Tag:channelised=yes

Used to indicate that a waterway=river or waterway=stream has been channelised, that is, enclosed in man-made banks, usually straight rather than meandering, and often made of concrete.

Some rivers may have been channelised on their entire length or most of it, while others might be channelised only in parts such as around major earthworks or as a new channel bypassing a town centre for flood relief.

While it is reasonably common for humans to attempt to shape river banks, this tag is intended for recognizably "artificial" banks such as concrete channels or very straight stretches. It has been used to distinguish a channelised part of a river from a waterway=canal (for example because it doesn't have a transport nor water-supply role) or waterway=drain (because it carries primarily upstream river water rather than surface runoff).

A channelised river will usually be lower than the surrounding area. Embankments or levees that are raised up in an attempt to keep back river water should be mapped as man_made=dyke or man_made=embankment.

Photos

• 
  Recognizably artificial concrete banks
• 
  Concrete channel and riverbed of a stream or small river
• 
  Los Angeles River fully enclosed in concrete
• 
  A river (flowing from left to right in the image) is channelised around a motorway interchange and then resumes "natural" course

See also

• Forum discussion in 2025