For many years, the geometry, kinematic, and the age of the basement‐involved structures of the Pre‐Andean basins of northern Chile have been debated. Even, many tectonic models supported by surface geological data have ignored how is the continuity of these structures in the subsurface, and also their possible relation with ancient preorogenic structures, thus difficulting the understanding of the main tectonic mechanisms that acted during the Andean uplift. To solve this problem, we discussed in this study the geometry and timing of the basement‐involved contractional structures present in the Pre‐Andean basins of northern Chile. We present field and seismic evidences of different basement‐involved structural styles, including reverse faults, inverted normal faults, basement thrust ramps, and rotated and reworked basin margins, and use it them to produce three large structural cross‐sections showing the geometries and distribution of structures along the inner forearc region. The structures are interpreted to have resulted from basin inversion, which was followed by large reverse faulting accumulating 43 km in the Salar de Atacama, 10 km in the Salar de Punta Negra, and 27 km in the Salar de Pedernales. Major reverse faults are predominantly located along the western and eastern edges of the basins, whereas inverted normal faults, basement thrust ramps, and other structures are confined to the central sections. In this context, large basement thrust ramps and reverse faults are the most effective structures for generating crustal thickening. Previous analyses (U‐Pb dating) of synorogenic deposits over inverted structures and apatite fission track data from Paleozoic basement prerift rocks suggest that contraction in the region began in the Late Cretaceous‐Paleocene and continued throughout the Cenozoic; however, basement rocks experienced rapid cooling due to tectonic uplift during the Eocene. Further, the results indicate that basement‐involved contractional structures are not only generated by flat‐slab subduction processes, but also observed in other regions of northern Chile (e.g., Frontal Cordillera). Finally, we conclude that the observed structural complexity predominantly results from the initial distribution of preorogenic extensional structures.

Tectonics inheritance controls the evolution of many orogens. To unravel the role of the Gondwanan heritage (late Paleozoic to Triassic) over the building of the Central Andes in northern Chile (Domeyko Range), we performed detrital U‐Pb zircon and⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar muscovite geochronology along with structural analyses (kinematics and structural balancing).⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of detrital muscovite reveals contrasting cooling histories for the Paleozoic basement of Triassic rift sub‐basins, indicating that NW‐striking crustal structures segmented the Andean forearc since at least the middle Permian, likely related to an accretional fabric developed along SW Gondwana. These structures can be inferred based on scattered faults, gravimetric data, and basement age disruptions. During the Late Triassic, NS‐striking master faults and secondary NW‐ to NNW‐striking faults configured an oblique rift, primarily driven by subduction dynamics. We suggest that along SW Gondwana, the slab‐pull would have controlled the development of subduction‐related rift basins close to the trench whereas Triassic inland rifts were mainly driven by Pangea‐breakup stresses. Compressional tectonics began in the Late Cretaceous, yet the inversion of the Triassic rift would have started during the Eocene with the inception of the metallogenic‐fertile transpressional Domeyko fault system. Thus, the structural style of this range was determined by the architecture of the Triassic rift, where the inversion of deep‐seated faults accounted for west‐vergent thick‐ and thin‐skinned structures. Pre‐Andean NW‐striking structures also accommodated tectonic rotations during the Incaic orogeny (Eocene‐Oligocene) and may delimit the rupture zone of large earthquakes, suggesting an underestimated role of such ancient discontinuities in Andean neotectonics.