Small multiples of OSM geometries

A bit of fun from the #OpenStreetMap community: Matt Whilden hosts the ingenious XofY #OSM Geometry Viewer. This open-source tool lets you explore and compare OSM geometries – from quirky lakes to oddly shaped museums – arranged as small multiples based on any #Overpass query you create.
Author

Ralph Straumann

Published

January 9, 2026

A bit of fun: Matt Whilden, president of the OSM US Board of Directors, hosts the XofY OSM Geometry Viewer. The clue is in the name: Using this tool, you can view, arranged as small multiples, the geometries of OSM features of type X in area Y. Or in Matt’s words:

Explore the geometry of sets of features in the OpenStreetMap database. Find a funky lake. Marvel at unusual museums. Add detail to boring geometry. Let me know if you find something fun. :-)

You can enter your own queries in Overpass QL1. The tool also offers example queries, see below. The tool is open-source.

Waterslides of Arizona (source: XofY OSM Geometry Viewer)

Jetsprint (sprint boat racing) lakes of the world (source: XofY OSM Geometry Viewer)

Footnotes

  1. Query Language↩︎