The Salar de Atacama basin lies in the inner fore arc of northern Chile. Topographically and structurally, it is a first-order feature of the central Andes. The sedimentary fill of the basin constrains the timing and extent of crustal deformation since the mid-Cretaceous. We have studied good exposures along the western edge of the basin and have correlated them with seismic reflection sections and data from an exploration well. Throughout most of its history, the basin developed in a foreland setting, during periods of thin-skinned and thick-skinned thrusting. Growth strata provide evidence for coeval sedimentation and thrust motions during mid-Cretaceous, Paleogene, and Neogene times. Pre-Neogene deformation was significant in the basin and in surounding areas of the early central Andes. Models that attempt to explain the current thickness of the central Andes should consider Late Cretaceous and Paleogene shortening, as well as the more obvious Neogene and Quaternary shortening.