ee.Geometry.Point.distance

  • Calculates the minimum distance between two geometries, returning the result as a float.

  • Accepts a right geometry as input, along with optional maxError for reprojection and proj for specifying the projection.

  • If a projection isn't specified, calculations are performed in a spherical coordinate system with distances in meters.

  • Can be applied to Point geometries, as demonstrated in the examples.

 Returns the minimum distance between two geometries.

UsageReturns
Point.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 Point object.
var point = ee.Geometry.Point(-122.082, 37.42);

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

// Apply the distance method to the Point object.
var pointDistance = point.distance({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});

// Print the result to the console.
print('point.distance(...) =', pointDistance);

// Display relevant geometries on the map.
Map.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);
Map.addLayer(point,
             {'color': 'black'},
             'Geometry [black]: point');
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 Point object.
point = ee.Geometry.Point(-122.082, 37.42)

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

# Apply the distance method to the Point object.
point_distance = point.distance(right=input_geom, maxError=1)

# Print the result.
display('point.distance(...) =', point_distance)

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