Categories:

Geospatial functions

ST_ENVELOPE

Returns the minimum bounding box (a rectangular “envelope”) that encloses a specified GEOGRAPHY or GEOMETRY object.

Syntax

ST_ENVELOPE( <geography_or_geometry_expression> )

Arguments

geography_or_geometry_expression

The argument must be of type GEOGRAPHY or GEOMETRY.

Returns

The function returns a value of type GEOGRAPHY or GEOMETRY that represents the minimum bounding box around the input object.

Usage notes

  • For GEOGRAPHY objects:

    • If geography_expression is a LineString that represents a meridian arc (an arc along a line of longitude), ST_ENVELOPE returns that LineString.

    • If geography_expression is a LineString that represents an arc on a parallel (an arc along a line of latitude) other than the equator, ST_ENVELOPE returns a Polygon that represents the bounding box for the arc.

    • If geography_expression is a single Point, ST_ENVELOPE returns that Point.

  • For GEOMETRY objects:

    • In degenerate cases (e.g. where the input is a point or a vertical or horizontal line), the function may return a geometry of lower dimension (i.e. a Point or LineString).

    • For GEOMETRY objects, the returned GEOMETRY object has the same SRID as the input.

Examples

GEOGRAPHY examples

The following example returns the minimum bounding box for a polygon:

SELECT ST_ENVELOPE(
    TO_GEOGRAPHY(
        'POLYGON((-122.306067 37.55412, -122.32328 37.561801, -122.325879 37.586852, -122.306067 37.55412))'
    )
) as minimum_bounding_box_around_polygon;
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| MINIMUM_BOUNDING_BOX_AROUND_POLYGON                                                                                   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| POLYGON((-122.325879 37.55412,-122.306067 37.55412,-122.306067 37.586852,-122.325879 37.586852,-122.325879 37.55412)) |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The following example passes in a LineString that represents a meridian arc. The function returns the same LineString, rather than a Polygon.

SELECT ST_ENVELOPE(
    TO_GEOGRAPHY(
        'LINESTRING(-122.32328 37.561801, -122.32328 37.562001)'
    )
) as minimum_bounding_box_around_meridian_arc;
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| MINIMUM_BOUNDING_BOX_AROUND_MERIDIAN_ARC              |
|-------------------------------------------------------|
| LINESTRING(-122.32328 37.561801,-122.32328 37.562001) |
+-------------------------------------------------------+

The following example passes in a LineString that represents an arc on a parallel that is not the equator. The function returns a Polygon that represents the bounding box:

SELECT ST_ENVELOPE(
    TO_GEOGRAPHY(
        'LINESTRING(-122.32328 37.561801,-122.32351 37.561801)'
    )
) as minimum_bounding_box_around_arc_along_parallel;
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| MINIMUM_BOUNDING_BOX_AROUND_ARC_ALONG_PARALLEL                                                                      |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| POLYGON((-122.32351 37.561801,-122.32328 37.561801,-122.32328 37.561801,-122.32351 37.561801,-122.32351 37.561801)) |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The following example passes in a single Point. The function returns the same Point:

SELECT ST_ENVELOPE(
    TO_GEOGRAPHY(
        'POINT(-122.32328 37.561801)'
    )
) as minimum_bounding_box_around_point;
+-----------------------------------+
| MINIMUM_BOUNDING_BOX_AROUND_POINT |
|-----------------------------------|
| POINT(-122.32328 37.561801)       |
+-----------------------------------+

GEOMETRY examples