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New thermochronological and structural studies were conducted to quantify the cooling and late exhumation histories of the Internal Zone of the western Betic Cordilleras. The study was carried out in the Ojen-Marbella region where the Ojen and Los Reales nappes of the Alpujarride Complex outcrop. ⁴⁰Ar ³⁹Ar single-grain analyses of muscovite and biotite display plateau ages of 19 Ma, on the same rocks. Apatite fission-track datings give ages of 18-16 Ma for the last step of cooling below 110°C, and confined track measurements indicate a very rapid cooling between 110° and <60°C. The combination of both data suggests a fast cooling phase at 19-16 Ma with a gradient higher than 100°C/Ma between 500 ± 50°C and <60°C. This fast cooling was associated with extensional tectonics accommodating thinning of the metamorphic alpine-type pile of nappes. The exhumation rate ranges from 1 to 3 km/Ma during …