Watch The Big Picture - Mapping Adventure

Experience the American Journey through our country's visual heritage in this historical recording provided by the National Archives of the United States. From the U.S. Army's THE BIG PICTURE television series, 1950-1975. This issue of THE BIG PICTURE tells the exciting story of several Inter-American Geodetic Survey teams and their adventures in mapping the jungles, deserts, plateaus and the towering Andes of Latin America. The recently discovered ruins of the ancient Incan city of Machu Pichu and the mapping of the tragic town of Ranrahirca buried in the avalanche of January 1962 from before and after aerial photographs play an important part in the story. The IAGS program begun in 1946, involves the U.S. and 17 Latin American countries. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plays a key role in the training of the teams and assisting in the actual "Mapping Adventure."

This historical recording from the National Archives may contain variations in audio and video quality based on the limitations of the original source material.

The content summary for this video is adapted from an historical description provided by the government agency or donor at the time of production release.