Tag:man_made=tower

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Public-images-osm logo.svg man_made = tower
Lucas-Cranach-Turm.JPG
Description
A tower is a free-standing structure which is higher than it is wide. Show/edit corresponding data item.
Rendering in OSM Carto
Tower freestanding.svg
Group: man made
Used on these elements
may be used on nodesshould not be used on waysmay be used on areas (and multipolygon relations)should not be used on relations (except multipolygon relations)
Useful combination
See also
Status: de facto

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 Tower freestanding.svg A man made tower
tower:type communication Tower cantilever communication.svg Communication tower
communication + tower:construction=lattice Tower lattice communication.svg Communication tower constructed from steel lattice
lighting Tower lighting.svg Lighting tower
lighting + tower:construction=lattice Tower lattice lighting.svg Lighting tower
constructed from steel lattice
bell_tower Tower bell tower.svg Bell tower or church tower
observation Tower observation.svg Observation tower
defensive Tower defensive.svg Fortified defensive tower
minaret A minaret
siren A siren tower
watchtower Tower observation.svg Watch tower
cooling Tower cooling.svg 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.
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.
  1. 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

Possible synonyms

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If you know places with this tag, verify if it could be tagged with another tag.
Automated edits are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you are doing!