Skip to content

Basemap Layers

The Protomaps basemap is built on OpenStreetMap and Natural Earth data. It does not include all data and tags from OSM; instead it is designed to strike a balance between tile size and completeness, for use as a general-purpose context map.

The organization of layers and tags is derived from the open source Tilezen project. The scope of contents and choice of data inclusion at certain zoom levels is intended to mirror the reference implementations of Tilezen styles such as Bubble Wrap.

The current version is Version 4.

Common Tags

KeyValuesDescription
name, name*, name:*, pgf:name:*, script*stringsee Localization
sort_rankintegerImportance ranking used for rendering
min_zoomintegerSuggested zoom level to limit display

boundaries

KeyValuesDescription
kindcountry, region, county, locality
kind_detailintegerthe minimum admin_level from OSM
brk_a3brk_a3 value from Natural Earth
disputedboolean

buildings

Buildings from OpenStreetMap. z0-14 contains merged buildings, even disconnected ones. z15+ contains individual OSM equivalent buildings.

KeyValuesDescription
kindbuilding, building_partWhether it is a whole building or one part.
heightnumberMay be quantized at low zoom levels.
min_heightnumberMay be quantized at low zoom levels.
layerintegerLayer position relative to other buildings.

earth

Polygons from the Natural Earth 50m land theme for z0-z4, 10m for z5, preprocessed land polygons from OSMCoastline for z6+.

KeyValuesDescription
kindearth

landcover

Polygons from the Daylight distribution's landcover theme, for z0-z7.

KeyValuesDescription
kindbarren, farmland, forest, glacier, grassland, scrub, urban_area

NOTE: It's recommended to pair with natural layer polygons in from OpenStreetMap at mid- and high-zooms.

landuse

Polygons from OpenStreetMap, from a curated subset of aeroway, amenity, area:aeroway, boundary, highway, landuse, leisure, man_made, natural, place, railway, tourism tags, for all zooms.

KeyValuesDescription
kindSee below
sportstringWhich sports are played on a pitch.

Kinds

Kind
aerodrome
attraction
bare_rock
beach
cafe
camp_site
cemetery
college
commercial
dog_park
farmland
farmyard
footway
forest
garden
glacier
golf_course
grass
grocery
hospital
hotel
industrial
kindergarten
library
marina
meadow
military
national_park
nature_reserve
neighbourhood
orchard
other
park
pedestrian
pier
pitch
platform
playground
post_office
protected_area
railway
recreation_ground
residential
runway
sand
school
scrub
stadium
supermarket
taxiway
townhall
university
wetland
wood
zoo

places

Points from OpenStreetMap and Natural Earth, from a curated subset of place tags, for all zooms.

KeyValuesDescription
kindcountry, region, locality, macrohood, neighbourhood
kind_detailallotments, city, country, farm, hamlet, hamlet, isolated_dwelling, locality, neighbourhood, province, quarter, scientific_station, state, town, village
capitalstring
populationint
population_rankint
wikidatastring

pois

Points from OpenStreetMap, from a curated subset of aeroway, amenity, attraction, boundary, craft, highway, historic, landuse, leisure, natural, railway, shop, tourism tags, for all zooms.

KeyValuesDescription
kindSee below
cuisinestring
religionstring
sportstring
iatastring

NOTE: The list of kind values is not comprehensive as some raw OSM tag values are passed through in the current version.

Kinds

kindicon
aerodrome
adult_gaming_centre
airfield
alpine_hut
amusement_ride
animal
art
artwork
atm
attraction
atv
baby_hatch
bakery
bbq
beach
beauty
bed_and_breakfast
bench
bicycle_parking
bicycle_rental
bicycle_repair_station
boat_storage
bookmaker
books
bureau_de_change
bus_stop
butcher
cafe
camp_site
car_parts
car_rental
car_repair
car_sharing
car_wash
car
carousel
cemetery
chalet
charging_station
childcare
clinic
clothes
college
computer
convenience
customs
dentist
district
doctors
dog_park
drinking_water
emergency_phone
fashion
firepit
fire_station
fishing
florist
forest
fuel
gambling
garden_centre
gift
golf_course
golf
greengrocer
grocery
guest_house
hairdresser
hanami
harbourmaster
hifi
hospital
hostel
hotel
hunting_stand
information
jewelry
karaoke_box
karaoke
landmark
library
life_ring
lottery
marina
maze
memorial
military
mobile_phone
money_transfer
motorcycle_parking
motorcycle
national_park
nature_reserve
naval_base
newsagent
optician
park
parking
peak
perfumery
picnic_site
picnic_table
pitch
playground
post_box
post_office
ranger_station
recycling
roller_coaster
sanitary_dump_station
school
scuba_diving
shelter
ship_chandler
shower
slipway
snowmobile
social_facility
stadium
station
stationery
studio
summer_toboggan
supermarket
swimming_area
taxi
telephone
tobacco
toilets
townhall
trail_riding_station
travel_agency
university
viewpoint
waste_basket
waste_disposal
water_point
water_slide
watering_place
wayside_cross
wilderness_hut
zoo

roads

Linear transportation features designed for movement, including highways, streets, railways and piers from OpenStreetMap. This layer represents built infrastructure including railways. Refer to the transit layer for passenger services.

KeyValuesDescription
kindSee kinds below
kind_detailmotorway, motorway_link, trunk, trunk_link, primary, primary_link, secondary, secondary_link, tertiary, tertiary_link, residential, service, unclassified, road, raceway, pedestrian, track, path, cycleway, bridleway, steps, corridor, sidewalk, crossing, driveway, parking_aisle, alley, drive-through, emergency_access, utility, irrigation, slipway, cable_car, pier, runway, taxiway, disused, funicular, light_rail, miniature, monorail, narrow_gauge, preserved, subway, tram
refstring
shield_text_lengthint
networkstring
onewaystring
servicesiding, crossover, yard
is_linkboolean
is_tunnelboolean
is_bridgeboolean

Kinds

kind
highway
major_road
minor_road
path
aerialway
ferry
pier
rail
aeroway

transit

Lines representing scheduled passenger services suitable for rendering on the map, even at lower zoom levels. For physical infrastructure, like highways and railways, see the roads layer.

This layer is currently empty.

KeyValuesDescription
kind_detail
refstring
networkstring
layerint
routestring
servicestring

water

Polygons from the Natural Earth 50m lakes and ocean themes for z0-z4, 10m for z5, preprocessed land polygons from OSMCoastline for z6+.

KeyValuesDescription
kindwater, lake, playa, ocean, other
kind_detailbasin, canal, ditch, dock, drain, lake, reservoir, river, riverbank, stream
reservoirboolean
alkalineboolean
intermittentboolean
bridgestring
tunnelstring
layerint

An open source mapping system released under the BSD and ODbL licenses.