Key:mountain_pass

+/- mountain_pass Description This property marks a mountain pass. Group Properties Element help Used combinations in World Australia/Oceania Europe (list) Asia (list) Central America (list) South America (list) Africa (list)

Rationale

This property marks a mountain pass (see Wikipedia).

Unfortunately, the term "mountain pass" is ambiguous. The meaning can be the whole road (or footway) up and down a mountain or "just" a special (usually the highest) point at the mountain pass (the saddle point). Maps usually "special mark" only the latter, often with the corresponding elevation.

A mountain_pass=yes tag should be the highest point of the pass so it's a single node on that way. As passes only make sense on ways it should be in the highway section (and not in the natural section as suggested before). It should be in the highway section if it is the highest point of the way, otherwise in the natural section (suggested).

Usage

Applies to the "highest node" on a highway = motorway/secondary/footway/... (could be any appropriate "highway"):

• mountain_pass=yes
• name=Brenner Pass
• ele=1370 (meter over sea level)

Lot's of passes are the border between two countries and therefore have names in (at least) two languages. These names should be tagged, e.g. name:it=Passo dello Stelvio and name:de=Stilfserjoch (but keep in addition a simple name=Passo dello Stelvio where possible, otherwise simple renderers may display no name at all). The corresponding language abbreviations can be found at ISO639-1 codes.

Optional:

• wikipedia=*

A lot of the well-known passes have dedicated Wikipedia pages.

Icon

A mountain pass is usually depicted with a "bridge like" symbol:

\  /
|  |
/  \

So with a way going trough it, this looks like:

  |
\ | /
| | |
/ | \
  |

If the symbol is not oriented along the way it can look like that or with simple point with name and altitude.

Examples

I don't know who put this image in, but the maps I had a look at used the pass symbol the way depicted as in the icon section - the bridge like symbol being along the way and not crossing the way as on this image?!? -- Ulfl 11:43, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

The bridge is along the way because it is a way (linear) property. A mountain pass should be a node property. In some case a mountain pass is depicted as a simple point.--Alban 12:55, 11 November 2007 (UTC)