Key:surface

+/- surface Description Describes the surface of a feature. Group Properties Element help Useful combination highway=* smoothness=* Used combinations in World Australia/Oceania Europe (list) Asia (list) Central America (list) South America (list) Africa (list)

Summary:

See also Landcover

To provide additional information about the physical surface of roads/footpaths and some other features. Primarily concerned about the surface in relation to transport and sports and more commonly used on linear features. For broader descriptions of surfaces see Landcover.

For roads for motor vehicles there there is normally an assumption that the surface is surface=paved unless otherwise stated. Paved in OpenStreetMap is non-specific and may cover sealed, metalled, tarmac, asphalt, bitumen. surface=unpaved is treated as the opposite of paved. More specific tags can used used for surfaces which are normally classified into paved or unpaved for routing purposes. Navigation software should assume that roads-that-are-not-paved will have slower driving speed (and therefore longer driving time) and may be impassable in some weather conditions.

Paths for non-motorised use (highway=footway, highway=path etc should ideally always be tagged with surface (or alternatively tracktype=*) given that there is no default for such paths.

Rendering software convention varies, but generally roads-that-are-not-paved are shown in a different colour but same width as their paved cousins or use the same colour but are dashed.

Values

Key	Value	Element	Comment	Data users may treat this as	Rendering	Photo
Roads
surface	artificial_turf		An all-weather surface made from synthetic fibers to look and feel like natural grass. Often used for tracks and pitches of sports such as football, baseball, etc.	unpaved
surface	asphalt		This is actually short for Asphalt concrete. It does not mean that the road surface is only asphalt. Most such roads are tagged as surface=paved.	paved
surface	cobblestone		Rounded stone (true cobblestone) or flattened stone (sett). Cobblestones were largely replaced by setts in the 19th century.	paved
surface	cobblestone:flattened			paved
surface	compacted		A mixture of larger (e.g. gravel) and smaller (e.g. sand) parts, compacted e.g. with a roller, so the surface is more stable than loose gravel. Used e.g. for park paths, better tracks, some service ways, ... Best sort of ways below paving with asphalt, concrete, paving stones. Sometimes known as water-bound macadam Mixture and compacting leads to more grip and stability	unpaved
surface	concrete		specifies surface=paved in greater detail. please use surface=concrete:plates or surface=concrete:lanes if you know how the concrete is laid out.	paved
surface	concrete:lanes		specifies surface=paved. long, narrow concrete plates laid out for a two-tracked vehicle (motorcars) so that the tiers always hit the concrete. there might be sand/ground/grass/pavers/asphalt/etc. in between them. note that if you tag a single-tracked way you just use surface=concrete, since there are no lanes.	paved
surface	concrete:plates		specifies surface=paved. heavy duty plates chained closely together on the short side. might have tar or sand in between the connections.	paved
surface	dirt			unpaved
surface	earth		Probably the same as surface=ground	unpaved
surface	fine_gravel		A multilayer pavement with a stone or gravel basis and a topmost surface of firm, granular grit, basalt or quartz, as invented by the Roman empire. Easy to walk, jog, cycle or ride on. In hilly areas mostly with drainage channels and convex cross-section for proper dewatering. motorized vehicles will not move stones if the way is maintained properly, and bicycles tires will not leave any imprints at least in dry weather. If the topmost surface is heavily eroded or loose gravel aggravate going please use surface=gravel instead	unpaved
surface	grass			unpaved
surface	grass_paver			unpaved
surface	gravel			unpaved
surface	ground		No special surface, the ground itself has marks of human or animal usage.	unpaved
surface	metal		sometimes used for bridges, or for temporary tracks over fields for normal road vehicles or site traffic	unpaved
surface	mud		Probably the same as surface=ground	unpaved
surface	paved		A highway feature is predominantly sealed along its length, i.e. it is covered with paving stones, concrete or bitumen. (This is a rough description of the surface)	this
surface	paving_stones			paved
surface	paving_stones:30		Square paving stones with 30cm sides	paved
surface	paving_stones:20		Square paving stones with 20cm sides	paved
surface	pebblestone			unpaved
surface	sand			unpaved
surface	tartan		A synthetic, all-weather surface typically used in athletic and other sport tracks. Although Tartan is a trademark, it is used as a generic term due to its widespread usage.
surface	unpaved		A highway feature is predominantly unsealed along its length, i.e. it has a loose covering ranging from compacted stone chippings to earth. Unpaved roads may, in aerial imagery, show evidence of water along their course; in such circumstances, the waterway should not be tagged as a stream, though it might appear as such. (This is a rough description of the surface)	this
surface	wood		sometimes used for bridges and plank walkways for foot traffic through swampy areas	unpaved
surface	clay		used for some tennis- and soccerpitch	unpaved
surface	User Defined		All commonly used values according to Tagwatch

This table is a wiki template with a default description in English. Editable here.

See also

A proposal for value hierarchy and all_wheather value: Proposed_features/Surface:all_weather.