Expeditions

In this section are registered images of photographic plates that depict the daily life of the exploratory commission expedition of the central plateau of Brazil, instituted in 1892 with the goal of precisely determining, using astronomy and geodesic instruments, the four points of the quadrangle, demarcating then the area where the future Brazilian capital would be built in 1960.

Among its several scientific and academic activities, Henri Charles Morize (1860–1930) or Henrique Morize, as he became known, had a hobby: photography. This “hobby” would become important for the photographic memory of the Observatório Nacional. During the expedition to the central plateau, Morize registered, in photos, the diversity of the fauna, flora, small organisms in the ecosystems, varieties of water springs, atmospheric quality and topographic aspects.

This photographic work has enriched and illustrated the text of the report about the expedition, named “Cruls Report”, written by the then director of the Imperial Observatory, Luiz Cruls (1848-1908). Considered as “the most complete story about the Central Plateau and the first Report of Environmental Impact of our history”, it may be found at the website: https://livraria.senado.leg.br/

Note: The images of scanned plates have their names formed, initially, by three letters associated to a number to facilitate their location in the digital database and physical archive of the Observatório Nacional library.