Connecting geographically distinct sites using a WAN

Question

I am studying for my CCNA and my current topic is related to WANs, and I need some clarity on certain things.

Here is a topology I've quickly built. (Don't mind the IP addressing, I've have purposely skipped that.

Imagine that these two networks are two different sites that are miles apart

My questions related to this are

1. Since those two routers connect two sites that are far apart, geographically distinct for example, does this mean that the connection between those routers is a WAN, then?
2. The connection between such routers isn't just a single cable connecting both sites, right? Each router has a WAN cable provided by the ISP that connects to the ISP and the ISP does the job of connecting those two sites? Like this?
3. Could those two sites communicate now, even without the use of the internet? If there is a WAN connection between them.

Answer 1

Definitions can be vague sometimes, but most people would call this a WAN.

The provider connects you to their network at each end and provides the connectivity between them. Usually this is a private connection (not connected to the Internet). Large providers have global networks and they also have agreements with smaller local providers to make the connection.

Answer 2

Since those two routers connect two sites that are far apart, geographically distinct for example, does this mean that the connection between those routers is a WAN, then?

You could call that a WAN connection, yes. There isn't any really strict definition any more.

The connection between such routers isn't just a single cable connecting both sites, right?

It could be just a single cable - you could run fiber yourself if you own/rent the land in between, or you could rent dark fiber from an ISP that happens to have a convenient deployment. Most often, an ISP rents you a higher-layer connection though.

Each router has a WAN cable provided by the ISP that connects to the ISP and the ISP does the job of connecting those two sites?

Pretty much so. For dark fiber you'd provide termination (fiber transceivers) yourself, or you get some CPEs with Ethernet hand-over ports. The ISP usually uses MPLS technology to connect your sites across their backbone.