Abstract: The slope spectrum is defined by a statistic graph or a mathematical model，in which，the X-axis （independent variable） denotes the numerical values of a particular slope factor and the Y-axis （dependent variable） represents the corresponding area on the ground. It reflects macro spatial distribution rules of different landforms by micro topographical factors. In this study，the ASTER GDEM V002 was utilized as basic data, and the digital terrain analysis tools were applied in ArcGIS to extract the slope, aspect，slope variability （SOS），and aspect variability （SOA） from the upstream basin of the Shule River，then the statistics results of the areas were conducted to render the slope spectrum curves. The results indicate that the values of the slope from the study area is mainly distributed in a range of 0～73.20 degrees, and the average is about 18.39 degree. Based on the distribution areas and their percentage portions of the whole area，steep slope（5°～35°） and abrupt slope（5°～15°） are the major slope types，which occupies 39.89% and 34.27% separately. The steep slopes are mostly distributed in Shulenan Mountain area and Tuolainan Mountain area, while the abrupt slopes are mostly located in transition zones between mountain and basin. And furthermore，the northern part is gentle，while the southern part is relatively steep. 28.33% of aspects are northward and northwestward，which is consistent with the trend of the mountains and rivers in the study area. On the left side of Shule River，aspects are generally eastward, and westward on the right side. The SOS values distribute within the range of 0 ～47.04°and 53.04% of them are centered between 5° to 15°. The SOA values change from 0°to 82.13°and 58.08% are focused between 35°and 90°. Particularly，the SOS varies slowly but the SOA changes greatly in both of the Shule river basin and the Changma basin. The slope spectrum from the upstream of the Shule River reflects that the surface relief moves largely and the terrain goes into pieces on the ground. Combining with the analysis of DEM data, it is obviously that SOS and SOA have significant indication to the boundary line and shoulder-line of the upstream basin of the Shule River. The slope spectrum characteristics of the upstream basin of Shule River can be used to effectively distinguish the types and geomorphologic characteristics of the study area.

Key words: upstream basin of Shule Riverslope spectrum, slope of slope, slope of aspect