Posted on December 25, 2022 (Updated on July 21, 2025)

Minimum and maximum coordinates of a polygon in Earth engine

Hiking & Activities

Decoding Polygon Boundaries in Google Earth Engine: A Human’s Guide

Google Earth Engine (GEE) – it’s a mind-bogglingly powerful platform. Think of it as a giant digital sandbox filled with satellite imagery and all the tools you could ever need to play around with it. And one of the most basic, yet surprisingly useful, tricks in this sandbox is figuring out the spatial extent of a polygon. Why? Well, imagine you’re trying to analyze deforestation in the Amazon. You’d need to define the area you’re interested in, right? That’s where finding the minimum and maximum coordinates comes in handy. It’s like drawing a box around your area of interest.

So, how do we actually do this? Let’s dive in.

There are a couple of main ways to snag those crucial coordinates:

  • The bounds() Method: Your Quick and Dirty Solution

    The bounds() method is your go-to for a fast answer. Basically, it figures out the smallest rectangle that can completely contain your polygon. This rectangle is defined by the southernmost, westernmost, easternmost, and northernmost points of your shape. Think of it as Earth Engine quickly sketching out the rough perimeter.

    Here’s the code:

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