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ee.Geometry.MultiLineString.distance
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Returns the minimum distance between two geometries.
Usage | Returns | MultiLineString.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 MultiLineString object.
var multiLineString = ee.Geometry.MultiLineString(
[[[-122.088, 37.418], [-122.086, 37.422], [-122.082, 37.418]],
[[-122.087, 37.416], [-122.083, 37.416], [-122.082, 37.419]]]);
// Define other inputs.
var inputGeom = ee.Geometry.Point(-122.090, 37.423);
// Apply the distance method to the MultiLineString object.
var multiLineStringDistance = multiLineString.distance({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});
// Print the result to the console.
print('multiLineString.distance(...) =', multiLineStringDistance);
// Display relevant geometries on the map.
Map.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);
Map.addLayer(multiLineString,
{'color': 'black'},
'Geometry [black]: multiLineString');
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 MultiLineString object.
multilinestring = ee.Geometry.MultiLineString([
[[-122.088, 37.418], [-122.086, 37.422], [-122.082, 37.418]],
[[-122.087, 37.416], [-122.083, 37.416], [-122.082, 37.419]],
])
# Define other inputs.
input_geom = ee.Geometry.Point(-122.090, 37.423)
# Apply the distance method to the MultiLineString object.
multilinestring_distance = multilinestring.distance(
right=input_geom, maxError=1
)
# Print the result.
display('multilinestring.distance(...) =', multilinestring_distance)
# Display relevant geometries on the map.
m = geemap.Map()
m.set_center(-122.085, 37.422, 15)
m.add_layer(
multilinestring, {'color': 'black'}, 'Geometry [black]: multilinestring'
)
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 a MultiLineString and another geometry.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eReturns the distance in meters when the projection is not specified, otherwise uses the specified projection.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAccepts an optional \u003ccode\u003emaxError\u003c/code\u003e parameter to control the accuracy of reprojection.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe distance is calculated between the MultiLineString and the nearest point on the input geometry.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# ee.Geometry.MultiLineString.distance\n\nReturns the minimum distance between two geometries.\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n| Usage | Returns |\n|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|\n| MultiLineString.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 MultiLineString object.\nvar multiLineString = ee.Geometry.MultiLineString(\n [[[-122.088, 37.418], [-122.086, 37.422], [-122.082, 37.418]],\n [[-122.087, 37.416], [-122.083, 37.416], [-122.082, 37.419]]]);\n\n// Define other inputs.\nvar inputGeom = ee.Geometry.Point(-122.090, 37.423);\n\n// Apply the distance method to the MultiLineString object.\nvar multiLineStringDistance = multiLineString.distance({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});\n\n// Print the result to the console.\nprint('multiLineString.distance(...) =', multiLineStringDistance);\n\n// Display relevant geometries on the map.\nMap.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);\nMap.addLayer(multiLineString,\n {'color': 'black'},\n 'Geometry [black]: multiLineString');\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 MultiLineString object.\nmultilinestring = ee.Geometry.MultiLineString([\n [[-122.088, 37.418], [-122.086, 37.422], [-122.082, 37.418]],\n [[-122.087, 37.416], [-122.083, 37.416], [-122.082, 37.419]],\n])\n\n# Define other inputs.\ninput_geom = ee.Geometry.Point(-122.090, 37.423)\n\n# Apply the distance method to the MultiLineString object.\nmultilinestring_distance = multilinestring.distance(\n right=input_geom, maxError=1\n)\n\n# Print the result.\ndisplay('multilinestring.distance(...) =', multilinestring_distance)\n\n# Display relevant geometries on the map.\nm = geemap.Map()\nm.set_center(-122.085, 37.422, 15)\nm.add_layer(\n multilinestring, {'color': 'black'}, 'Geometry [black]: multilinestring'\n)\nm.add_layer(input_geom, {'color': 'blue'}, 'Parameter [blue]: input_geom')\nm\n```"]]