Tag:boundary=national_park
 boundary = national_park
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The boundary of a national park, an area of natural beauty, set aside for conservation and for recreation 
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| Group: places |
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| Status: de facto |
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A ![[W]](/w/images/2/24/Wikipedia-16px.png "Wikipedia"){kind=small}
national park is a relatively large area of land declared by a government (just as boundary=administrative are declared/recognized by governments), to be set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, as well as the protection of the natural environment and/or cultural heritage of an area. This would normally also come with restrictions on human activity, particularly development, for the protection of wildlife and scenery. National parks are often named "X national park" (with translation).
Example
The minimum requirements are exemplary for the Snowdonia National Park [note that these are not the tags currently used for this national park (now boundary=protected_area with protect_class=5)]
- name=Snowdonia National Park
- boundary=national_park
- protect_class=2
[... other useful tags for protected areas in general, see boundary=protected_area ...]
Similar tags
- leisure=nature_reserve – Like a national park, a nature reserve is about protecting wildlife etc. The distinction is unclear and is under discussion, but some suggestions are: nature reserves are smaller areas than national parks, National parks are rather like administrative boundaries around large areas (and may in fact include cities) whereas nature reserves are more evident on-the-ground.
- boundary=protected_area – A more recently introduced tag with a more verbose tagging scheme which can deal with all kind of protections and protection levels. It encompasses both nature reserves and national park.
- protection_title=national park - Used with boundary=protected_area or boundary=national_park to give the official national name for the type of protection.
- designation=national_park - Used to signify national parks in the United Kingdom primarily.
- leisure=park – These are smaller than a national park, evident on-the-ground (rather than a government declared boundary), and often landscaped. Usually within a town or city, and perhaps less likely to have interesting protected wildlife.
Local usage
In some countries this tag is used for similar protected areas with different titles.
Argentina
This tag is not used in Argentina. Instead, boundary=protected_area + protected_area=national_park is used.
United States
The National Park Service operates 420+ federally designated units. Only 63 of these are National Parks in the strict sense and should be tagged with boundary=national_park. Sites operated by the National Park Service other than the National Parks may also be tagged with boundary=national_park when they fit the general definition at the top of this page.