Until late in the second half of the twentieth century mapping of the central Eastern region of Peru had not been prepared properly. As can be seen in the map of the August 1964 National Geographic article on the expedition to the Cordillera Vilcabamba made in 1963 (Map 1), the Cutivireni River (Cutibireni) is totally misplaced. This despite the fact that shortly before (1960) the then Minister of Development and Public Works, Alfonso Rizo Patron, had hired the Canadian company Hunting Associates to conduct a comprehensive survey of the area in the context of his Peruvia Plan, which used the best methods available at that time based operating from aircraft radar (SLAR). Map 2, which was drawn in 1983 based on the information of the mentioned Canadian company, was the first to show an adequate approximation to the correct cartography and topography of the region. NOTE: Both maps can be viewed in high resolution by clicking on them with the left mouse button.     Map 1: from National Geographic Magazine of August 1964  Map 2: Cutivireni River Basin and surroundings according to the Peruvia Plan  Today topographic maps around the globe have almost full coverage and adequate accuracy thanks to new satellite technology that was first used massively since 2000 when the SRTM mission was launched. This mission in the space shuttle aimed to develop a global digital topography using single-pass radar interferometry, capable in principle to map the entire earth's surface, even in areas with persistent cloud cover, a great improvement over previous topographical information.