Tag:waterway=rapids

The tag waterway=rapids is used for whitewater rapids, a fast-flowing, often turbulent, section of a watercourse such as a river, often containing exposed rocks or boulders. Also see the newer tags whitewater:rapid_grade=* and whitewater:section_grade=* which are still less common but have been gradually increasing in use.

How to map

• As node:

Add waterway=rapids to a node shared with the waterway=river at the location of the rapids, and add the name=* if known.

• As line:

Draw a linear way along the centre line. In this case it is still necessary to map the centre line of the river with waterway=river.

This could be extended with additional information with whitewater:rapid_grade=* and whitewater:section_grade=*, with the option of using whitewater:rapid_grade=unknown. Although some prefer to apply these tags to waterway=river instead.

• As area:

For the sake of consistency, please consider using natural=water+water=rapids to indicate part of river area containing rapids. In that case duplicate water=river or waterway=rapids area is not created.

Some mappers have used waterway=rapids as a closed way around the area of the rapids. This is an obsolete way to be, please prefer now the first solution.

Similar tags

• waterway=waterfall - for a vertical drop in a stream or river, generally not navigable by boats.
• whitewater:rapid_grade=* - allows tagging the difficulty grade of navigating the rapid, according to the international system
• whitewater:section_grade=* - for tagging the difficulty grade of a whole section of a river.
• whitewater:rapid_name=* and whitewater:section_name=* - the name of the rapid (can be added to the same feature as waterway=river)
• whitewater sports - alternative tagging system.