Overpass query example

Beaches

Find every beach on an island. Example: Mallorca.

Beaches are areas tagged natural=beach, with the material in surface (sand, gravel, pebbles).

The query

[out:json][timeout:25];
nwr["natural"="beach"](39.25,2.30,39.97,3.48);
out center;

Run it

Running the query…

Live result from overpass.ch, cached for up to 12 hours. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

How it works

The bounding box covers the island of Mallorca.
out center; gives a point for each beach area; use out geom; for the outlines.

Variations

Sandy beaches only: add ["surface"="sand"].

Run it from your code

curl https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter \
  --data-urlencode 'data@query.overpassql'

import requests

query = open("query.overpassql").read()
r = requests.post("https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter",
                  data={"data": query}, timeout=120)
r.raise_for_status()
print(r.json()["elements"][:3])

const res = await fetch("https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter", {
  method: "POST",
  body: new URLSearchParams({ data: query }),
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(await res.text());
console.log(await res.json());

Save the query as query.overpassql. It works the same in Overpass Turbo, QGIS and JOSM.

More examples

Peaks higher than 4000 m

Compare numbers with an if: filter. Example: every Alpine summit above 4000 metres.

Named lakes of a country

Get lake outlines, including multipolygons, with their names. Example: Switzerland.

Rivers of a country

Draw the river network of a country from its waterway lines. Example: Slovenia.

Parks in a city

Get park outlines with their names. Example: Manhattan.

Trees by genus or species

Query the street trees of a city by genus. Example: the lime trees (Tilia) of Vienna.

Viewpoints

Find scenic viewpoints in a region. Example: around Lake Lucerne.

All examples →