Drop rendering for natural=desert

[matthijsmelissen]

Ergs (sand dunes) are better tagged as natural=sand.
Other type of dunes deserts don't have strict borders.

This resolves #773.

[dieterdreist]

2014-10-18 16:42 GMT+02:00 math1985 [email protected]:

Ergs (sand dunes) are better tagged as natural=sand.
Other type of dunes don't have strict borders.

what about natural=dune or sand_dune? (not sure if we can map them
reasonably, because they tend to move, but that is a different issue). If
something is a dune, i.e. a well defined feature, why describe it's
material instead of naming it? We don't map beaches as natural=sand, why
should we do it for dunes?
FWIW, there is also a wikipage and there are roughly 900 objects with this
tag.
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag%3Anatural%3Ddune

[imagico]

I think the question how to map and tag dunes has nothing to do with the subject here - natural=desert is used for larger areas while dunes are small scale features, no one will likely propose retagging anything currently tagged natural=desert as natural=dune.

And i think math1985 meant to write

Other type of deserts don't have strict borders.

[matthijsmelissen]

And i think math1985 meant to write

Other type of deserts don't have strict borders.

Yes, thanks for the correction.

[matthijsmelissen]

dunes are small scale features, no one will likely propose retagging anything currently tagged natural=desert as natural=dune.

Not necessarily, Grand Erg Oriental is huge and might make sense as natural=dune, although natural=sand is currently more popular.

Another reason I don't like natural=dune is that its use is ambiguous, as the Dutch dunes are quite different from Sahara dunes.

[imagico]

No, dunes are features that occur in sand deserts if relief and wind conditions are appropriate. The sand desert area as a whole is neither a dune nor does it consist exclusively of dunes, there can be extensive stretches of flat sand.

Mapping of dunes and also rendering them could be an interesting topic - this should be independent from mapping the overall sand covered area though.

[dieterdreist]

2014-10-20 19:46 GMT+02:00 imagico [email protected]:

No, dunes are features that occur in sand deserts if relief and wind
conditions are appropriate. The sand desert area as a whole is neither a
dune nor does it consist exclusively of dunes, there can be extensive
stretches of flat sand.

not only. Dunes can also occur in costal areas in humid regions, desert is
not a requirement, but the sand is. They are a hilly landform made of sand
and built by the wind (and/or water). For reference, have a look at this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune#Coastal_dunes
The biggest dune in Europe can be found in Arcachon close to Bordeaux (so
not actually a sand desert):
http://www.dauphin-arcachon.com/images/phototheque_dauphin/arcachon-dune-du-pyla-2.jpg

[matthijsmelissen]

Rebased.

[matthijsmelissen]

Rebased.