¿De quién es la topografía? el plan cartográfico de la dirección de minas, geología e hidrología.

During the 20th century, there were two cartographic plans in Argentina: one by the Instituto Geográfico Militar (IGM, Military Geographical Institute), and the other by the Dirección de Minas, Geología e Hidrología (DMGeH, Mines, Geology and Hydrology Directorate). Although there was an attempt to avoid overlapping and carry out joint work for the benefit of both areas, the IGM's cartographic policy eventually centralized and homogenized topographic representation, to the detriment of some DGMeH-specific criteria. This article aims, on the one hand, to shed light on DMGeH's cartographic plan, and on the other, to analyze what cartography centralization implied for the production of DGMeH's topographic sheets. First, the DGMeH history is presented, to show how topographic surveying was centralized in that public division; second, the DGMeH plan is studied; finally, the Chart Law's consequences on topographical representation are discussed. Methodologically, cartographic sources and writings from the analyzed institutions were employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]