Early Paleozoic slope breaks are well developed in Tarim basin.Typical shelf break was developed in Middie Cambrian-Middle-Late Ordovician.The Silurian slope break was a kind of palaeogeomorphology with landform difference

which was different from the shelf break.In Late Cambiran-Early Ordovician

the Manjiaer slope break acted as the boundary of platform edge facies and deep-sea basin facies.In Middle-Late Ordovician

the Manjiaer-Tadong slope break was the boundary of basin facies and diamictic shelf facies;while typical isolated platform facies and basin facies were developed above and below the Tazhong slope break

respectively.In Silurian

the southem Tazhong slope break evidently controlled the tidal flat and coastal deposits

while the northern Tazhong slope break was a good demarcation line between offshore and foreshore-shoreface in coastal system.Along the slope belt-lower footslope would be the favorable area for discovering lithologic traps

e.g.structural and lithologic traps are well developed in the Middle-Upper Ordovician above and below the Tazhong slope break and in the Tazhong segment of Manjiaer-Tadong slope break

and in the Silurian upper Kalpintag Fm Tazhong gentle slope-tidal flat belt;stratigraphic overlap and lithologic traps are well developed in the lower Kalpintag Fm in Awat-Southem Manjiaer slope break-coastal belt;and stratigraphic overlap and unconformity traps are well developed in lower Kalpintag Formation in Awat-Northern Manjiaer slope break-coastal belt.