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ee.Geometry.LineString.distance
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Returns the minimum distance between two geometries.
| Usage | Returns | LineString.distance(right, maxError, proj, spherical) | Float |
| Argument | Type | Details | this: left | Geometry | The geometry used as the left operand of the operation. |
right | Geometry | The geometry used as the right operand of the operation. |
maxError | ErrorMargin, default: null | The maximum amount of error tolerated when performing any necessary reprojection. |
proj | Projection, default: null | The 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. |
spherical | Boolean, default: false | If 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 LineString object.
var lineString = ee.Geometry.LineString([[-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 LineString object.
var lineStringDistance = lineString.distance({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});
// Print the result to the console.
print('lineString.distance(...) =', lineStringDistance);
// Display relevant geometries on the map.
Map.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);
Map.addLayer(lineString,
{'color': 'black'},
'Geometry [black]: lineString');
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 LineString object.
linestring = ee.Geometry.LineString([[-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 LineString object.
linestring_distance = linestring.distance(right=input_geom, maxError=1)
# Print the result.
display('linestring.distance(...) =', linestring_distance)
# Display relevant geometries on the map.
m = geemap.Map()
m.set_center(-122.085, 37.422, 15)
m.add_layer(linestring, {'color': 'black'}, 'Geometry [black]: linestring')
m.add_layer(input_geom, {'color': 'blue'}, 'Parameter [blue]: input_geom')
m
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Last updated 2025-06-23 UTC.
[null,null,["Last updated 2025-06-23 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eCalculates the minimum distance between two geometries, with one being a LineString.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eReturns the distance as a float value, potentially in meters on the sphere depending on projection.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAccepts optional parameters for error tolerance (\u003ccode\u003emaxError\u003c/code\u003e) and projection (\u003ccode\u003eproj\u003c/code\u003e) for customized calculations.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eCan be used with various geometry types for 'right' input, such as Point as demonstrated in the examples.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# ee.Geometry.LineString.distance\n\nReturns the minimum distance between two geometries.\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n| Usage | Returns |\n|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|\n| LineString.distance`(right, `*maxError* `, `*proj* `, `*spherical*`)` | Float |\n\n| Argument | Type | Details |\n|--------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| this: `left` | Geometry | The geometry used as the left operand of the operation. |\n| `right` | Geometry | The geometry used as the right operand of the operation. |\n| `maxError` | ErrorMargin, default: null | The maximum amount of error tolerated when performing any necessary reprojection. |\n| `proj` | Projection, default: null | The 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. |\n| `spherical` | Boolean, default: false | If 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. |\n\nExamples\n--------\n\n### Code Editor (JavaScript)\n\n```javascript\n// Define a LineString object.\nvar lineString = ee.Geometry.LineString([[-122.09, 37.42], [-122.08, 37.43]]);\n\n// Define other inputs.\nvar inputGeom = ee.Geometry.Point(-122.090, 37.423);\n\n// Apply the distance method to the LineString object.\nvar lineStringDistance = lineString.distance({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});\n\n// Print the result to the console.\nprint('lineString.distance(...) =', lineStringDistance);\n\n// Display relevant geometries on the map.\nMap.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);\nMap.addLayer(lineString,\n {'color': 'black'},\n 'Geometry [black]: lineString');\nMap.addLayer(inputGeom,\n {'color': 'blue'},\n 'Parameter [blue]: inputGeom');\n```\nPython setup\n\nSee the [Python Environment](/earth-engine/guides/python_install) page for information on the Python API and using\n`geemap` for interactive development. \n\n```python\nimport ee\nimport geemap.core as geemap\n```\n\n### Colab (Python)\n\n```python\n# Define a LineString object.\nlinestring = ee.Geometry.LineString([[-122.09, 37.42], [-122.08, 37.43]])\n\n# Define other inputs.\ninput_geom = ee.Geometry.Point(-122.090, 37.423)\n\n# Apply the distance method to the LineString object.\nlinestring_distance = linestring.distance(right=input_geom, maxError=1)\n\n# Print the result.\ndisplay('linestring.distance(...) =', linestring_distance)\n\n# Display relevant geometries on the map.\nm = geemap.Map()\nm.set_center(-122.085, 37.422, 15)\nm.add_layer(linestring, {'color': 'black'}, 'Geometry [black]: linestring')\nm.add_layer(input_geom, {'color': 'blue'}, 'Parameter [blue]: input_geom')\nm\n```"]]