We live in an incredibly complicated and interconnected world. Networks stretching across land, sea, and air gives us ways to travel and share goods and ideas around the world.
But sometimes we forget about these World map connections and get caught up in our own little worlds. I created a series of satellite maps that hide everything except for the places and networks that connect us, so we can see how connected our world truly is, and how humans have changed it over the past 150 years.
Each of these cool maps tells a story about how people have lived on planet Earth. Where did they choose to live? And to travel? How did cities grow and change?
Try to find where you live on each of these interesting maps. What connections can you find?
More info: peteratwoodprojects.wordpress.com | Twitter
Cities
This map shows where people live. You can see the biggest city in the world, Tokyo, shining as one of the brightest parts of the map. Meanwhile, deserts and jungles in Africa, South America, and Australia almost completely disappear.
Roads
There are more than 60 million kilometers of roads in the world. On this map, you can see how people have built roads across some of the most inhospitable terrain imaginable. Even in places where no one lives, you can find roads stretching across deserts and mountains to connect people on the other side.
Railroads
This map shows some of the differences between different parts of the world. Europe shines brightest with its advanced network of high-speed railroad tracks which makes it possible to travel almost anywhere without a car. In North America on the other hand, trains are mostly used to carry freight across enormous distances. In Africa, most of the railroads were built by European colonizers to carry goods to the coast to be shipped back to Europe. And in Australia, the longest trains in the world with more than 500 cars carry coal and minerals across the outback.
Airports
For some of the most isolated parts of the planet, it’s only possible to travel by air. Cities in the Amazon rain forest, the middle of the Australian Outback, and the Canadian North aren’t connected to the rest of the world by roads or rails. Instead, people, food, and supplies have to travel by air.
Ports
Almost every city in the world is built on either coastline or a river. For thousands of years, the only way to connect different parts of the world was by ship. Even today, most of the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, and the things we buy get brought to us by ship.
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Share on FacebookI am a Octopus. My home is very free from any roads or railroads
Load More Replies...Beautiful pictures. It's a small world. I'm worried about the many roads and airports in the Amazon rainforest :/
Yeah, but it's not just there it's an issue. There's just way too much human development overall. :(
Load More Replies...What is that railroad that goes from easter Finland to southern Sweden? There is just sea and no tunnel.
The rail map also includes routes for rail ferries
Load More Replies...Let's Share Ideas Together For A Beautiful Future...We need a public platform we can share ideas...Administrator must take actions and wonders...👍✊💖
Hilarious that in most of those maps (except for airports and ports), Canada virtually disappears except for a sliver along the 49th parallel.
Dont want to be rude but for the Railway one, the are more railways in northern Western Australia then this shows
The Australian bush is quite small compared to the rest of the country, i suggest crossing the nullabor, if you go west to east or vice versa its the Indian Pacific, and north to south or vice versa again its the Ghan
Load More Replies...As an alien I find the central Amazon or Sahara conducive to anonymity, but the oceans are still attractive.
As an alien I find the central Amazon or Sahara conducive to anonymity as well as the oceans.
Huge country with a relatively small population, most of which is clustered near its border with the U.S. Given that, many of its relatively many airports must be puddle-jumpers.
Load More Replies...One correction Tokyo isn’t the biggest city in the world, it only looks the brightest because it’s clustered together in a small country.
This can't be anything other than BS. Otherwise I have been missing a lot of train traveling in my home part of Europe. The northern part I mean..
On the other hand, you missed a port. Guess where I'm from.
Load More Replies...next I would like to have them show a map of the trees and the nature and the water image just looks like the world is covered in concrete lights and other man-made junk
Hopefully it will make people realize that there are too many of us and people should really just slow down breeding.
Load More Replies...OMG, I can’t believe the ports are only along coastlines! Why no ports in flyover country??
psst...it's a desert, full of it's kind of life.
Load More Replies...I am a Octopus. My home is very free from any roads or railroads
Load More Replies...Beautiful pictures. It's a small world. I'm worried about the many roads and airports in the Amazon rainforest :/
Yeah, but it's not just there it's an issue. There's just way too much human development overall. :(
Load More Replies...What is that railroad that goes from easter Finland to southern Sweden? There is just sea and no tunnel.
The rail map also includes routes for rail ferries
Load More Replies...Let's Share Ideas Together For A Beautiful Future...We need a public platform we can share ideas...Administrator must take actions and wonders...👍✊💖
Hilarious that in most of those maps (except for airports and ports), Canada virtually disappears except for a sliver along the 49th parallel.
Dont want to be rude but for the Railway one, the are more railways in northern Western Australia then this shows
The Australian bush is quite small compared to the rest of the country, i suggest crossing the nullabor, if you go west to east or vice versa its the Indian Pacific, and north to south or vice versa again its the Ghan
Load More Replies...As an alien I find the central Amazon or Sahara conducive to anonymity, but the oceans are still attractive.
As an alien I find the central Amazon or Sahara conducive to anonymity as well as the oceans.
Huge country with a relatively small population, most of which is clustered near its border with the U.S. Given that, many of its relatively many airports must be puddle-jumpers.
Load More Replies...One correction Tokyo isn’t the biggest city in the world, it only looks the brightest because it’s clustered together in a small country.
This can't be anything other than BS. Otherwise I have been missing a lot of train traveling in my home part of Europe. The northern part I mean..
On the other hand, you missed a port. Guess where I'm from.
Load More Replies...next I would like to have them show a map of the trees and the nature and the water image just looks like the world is covered in concrete lights and other man-made junk
Hopefully it will make people realize that there are too many of us and people should really just slow down breeding.
Load More Replies...OMG, I can’t believe the ports are only along coastlines! Why no ports in flyover country??
psst...it's a desert, full of it's kind of life.
Load More Replies...
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