The sporopollen fossils from the Permian barren strata in the Chalukou region,Karakorum,Xinjiang

Numerous sporopollen fossils were collected for the first time during the mapping of the 1:250 000 geological map and measurement of the section in 2003 in the barren strata of the formerly Permian Jiawendaban Formation in the Chalukou region,Karakorum,Xinjiang. These microfossils are of early Late Permian age. The discovery of the microfossils allowed the redelineament of the strata in the study area as the early Upper Permian Shenxianwan Formation. The depositional environments of these strata are also discussed.