Tag:natural=fumarole
 natural = fumarole
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| Description |
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A fumarole is an opening in a planet's crust, which emits steam and gases 
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| Group: Natural |
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Status: approved
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A 
Fumarole is an opening in a planet's crust, which emits steam and gases. They are found in volcanic areas and geothermal fields.
Comparison with existing features
Fumaroles are similar to geysers and hot_springs. There are a few key differences:
- Hot Springs produce hot water.
- Fumaroles emit small quantities of steam/gas (no liquid water, but they may cause nearby water to boil).
- Geysers dramatically eject a large volume of water and steam in a burst upwards.
Examples of fumaroles
A fumarole on Whakaari / White Island, New Zealand
A fumarole at Námafjall, Iceland
Less dramatic fumaroles at Karapiti / Craters of the Moon, New Zealand
Examples of ambiguous situations
A fumarole beneath a
mud pool, which causes the mud to boil and bubble. If it is producing water, use hot_spring. If it is only producing steam/gas, use fumarole.
Geothermal steam rising out of a storm drain.
Examples of other geothermal features
Not a fumarole: use
natural=hot_spring
Not a fumarole: use
natural=hot_spring and map the hot water as 
natural=water + temperature=hot
Tagging
Ideally, individual fumaroles would be mapped as a Node. If the vent is large enough, you could use an Area.
If you can not identify the locations of the individual fumaroles, you could draw an Area to cover the whole area that appears to be steaming. This is not the recommended approach but is still acceptable.
Extinct fumaroles
Fumaroles may become extinct, either as a natural process or if geothermal bores or power plants are constructed nearby. Extinct fumaroles should normally be deleted from OSM. In rare cases, if they are very significant they could be mapped as was:natural=fumarole.