The Telegraph Plateau is a region of the North Atlantic that was supposedly relatively flat and shallow compared to the rest of the ocean away from shore. The term is archaic and no longer used by hydrographers. It was so named because it seemed to be an ideal route for a transatlantic telegraph cable, and was actually used for the first such cable in 1858. The Victorian hydrographers surveying the route failed to notice the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the middle of the route.