Tag:man_made=tower
 man_made = tower
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| Description |
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A tower is a free-standing structure which is higher than it is wide. 
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| Rendering in OSM Carto |
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| Group: man made |
| Used on these elements |
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| Useful combination |
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| See also |
| Status: de facto |
| Tools for this tag |
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A tower is a free-standing structure which is higher than it is wide. It can stand alone or as a part of a bigger building. Towers are typically built from wood, steel, bricks, stone or concrete.
In comparison, a man_made=mast is often a single mast of concrete or steel. A tower is accessible and provides platforms, whereas a mast only offers ladder steps to climb it.
It is distinguished by a radio tower or telecommunications tower (man_made=communications_tower), which is even larger (> 100 m) and has the transmission facilities in the tower dome.
Engineering definition
In structural engineering, towers are free-standing vertical structures, supported only by their own foundation. It means, no additional external guying and anchoring structures are used for towers.
Required tags
Note that these are tags for towers. The key tower:type=* is also used for masts in combination with man_made=mast, for example the communication type can occur with towers or with masts.
| Key | Value | Icon | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| man_made | tower | |
A man made tower |
| tower:type | communication |  |
Communication tower |
| communication + tower:construction=lattice |  |
Communication tower constructed from steel lattice | |
| lighting |  |
Lighting tower | |
| lighting + tower:construction=lattice |  |
Lighting tower constructed from steel lattice | |
| bell_tower |  |
Bell tower or church tower | |
| observation |  |
Observation tower | |
| defensive |  |
Fortified defensive tower | |
| minaret | A minaret | ||
| siren | A siren tower | ||
| watchtower | |
Watch tower | |
| cooling |  |
Cooling tower | |
| radar | Radar tower | ||
| monitoring | Monitoring tower | ||
| pagoda | Pagoda | ||
| stupa | Stupa | ||
| diving | |||
| hose | Tower for drying fire hoses, often a part of a fire station | ||
| climbing | |||
| campanile | Free standing bell tower derived from Italian campana (bell) | ||
| klockstapel | Free standing wooden belfry (in Northern Europe) | ||
| bell_gable | Flat belfry (Spanish Espadaña) | ||
| flare | Gas flare, used to dispose excess (flammable) gasses | ||
| * | See tower:type and all commonly used values according to Taginfo | ||
| service | aircraft_control | Aircraft control tower |
Optional tags
Some general tags which are used across many other types of object are used to tag communication towers:
| Key | Value | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| name | * | Name of the tower. |
| ref | * | Reference number of the tower. |
| operator | * | Maintainer/Operator of the tower structure. |
| material | * | Material the tower is made of. |
| height[1] | number in meters |
Height of the top of the tower (including any antennas) from ground-level in meters. In the case where the tower is mounted on top of a building, the height should include the height of the building. |
| ele | * | Elevation of the bottom of the tower above sea-level in meters. |
| access | * | Physical access to tower, most likely private, but some towers have viewing platforms. |
| viewpoint | yes | The tower has a very nice view. |
| source | * | Where did the data come from? |
| url | * | URL link to a website with information about this tower. |
| website | * | Official website of this tower (if any). |
| mimics | * | Used with communication to categorize infrastructure camouflaged as a natural or built feature. |
| tower:construction | * | The construction or architectural form of the tower. See all commonly used values according to Taginfo |
| lattice | The tower is constructed from steel lattice. | |
| freestanding | The tower is free-standing 'heavy' construction such as concrete, steel, or wood. | |
| dish | The 'communication tower' is a parabolic dish. | |
| dome | The 'communication tower' is a dome (or 'golf-ball') construction, with antenna elements concealed from view by a  radome.
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| concealed | The 'communication tower' is concealed/disguised (for example: hidden inside a church steeple). (Compare mimics.) | |
| tower:insulated | yes | The 'communication tower' is insulated against ground. |
| building | * | Some historic large tower architectures no longer have their initial intended usage and may be inhabited. |
- ↑ The height is a crucial feature of a tower and is also considered during rendering. So it is important to specify the height as much as possible.
See also
- building=tower – a tower-shaped building
- Proposal:Communications Transponder
- Proposed features/Telecommunications tower for detailed tagging of different communication related objects
- man_made=mast
- man_made=column
- man_made=communications_tower
- man_made=water_tower
- man_made=chimney
- man_made=lighthouse
- man_made=windmill
- power=generator + generator:source=wind
- power=tower
- power=pole