Modern terminal fans, that is lobate-shaped wedges formed at the downstream end of endorheic drainage systems, develop a distinctive facies signature derived from rapid basinward decay of stream flow and lateral merger into the background hinterland deposition. This type of alluvial pattern has been recognized in the Upper Cretaceous redbed successions of the Neuquén basin. Paleogeographic reconstructions suggest the former presence of ephemeral streams that episodically discharged into a mud-dominated alluvial plain-alluvial basin setting and constructed 30- to 50-m-thick and 20- to 30-km-wide sand-rich fans. Stratigraphic analysis shows that the terminal fan accumulations are contained within 100- to 150-m-thick alluvial packages bounded by stratigraphic discontinuities (“hinterland sequences”). These packages record the repetition of a definite internal architecture. When fully developed, the stratigraphic motif consists of sandy forward-stepping stacks, followed by sandy to sandy-shaly backward stepping complexes, finally capped by mudrock-rich aggradational stacks punctuated by paleosols. Conditions forcing these stratal patterns produced a basin-wide stratigraphic overprint and were iterated nine times, suggesting a 1- to 3-my episodicity. Stratigraphic sections and paleogeographic reconstructions based on the recognition and mapping of the Upper Cretaceous hinterland sequences have been used to support exploration for hydrocarbons, underground water resources and strata-bound mineral concentrations.