Announcement: All noncommercial projects registered to use Earth Engine before April 15, 2025 must verify noncommercial eligibility to maintain Earth Engine access.
Stay organized with collections
Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
Returns the result of subtracting the 'right' geometry from the 'left' geometry.
Usage
Returns
Geometry.difference(right, maxError, proj)
Geometry
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.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2023-10-06 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003e\u003ccode\u003edifference()\u003c/code\u003e returns a Geometry representing the portion of the first geometry that does not intersect with the second geometry.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIt accepts a 'right' Geometry to subtract and optional \u003ccode\u003emaxError\u003c/code\u003e and \u003ccode\u003eproj\u003c/code\u003e parameters for reprojection control.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe operation is performed in spherical coordinates with distances in meters on the sphere unless a projection is specified.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis method is useful for creating new geometries by removing overlapping areas between existing ones.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The `Geometry.difference()` method subtracts a 'right' geometry from a 'left' geometry, returning the result as a new geometry. It accepts the `right` geometry, an optional `maxError` for reprojection tolerance, and an optional `proj` for the operation's projection. If `proj` is not defined the method will use the spherical coordinate system. Example code shows the difference operation using defined geometries and displays the result.\n"],null,["Returns the result of subtracting the 'right' geometry from the 'left' geometry.\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n| Usage | Returns |\n|-------------------------------------------------------|----------|\n| Geometry.difference`(right, `*maxError* `, `*proj*`)` | Geometry |\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\nExamples\n\nCode Editor (JavaScript) \n\n```javascript\n// Define a Geometry object.\nvar geometry = ee.Geometry({\n 'type': 'Polygon',\n 'coordinates':\n [[[-122.081, 37.417],\n [-122.086, 37.421],\n [-122.084, 37.418],\n [-122.089, 37.416]]]\n});\n\n// Define other inputs.\nvar inputGeom = ee.Geometry.BBox(-122.085, 37.415, -122.075, 37.425);\n\n// Apply the difference method to the Geometry object.\nvar geometryDifference = geometry.difference({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});\n\n// Print the result to the console.\nprint('geometry.difference(...) =', geometryDifference);\n\n// Display relevant geometries on the map.\nMap.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);\nMap.addLayer(geometry,\n {'color': 'black'},\n 'Geometry [black]: geometry');\nMap.addLayer(inputGeom,\n {'color': 'blue'},\n 'Parameter [blue]: inputGeom');\nMap.addLayer(geometryDifference,\n {'color': 'red'},\n 'Result [red]: geometry.difference');\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\nColab (Python) \n\n```python\n# Define a Geometry object.\ngeometry = ee.Geometry({\n 'type': 'Polygon',\n 'coordinates': [[\n [-122.081, 37.417],\n [-122.086, 37.421],\n [-122.084, 37.418],\n [-122.089, 37.416],\n ]],\n})\n\n# Define other inputs.\ninput_geom = ee.Geometry.BBox(-122.085, 37.415, -122.075, 37.425)\n\n# Apply the difference method to the Geometry object.\ngeometry_difference = geometry.difference(right=input_geom, maxError=1)\n\n# Print the result.\ndisplay('geometry.difference(...) =', geometry_difference)\n\n# Display relevant geometries on the map.\nm = geemap.Map()\nm.set_center(-122.085, 37.422, 15)\nm.add_layer(geometry, {'color': 'black'}, 'Geometry [black]: geometry')\nm.add_layer(input_geom, {'color': 'blue'}, 'Parameter [blue]: input_geom')\nm.add_layer(\n geometry_difference, {'color': 'red'}, 'Result [red]: geometry.difference'\n)\nm\n```"]]