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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.
[[["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complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-06-23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```"]]