Proposal:Tag:natural=plateau
| Tag:natural=plateau | |
|---|---|
| Proposal status: | Draft (under way) |
| Proposed by: | jeisenbe |
| Tagging: | natural=plateau |
| Applies to: | landform |
| Definition: | A flat landform that is elevated above the surrounding terrain |
| Statistics: |
|
| Draft started: | 2019-04-25 |
Proposal
natural=plateau is used to tag a tableland or small plateau: an flat landform that is elevated above the surrounding terrain, usually with a steep escarpment on several sides.
For flat-top hills and mountains that are surrounded by cliffs, see natural=mesa and natural=butte
See plateau on Wikipedia and compare with mesa on Wikipedia and butte on Wikipedia
Rationale
The tag natural=plateau is currently in use, but has been used less than 100 times (taginfo) and did not have a wiki page to define its proper use.
The proposal seeks to clarify that small plateaus can be added to the OSM database as a node. Currently many are mapped as place=locality but it would be better to have a specific tag.
I have also created proposal pages for natural=mesa and natural=butte flat-top hills and tablelands surrounded by cliffs. These features may be considered types of plateaus, but are more specific and have a better definition. In particular, mesas and buttes and reasonably be mapped as areas. But other plateaus lack clear boundaries and should not be mapped in htis way. Therefore, a separate tag is useful for these relatively flat highland areas.
Tagging
- As a node: place a node at the center of the landform. This is usually the preferable method of mapping, and the only recommended method when the tableland, mesa or plateau does not have clearly defined boundaries.
- It is not recommended to map these features as an area (closed way or multipolygon relation). While some mappers have added plateaus as areas, these should be changed to nodes. Landforms should only be mapped as areas when they have sharp boundaries and where the geometry can be verified by individual mappers. Some types of tablelands meet this requirement, such as a mesa or butte surrounded by cliffs. But for these features use the more specific tags: natural=mesa and natural=butte.
- It is not recommended to create large areas or multipolygon relations to map large plateaus, many of which lack verifiable borders. For example, all of the large plateaus in this list from wikipedia lack verifiable boundaries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plateau#Large_plateaus
Applies to
- nodes
Combine with
- name=*
Rendering
- name label only
See also
- natural=mesa - a flat tableland surrounded by cliffs. The width of the flat area is greater than its relative height.
- natural=butte - a flat-topped hill. The width of the flat top is less than the relative height of the hill.
- natural=peak
- natural=ridge
- natural=arete
- natural=cliff
- natural=valley
Examples
Komna plateau
- "a mountain karst plateau in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia" (source: Wikipedia)
* OSM ID 5414270555 * natural=plateau * name = Lepa Komna
Altopiano del Golgo
- A highland area on the island of Sardinia, Italy. Wikipedia (Italian)
* OSM ID 5238223447 * name = Altopiano del Golgo * natural=plateau
Makgabeng Plateau, South Africa
* OSM ID 1011379597 * name = Makgabeng Plateau * natural = plateau
Level Mountain, British Columbia
- A large, gently sloping volcanic plateau
Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico, USA
- a large volcanic plateau which has smaller mesas and buttes within it.
Features/Pages affected
External discussions
See Tagging mailing list from April 2019
Comments
Please comment on the discussion page.