

Background mountains are other gneiss and granitoid rocks of Nuristan terrane. Location of photograph is shown on accompanying 

index map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road network shown in red. Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
Synopsis of Mapped Units 13

Phanerozoic Rocks

Undifferentiated Paleozoic Rocks

A wedge-shaped and fault-bounded block of rocks occurs 

in the southwest part of the quadrangle, just northwest of 

Kabul urban center and north of the reservoir Band-i-Qargha. 

The L–731-blue, L–731-purple-red, and L–731-tan colors are 

unlike anything else nearby. These are mapped as undifferentiated marble (gum, L–731-blue-purple), schist (gus, 

L–731-deep-red), and quartzite (guq, L–731-tan) of possible 

Paleozoic age on sheet 1. The HyMap images suggest the 

quartzite is rich in the minerals goethite and illite, and that the 

schist contains abundant muscovite. Saba (2002) mentioned 

that Qorogh Formation quartzite might be present here and 

perhaps these belong to that unit. However, they look more 

like other marble and quartzite units to the southwest of the 

quadrangle across the Chaman fault where no Qorogh has 

been described. Little else is known about these rocks. Other 

undifferentiated Paleozoic marble and schist (gus) units 

are also mapped near the quadrangle border in the Paghman 

terrane (sheet 1). 

Carboniferous and Permian Sedimentary Rocks

Sandstone and siltstone of Carboniferous and Permian age in the northwest corner of the quadrangle (PCssl) 

are mapped based on the widespread L–731-yellow-green 

outcrops in that area (sheet 1). Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977) 

thought this area was entirely Proterozoic gneiss, but the 

character on Landsat is typical of the Carboniferous and Permian units west of the quad in adjacent parts of the Paghman 

terrane. Carboniferous and Cisualan (Asselian and Sakmarian) 

clastic rocks in this part of Afghanistan are chiefly cold-water 

rhythmic sections of sandstone and shale that contain bryozoans, brachiopods, and bivalves typical of low-latitude seas 

(Levan, 1997). 

Ultramafic Rocks

Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977) mapped ultramafic bodies 

of dunite, peridotite, and serpentinite in several places within 

the Koh-i-Sofe. The largest of these are conspicuous on the 

Landsat 731 image as distinct L–731-olive-green masses 

(dPug, sheet 1). Peridotite is the only lithology that I have 

observed and that others have described (for example, Mennessier, 1973, 1976) in the olive-colored rock bodies. The peridotite occurs in unstructured NC-orange-weathering exposures 

(fig. 7A). Two large ultramafic bodies mapped by Abdullah 

and Chmyriov (1977) in the central and western Koh-i-Sofe 

are distinctly L–731-purple-red on the Landsat image (dPme, 

sheet 1). These exposures have not been visited or described, 

but they are NC-black in outcrop and have a vague layered 

structure on high-resolution images and oblique photographs 

(fig. 7B). The HyMap images indicate the presence of abundant 

epidote or chlorite in these exposures. Thus, they might be 

chemically altered, layered gabbro and not ultramafic and they 

are shown that way on sheet 1. Several small outcrops mapped 

as ultramafic by Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977) are L–731-

brown on the Landsat image and might be dunite (dPub), but 

none of them have been visited or described. 

No ages are available for any of the ultramafic rocks. 

Tapponnier and others (1981) stated that the oceanic lithosphere that was subducted (and presumably obducted) during 

the formation of Afghanistan was mainly Permian to Triassic 

in age, although they did not elaborate on how they knew this. 

The ultramafic rocks are assigned these ages on the geologic 

map (sheet 1). 

Khengil Series

The term Khengil series is used to describe a thick section of Permian to Jurassic platform carbonate rocks that is 

widely exposed within the Kabul massif. This section occurs 

throughout the western Koh-i-Sofe where it unconformably 

overlies continental basement of the Walayati and Sherdarwaza series (fig. 8). Fisher (1971) described, measured, and 

mapped this section and the short descriptions herein are 

derived from his work. The Khengil is subdivided into seven 

units on the geologic map (sheet 1). From oldest to youngest 

these are: 

1. Guadalupian basal conglomerate (Pkc); 

2. Lopingian and Guadalupian reef limestone (Pkl); 

3. Lower Triassic ceratiten-bearing limestone (dkc); 

4. Middle and Upper Triassic limestone, dolomite, and tuff 

(dklt); 

5. Jurassic (Lias to Dogger) nerineen-ammonite-bearing 

limestone (Jkn); 

6. Jurassic (Dogger to Malm) belemnite-bearing limestone 

(Jkb); and 

7. undifferentiated limestones of mostly Jurassic age (Jku). 

The basal conglomerate is discontinuous and was not 

identified in northern outcrops (sheet 1). It is quartz-rich and is 

about 40-m thick at the most. Internal bedding, some of which 

is visible on high-resolution images, is lenticular and discontinuous. The conglomerate is barely resolved on the Landsat 

image, but is easily picked out as NC-tan-colored layer on the 

high-resolution images.

The Permian reef limestone is 250–300 m thick. The 

lower one quarter of the section is fusulinid-bearing arenaceous limestone and the top three quarters is productid-bearing 

and flinty limestone with small lenticular reef bodies at about 

mid-section. Regional bedding is irregular and discontinuous 

on the high-resolution images and the unit is L–731-greenishblue-gray with one or more L–731-pinkish, sandy horizons on 

the Landsat image. 
14 Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

A

Locations of photographs B

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Tectonic contact Layering

Epidote-bearing

gabbro

Deformed

Khengil series

A B

Figure 7. Two exposures of mafic and ultramafic rocks in the northern part of the Koh-i-Sofe. A, View to the west of the largest 

L–731-olive-green ultramafic body (dPug) that is chiefly NC-orange-weathering peridotite. Although it is mostly unstructured and 

not apparently stratified on the high-resolution images, some layering or internal structure is evident in the view. Layering depicted 

by dotted lines. B, Oblique aerial view to the northwest of the northern and western exposure of probable mafic rocks that contain 

an abundance of epidote (dPme) according to the HyMap multispectral images. This is black in outcrop and has been tectonically 

emplaced above deformed, gray and brown, bedded limestones in the upper part of the Khengil series. Tectonic contact depicted by 

dotted line. Locations of photographs are shown on accompanying index map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road network shown in 

red. Photographs by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
Synopsis of Mapped Units 15

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Khengil series

Sherdarwaza

gneiss

(Xsgn)

Figure 8. Khengil series limestones, high on ridge top above the Kabul River gorge. This thick platform carbonate section rests on a 

thin Guadalupian conglomerate and sandstone unit that unconformably overlies gneiss (Xsgn) of the Sherdarwaza series in this area. 

Contact depicted by dotted line. Location of photograph is shown on accompanying index map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road 

network shown in red. Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
16 Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

The Lower Triassic ceratiten-bearing limestone is a 

distinct recessive unit that is only about 50-m thick. It forms 

a nick in the slope that can be reliably identified on most 

high-resolution images and it commonly appears as a continuous NC-brown horizon that facilitates mapping. Fisher (1971) 

indicated that it is fine-bedded (mostly too fine to resolve on 

the images). 

The Middle and Upper Triassic tuffaceous limestone and 

dolomite has a distinct L–731-light blue color and this makes 

it one of the most easily traceable units on the image. HyMap 

images verify the presence of both calcite and dolomite 

throughout this unit, in sharp contrast to other members of the 

Khengil series in which only calcite is present. The limestone, 

dolomite, and tuff section is about 350-m thick and has continuous, parallel, and uniform beds, a meter or so thick, that 

are apparent on the high-resolution images. It is mostly pure 

NC-light-tan-weathering carbonate that is commonly quarried for cement (fig. 9) where it crops out in accessible areas. 

Contacts with the other carbonate units are well defined and 

easily mapped. Tuffaceous horizons mostly occur in the upper 

half of the section (Fisher, 1971). A thin (30 m) megalodontooth-bearing limestone is included at the top of this section. 

This megalodon unit can be identified on some images, but not 

consistently, so it was not mapped separately.

The Jurassic nerineen- and belemnite-bearing limestones 

are similar on the images, but can be differentiated with effort 

in most areas. Fisher’s (1971) map acted as a good guide, 

but in some other areas the two units were hard to tell apart. 

Where they could not be separated they are mapped together 

as undifferentiated limestone. These limestones are L–731-

blue-gray and L–731-green-blue-gray. Both units have parts 

that are thick-bedded and these look like they are discontinuous laterally on the high-resolution images. 

Triassic Rocks of Nuristan and Paghman 

Terranes

Nuristan and Paghman terranes include thick sections of 

Triassic sedimentary or slightly metamorphosed sedimentary 

rocks. These rocks remain unstudied and poorly described 

for the most part. There are thick and monotonous sections 

of interbedded sandstone and siltstone within the quadrangle 

boundary in Nuristan (dnrss and dnrs, sheet 1). These 

form two widespread L–731-dark-blue-green areas and each 

is defined by the abundance of calcite in the HyMap data, 

in contrast to surrounding gneissic and plutonic areas dominated by their kaolinite and muscovite signatures. Both areas 

are presently mapped as Norian and Rhaetian sandstone and 

siltstone although Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977) depict the 

southern area as Proterozoic gneiss. Similar rocks occur in the 

Paghman terrane (Abdullah and Chmyriov, 1977), but they are 

not exposed in the Kabul North quadrangle. There is a unit of 

limestone and dolomite (dld) in the northwestern corner of 

the quadrangle that shows up as a distinct L–731-dark-blue 

color on the Landsat image (sheet 1). These rocks have been 

assigned a Norian and Rhaetian age (Dronov and others, 1982) 

based on their pelecypod assemblages and they are described 

as Lopingian in Nuristan based on fusulinids and a coral 

occurrence (Leven, 1997).

Cretaceous Igneous Rocks

Large parts of the Nuristan terrane consist of granitic plutonic rocks (sheet 1). Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977) thought 

the bulk of these were Oligocene in age, and Debon and others 

(1987) reported two K/Ar ages of 26 and 33 Ma from a large 

pluton east of the quadrangle. Lawrence W. Snee (USGS, 

written commun., 2008) has demonstrated that rocks in the 

Panjshir Valley to the north have recorded a thermal history 

in which 40Ar/39Ar ages have been reset to as young as 14 Ma. 

Thus, the two Oligocene ages could represent the uplift and 

cooling history of rocks that are older, not the time of primary 

intrusion. Similar granitic plutons in the Helmund area where 

the uplift has not been so pronounced were also mapped as 

Oligocene by Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977), but have all 

proven to be Cretaceous based on modern radiometric dates 

(Debon and others, 1987; Daniel P. Miggins, USGS, written 

commun., 2007). The granitic plutons of the Nuristan terrane 

are all assigned a Cretaceous age in this report to match those 

in the Helmund area, but more work is needed. 

In the Nuristan terrane, several different types of plutonic 

rocks can be identified, primarily based on their character 

on the high-resolution images. Leucocratic granitoid plutons 

(Kigr) have a uniform NC-light-gray color and distinct 

knobby, dome-shaped outcrops that are typical of holocrystalline, equigranular plutonic rocks. A large northeast-oriented 

belt and several small outlying areas are thought to be more 

pegmatitic in nature (unit Kip, sheet 1). The pegmatitic belts 

are darker in color, presumably because country rock screens 

are present, and they are far less uniform in outcrop appearance. Two small bodies of leucocratic granitic gneiss (Kilgn) 

in central Nuristan have light-colored layering evident in 

the resolved images. Small isolated intrusive bodies occur 

within the Triassic rocks and Triassic country rock is evident 

within other small bodies. These are mapped together (Kit) on 

sheet 1. 

A different style of intrusion occurs in the Paghman 

terrane. Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977) mapped a large pluton 

of Cretaceous granodiorite mostly west of the quadrangle, 

but a bit of it crops out near the west-central quadrangle edge 

(unit Kigd, sheet 1). Although this is one of the few plutons 

that Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977) assigned a Cretaceous age 

to in the Helmund and Paghman regions, it is paradoxically 

the only one that Debon and others (1987) determined to be 

Oligocene (24 Ma) based on K/Ar technology. The influence 

of uplift and denudation on thermal history is as uncertain here 

as it is in the Nuristan area. This large pluton is composed of 

uniform NC-medium-gray rock that has a L–731-purple-gray 

color on the Landsat image. Figure 10 is a photograph of this 

pluton taken a few kilometers west of the western quadrangle 

border. The rest of the igneous rocks in the Paghman terrane 
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Figure 9. View to the east of quarries in the limestone and tuff unit of the Khengil series (dklt) in the north-central part of the quadrangle. The d

dark contact visible in the left part of the photo is the abrupt transition from Triassic limestone and tuff (dklt) to Jurassic Nerineen-bearing limes

indicated using solid line, contact is dotted. Location of photograph is shown on accompanying index map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road nePhotograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
Location of photograph 69°00’ 35°00’ 70°00’

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Figure 10. View to the west-southwest of a large granodiorite pluton in the southern part of the Paghman terrane (Kigd). The pluton makes up th

center of the view. Most of this view lies to the west of the quadrangle border, but a small part of this rock body is exposed to the north within the qphotograph is shown on accompanying index map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road network shown in red. Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 
Synopsis of Mapped Units 19

appear as complex L–731-multicolored areas on the Landsat image (Kia), probably due to strong alteration. Plutonic 

borders are indistinct except where the Paleozoic rocks 

are intruded.

Kabul massif is not known for any significant postProterozoic intrusive rocks. Sheet 1 shows small Cretaceous 

stocks in the southwest corner of the quadrangle (Kigr). These 

have not been visited and were not mapped or described by 

anyone else. They may actually be quartzite and they might 

not technically be part of the Kabul massif because they lie 

west of faults that are continuous with the Chaman fault to the 

south. The Jurassic Khengil series (Jkn) is locally intruded 

by sills and dikes in the central-western Koh-i-Sofe and these 

might be Cretaceous or early Tertiary in age (bKkvi). They 

seem to be associated with the Kotagai melange. 

Kotagai Melange

The term Kotagai has been widely used to describe 

the rocks throughout the eastern and southern Kabul massif 

(Abdullah and Chmyriov, 1977; Mennessier, 1976). These 

rocks appear as a volcanic and sedimentary section (Cretaceous 

to Eocene) that rests unconformably above the Khengil series 

on the regional map of Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977). Fisher 

(1971) also described it as a mostly volcanic and marine sedimentary section (Upper Cretaceous to Lower Eocene), but he 

recognized that it was probably emplaced by large thrust faults. 

Mennessier (1976) later inferred that parts of the Kotagai might 

be as old as late Paleozoic and he concluded that large transport 

to the northwest was needed to explain the modern structural 

position of these rocks. Some of this should have been selfevident from the beginning, since the Kotagai has ubiquitous 

strong penetrative deformation, extensive serpentinization, 

and a modest overprint of thermal metamorphism. These factors make it unlikely that the Kotagai is simply the youngest 

part of an otherwise unmetamorphosed sequence. Mennessier 

(1976) described Campanian and Santonian micro-fossils from 

limestone olistostromes within the Kotagai just north of Kabul 

River gorge. He referred to these limestones as Ali-Pai-Bel 

limestone (for example, Mennessier, 1973). The age-range 

of the Kotagai is uncertain since it has been tectonically 

emplaced, it is unfossiliferous in most places, and no numeric 

ages have been determined. 

A cursory view of the Landsat 731 image provides convincing evidence that the area mapped on sheet 1 as Kotagai 

melange is one of numerous different rock bodies that are 

highly disorganized and disrupted. A broad range of colors is 

apparent, as is the complete lack of any internal stratigraphic 

or structural organization. The term melange is ideally suited to 

describe this large body of rocks; so little is known of the internal details within the melange that most of the units have been 

differentiated primarily by their different colors on the Landsat 

image, or by their distinct ASTER or HyMap characteristics. 

The Kotagai melange consists of at least nine different 

units. The Ali-Pai-Bel Limestone of Mennessier (1973) (Kkals) 

is included with the melange because it forms olistostromes 

within it, although he (Mennessier, 1973) mapped it separately. The limestone is L–731-pale-brown. Figure 11 is a 

photograph of one of the Ali-Pai-Bel limestone olistostromes 

that is exposed in the Kabul River gorge. These limestone 

olistostromes occur within a more widespread unit that appears 

L–731-dark blue on the Landsat image (bKkdb). This is 

mostly basaltic schist with a strong penetrative deformation in 

the areas where I have seen it. Mennessier (1973) also mapped 

some andesitic bodies (not differentiated on sheet 1) that fall 

within this unit. A large body of andesite might be present in 

bKkdb in the north-central Koh-i-Sofe where the ASTER 

scene shows a large body of rock (A-red-colored) that has 

greater silica content than is common. L–731-red melange 

(bKkr) is thought to be mostly schist. A photograph of this 

schist from the northern part of Koh-i-Sofe (fig. 12) shows 

meta-sandstone and shale with well-developed schistosity 

and strong rodding, which is typical of this unit where I have 

seen it. Closely related L–731-blue-colored melange (bKkb) 

is thought to be similar, but finer grained and it might have a 

carbonate component. There is also an L–731-red-and-blue 

unit (bKkrb) that is presumably a complex mixture of the 

latter two units, but I was unable to examine either the blue 

or mixed-melange units in the field. L–731-green melange 

(bKkg) surrounds the largest peridotite mass in the northern 

Koh-i-Sofe. Where field-examined just beneath the peridotite, 

this proved to be strongly serpentinized and highly deformed 

basalt. L–731-purple melange (bKkse), that has a strong 

signature of epidote or chlorite on the HyMap hyper-spectral 

images, is associated with the similarly colored gabbroic 

masses (dPme) in the west-central Koh-i-Sofe. This is probably schistose, epidote-bearing basalt, but it has not been examined. L–731-white melange (bKkw) occurs in the north-central 

Koh-i-Sofe and this unit may consist of radiolarian cherts that 

were described by Mennessier (1976). An additional L–731-

pale-green unit (bKkpg) is mapped on sheet 1 because it is 

different from the other units, but its lithology is not known. 

Figure 13 is an oblique aerial photograph showing a mix of different schist types in the melange.

Paleogene(?) Conglomerate

Small outcrops of L–731-light-tan conglomerate (dc) 

are associated with the Kotagai melange. These are mostly 

fault-bounded and occur irregularly within the Kotagai mass. 

They lack internal deformation and are not metamorphosed. 

Presumably they are younger than the Kotagai, but older than 

the regionally exposed, and far less faulted, Neogene conglomerates of the Lataband (Nlc).

Lataband Series

Lataband is the term used for various basin-fill and fan 

deposits of Neogene age that are regionally exposed throughout the Kabul North quadrangle. Much of this fill probably 

accumulated through most of the Miocene and Pliocene, but 
20 Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

Figure 11 View to the north from the Kabul River of an olistostrome of Ali-Pai-Bel Limestone (Kkals) tectonically emplaced within 

L–731-dark-blue Kotagai melange (dKkdb). Limestone is tan-colored rock on left and basaltic schist of melange is to right of vertical to 

overturned tectonic contact. Tectonic contact shown by dashed red line. Location of photograph is shown on accompanying index map 

of the Kabul North quadrangle, road network shown in red. Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.

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Carbonate

olistostrome

Tectonic

contact

Basaltic schist
Synopsis of Mapped Units 21

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Figure 12. View to southeast of L–731-red schist unit within the Kotagai melange (dKkr). Well-developed rodding is 

possibly caused by two or more deformation episodes that resulted in different alignments of schistosity or cleavage. 

Location of photograph is shown on accompanying index map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road network shown in red. 

Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
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Qdl

Qdl Kkr

Kkr

Kkse

Nlcp

Qdl

Figure 13. Oblique aerial view to the southeast in the northern Koh-i-Sofe region. View shows several different schist units within Kotagai melange. strong foliation are the L–731-red schist unit (dKkr). Black-colored low hills in foreground are serpentinized basalt schist (dKkg). In between are les

grained schists of the L–731-blue unit (dKkb). Orange-colored hills in background are Lataband conglomerate that bears abundant locally derived cl

Deposits of desert loess (Qdl) form light-colored low ground. Red dotted lines represent structural contacts within the melange, and black dotted lineyounger units that are in depositional contact with subjacent rocks. Location of photograph is shown on accompanying index map of the Kabul North shown in red. Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
Structure and Tectonics 23

no attempt was made to differentiate Miocene from Pliocene 

deposits in those units that span the two stages. Six units have 

been mapped: 

1. fine-grained L–731-gray (Nlfg), 

2. fine-grained L–731-pink (Nlfr), 

3. fine-grained L–731-white (Nlfw), 

4. conglomerate (Nlc), 

5. fine-grained limestone (Nlfl), and 

6. peridotite-bearing conglomerate (Nlcp). 

The fine-grained gray unit is mostly sandstone that is exposed 

along the banks of the Panjshir River in the northern part of 

the quadrangle (fig. 14) and it is most likely Miocene in age. 

The fine-grained pink unit is probably red sandstone that is 

interbedded with the white unit in the extreme southeast part 

of the quadrangle, and is probably Miocene. The white unit 

(fig. 15) is exposed throughout the quadrangle and is chiefly 

silt and clay that accumulated as desert loess over a protracted 

period in the Miocene and Pliocene. It also includes some 

white fluvial sands. Conglomerate (fig. 16) is also widely 

exposed and is mostly L–731-pale-gray. The clasts in it are 

coarser-grained in the west near Kabul and they gradually 

fine to the east. Along the Kabul River the clasts are mostly 

well rounded and include ubiquitous quartzite and dolomite 

types that are uncommon in the bedrock of the Kabul massif. 

Musazai and Shah (1989) and Saba (2002) also reported the 

occurrence of unique pegmatitic granitic clasts that have no 

known source in the Kabul area. The unusual clasts probably 

came from the Helmund region, far to the southwest across 

the Chaman fault (Saba, 2002). Conglomerate in the northern 

Koh-i-Sofe surrounds the large peridotite body there and is 

chiefly composed of locally derived material from that body. 

It is mapped separately because it is easy to identify by its 

L–731-olive-drab coloration. Fine-grained limestone caps a 

large fan in the southwestern part of the quadrangle. 

Surficial Deposits

Surficial deposits (Pleistocene to Holocene) in the Kabul 

North quadrangle are chiefly various ages of alluvium that are 

differentiated by the levels of dissection and surficial morphology that are apparent on the images. Fine-grained deposits 

of windborne material, landslide masses, and human-altered 

ground are also present. 

The oldest alluvium (Qoa) is preserved as deeply dissected remnants of thick fan deposits that are now isolated 

at the tops of low hills in the southeast part of the quadrangle. Three divisions of more continuous alluvial deposits 

(Qa1

, early; Qa2, intermediate; and Qa3, young) are mapped 

throughout the quadrangle, primarily based on height above 

currently active streambeds. Young alluvium (Qa3

) is being 

actively deposited at stream level in the bottoms of modern 

canyons. Each of the older units is at least several meters 

above the next younger unit and more dissected. Alluvial sheet 

deposits (Qas) are mapped on the steep western slopes of the 

Koh-i-Sofe where they form very thin, but widespread aprons 

that were locally derived in the rocky highlands of the range. 

Deposits on steep slopes, such as colluvium and rock falls, are 

mapped together (Qcr) because it is too difficult to differentiate in-situ deposits from those that have tumbled down from 

higher outcrops using images alone. River alluvium (Qra) 

is mapped in the wider, active floodplains of the Kabul and 

Panjshir Rivers. 

Eolian desert loess accumulations (Qdl) represent a 

slightly unusual type of surficial deposit, but one that is 

widespread in the Kabul North quadrangle. Loess is equally 

common on steep mountain slopes, ridges, flatlands, and in 

valleys. It is ubiquitous in the Paghman and Koh-i-Sofe areas, 

but is only mapped where the deposits are of significant thickness and extent to conceal large areas of bedrock. Dust dunes 

(Qd) are a local variant found northwest of the Koh-i-Sofe 

range front. 

Several small landslide masses (Qls) are mapped on the 

steep slopes associated with the Tagab fault. Agriculturally 

altered land (Qha) and man-made deposits (Qhm), chiefly 

rip-rap and other rubble, are widespread on the northern 

Shomali plain. 

Structure and Tectonics

Nuristan Terrane 

The Nuristan terrane of this report is continuous to the 

northeast with the Hindu-Kush/Karakoram metamorphic zones 

in Pakistan (fig. 17). Searle (1991) and Hildebrand and others 

(2000) stated that these metamorphic zones were the southern 

margin of Asia from Jurassic time until the accretion of the 

Kohistan-Ladakh island arc along the Shyok suture zone (also 

called the Northern suture). In Afghanistan this suture has 

been called the Kunar (Konar) fault. The accretion took place 

by northward subduction at the suture zone, which crosses the 

Pakistan/Afghan border and follows the Kunar River south 

to about Jalalabad where it bends west to the Tagab fault 

(fig. 17). If true, that means that the Nuristan terrane is likely 

part of the same southern-Asia subduction margin. Most workers in Afghanistan regard the HGP suture, which lies north of 

the Nuristan terrane, to be the southern margin of ancient Asia 

prior to most accretion episodes (for example, Treloar and 

Izzatt, 1993). Those blocks south of the HGP suture and west 

of the Kunar fault are typically thought to have once been part 

of Gondwanaland, but separated from it and accreted to Asia 

during the Cimmeride orogeny, which was mostly late Mesozoic in age and related to the closure of Paleo-Tethys (Sengor, 

1988; Boulin, 1991). The thought that the Nuristan terrane 

might be an accreted fragment of Gondwanaland is most likely 

rooted in the idea that it is chiefly composed of Proterozoic 

basement. If it is chiefly Phanerozoic metapelite, it could well 
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Nlc

Nlfg

Qra

Figure 14. View to north across the Panjshir River in northern part of quadrangle. View shows conglomerate (Nlc) above gray-colored fine-grained 

Young river floodplain deposits form low deposits near river (Qra). Contact shown by dotted line. Location of photograph is shown on accompanying iNorth quadrangle, road network shown in red. Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
Synopsis of Mapped Units 25

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Nlfw

Bela Hissur Wall

Bela Hissur Wall

Figure 15. Thick section of fine-grained, white-colored Lataband series (Nlfw) in slopes beneath the walls of Kabul’s historic 

Bela Hissur fortress. Most of the fine-grained material is silt and clay that originated as desert loess. Location of photograph 

is shown on accompanying index map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road network shown in red. Photograph by Robert G. 

Bohannon, 2006.
26 Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

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Figure 16. View of rounded-clast conglomerate in Lataband series (Nlc) within Kabul city limits. Abundant clasts of quartzite, 

dolomite, and granite types that are rare or not present in the Sherdarwaza series were probably derived from sources across 

the Chaman fault to the southwest in the Helmund/Arghandab area. Location of photograph is shown on accompanying index 

map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road network shown in red. Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
Structure and Tectonics 27

have been an accretionary prism offshore of the southern Asian 

margin, and no collision zone north of Nuristan is required. 

The Hindu-Kush/Karakoram metamorphic zones in 

Pakistan consist of at least two terranes (Hildebrand and 

others, 2000). One terrane is a monotonous section of graphic 

metapelite interlayered with quartz-rich lenses, amphibolites, 

and calc-silicates. Mostly unfossiliferous, this metapelite 

section might be late Paleozoic to Jurassic age according to 

Hildebrand and others (2000) based on unconfirmed belemnite 

remains and possible correlation with Paleozoic Wakhan slates 

to the north. The same metasedimentary units were thought to 

be Devonian to Jurassic by Calkins and others (1981). A unit 

of gneiss with amphibolite was also described by Hildebrand 

and others (2000) and they thought this might represent the 

basement to the metapelites. Another terrane consists of gray 

phyllites and a thick section of semipelites that commonly 

reach garnet grade according to Hildebrand and others (2000). 

The latter authors thought the phyllites might correlate with 

Devonian to Permian rocks elsewhere. Leucogranites, pegmatites, equigranular granitoids, and porphyritic granitoids, not 

unlike the plutons in Nuristan, are also present. 

The Pakistan studies and the paucity of thorough and 

modern geologic research in Nuristan cast considerable doubt 

on the Paleoproterozoic age assignments for the gneisses and 

schists that are shown on sheet 1. Nothing that I have observed 

is inconsistent with a young age for metamorphism, but it is 

impossible to evaluate this much further with remote sensing. 

Thus, those age assignments remain as Abdullah and Chmyriov 

(1977) intended. Future versions of this map might portray a 

different picture. 

The main western projection of the Kunar fault passes 

to the south of the quadrangle boundary (fig. 17), but several 

faults in the southeastern corner of the quad are associated with 

it (sheet 1). One east-west-oriented fault has late Neogene or 

possibly Quaternary displacement (Ruleman and others, 2007). 

This fault has a gentle north dip, and gneiss in the hanging 

wall is thrust southward over Neogene conglomerate and older 

marble in the footwall.

Paghman Terrane 

The Paghman terrane is another area that seems to have 

been bypassed with respect to any modern detailed studies, 

so not much that is definitive can be said of it. It is a triangleshaped area bounded by large faults. The HGP suture is to its 

north, the Chaman/Paghman fault system (northern extension) 

is to its east-southeast, and several unnamed faults separate it 

from the Helmund/Arghandab block to its south (fig. 17). It 

looks different from other nearby areas on the regional map of 

Abdullah and Chmyriov (1977), because it is apparently composed of thick homogeneous pelitic rocks (Carboniferous to 

Triassic), gneiss, and little else. That contrasts sharply with the 

Helmund/Arghandab area where a near-complete platform-like 

Paleozoic section is preserved. Other similar areas occur far 

to the west caught between strands of the HGP suture (Abdullah and Chmyriov, 1977). Based on Permian fusilinid faunas, 

Leven (1997) concluded that some of the western exposures 

have been displaced in a right-lateral sense along the suture 

from counterpart basins in extreme northeastern Afghanistan, 

southern Tajikistan, and China. Although Leven (1997) did not 

specifically study the Permian fauna of the Paghman terrane, 

there is a distinct possibility that it too has been displaced by a 

large amount. The terrane might be more akin to rocks in China 

than in the surrounding parts of Afghanistan. 

The Paghman range front is steep, linear, and abrupt 

where it meets the Shomali plain of the Kabul massif. It lines 

up with the trace of the Chaman fault to the south and it has 

long been considered to mark the northern extension of that 

fault. The trace of the Chaman south of the quadrangle stands 

out clearly, but it is hard to identify along the Paghman range 

front partly because some of the fault strands are in the crystalline rocks and partly because strands in the younger rocks 

occur in intensively farmed areas where evidence for recent 

activity gets easily destroyed. There are at least three areas 

where the range-front fault might displace younger Neogene 

strata. Two strands of the fault displace upper Neogene finegrained Lataband (Nlfl) in the southwest corner of the quadrangle resulting in an up-to-the-mountain scarp in the otherwise 

easily eroded fine deposits. In the west-central part of the 

quadrangle, fine-grained Lataband series rocks that cross the 

range front are left standing high on the downhill side across 

a down-to-the-mountain scarp. Near to the northern border of 

the quadrangle, gneiss is possibly thrust to the east over finegrained Lataband rocks in the low hills near the range front 

(fig. 18). 

Kabul Massif

The Sherdarwaza series may be unique in southern 

Afghanistan because it is demonstrably an early Paleoproterozoic rock unit (possibly as old as 2.3 b.y.). Even the regional 

map (Abdullah and Chmyriov, 1977), on which Proterozoic 

ages were liberally assigned based on pseudostratigraphy and 

metamorphic grade, does not show many rocks of that age 

south of the HGP suture. Some are mapped in Nuristan, but 

any Proterozoic age assignment is in doubt there. 

The tectonostratigraphy of the Sherdarwaza terrane 

(sheet 1) is unique as well, because no other large area in 

Afghanistan is characterized by a thick, well-preserved section 

of Permian to Jurassic platform carbonate rocks that rest on 

continental basement. These characteristics led Sengor (1988) 

and Treloar and Izatt (1993) to conclude the Kabul massif 

was once a continental island mass in the Tethyan ocean that 

collided with the Asian mainland sometime after the Jurassic, 

but prior to the Indian collision. The Kabul massif is thought 

to have at one time been part of Gondwanaland (for example, 

Sengor, 1988), but it probably separated from the megacontinent prior to the Lopingian. The limestones of the Khengil 

series indicate that the Kabul massif spent the Lopingian to 

Jurassic at low latitudes because the carbonates no doubt 

formed in warm to temperate climes. 
HERAT

GOWERBAND

CHAMAN FAULT

PAGHMAN FAULT

FAULT

TAGAB

SORUBI 

Koh-i-Sofe

Shomali

plain

KUNAR

FAULT

PANJSHIR

SUTURE

Kabul

Jalalabad

N u r i s t a n t e r r a n e 

K a b u l m a s s i f

Paghman

terrane

Helmund/Arghandab

block

FAULT

AFGHA

PA

68°

36°

35°

34°

70° 

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00

PAKISTAN

TURKMENISTAN

UZBEKISTAN TAJIKISTAN

CHINA

IRAN

INDIA

Kabul Herat-Gowerband- Panjshir Suture

CHAMAN

FAULT

Makran

INDIANOCEAN

Hindu

Kush

Nuristan

Karakoram Kohistan

Figure 17. Relation of the Kabul North quadrangle to some of the larger tectonic features of Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Inset map showin region.
Structure and Tectonics 29

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Figure 18. Oblique-aerial view to the southwest across the northern Paghman Range front. Low hills in foreground are chiefly finegrained Lataband series (Nlfw) that is in fault contact with dark-colored gneiss in the range. Fault dips to the northwest and has strong 

reverse or thrust displacement (trace between arrows). Location of photograph is shown on accompanying index map of the Kabul North 

quadrangle, road network shown in red. Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
30 Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

The Kotagai melange terrane is everywhere in tectonic 

contact with the Sherdarwaza terrane. In the northern half of 

the Koh-i-Sofe the Kotagai is in the hanging wall of a fault 

with a low-to-moderate, east-to-northeast dip. This fault contact, which snakes through the north-central part of the Kohi-Sofe, is one of the things that prompted Mennessier (1976) 

and Tapponnier and others (1981) to conclude that the Kotagai 

suffered a large tectonic transport relative to the Sherdarwaza 

terrane. Mennessier (1976) thought transport was southeast to 

northwest and Tapponnier and others (1981) thought the opposite. No kinematic data have been brought to bear on this issue. 

The relation between Kotagai and Sherdarwaza are 

reversed in the southern Koh-i-Sofe. The contact between the 

two terranes is spectacularly exposed in the steep walls of the 

Kabul River gorge (fig. 19) where gneiss tectonically overlies 

melange on a gently west-dipping fault. Thus, in the north, 

melange has been pushed onto the continental rocks, and in the 

south it has been subducted beneath them. To explain these two 

contrasting styles, it may be convenient to think of the Kabul 

massif as an example of a backstop in a subduction system. 

Backstops have been imaged geophysically in modern subduction zones, but field examples are rare (for example, Bangs and 

others, 2003). In the Kabul case, some of the excess Kotagai 

melange that was unable to subduct may have been forced 

upward onto the continental rocks. 

The melange has strong internal deformation everywhere 

I have seen it, but the two different tectonic contacts are both 

narrow zones that appear to have formed in the zone of brittle 

deformation. This suggests that a relatively shallow level of 

this subduction/obduction complex is exposed in the Kohi-Sofe today, but the melange must have been deeper at one 

time. It is assumed herein that the exposures in the Kabul River 

gorge indicate that the ancient subduction system and melange 

continue at depth beneath the Sherdarwaza terrane to the west 

and the entire Sherdarwaza may be allochthonous above the 

relict subduction zone west of the Kabul River gorge (sheet 1). 

Ultramafic rocks associated with the Kotagai melange 

are commonly referred to as the Kabul ophiolites and they are 

assumed to have been emplaced on the continent as slabs of 

oceanic lithosphere by some form of obduction (for example, 

Tapponnier and others, 1981). However, they are not ophiolites, but simply ultramafic sheets. No other components of 

an ophiolite (cherts, pillow basalts, sheeted diabase dikes, 

gabbros, layered gabbros, and so forth) have been described 

except as independent and dismembered fragments that are part 

of the melange south of Kabul North quadrangle (Tapponnier 

and others, 1981). The ultramafic rocks are probably fragments of sub-crustal lithosphere (mantle lithosphere) of some 

type. Whether they are suboceanic, subarc, sub-back arc, or 

even subcontinental mantle-lithosphere is not known. Rather 

than being obducted slabs of oceanic lithosphere, I think they 

might be large fragments peeled off the roof of the subduction 

system from whatever type of lithosphere existed there during 

some early subduction stage. Now they are actually part of the 

melange, no different than a large mass of broken formation 

might be. They tectonically overlie continental rocks simply 

because a large volume of the melange that contains them has 

been emplaced there. 

Terrane-Boundary Faults

The Chaman/Paghman, Tagab, Ghazni, and HGP fault 

systems are part of a large network of late Neogene faults that 

have accommodated lateral displacements of large magnitude 

related to the collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia 

(Treloar and Izatt, 1993). A commonly cited model for the 

development of these faults is the crustal extrusion of giant 

blocks toward the southwest that occurred in response to a 

process whereby India indented the Asian continent (Tapponnier and others, 1986). Convergent northeast-oriented right-slip 

and east-west oriented left-slip faults work in conjunction in 

this model as wedge-shaped blocks are squeezed toward the 

free-face of a nearby active subduction zone (the Makran in 

this case). Treloar and Izatt (1993) argued against this idea on 

the grounds that some of the important faults were not active 

simultaneously (a requirement of the model). In lieu of continental indention, they thought an oceanic area (now represented by the Katawaz terrane) closed up between Afghanistan 

and the west edge of India as it drifted north toward its eventual collision point. The crustal blocks of central Afghanistan 

flowed south and rotated counter-clockwise toward the Indian 

edge as this ocean basin closed. The end result is something 

that looks like indention and extrusion, but is not. Presumably, 

the kinematics described by Treloar and Izatt (1993) occurred 

primarily in response to rapid south-directed trench-roll-back at 

the Makran subduction zone, that is due south of Afghanistan. 

Regardless of what caused the faults, an important objective of the geologic mapping should be to better understand 

the character and timing of displacement along each, as well 

as the differences between them. One of the faults, the Chaman, has a long, continuous, and straight trace that is marked 

by signs of recent strike-slip activity at many places south of 

the Kabul North quadrangle (Ruleman and others, 2007). The 

outstanding long single trace seems to give way to numerous 

small fault strands that comprise the Paghman fault system 

within the quadrangle. No single Paghman strand is a very 

conspicuous structure in its own right. Some have straight 

traces and are probably strike-slip faults, but many of them 

are sinuous and have thrust or reverse displacements. Most of 

these, but not all, are up-to-the-east. Potential thrusting near 

the northern quadrangle border suggests that the Paghman fault 

system has probably been instrumental in the uplift of the Kohi-Paghman range relative to Shomali plain. The clast content 

in the Lataband series qualitatively supports left-slip on the 

Chaman/Paghman fault system because the only known source 

for quartzite, dolomite, and granite porphyry cobbles lies to the 

southwest across the fault (Saba, 2002), but this hypothesis has 

not been quantitatively evaluated. Even larger amounts of slip 

are probably necessary in order to explain the juxtaposition of 

the Paghman/Helmund terranes with the Kabul massif. 

The Tagab fault (fig. 17) is one of the most conspicuous structures in the quadrangle, although its primary trace is 
Structure and Tectonics 31

Location of photographs

69°00’

35°00’

70°00’

34°30’

20 KILOMETERS

0 12 MILES

0

Khengli

Sherdarwaza

Kotagai

Figure 19. View to the west-northwest across the Kabul River gorge showing relationship between the Kotagai melange 

(lower steep cliffs) and the Sherdarwaza gneiss (middle cliffs). The tectonic contact that separates them dips gently to the 

west beneath the western parts of the Koh-i-Sofe. Steep mountains in background are deformed Khengil series marine 

carbonate rocks. Note vertical penetrative deformation in Kotagai in contrast to vague banding in Sherdarwaza gneiss that 

is sub-parallel to tectonic contact (trace shown by dotted red line). Location of photograph is shown on accompanying index 

map of the Kabul North quadrangle, road network shown in red. Photograph by Robert G. Bohannon, 2006.
32 Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan

mostly concealed beneath the youngest alluvium of western 

Tagab Valley. It has a very linear, slightly arcuate trace north 

of Band-i-Naghlu. The fault surface is exposed for 10 km 

north of the reservoir where it dips moderately east, separating 

melange on the west from Lataband sediments on the east. The 

surface is mostly concealed farther north, but a short segment that disrupts young alluvium has been identified in the 

west-central Tagab Valley. Abundant east-dipping fault strands 

splay out slightly into the bedrock north of the reservoir and 

are continuous to the north-northwest subparallel to the main 

fault trace. A long linear exposure of east-dipping Walayati 

series rocks is confined between these secondary branches 

and the main one in Tagab Valley. The Walayati is ordinarily 

depositional on the Sherdarwaza gneiss in the western half of 

the Kabul massif, but in the complex fault zone it is in contact 

with the Nuristan terrane on the east side of the zone and the 

Kotagai melange on the west side. The Walayati is not part 

of the Nuristan terrane and it is clearly out of place in the 

Kotagai melange. This strongly suggests that the Walayati has 

been displaced along the zone as the result of a large amount 

of lateral slip. The nearest exposures of Walayati resting on 

Sherdarwaza are 30 km to the north near the northern quadrangle border along the northern projection of the Tagab fault, 

suggesting at least that much right slip on the fault zone. A 

much greater, but unknown amount of lateral slip is required 

to explain the juxtaposition of the Nuristan terrane and the 

Kabul massif. 

The Kabul North Landscape

The question of how the landscape of the Kabul North 

quadrangle evolved is one of the most perplexing problems 

in the region. The history of this evolution is written in the 

courses of the two main rivers, the Kabul and Panjshir, but it 

is not easy to decipher. The topographic map (sheet 2) clearly 

shows the meandering paths of each waterway as they cut 

deep into the hard bedrock of the Koh-i-Sofe, an area of high, 

rugged ground today. Both rivers have cut deep canyons in the 

high ground after flowing across broad plains that are at much 

lower elevations. Meandering rivers invariably form at low 

gradients in wide valleys that typically are laden with soft sediment and the river course marks the lowest ground regionally. 

If true, it is safe to assume that the modern river courses mark 

the positions of two ancient broad plains with low downslope 

gradients. How did the area go from that to the present situation? One possibility is that the modern topographic surface 

was once blanketed by a thick covering of sediment that has 

now been almost totally eroded. The rivers would have once 

flowed across the plain atop the sediment blanket, cutting 

downward as sediment was removed. Another is that the 

landscape began flat, but sporadically rose in response to local 

tectonism. One problem with the former idea is the complete 

lack of any other evidence for a widespread blanket of sediment of such thickness. A problem with the latter idea is the 

apparent lack of suitable structures upon which the sporadic 

tectonism could have occurred, as the Sorubi fault is the only 

youthful structure in the region. The landscape issues need 

further investigation.

Outstanding Issues

Several other important issues are identified here that 

warrant further investigation. As these issues are resolved, new 

and better versions of these maps can be produced.

1. Each rock unit needs to be investigated in the field. Better 

lithologic descriptions should be compiled for all of them.

2. Igneous and metamorphic rock bodies must be dated 

radiometrically. It is important to tailor sampling to 

resolve issues of emplacement ages, metamorphic ages, 

and protolith history. 

3. Faults that have been identified as having youthful activity should be investigated in the field with modern trenching techniques and qualitative field characterization. 

4. Steep and vegetated areas and places where rock bodies 

are poorly resolved on the images should be field 

mapped. Notable in this regard are the Nuristan and 

Paghman areas. 

5. Proper place names should be added to the topographic 

map. This includes checking the names of all cities and 

towns for spelling and location. 

6. Peak elevations can be more accurately measured in the 

field. Digital elevation models average the elevation over 

the area of a pixel, which yields a lower-than-actual peak 

elevation. This is compounded by the published vertical 

error in the model. 

Obviously these are not simple tasks, but they are essential for understanding Afghan geology and geography. It is 

hoped that the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines, Afghanistan 

Geological Survey, and the Afghan Geodesy and Cartography 

Head Office will be well positioned and provisioned to work 

on solving these kinds of problems in the future.
References Cited 33

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the U.S. Agency for International 

Development and the U.S. Department of State for providing 

much needed support for all of the data gathering activities 

that took place within Afghanistan during the 2004 to 2006 

field seasons. This included providing all housing, security, 

transportation, and other logistical needs while I was in 

the country. 

I am greatly indebted to several members of the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS). The late Abdul Wasey, the 

former AGS president, provided guidance in the field on 

numerous occasions. He unselfishly shared his personal 

storehouse of knowledge on the regional geology and geography of Afghanistan whenever he could. Likewise, Mohammed Omar, the current AGS president, very patiently helped 

me to properly conduct myself in a foreign land where 

customs and behaviors are so different from my own. I also 

was helped whenever possible by other AGS geologists and 

translators, notably Gul Janan, Ghulam Sakhi Sheenwary, 

Mansoor Amiryar, Mohammed Tahir, Said Ishan Opiany, and 

Shafiqullah Sultani.

Lawrence W. Snee (USGS, retired) provided samples and 

age determinations mentioned in the report. 

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Bohannon, Robert G.—Geologic and Topographic Maps of the Kabul North 30'× 60' Quadrangle, Afghanistan—Scientific Investigations Map 3120

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