OpenStreetMap
Verified working Sep 17, 2026
A community-edited world map with openly licensed geographic data.
OpenStreetMap is a global map and geospatial dataset maintained by volunteer contributors. The site lets visitors browse, search, route, export map data, review edit history, upload GPS traces, and contribute changes through browser-based or external editing tools.
Why it stands out
- Built from contributor-maintained geographic data rather than a closed commercial map database.
- Open licensing makes the data reusable for many research, civic, and product workflows.
- Includes both casual browsing and direct editing paths from the main website.
- Exposes edit history, making map changes more transparent than typical consumer map sites.
- Supported by a large ecosystem of routers, editors, exports, and downstream map services.
Good to know
- Coverage and detail can vary by region because the map is contributor-maintained.
- The interactive “slippy map” requires JavaScript in the browser.
- Reuse requires following the OpenStreetMap copyright and license terms, including attribution.
- Edits should be made carefully; changes affect a shared public map used by many downstream services.
Under the radar: Use the History view before editing a busy area; it can reveal recent local changes and help you avoid overwriting another mapper’s work.
Photos
Cartographers, civic tech teams, and developers can find reusable map data without relying on proprietary basemaps. Check streets, paths, businesses, landmarks, and other local features on an interactive map. Contribute missing roads, paths, addresses, or points of interest in your area. Export map data for a selected area for analysis, visualization, or app development. Review local mapping activity through history and community tools.
Interactive global map; search and “Where is this?” lookup; route options via GraphHopper, OSRM, and Valhalla; in-browser editing with iD; external editor support; edit history; map data export; GPS trace uploads; user diaries and community links.
Technical Notes
- The site includes an Export option for downloading map data for a selected area.
- OpenStreetMap also supports structured access through its map data API and full-dataset “planet” exports, subject to usage policies and infrastructure limits.
Alternative listings
A USGS portal for finding satellite, aerial, and map imagery.
Open Data & Research PortalsEarthExplorer is the U.S. Geological Survey’s search interface for satellite scenes, aerial photographs, and cartographic products. Users can define an area of interest, choose dates and datasets, refine metadata, and review matching results for ordering or access.
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Open Data & Research PortalsData.gov is the U.S. federal government’s public catalog for open datasets, tools, and related resources. It helps researchers, journalists, developers, policymakers, and the public find government data for analysis, apps, visualizations, and civic transparency work.
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Similar sites elsewhere
- Overture Maps — overturemaps.org
- Natural Earth — naturalearthdata.com
- GeoNames — geonames.org
- Wikimapia — wikimapia.org
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