[Tagging] Elevation in Feet as part of Peak Names

[Andy Townsend]

On 08/09/2017 09:54, Colin Smale wrote:
>
> Does anyone have any idea whether the elevations, be they in feet or 
> metres, are all respecting the wiki definition of being the height 
> above MSL according to EGM96 (not sure what that would mean in 
> landlocked areas) and NOT WGS84 or (strictly speaking) relative to 
> local MSL?
>
Not without checking the provenance of the data in OSM, no.  At least in 
the UK, peak ele values will have come from a variety of sources:

o "Well known values" that "the height of mountain X is Y"

o Some value copied from some other (hopefully out of copyright) map

o A value read from a GPS or phone.  With a bit of luck that person 
might have calibrated the barometer in that device recently, but there's 
no guarantee.  A non-barometric GPS-only derived elevation is likely to 
be even worse.

In the UK where I am, there are a significant number of peaks added by 
one mapper based on spot heights from old OS maps - many of these are 
not actually peaks at all, and many aren't in the correct place.

Best Regards,
Andy