Talk:Cave

Conditions in other countries or on other continents

This article is a rough translation of a german concept. Maybe some people from the US or somewhere else could give some details about caves in their country (like protection of bats, i guess that's more typical for Germany/Europe). Kerosin 13:08, 6 November 2010 (UTC)

Underwater caves

I've added to the map the entrance of a cave which is one of the most famous cave-diving spots in France (see it on OSM: [1]). The particular thing about this cave is that its entrance is in the bottom of a river. I could not find any appropriated tag for flagging that. Any ideas? Vitor1234 18:01, 22 September 2012 (BST)

In view of the riverbank, layer=-1 implies that the cave entrance is under water. --Fkv 19:57, 22 September 2012 (BST)

Cave extent/indoor mapping

I have described current usage but consider it very lacking.. it is a shame that we have a proposal for lava tubes but not normal caves. Obviously no variant of tunnel is well suited for caves, the biggest problems that I see

• can be used only in conjunction some water/highway
• no mapping of extent
• can't be applied to nodes

Same applies for cave=yes. Time for a proposal? RicoZ (talk) 11:24, 4 June 2015 (UTC)

Proposed features/natural=cave

Draft coming. RicoZ (talk) 14:09, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

Dimensions

1. What is the problem with the regular and widely used length=* and depth=* keys? I made a small test to check it around many renderers and many apps and not a single one does handle cave:length=* and cave:depth=*. However, the common length=* and depth=* are used by at least OsmAnd.

2. There are several caves that has parts both above and below the entrance. It's OK that depth would mark the depth below the entrance. But would height include the total vertical size of the cave, or only the part above the [main] entrance? (The latter is the terminology used here.) In either case, how to tag the other value and how to make sure everyone thinks the same? ITineris (talk) 18:01, 7 September 2025 (UTC)

Tag compatibility

Here's a list of how caves are handled with various renders and apps as of July 2025. Feel free to add your favourite, or update it.

• OsmAnd: access=*, cave:ref=*, description=*, ele=*, note=*, depth=*, height=*, length=*, sinkhole=pit is handled. Sinkholes are rendered with a different icon. barrier=gate is also put in the details list.
• OutdoorActive (ViewRanger): Caves are visible, sinkholes are not. Only the name is visible.
• Bergfex: Caves are visible, only name and ele=* is displayed.
• OpenTopoMap: Works only to zoom level 15, no caves at this zoom at all.
• MapBox (AllTrails, etc.): Caves are rendered as dots, only at high zooms.
• Komoot: Caves are displayed, name only.
• Mapy.com (ex-Mapy.cz): Caves and sinkholes are displayed with different icons. Click shows access=*, depth=*, height=*, length=*.
• Locus Map: Caves and sinkholes are displayed with different icons. barrier=gate adds a lift gate overlay. Tooltip shows only ele=*. Clicking also shows access=*.

ITineris (talk) 18:16, 7 September 2025 (UTC)