Abstract Salt-sediment interaction influence the stratigraphic architecture of depositional sequences during the passive margin stage of development of the Adelaide Geosyncline in South Australia. This late Precambrian to Early Cambrian succession outcrops in the Flinders ranges and is punctuated by submarine unconformities. The unconformities are interpreted as deep-water sequence boundaries that have no shallow water equivalent. However, they can be traced laterally into condensed sections or major flooding surfaces. These sequence boundaries are typically overlain by deep-water facies that reflect the high rate of subsidence coupled with high sedimentation rates typically found in halotectonic mini-basins. Large-scale slumping and canyon incision often mark the deep-water sequence boundaries. Canyon incision is associated with salt withdrawal or downbuilding in mini-basins. The architecture of submarine canyons is defined by the nature and correlation of bounding surfaces, sandstone interconnectivity and lithofacies elements. These features are often beyond the limits of seismic resolution in basins where passive margin development was influenced by salt tectonics.