A Map of the Cables Connecting the World

TeleGeography has produced a couple of interesting maps of the telecommunication cables that cross under oceans and seas. The interactive Submarine Cable map allows you to click on various points and lines to see the locations that they connect. The map also shows you who owns the lines depicted.

A poster (infographic) version of the Submarine Cable map is available too. The poster version includes a timeline of cables connected between 1997 and 2012.

Applications for Education
Students today grow up just assuming that the Internet connects everyone, but they probably don't think about how that actually happens. These maps could be a nice way to show students how much cable it takes to connect us. An extension of this would be to have students try to calculate or research how many miles of cable are under an ocean or sea.

H/T to Cool Infographics.