ee.Geometry.BBox.distance

  • Calculates the minimum distance between two Earth Engine geometries.

  • Takes a Geometry as the right operand and optional maxError and proj parameters.

  • Returns the distance as a float, representing meters on the sphere if proj is not specified.

  • Can be used with BBox, Point, and other geometry types for distance computations.

 Returns the minimum distance between two geometries.

UsageReturns
BBox.distance(right, maxError, proj, spherical)Float
ArgumentTypeDetails
this: leftGeometryThe geometry used as the left operand of the operation.
rightGeometryThe geometry used as the right operand of the operation.
maxErrorErrorMargin, default: nullThe maximum amount of error tolerated when performing any necessary reprojection.
projProjection, default: nullThe projection in which to perform the operation. If not specified, the operation will be performed in a spherical coordinate system, and linear distances will be in meters on the sphere.
sphericalBoolean, default: falseIf true, the calculation will be done on the unit sphere. If false, the calculation will be elliptical, taking earth flattening into account. Ignored if proj is specified. Default is false.

Examples

Code Editor (JavaScript)

// Define a BBox object.
var bBox = ee.Geometry.BBox(-122.09, 37.42, -122.08, 37.43);

// Define other inputs.
var inputGeom = ee.Geometry.Point(-122.090, 37.423);

// Apply the distance method to the BBox object.
var bBoxDistance = bBox.distance({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});

// Print the result to the console.
print('bBox.distance(...) =', bBoxDistance);

// Display relevant geometries on the map.
Map.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);
Map.addLayer(bBox,
             {'color': 'black'},
             'Geometry [black]: bBox');
Map.addLayer(inputGeom,
             {'color': 'blue'},
             'Parameter [blue]: inputGeom');

Python setup

See the Python Environment page for information on the Python API and using geemap for interactive development.

import ee
import geemap.core as geemap

Colab (Python)

# Define a BBox object.
bbox = ee.Geometry.BBox(-122.09, 37.42, -122.08, 37.43)

# Define other inputs.
input_geom = ee.Geometry.Point(-122.090, 37.423)

# Apply the distance method to the BBox object.
bbox_distance = bbox.distance(right=input_geom, maxError=1)

# Print the result.
display('bbox.distance(...) =', bbox_distance)

# Display relevant geometries on the map.
m = geemap.Map()
m.set_center(-122.085, 37.422, 15)
m.add_layer(bbox, {'color': 'black'}, 'Geometry [black]: bbox')
m.add_layer(input_geom, {'color': 'blue'}, 'Parameter [blue]: input_geom')
m