Petrography and Environmental Significance of Bhander Limestone (Upper Vindhyan) in Kota-Rawatbhata Area, Rajasthan

Field and petrographic characters of the Bhander limestone in the Kota-Rawatbhata area, Rajasthan, permit its division into three lithofacies: (1) interlaminated calcilutite-calcisiltite, (2) flat-pebble calcirudite breccia, and (3) flat-bedded limestone. The predominant red colour, microcrystalline texture, large quantity of insoluble clay residue, and presence of algal stromatolites in lithofacies (1) and (2) suggest their deposition in the supratidal environment. Lithofacies (3) is predominantly micritic, characterised by flat and continuous bedding and marked by the presence of stromatolites, and is interpreted as a product of sedimentation on a vast, shallow submerged shelf where wave energy was cut off by the extensiveness of the shelf.