Geomorphology 25 1998.

225248

Quaternary break-out flood sediments in the Peshawar basin of

northern Pakistan
)
Kevin Cornwell
Central Missouri State Uniersity, Warrensburg, MO 64093, USA
Received 16 June 1997; revised 12 January 1998; accepted 8 April 1998

Abstract

The presence of horizontally bedded, fining upward sequences of sands, silts, and clays throughout the Peshawar basin of
northern Pakistan has previously been ascribed to Pleistocene lakes within the basin. Close inspection of these sediments,
however, show sedimentological properties that suggest these stacked sequences are more characteristic of deposits of
periodic break-out flood deposits and not lacustrine deposits. Exposures near the villages of Piran, Nowshera, Jehingira,
Jalala and along the Kabul River show evidence of subaerial exposure mudcracks and bioturbation zones., lateral continuity
and fracture sets. At least three distinct cycles of deposition are apparent in the basin, each exhibiting slightly different
structural and sedimentological properties. The groupings and dimensions of the rhythmite sequences indicate that within
each cycle multiple episodes of flooding occurred. The absence of significant erosional and depositional features, as well as
the preservation of mud rip-up clasts and bioturbation zones further suggests that the periods between episodes of flooding
were probably on the order of 10 1 to 10 2 years. Evidence of ice-dams and lakes in the Indus drainage system is abundant.
Cross-valley moraines and lacustrine deposits that stretch many kilometers upstream are visible in the middle Indus valley
between the villages of Sazin and Shatial and Skardu. Calculated ratios of sediment to water suggest that an upstream
reservoir at least 32 km3 and perhaps as large as 128 km3 would have been required to produce the extent of rhythmites
observed in the Peshawar basin. Generating a reservoir of this size in the Indus drainage system was accomplished near the
villages of SazinShatial where large cross-valley moraines and upstream lacustrine sediments indicate large ice-dams as do
the moraines and lacustrine sediments near Gilgit and Skardu. The origin of the graded sediments in the Peshawar basin,
however, has not been correlated to the failure of a specific ice-dam. The temporal relationship of the graded sediments is
unclear. Limited thermoluminescence TL. analysis of the youngest set of graded sediments referred to as lake beds by
previous investigators. in the Peshawar basin suggest an age of at least 130,000 years BP. This time correlates to the Yunz
stage of glaciation along the middle Indus valley which spans from the mid to late Pleistocene to about 130,000 years BP.
q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: break-out flood sediments; Peshawar basin; Pleistocene lakes; lacustrine deposits

1. Introduction shawar basin of northern Pakistan. Originally these

Multiple stacks of thin, horizontally bedded, fin-
ing-upward sediments occur throughout the Pe-
)
Corresponding author. E-mail: kjc8930@cmsu2.cmsu.edu
sand, silt and clay beds were thought to be lacustrine
sediments that were deposited throughout the basin
by a late Pleistocene lakes. Allen, 1964; Haneef et
al. 1986.; Hussain et al. 1990.; Said and ul Hasan
oral communication, 1993... Similar conclusions

0169-555Xr98r$ - see front matter q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 1 6 9 - 5 5 5 X 9 8 . 0 0 0 6 1 - 0
226 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248
were reached by Nizami 1973., who implied that
renewed uplift of the AttockCherat range during
the mid to late Pleistocene repeatedly blocked the
outflow of the Indus River and produced large lakes
within the Peshawar basin. The lakes were quite
extensive because lacustrine sediments even occur
near Matanni, high up on the southern piedmont.
Detailed inspection of the sediments of the Peshawar
basin, however, show features that are more charac-
teristic of rhythmically bedded flood sediments
called rhythmites hereafter. produced by periodic
breaking of ice-dammed lakes than by lacustrine or
deltaic depositional processes.
These sediments show a general progression from
thin to massively bedded sands and silts upward to
massive andror laminated silts and clays. Stacked
sequences of fining-upward sediments have been
associated with many localities that experienced pe-
riodic large-scale flooding. The breakout floods of
late Pleistocene Lake Missoula Baker and Bunker,
1985; Baker, 1973; Bretz et al., 1956; Bretz, 1929,
1925; Smith, 1993. and Lake Agassiz Smith and
Fisher, 1993. of North America and Himalaya glacial
floods Hewitt, 1982, 1968, 1964. and other recorded
flood sediments Burbank, 1983. all exhibit similar
sedimentology.
Earlier work on the late Pleistocene Missoula
Flood of North America Bretz, 1929; Bretz et al.,
1956; Baker, 1973; Patton et al., 1979; Carson et al.,
1978; Bjornstadt, 1980. concluded that it was possi-
ble that the more than 40 graded sequences occurring
at various places along the flood route could have
been produced by pulsating flood waves from one
flood. Others Waitt, 1980, 1985a,b; Rigby, 1982;
Atwater, 1984, 1986; Baker and Bunker, 1985. held
the view that each graded sequence represented a
single flood. After evaluating slack-water sedimen-
tology and the degree of bioturbation within each of
the graded sequences, most researchers now hold the
view that one graded sequence generally represents
one flood.
As Waitt 1985a. pointed out, the main difference
between the hypotheses of many rhythmites per flood
and the single rhythmite per flood is that the idea of
many rhythmites per flood suggest major beds have
only hours between deposition, whereas with the
idea of a single rhythmite per flood decades could
elapse between subsequent rhythmite deposition. If
the rhythmites were deposited, each the result of a
single flood, then one would expect to see sedimen-
tological evidence of this hiatus.
Over the last 200 hundred years, at least 36
catastrophic floods have been documented in the
Indus drainage system. Most of these over 80%.
were a result of bursting ice-dams associated with
alpine glaciers. Frequently, the floods emanated from
the same glacier system. The dynamics associated
with failures of ice-dams usually produce periodicity
in the frequency of floods Marcus, 1960; Gilbert,
1971; Post and Mayo, 1971; Thorarinsson, 1953..
Modern day fluvial processes and tectonic conditions
in the Peshawar basin do not pond water back into
the basin, either a function of much reduced flood
sizes or a much more efficient basin drainage. Con-
sequently, very limited comparisons between modern
and older flood sediments are possible.
The physical settings of the rhythmite exposures
in the Peshawar basin are discussed herein and evi-
dence is presented that supports the hypothesis that
these sediments were deposited as a result of peri-
odic catastrophic floods, not lacustrine processes.
2. Geologic setting
The Peshawar basin Fig. 1. rests between the
southern margin of the Himalaya and Hindu Kush
ranges and the northern portions of the Indo-Gangetic
foredeep. Migrating tectonic deformation in the re-
gion has produced intricate sets of north-dipping
thrust faults, which in turn have produced large
intermontane basins along the northern foredeep
margin. One of these intermontane basins, the 8300-
km2 Peshawar basin, developed as a result of tec-
tonic uplift of the AttockCherat Range approxi-
mately 2.8 my ago.
The basin began to accumulate sediments at rates
that varied from about 2 cmr1000 yr to 15 cmr1000
yr during late Pliocene, with accumulations exceed-
ing 300 m in thickness along the southern margin
Burbank and Tahirkheli, 1985.. Most of the sedi-
mentation in the basin was accomplished by alluvial
fans prograding into the basin from the nearby At-
tockCherat range along the southern margin. The
lower slopes of the alluvial fans have since been
dissected by erosion to produce piedmont plains.
 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248 227

Fig. 1. Map of the Peshawar basin of northern Pakistan adapted from the work of Burbank and Tahirkheli 1985.. The outline of the basin is
relative to an elevation of approximately 610 m 2000 ft.. Exposed rhythmite sections are plotted as hachure-filled areas.

Towards the centre of the basin, the sediments
associated with alluvial fans thin and are replaced by
interbedded lacustrine and alluvial sediments, a re-
sult of ponding of the inter-basin drainage networks
Kabul, Kalpani and Indus rivers. from a tectonically
controlled drainage threshold the Khairabad fault.
near Attock and possibly near the village of Nizam-
pur Main Boundary Thrust fault. Fig. 2.. The
ponding produced low-energy floodplain and flood-
pond sediments in the southwestern and central part
of the basin. Where the prograding alluvial fans
appeared to have wandered among the lower-energy
sediments, braided river sediments occur. Burbank
and Tahirkheli 1985. concluded that this pattern of
sedimentation continued into the early Brunhes chron
0.6 my. when renewed uplift of the AttockCherat
range caused folding and exposure of these sedi-
ments. Evidence for lacustrine environments in the
Peshawar basin was best observed Khan and Ah-
mad, 1987. in surface exposures and quarry pits west
228 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248

Fig. 2. Tectonic map of the southern part of the Peshawar basin after the work of Yeats and Hussain 1987.. outlining the Main Boundary
Thrust system and the drainage threshold near the village of Attock.

of Jehingira and near Risalpur, and from WAPDA
1989, 1988, 1985a,b. Water and Power Develop-
ment Authority. boring logs. The temporal, strati-
graphic, and lateral continuity of the lakes., how-
ever, is questionable.
Isolated lacustrine sediments, and more broadly
spread alluvium, alluvial fans, loess and rhythmite
sequences are of the most recent ) 170,000 years
BP to about 18,000 years BP Rendell, 1993.. depo-
sition within the basin. The alluvial fans span the
entire time range because they seem to be inter-
spersed throughout the other sediments near the mar-
gins of the basin. The alluvial sediments are overlain
with rhythmite sediments at diverse locations within
the basin which are in turn unconformably overlain
with loess.
Drainage out of the basin is accomplished primar-
ily through the Kalpani River system which drains
the northern and central parts of the basin. The Indus
River and Kabul River systems also debauch into the
basin, join near the town of Attock and flow south
through the AttockCherat range. Many of the ob-
 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248
served rhythmite exposures are exposed along em-
bankments and in terrace deposits of these three river
systems.
3. Rhythmite characteristics
Specific exposures of rhythmites were identified
near the villages of Nowshera, Piran, Jehingira,
within escarpments along the north bank of the
Kabul River near Nisatta, and near Jalala Figs. 1
and 3.. In general, these deposits consist of horizon-
tally stacked beds Fig. 4. of coarse to fine sands and
silts overlain with laminated silts and clays. The
topographic location of these exposures varies
throughout the basin with outcrops along the Kabal
River Jehingira, Nowshera and Kabul River sites.
occurring at an elevation of about 305 m, Kalpani
Rivers exposures Jalala site. near elevation 380 m
and the Piran deposits at about elevation 427 m.
Sedimentological features such as bioturbation zones,
thin laminations, sparse mudcracks and rip-up clasts,
dropstones and sediment-filled fractures were com-
mon at the various exposures of rhythmites.
A typical graded sequence from the Piran section
Fig. 5. exhibits a coarser-grained sediment at the
base of the sequence mean sediment size D50 . of
about 0.058 mm coarse silt. curve A. grading to
the finest fraction of the sequence curve C with a
D50 of about 0.007 fine silt... This general upwardly
fining gradation of sediments was characteristic of
all of the rhythmites observed in the five sections.
Burrow casts were abundant throughout the sec-
tions and an estimation of the degree of bioturbation
was determined for each horizon following the ap-
proach of Droser and Bottjer 1986.. In general, the
finer-grained sections of the rhythmites showed the
more significant levels of bioturbation, with activity
in these units extending above and below into the
coarser-grained sediment. Bioturbation zones were
distinguished from overlying and underlying hori-
zons by evidence of increasing activity, characteristic
of periods of depositional stability where
burrowing-insect activity may have been enhanced
instead of being quickly buried or washed away.
High levels of bioturbation activity suggested that an
ample amount of time likely elapsed between deposi-
tional cycles.
229
At several horizons within the Piran, Jehingira
and Jalala exposures, seams of yellowish red 5YR
4r6. to olive brown 2.5Y 4r4. clay occur Fig. 6..
The clay seams were horizontally continuous within
an exposure but attempts to correlate the clay seams
between different localities were unsuccessful. The
origin of the clay is unclear. The absence of even
weakly defined pedogenic horizons or organic matter
seems to preclude pedogenic development. The clay
seams may represent a local episode of deposition
from nearby drainage basins in the AttockCherat
range that dissect the red-colored Murree Formation.
The most commonly occurring phenomena within
all of the observed rhythmite exposures were the
presence of sediment-filled fractures sedimentary
dykes of Haneef et al. 1986.. illustrated in Fig. 7.
The fractures were commonly filled with indurated
sediments and usually became wider near the top of
the section. Haneef et al. 1986. considered the
fractures to be synror post-depositional features
formed because of seismic activity in the area and
the subsequent filling up of the fractures and cracks
by the flowrwashing in of the more plastic clayey
material.
3.1. Stratigraphy and other features
3.1.1. Piran
The 30-m thick section contains at least 31 rhyth-
mic sequences, ranging in thickness from approxi-
mately 25 cm to over 2 m Table 1.. The sands are
consistently olive to olive gray in color 5Y 4r3
5r3., range from very fine to coarse in size and have
sporadic rust staining throughout the exposure. On
the whole, the sands are massively bedded and are
much more indurated than the finer-grained sedi-
ments. This increase in induration is probably caused
by the percolation of calcium-carbonate-enriched
groundwater through these coarser-grained sedi-
ments.
The contact within a single sequence is relatively
sharp between individual sand seams and the overly-
ing silts and clays. The silts and clay are predomi-
nantly olive-gray in color 5Y 4r3, 5r23. and
range from 0.1 to 2.4 m in thickness. Typically, the
sequence exhibits a fining upward sequence with
thin laminations present in the top 10 cm. In some
sequences, the thin laminations are rust stained at
 230
K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248
Fig. 3. General stratigraphy of the exposed rhythmite sections in the Peshawar basin. The horizontal size of individual rhythmite beds is plotted as a function of particle-size
which is graphed along the bottom of each section.
 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248
Fig. 4. Field exposure of the rhythmites near the village of Piran. The stacked sequences of fine- and coarse-grained sediments gave most
exposures this stairstep morphology.
several horizons within a single sequence. In the
upper part of a sequence, the silts and clays are often
massively bedded. Rare pebbles some as large as 10
cm in diameter. of igneous and metamorphic origin
occur in the exposure and likely represent small
dropstones that were ice-rafted during glacial floods.
The rhythmite exposure at Piran is overlain with a
light yellowish brown 2.5Y 6r4. silty clay loess..
The upper surface of the loess deposit is horizontal
and is directly overlain with alluvial fan sediments
which consist primarily of clast of Manki Slate
emanating from the AttockCherat range. The expo-
sures of rhythmites at this site are criss-crossed with
at least 55 fractures. The thickness of the fractures
ranged in width from less than 1 cm to more than 25
cm.
3.1.2. Jalala
The exposure near Jalala consists of over 32
sequences of rhythmites over a 17-m thick section.
The rhythmite sequences vary between about 15 cm
to over 1 m in thickness. The rhythmite section rests
on an olive brown 2.5Y 4r4. silty clay alluvium
with about 10% fine to medium sand and calcium
carbonate nodules. The contact between the two
visually distinct units is horizontal and extends at
231
least 1 km in distance observed where the Kalpani
River has eroded through the section..
The coarse-grained seams predominantly fine to
medium sands with rare silt. are semi-indurated and
upon weathering produce a stair-step morphology up
the section with the less resistant silt and clay seams.
Rare gravel clasts are apparent, and laminations
sparsely occur in the upper horizons of the coarse
portion of some of the sequences. Pebble-sized clasts,
present within the clays and the sands in a few
places, are likely dropstones.
3.1.3. Jehingira
At the Jehingira site, a 10-m thick section occurs
with more than 14 sequences of light olive gray 5Y
6r2. fine sand to silty sands interlayered with light
brownish gray 2.5Y 6r2. silts was observed. The
rhythmite sequence lies unconformably upon lacus-
trine sediments in the southern area of exposure, just
north of the Kabul River channel. Nearby exposures
show the flood sediments to be draped over the
underlying lacustrine sediments. The contact be-
tween these two units is very irregular, with as much
as 6 m difference in elevation.
In a distal part of the exposure, two distinct sets
of rhythmite sequences occur. The lower set con-
232 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248

Fig. 5. Particle-size analysis from one of the graded sequences at the Piran exposure. Curve A represents the lowermost unit and coarsest
fraction of a rhythmite, followed by finer-grained sediment curve B. sampled just above the sharp vertical boundary and curve C, the fine
fraction.

tained at least 15 couplets of rhythmites that dip the same general direction. Faults, approximately 1
approximately 168SW. The upper set contained at m thick and filled with detritus, were observed pene-
least 10 sequences of rhythmites and rested uncon- trating the entire exposure. The faults exhibited visi-
formably upon the lower set at a dip angle of 58 in ble offset of several meters.
 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248 233

Fig. 6. These horizontally continuous clay seams were observed at several different elevations within the exposures near Piran, Jehingira and
Jalala. They proved most useful as stratigraphic markers within the local exposure but did not correlate well to other localities.

At all localities where the stratigraphic relation- present. In areas where the topography had not been
ships between the rhythmite sequences and overlying incised by local stream erosion, the loess produced a
sediments were visible, a yellowish-brown loess was landscape of rolling hills. The upper few centimeters

Fig. 7. Sediment-filled fracture in the rhythmites exposed near the village of Piran. Over 55 such fractures were observed in the Piran
section with a predominant trend direction of northwest to southeast.
 234
Table 1

K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248

Site descriptions of rhythmite exposures in the Peshawar basin
Characteristics Piran Jalala Jehingira Kabul River Nowshera
exposure elevation masl. ; 427 ; 380 ; 305 ; 305 ; 305
section thickness m. 30 17 10 -8 13
number of graded sequences 31 32 14 20 16
number of bio-cycles 30 22 11 15 9
color of coarse-grained fraction 5Y 4r35r3 5Y 4r2 5Y 6r2 5Y 5r3 5Y 6r3
color of fine-grained fraction 5Y 4r35r23 5Y 4r3 2.5Y 6r2 5Y 5r2 5Y 6r2
bedding characteristic massive massive with thin thin massive
of coarse-grained fraction laminations
bedding characteristic massive with thin with thin and commonly thin and commonly thin and few
of fine-grained fraction laminations laminations laminated laminated laminations
clay seams present yes yes yes no no
dropstone present yes yes none observed none observed none observed
number of fracture sets 55q 138q 63q 9q 5q
 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248
of the clay beds were commonly laminated and
exhibited extensive bioturbation.
3.1.4. Kabul rier
An exposure of rhythmites occurs along the north
bank of the Kabul River in a south-facing piedmont
escarpment. The overall section is relatively thin
- 8 m. compared to some of the other exposures in
the area and the overall grain size is finer too. The
gradations suggests perhaps as many as 20 couplets
of rhythmic beds. Bioturbation horizons within the
rhythmites suggest at least 15 cycles of deposition.
The coarser-grained sand units are interbedded with
olive gray 5Y 5r2. silty clay and clays. The silty
clays are laminated and streaked with rust in some
places and range from less than 3 to approximately
90 cm in thickness. The Kabul River exposure also
exhibits criss-crossing fractures, ranging from 1 to
18 cm in thickness that are filled with sands, silts,
and clays. Unlike the Piran and Jalala sections, how-
ever, these fractures are not indurated.
3.1.5. Nowshera
The north-facing escarpment along the south side
of the Kabul is composed of predominantly alluvial-
fan sediments. Along the escarpment and within a
small tributary basin of the Kabul River just west of
the town of Nowshera, rhythmite sediments occur.
The rhythmite sequence consists of more than 16
couplets of exposed rhythmites in a 13-m thick
section. The coarse-grained components of the units
consist primarily of a pale olive 5Y 6r3. silt to fine
sand. The seams of silt and sand are relatively thin
ranging from ; 1070 cm thick. Most of the seams
are - 20 cm thick. The silts and sands have variable
amounts of bioturbation and suggest at least nine
episodes of deposition. Few laminated horizons are
apparent in the section.
4. Discussion
The rhythmites in the Peshawar basin are charac-
terized by a repetitive sequence of fining upward
sediments, often exhibiting bioturbation and mud-
cracks between sequences, and containing rare peb-
ble and cobble dropstones. Early interpretations Al-
len, 1964. considered these deposits characteristic of
235
a lacustrine environment and suggested that the en-
tire Peshawar basin was at one time filled with
water. The repetitive fining upward sequence of
sediments, however, are not consistent with this
depositional setting. In a clastic lacustrine setting the
coarser-grained sediments would be generally dis-
tributed in a circular manner around the basin as a
function of the available hydraulic energy. The depo-
sitional setting would consist of a shoreline and
near-shoreline belt of coarser-grained sediments
sands and gravelscharacteristic of a high hy-
draulic energy environment., followed by progres-
sively finer-grained sediments farther out from the
shore fine sands and silts reflecting a decrease in
hydraulic energy. with the deeper central part of the
lake containing the finest grain sizes silts and clays..
Each successive vertical horizon observed in the
rhythmites in the Peshawar basin is consistent hori-
zontally and grades to finer grain sizes vertically
within a specific sequence. This condition is contrary
to a hydraulic energy profile that varies laterally.
Comparing these sediments to lacustrinedeltaic
environments produces similar inconsistencies.
Deltas formed in glacio-lacustrine environments are
usually areas of rapid sedimentation. Incoming
streams the Indus River in this case. deposit a large
sediment body in a relatively low-energy setting,
where because of the lack of wave or tide energy,
little lateral redistribution of sediments takes place.
The lakeward development of the delta takes place
by overlapping lobes of sediment Reineck and Singh,
1980.. The rhythmites in the Peshawar basin show
minimal to no lateral variation across an exposure
and no lobe features are apparent in any of the
rhythmite exposures. At the Jalala exposure, individ-
ual rhythmites can be visually tracked for several
kilometers with no significant deviation in thickness
or stratigraphic position.
The rhythmite sections exhibit various zones of
bioturbation that are distinctly more prominent in the
finer-grained sediments of a graded sequence rather
than in the coarser, and decrease in other places
along the exposure suggesting that multiple zones of
bioturbation activity are present. As a general rule,
abrupt upward transition from bioturbated to non-
bioturbated zones or from extensively to slightly
bioturbated zones define buried landscape surfaces
Smith, 1993.. If bioturbation activity is considered
236 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248

to be a function of a hiatus between depositional
horizons, then multiple hiatuses are apparent be-
tween many of the graded sequences.
Desiccation features, such as mud cracks and
rip-up clasts, occurring rarely in several of the rhyth-
mite exposures, also suggest a hiatus between depo-
sitional cycles. Smith 1993. pointed out, however,
that the absence of these features does not necessar-
ily mean that no hiatus occurred, because erosion
from flood scouring may have easily removed such
evidence.
4.1. Cycles of deposition
At least three distinct depositional periods appear
to have produced rhythmite sequences in the Pe-
shawar basin; each period is separated by an un-
known period of time. These conditions are best
observed near the Piran and Nowshera exposures
Fig. 8.. In one small valley near the village of Piran,
four rhythmite sequences lie directly on Manki Slate
bedrock and dip about 108 to the northwest Burbank,
1983.. These rhythmites cycle 1. are overlain with a
thin veneer of colluvial clasts of Manki Slate less
than 1 m thick. followed by more rhythmites. The
overlying rhythmites cycle 2. dip to the northwest at
approximately 238. This exposure suggests at least
two distinct cycles of deposition separated by a
disconformity that included colluvial deposition and
structural movement in the interim. Farther north
along the Pirano valley the cycle 2 rhythmite se-
quences become buried by younger fan sediments
and colluvium. This condition continues until the
rhythmites are no longer visible in the channel walls.
Still farther down the valley north, approximately 3
km., rhythmites cycle 3. begin to crop out along the
upper part of the channel walls stratigraphically
aboe the fan sediments. Full exposures of the cycle
3 rhythmites occur at the Nowshera section in the
piedmont escarpment along the Kabul River flood-
plain.
Correlating between the various rhythmite cycles
at other localities within the basin was not as readily
accomplished as in the sections at Piran. Incomplete
stratigraphic records, partial exposures, and the ab-
sence of consistently distinguishable stratigraphic
marker horizons hindered correlation attempts. The
seams of dark clay that were sporadically distributed
throughout some of the exposures were used to
attempt correlation. These seams are present in the

Fig. 8. Cross-section outlining the stratigraphic relationships between the three different cycles of rhythmite activity in the basin. The
cross-section traverses from north near the village of Nowshera. to south near the village of Piran. along the north slope of the
AttockCherat range.
 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248 237

thickest, most prominent exposures in the basin
Jalala, Jehingira and Piran. and might be considered
as stratigraphic marker horizons, at least between
cycles, because they were not observed in the oldest
1. or youngest cycle 3.. Unfortunately, the relative
number of these clay seams in an exposure vary
across the basin as do the number of rhythmite
sequences that they separate. Consequently, the value
as stratigraphic markers within cycle 2 is limited.
Because the Piran and nearby Nowshera exposure
suggest at least three different episodes of flooding
and the occurrence of the seams of dark clay are
prevalent in specific exposures, it is reasonable to
conclude that the Piran exposure represents rhyth-
mite sequences from cycle 1 and cycle 2, Jehingira
and Jalala represent cycle 2, and the Kabul River and
Nowshera exposures represent the youngest se-
quences of rhythmites, cycle 3.
4.2. How many floods?
Determination of the actual number of floods that
may have occurred and left rhythmite deposits in the
basin is difficult. Rhythmite sedimentology varies
within the same deposit because some may consist of
medium sand overlain with clay and others may be
silts overlain with laminated silts, hence the grada-
tion from one rhythmite to the next is not always
clear. Erosional processes may have removed part of
a sequence, a complete sequence, or several se-
quences from the depositional record, leaving no
clear hiatus evident. Perhaps regional seismic events
induced turbidity currents in temporarily ponded
flood waters that added sediment layers with similar
characteristics to the record, or perhaps some other
event took place.
Considering the number of graded sequences and
zones of bioturbation observed at different sections
Table 2., it is apparent that during a specific deposi-
tional cycle, multiple episodes of flooding occurred.
Cycle 2 sections suggest that at least 36 individual
floods impacted the basin. If the frequency of deposi-
tion was on the order of decades as suggest by Waitt
1985a. for the Missoula floods instead of hundreds
to thousands of years, this cycle of rhythmites could
have been deposited over a period of time ranging
from hundreds to thousands of years. Similar time
estimates are probable for cycle 3 rhythmites.
The initial stages of flooding in the basin would
have inundated the basin from the northeast where
the Indus debouches into the basin Fig. 9A.. De-
pending on the height of the flood wave, some water
may have actually flowed south over a 100-m high
topographic threshold and into the southeastern parts
of the basin. As the flooding continued into the main
part of the basin, spreading water would likely have
flowed generally from east to west across the basin
Fig. 9B.. A second topographic threshold may have
been breached just south of the Indus River where
the topographic difference between the central part
of the basin and this southeastern part is only about
100 m. The Attock threshold would have restricted
and throttled the flow of water out of the basin,
inducing backflooding and ponding in the basin. The
force of flow east to west. would continue to push
flood water west across the north slope of the At-
tockCherat range, perhaps filling the basin Fig.
9C.. Once the flow of flood water into the basin
either diminished or the inflow and outflow reached
some temporary equilibrium, slow discharge out of
the basin became the dominant process Fig. 9D..

Table 2
Rhythmite characteristics
Locality Number of Number of Maximum Minimum Average Distance from
observed graded observed thickness of a thickness of a thickness of a the Attock
sequences bio-cycles sequence m. sequence m. sequence m. threshold km.
Jehingira 14 11 0.85 0.1 0.56 13.3
Piran 31 30 2.4 0.25 0.95 24.7
Nowshera 16 9 1.1 0.15 0.52 28.5
Kabul River 20 15 1.0 0.125 0.33 47.5
Jalala 32 22 1.1 0.05 0.40 64.6
238 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248

Rhythmite sequences, on average, are thickest in the flow path of flood water into and out of the basin
the Piran area followed by Jehingira, Nowshera, Fig. 9AD., the coarser and thickest fraction of the
Jalala, and the Kabul sections Fig. 10.. Considering sediment load would then be deposited along the

Fig. 9. Probable route of inundating flood water into the Peshawar basin. Drawing A suggests that the initial flood wave entered the basin
from perhaps two points. The eastern most entrance shown by the dashed line. is a modern day topographic threshold of about 100 m. If
the initial flood wave was higher than this threshold, then at least some of the flood water would have coursed into the eastern part of the
basin. Drawing B illustrates continuous inundation of the basin with flood water and the major flow route thickest black line. following the
Indus floodplain in the basin. As the basin filled C., some of the flood water flowed through the threshold near Attock but the narrow
valley restricted flow and the basin continued to fill with flood water. The major flow route continued down the Indus but, upon restrictions
near Attock, began flowing outward into the basin along the Kabul River valley. Some flow coursed up the Kalpani River. Another 100 m
high topographic threshold was encountered south of the Indus River and if the flood wave was larger, flow over this divide would then
by-pass the Attock threshold and began flowing through the southern part of the basin. As the flow of flood water decreased into the basin
D., the ponded water slowly flowed out of the basin through the Attock threshold which controlled the rate of water flow out of the basin.
 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248 239

Fig. 9 continued..

main channel of flow north of the AttockCherat
range. The variation in thickness of rhythmite would
likely be a function of proximity to the north slope
of the AttockCherat range and the threshold at
Attock.
If the floods that deposited the Nowshera and
Kabul sections represent the most recent flood activ-
ity cycle 3., then the thickness of sediments be-
tween these sections is also consistent with the rela-
tive proximity to the AttockCherat Range and the
threshold at Attock.
Particle-size analysis Fig. 11. of the coarse frac-
tions of graded sequences suggests that the overall
coarse fractions of the rhythmites are relatively fine-
grained with D50 values indicating a silt size-frac-
tion. Of some exception, however, are the samples
from the Jalala and Piran sections which show al-
most half of the graded sequences to have D50
values ranging into the fine sand category.
In general, these data summarized in Table 3.
show much similarity in the distribution of particle
size with most plots consisting of silt and clay size
240 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248
Fig. 10. Thickness plot of individual rhythmite beds within an exposed sequence and between exposed distal sequences.
particles. Specifically, these plots suggest that either
available sediment size for transportation was limited
unlikely considering the Indus River drainage basin.
or the hydraulic energy available for transport was
consistently low. Considering a basin slowly filling
with flood water and the location of these exposures
upgradient many tens of kilometers from the dis-
charge channel, the later scenario seems more likely.
4.3. Origin of the flood sediments
In work conducted on glacial-lake outburst de-
posits in central North America, Lord and Kehew
1987. determined that the sediment to water ratios
during the late Pleistocene floods averaged about
20% by weight but reached 40% sediment to water
concentrations in some areas. They further concluded
that the sediment transport was extremely efficient
and that most of the bed load was transported in
suspension. Whether these conditions persisted in
northern Pakistan during the late Pleistocene is un-
known however, the work of Lord and Kehew 1987.
offers a platform for further thinking. Estimated
volumes of sediment and water were calculated us-
ing a graded sequence thickness of 1 to 1.5 m, a
sediment to water ratio range of 10 to 50%, and the
area of the Peshawar basin approximately 8.5)10 3
km2 . Table 4.. Using these variables, the volume of
water necessary for depositing the calculated volume
of sediment in the Peshawar basin range from 21.2 to
287 km3. Within the 20 to 40% range the volume of
sediment to water suggests an upstream reservoir of
at least 32 km3 would have been necessary to ac-
count for the rhythmite sediments in the Peshawar
basin. This volume is probably a conservative esti-
mate because it is unlikely that all flood-transported
sediments were deposited within the Peshawar basin
during a particular flood event.
The existence of glacial dams along the middle
Indus River valley is well supported by field evi-
dence. The cross-valley moraines near the villages of
 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248 241

Fig. 11. Particle-size plots from the coarse fraction of all graded sequences in the Peshawar basin exposures.

Sazin and Shatial and lacustrine sediments perched
along the walls of the Indus valley represent the
farthest downstream presence of glacial ice in the
Indus valley location A of Fig. 12.. The glacial
valleys that drain the north slope of Nanga Parbat
Ginne, Patro, Raikot and Buldar Fig. 12BE. have
all left cross-valley morainal deposits along the In-
dus and commonly contain thick up to 60 m. sec-
tions of lacustrine silts and fine sands Shroder et al.,
1989; Olson, 1982.. Further upstream, above the
Gilgit River confluence with the Indus, a massive
end moraine Dianyor section. extends completely
across the Gilgit valley Fig. 12F.. Immediately up-
stream from this moraine are thick lacustrine sedi-
ments perched along the walls of the Gilgit valley.
The Skardu basin, approximately 100 km further up
the Indus valley, contains a 1.3-km thick sequence of
glacial, lacustrine, fluvial and alluvial facies. Clearly,
242 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248

Table 3 sediment thickness suggests that either significant

Summary data of particle-size analysis of coarse-grained fractions sedimentation occurred when the lakes existed or the
of graded sequences
lakes existed for a substantial period of time. In
Median Sorting coefficient D 90
comparison, the 1841 landslide dam near the village
diameter mm. Q1 r Q3 . 0.5
of Lichar along the middle Indus River. that blocked
Jehingira 0.03 1.63 0.065
the Indus River for six months and produced a
Nowshera 0.03 1.94 0.167
Jalala 0.05 1.29 0.339 60-km long lake, left no significant lacustrine de-
Piran 0.05 1.87 0.173 posits draped along the valley walls or on the flood-
Kabul River 0.045 1.29 0.047 plain. The occurrence of lacustrine sediments of
sizable thicknesses and distribution along the Indus
suggest a depositional setting that occurred over a
much longer time.
the Indus has been dammed multiple times in differ- Characteristics of these sediments further suggest
ent locations. that they are not representative of ablation valley
Along the middle Indus valley, lacustrine sedi- processes because they are most uniform in grain-
ments are perched high along the valley walls and size, a trait not generally associated with the dynam-
within floodplain exposures. Drew 1873., Burgisser ics of an ablation valley. This uniform nature was
et al. 1982., Olson 1982., Shroder et al. 1989. and observed in all of the lacustrine sediments in the
Cornwell 1994. have documented lacustrine sedi- middle Indus valley, from Shatial to just east of
ments along much of the middle Indus valley. Sev- Chilas.
eral lacustrine exposures labeled L1L6. were Lacustrine sediments occurring near Gilgit L-6.
mapped and measured Table 5. in the middle Indus exhibited a more diverse grain-size distribution, one
valley during field work in 19921993 Fig. 12.. much more characteristic of a high energy environ-
The silty clay sediments are light gray 5Y 7r1., ment. Considering that at least some influx to the
rarely exhibit ripple marks and cross-beds, and have floodplain was emanating from both the Gilgit and
laminated horizons within the massively bedded out- Hunza drainage systems, a diverse grain-size distri-
crop in several places. Clastic dikes occur as sedi- bution of sediments in this area is likely. Correlation
ment-filled fractures and cracks that cut the deposits. of these Indus valley lacustrine sediments remains to
Thin rust laminations are common throughout the be accomplished; however, the paucity of other
sections. lake-producing processes along this stretch of the
The lacustrine sediments lie many meters above Indus such as large landslides. leave few alterna-
the modern-day floor of the floodplain. The range of tives other than glacial ice.

Table 4
Sediment to water volume estimates
Sediment Sediment to Water Water thickness Area of Peshawar Volume of
thickness m. water ratio %. thickness m. at 2:1 ratio m. basin km2 . water km3 .
1 10 9 22.5 8.5)10 2 191.2
1 20 4 10 8.5)10 2 85
1 30 2.3 5.75 8.5)10 2 48.9
1 40 1.5 3.75 8.5)10 2 32
1 50 1 2.5 8.5)10 2 21.2
1.5 10 13.5 33.75 8.5)10 2 287
1.5 20 6 15 8.5)10 2 127.5
1.5 30 3.5 8.75 8.5)10 2 74.4
1.5 40 2.25 5.625 8.5)10 2 48
1.5 50 1.5 3.75 8.5)10 2 32
 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248 243

Fig. 12. Map of the middle Indus valley outlining the location of ice related sediments and glaciers modified from the work of Shroder et
al. 1989...

To create a lake of at least 32 km3 in the middle
Indus valley near the villages of Sazin and Shatial,
an ice-dam capable of producing a 600 m-deep pool
that extended upstream to Chilas approximately 60
km. is required. Thick sections of glacial till in the
Sazin and Shatial area Shroder et al., 1989. indicate
that an ice mass capable of producing such a dam
once existed there Fig. 12.. If climatic conditions
were suitable to produce such an ice mass in the
Darel valley, then similar conditions in the Nanga
Parbat area may have also produced significant val-
ley glaciers that would flow across the Indus River.
Under this condition, ice-dammed water from the
Darel valley could only extend about 60 km up-
stream before glacial ice from Nanga Parbat was
encountered. If this limitation existed, a reservoir of
this size would hold about 32 km3 of water, compa-
rable to the volume of water albeit the lower end of
estimates. that may have inundated the Peshawar
basin during rhythmite deposition. Glaciers are rarely
synchronous in movements and advances though and
it is possible that ice conditions in the Darel valley
ice had little relation to Nanga Parbat ice conditions.
Another probable source of the Peshawar basin
rhythmites emanates from the large at least 600 km2
in area. Skardu intermontane basin. Cronin et al.
244 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248
Table 5
Lacustrine sediment thickness and elevation dimensions in the middle Indus valley
Lake designation Elevation above floodplain
m.
L-1 64
L-2 17
L-3 52
L-4 20
L-5 24
L-6 y18
1989. measured 300 m of clayey siltstone to silty
claystone in the Bunthang sequence and interpreted
the sediments to have been deposited in a glacio-
lacustrine environment. He postulated that the onset
of lacustrine sedimentation was likely gradual and
eventually became dominant as the basin was fully
ponded. Filling the entire Skardu intermontane basin
with water about 50 m deep would produce a reser-
voir of about 32 km3 whereas filling to a depth of
200 m would generate a 128-km3 body of water.
Both depths 50 to 200 m. are small in comparison
to the relative size of the intermontane basin and the
nature of the dynamics in the Himalaya ranges.
Lacustrine sediments upstream from the Dianyor
moraine that occur along the Gilgit River valley
were observed and documented by Owen 1988.. He
suggested that glacial ice, emanating from the Hunza
drainage system, dammed the Gilgit River during
late Pleistocene and produced a large lake upstream
from the confluence of the two rivers. The relatively
thick lacustrine exposure upstream from Gilgit was
deposited from this event Fig. 12..
No direct evidence was found that proved any of
these three locations produced the floods that left
rhythmite sediments in the Peshawar basin. The shear
volume of water required in an upstream ice-dam,
however, precludes many of the smaller alpine glacial
systems that presently operate in the Himalaya ranges
and drain to the Indus River. During glacial maxima,
most of the alpine glaciers would have likely filled
the valleys with ice and extended the reach far
downstream to the Indus.
4.4. Relatie ages
No volcanic ash, pollen, or fossils have been
found in the rhythmites exposed in the Peshawar
Bottom elevation Top elevation Thickness
masl. m. m.
816 858 42
868 893 25
919 963 44
882 930 48
1023 1070 47
1240 1258 18 q
basin to allow for an accurate temporal fix on the
ages of the rhythmites. In earlier work, Burbank and
Tahirkheli 1985. concluded that intermontane-basin
sediments began to accumulate in the Peshawar basin
about 2.8 my ago over the folded and faulted Murree
Formation of Miocene age. Rates of accumulation
varied between 2 cmr1000 yr to about 15 cmr1000
yr over this time. Most sedimentation was accom-
plished by alluvial fans prograding into the basin
from the nearby AttockCherat range along the
southern margin. The lower slopes of the alluvial
fans have been dissected by erosion to produce
piedmont plains, relatively young geomorphic fea-
tures in the Peshawar basin. Interspersed within these
basin sediments are two distinct volcanic ash de-
posits which likely originated from the Dasht-e-
Nawar volcanic complex in east-central Afghanistan.
The oldest ash dates to approximately 2.4 my ago
and the younger ash to approximately 1.6 my ago
Burbank, 1982.. The presence of these ashes in the
Plio-Pleistocene sediments offers a measure of time
control for the early to mid-Pleistocene. Burbank and
Tahirkheli 1985. concluded that this pattern of sedi-
mentation continued into the early Brunhes chron
0.6 my..
Lacustrine sediments, alluvium, alluvial fans, loess
and rhythmites are the most recent deposits within
the basin mid to late Bruhnes?.. The alluvial fans
appear to span the entire time range because they are
present throughout the stratigraphy of basin sedi-
ments. The rhythmites rest unconformably on allu-
vial sediments throughout the basin and are uncon-
formably overlain with loess at disparate locations.
Thermoluminescence TL. dating of the loess in
the basin and adjacent areas has been undertaken by
Rendell 1989, 1993., Rendell and Dennell 1987.
 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248
and Rendell and Townsend 1988.. Rendell 1993.
has suggested that the loess was deposited through-
out northern Pakistan as a series of depositional
pulses with the most recent phase of loess deposition
occurring between 75,000 and 18,000 years BP.
Based on the location of sampling points and per-
sonal communication Rendell, personal communica-
tion, 1993., this loess overlies the rhythmite sedi-
ments near the Jalala and Jehingira sections in the
Peshawar basin. A much earlier phase of loess depo-
sition, dating to ) 170,000 years BP, is also evident
in the area. Several samples, collected from lake
beds near Nowshera, have been subsequently identi-
fied as rhythmite sediments Rendell, personal com-
munication, 1993.. These sediments yielded an age
) 130,000 TL years BP and suggested that at least
the youngest cycle of rhythmites preserved in the
Peshawar basin are older than 130,000 years BP.
Timing correlation of rhythmite activity in the
Peshawar basin to glacial activity in the Indus sys-
tem is incomplete. The most recent glacial chronol-
ogy outlined for the middle Indus valley is best
outlined in the work of Shroder et al. 1993. who
concluded that three primary glacial stages, the
Shanoz earliest at early Pleistocene., the Yunz mid
to late Pleistocene but no younger than about 130,000
years ago ka. based on TL dated lacustrine silts in
the Hunza valley., and the Borit Jheel late Pleis-
toceneno older than about 65 ka based on TL
dated lacustrine silts from the Hunza valley. are
present in the Indus valley. Many of these early TL
dates are suspect because of more recent advances in
the understanding of background radiation and in-
complete solar bleaching processes Shroder et al.,
1989.. Until newer TL dates are produced, however,
current information is accepted.
Shroder et al. 1993. further considered the Yunz
and Borit Jheel stages to represent large valley
glaciers which would have sent extensive ice down
into the Indus valley, perhaps as far west as the
village of Sazin where large cross-valley recessional
moraines are evident today. Derbyshire et al. 1984.
located evidence in the Hunza valley of a much
smaller fourth glacial stage, Ghulkin I, which is late
Pleistocene in age younger than 47 ka based on TL
dates from lacustrine silts in the Hunza valley..
A prominent, well-indurated till, likely of Yunz
stage, occurs near the village of Shatial and marks
245
the furthest extent of Pleistocene ice along the mid-
dle Indus. Shroder et al. 1989. also observed evi-
dence of catastrophic flooding probably associated
with temporary ice-dam breakout floods. abundant in
these glacial sediments as deep scouring and
megaripple features. Younger late Pleistocene.
cross-valley moraines from the Darel valley Shroder
et al., 1989. were also apparent and likely produced
significant ice-dams across the main trunk of the
Indus valley as evidenced by lacustrine sediments
perched upstream on the Indus valley walls. The
overall timing of Yunz stage events is generally
consistent with the TL dates obtained by Rendell
1993. from the stratigraphically youngest rhyth-
mites in the Peshawar Basin.
Shroder et al. 1989. considered the trunk valley
ice Borit Jheel. of the late Pleistocene to have
terminated in the massive Dianyor moraine near the
confluence of the Gilgit and Hunza rivers. They
further noted that many tributary valleys generated
cross-valley glaciers that may have also produced
ice-dams. The Jaglot moraine from Sai Nala, the Gor
moraine from the Raikot and Buldar glaciers,
moraines at Ames Geh from Patro ice, the Ginne
moraine near Chilas, and the Darel moraine near
Shatial all cross the Indus River and may have
produced ice-dams. Shroder et al. 1989. estimated
the ice thickness from the DarelShatial ice mass
may have been greater than 750 m above the modern
day floor of the Indus valley. Extensive lacustrine
beds upstream from the DarelShatial moraines at-
test to the presence of temporary lacustrine condi-
tions. TL dates, as reported in Shroder et al. 1989.,
suggest an age of 38,100 " 2600 years. Alpha-1944.
for these lacustrine sediments, too young to correlate
with the TL dates obtained by Rendell 1993. for the
stratigraphically youngest rhythmites in the Pe-
shawar Basin.
5. Conclusions
The thin, horizontally bedded, fining upward sedi-
ments that occur throughout the Peshawar basin of
northern Pakistan were deposited as a result of nu-
merous periodic floods emanating from the Indus
River drainage system. Deposition of these sedi-
ments occurred as floodwater temporarily ponded
246 K. Cornwellr Geomorphology 25 (1998) 225248
upstream of a tectonically controlled threshold, either
near the village of Attock, or further south near the
village of Nizampur. The basin slowly filled with
flood waters and sedimentation of the graded se-
quences resulted from deposition of the sand-, silt-,
and clay-size load. Particle-size plots indicate that in
most cases the sediment load consisted of silt- and
clay-size particles, supporting a relatively low energy
depositional condition as flood water slowly filled
then drained from the basin. Stacked sequences of
these graded sediments have produced the exposures
visible in the Peshawar basin. The disparate locations
at which these sediments occur throughout the basin
suggest that the flood water may have completely
inundated the Peshawar basin at times.
The characteristics of these sediments further sug-
gest that the processes responsible for deposition
were somewhat periodic, with time breaks between
the deposition of individual graded sequences. This
scenario is supported by the lateral continuity of
these sediments in an exposure sometimes over a
distance of several kilometers., repetitive layers of
bioturbation activity within an exposure, and rare
dropstones presumably from ice rafts emanating
from the burst ice-dam..
The stacked nature of these sediments is consis-
tent with the periodic filling and breaking of an
upstream ice-dams.. The intervals of time between
deposition of individual rhythmite couplets is not
clear, because they are determined by the local dy-
namics of filling and breaking of the ice-dams.. If
the Missoula floods of North America can be used as
an analogy, it is probable that the period of time
between individual rhythmite deposition is more
likely on the order of decades or centuries rather
than thousands of years. The absence of any signifi-
cant erosional or depositional features external to
flooding. within the graded sequences further sug-
gests a short time break between depositional
episodes.
Pleistocene ice-dams along the Indus River were
common occurrences. Moraines that crossed the In-
dus valley near the villages of Sazin and Shatial,
Nanga Parbat, Gilgit and Skardu, and the abundance
of lacustrine sediments perched along the valley
walls near these locations, offer visual evidence of
past dams and lakes. Sediment to water ratios sug-
gest that a volume of water ranging from 32 to 128
km3 would be required to deposit the graded sedi-
ments observed in the Peshawar basin. These vol-
umes are consistent with ice-dam and lacustrine evi-
dence in the Indus valley.
The relative ages of these rhythmite sediments,
however, remain unclear. The absence of dated ma-
terial in the exposures of the Peshawar basin ob-
structs a temporal fix on the ages of these sediments.
Limited TL dates, both up the Indus valley and on
one set of rhythmites in the Peshawar basin, would
suggest a Yunz age mid to late Pleistocene to about
139,000 years BP..
Acknowledgements
Special logistical and field support is appreciated
from my colleagues at the National Centre of Excel-
lence, Geology at the University of Peshawar. Finan-
cial and cultural support was provided in part by the
United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan
and the Geological Society of America. Special
thanks are extended to John F. Shroder, Jr., Syed
Hamidullah, and Javed Khan for insightful discus-
sions and manuscript review.
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