Overlooked by magnificent mountains and spectacular glaciers, beautiful vistas, vast lakes, and undulating landscape, Kashmir valley is nestled between the Pir Panjal Range and Greater Himalayas. The oval-shaped valley is ̴ 150 km in length and 50 km in breadth. Kashmir’s geology has grabbed the attention of geoscientists in every nook and corner of the world. The valley is home to many geological treasures, some of them hidden and some that have been researched extensively.
At about 15 km southeast of Srinagar near the village of Khunamuh, Guryul Ravine is a well-recognised geological site. The Pemian Triassic Boundary (PTB) is found at Guryul Ravine. Permian and Triassic are the geological time periods of great significance. PTB refers to a transition between the two time periods (Permian and Triassic). Some 252 million years ago, a severe mass extinction event took place that resulted in the transition. The event wiped out about 96% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species. Five mass extinction events have taken place till date and the Permian mass extinction event is considered as the mother of all extinctions. It is also known as the Great Dying. The PTB is only found in a few parts of the globe; Guryul Ravine is one among them. In China, PTB is found in the Meishan town (Meishan section) and in the Shangai province (Shangi section). The Chinese sections have been studied keenly since their discovery but the section present in Kashmir has not received that attention because of the ongoing conflict.
Geology is a field-based subject which solely depends on field data. It is not possible for scientists and students to work in the turbulent environment that prevails in Kashmir. The conflict has not only hindered research at this site but also at other geological sites such as Karewas.
The rock formations present at Guryal are subdivided into two formations, the Khunamuh formation and the Zewan formation. The Khunamuh formation lies conformably over the Zewan formation. Rocks like Basalts, Triassic limestones, and Shales are found at Guryul Ravine. Some rocks are embellished by veins, some by cyclothemes, and some by amygdules. An array of marine fossils is found in different limestones and shales at the site.
The Guryul Ravine section exhibits a sequence of discrete events that provide potentially important information about the character and causes of PTB. According to Brookfield et al (2013) the Guryul Ravine section contains Seismite-tsunamite succession and sandstones and sandy sandstones containing liquefaction features, which suggest that an earthquake had triggered the Tsunami from the Paleo Tethes from which ensued the Permian Triassic Mass extinction.
Unfortunately, heaps of material including limestones and dark coloured volcanic rocks are extracted from Guryul Ravine every day. With the installation of factories in Khonamuh, mining and blasting has become faster than ever before. Geological records including fossil imprints of thousands of years are preserved in the rock formations of Guyul Ravine but with the continual mining and blasting at the site we are losing the preserved record and the day is not far when the whole geological site will be destroyed. The site has the potential to become a world-famous geo park which could revamp the moribund economy of Kashmir.
In 2007, the authorities banned illegal mining in Guryul Ravine as a team of scientists had visited the site for research but with time the authorities did not pay any attention to the site and because of their negligence the site is in shambles.

Asyia Qadir