IOF control feature: clearing

An open outline in wooded ground.

Also known as: Clearing symbol orienteering, Control description clearing

Maps & navigationSport & gamesStandard profile

Meanings

The IOF control description symbol for a clearing, an open area within forest.

Officially standardisedVerified fact
Marks a clearing, an open area within forest, as the feature carrying the control.
Contexts: Maps
Officially standardisedVerified fact
Is defined by the absence of trees rather than by anything present, so the symbol draws a boundary around nothing.
Contexts: Maps

An enclosed outline drawn empty, standing for open ground surrounded by trees.

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is defined by a current official standard.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

International Specification for Orienteering Maps (ISOM)
International Orienteering Federation · retrieved 2026-08-23
The IOF's mapping specification, published openly, governs the symbols on every internationally sanctioned orienteering map. The full text is NOT REPRODUCED here and has NOT BEEN READ in full; records cite it for the existence, issuing body and defined form of a mark. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
IOF Control Descriptions
International Orienteering Federation · retrieved 2026-08-25
The IOF specification defining the pictorial control description symbols, the columns of the description sheet and the meaning of each symbol within its column. Cited for a symbol's identity and defined meaning. Records describe the notation and are not competition rules.

Last reviewed 2026-08-25

Meanings

The IOF control description symbol for a clearing, an open area within forest.

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Marks a clearing, an open area within forest, as the feature carrying the control.

Contexts: Maps

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Is defined by the absence of trees rather than by anything present, so the symbol draws a boundary around nothing.

Contexts: Maps

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is defined by a current official standard.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

Sources

International Specification for Orienteering Maps (ISOM)
International Orienteering Federation · retrieved 2026-08-23
The IOF's mapping specification, published openly, governs the symbols on every internationally sanctioned orienteering map. The full text is NOT REPRODUCED here and has NOT BEEN READ in full; records cite it for the existence, issuing body and defined form of a mark. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
IOF Control Descriptions
International Orienteering Federation · retrieved 2026-08-25
The IOF specification defining the pictorial control description symbols, the columns of the description sheet and the meaning of each symbol within its column. Cited for a symbol's identity and defined meaning. Records describe the notation and are not competition rules.

Last reviewed 2026-08-25