ee.Geometry.Polygon.distance

  • Calculates the minimum distance between two geometries, with one being a polygon.

  • Returns the distance as a float value, representing the shortest distance between the geometries.

  • Optionally allows specifying the projection and maximum error for reprojection during the calculation.

  • If a projection isn't specified, the calculation is performed using spherical coordinates, and distances are in meters on the sphere.

 Returns the minimum distance between two geometries.

UsageReturns
Polygon.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 Polygon object.
var polygon = ee.Geometry.Polygon(
    [[[-122.092, 37.424],
      [-122.086, 37.418],
      [-122.079, 37.425],
      [-122.085, 37.423]]]);

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

// Apply the distance method to the Polygon object.
var polygonDistance = polygon.distance({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});

// Print the result to the console.
print('polygon.distance(...) =', polygonDistance);

// Display relevant geometries on the map.
Map.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);
Map.addLayer(polygon,
             {'color': 'black'},
             'Geometry [black]: polygon');
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 Polygon object.
polygon = ee.Geometry.Polygon([[
    [-122.092, 37.424],
    [-122.086, 37.418],
    [-122.079, 37.425],
    [-122.085, 37.423],
]])

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

# Apply the distance method to the Polygon object.
polygon_distance = polygon.distance(right=input_geom, maxError=1)

# Print the result.
display('polygon.distance(...) =', polygon_distance)

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