Study: Pathankot was semi-arid region in prehistoric times

Chandigarh, June 12

A study of fossils recovered from sediments in Pathankot district has indicated that the area, which is now fertile and green, was a semi-arid region in pre-historic times.

The study was undertaken by experts from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology to assess the environmental conditions that prevailed in the region over 10 million years ago.

On analysis of trace fossils or ichnofossils, researchers found that low sedimentation rates, low energy deposits and well oxidising environment prevailed in the area approximately 11 million years ago.

At present, the soil of the Pathankot region in Pumjab, which is surrounded by the Ravi and the Chakki rivers, is quite alluvial and fertile, allowing cultivation of multiple crops like wheat, paddy, sugarcane, grams, sesame, pulses and oilseeds.

The researchers discovered ichnofossils, representing an age equivalent to the Late Miocene of Geological Time Scale, which is approximately 11 million years old, from the Siwalik sediments exposed around the Dunera region of Pathankot district. This is about 45 km north of the city.

Several different types of such fossils were identified. In the recent past, the team also reported some significant fossils of rodents from the same region.