---
obj: application
wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PostGIS
repo: https://git.osgeo.org/gitea/postgis/postgis
website: https://postgis.net
rev: 2024-09-30
---

# PostGIS
PostGIS is a spatial database extender for PostgreSQL. It adds support for geographic objects allowing it to be used as a spatial database for geographic information systems (GIS). With PostGIS, PostgreSQL becomes a powerful database for managing spatial data and performing complex geographic operations.

PostGIS offers the following key features:

- **Geometry and Geography Types**: PostGIS supports two primary types of spatial objects: `Geometry` (for Cartesian coordinates) and `Geography` (for geodetic coordinates).
- **Spatial Indexing**: Support for R-tree-based spatial indexing using GiST (Generalized Search Tree) indexes.
- **Spatial Relationships and Measurements**: Functions to perform spatial analysis, including distance calculations, intersections, unions, and more.
- **3D and 4D Coordinates**: Support for 3D geometries (with Z values) and 4D (with M values for measures).
- **Raster and Vector Data**: PostGIS allows for the handling of both raster (pixel-based) and vector (coordinate-based) spatial data.
- **WKT, WKB, GeoJSON Support**: PostGIS supports common geographic data formats like Well-Known Text (WKT), Well-Known Binary (WKB), and GeoJSON.

## Enable PostGIS in a PostgreSQL Database
After installation, to enable PostGIS on a specific database, run the following SQL commands:

```sql
CREATE EXTENSION postgis;
CREATE EXTENSION postgis_topology;
```

## Spatial Data Types
PostGIS introduces several spatial data types. The two most commonly used types are:

### 1. `Geometry`
Represents geometric shapes in a Cartesian (planar) coordinate system.

```sql
CREATE TABLE my_table (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    geom GEOMETRY(Point, 4326)
);
```

### 2. `Geography`
Represents geographic shapes in a spherical coordinate system (uses latitudes and longitudes).

```sql
CREATE TABLE my_geo_table (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    geom GEOGRAPHY(POINT, 4326)
);
```

PostGIS also supports other geometry types, such as:

- `POINT`
- `LINESTRING`
- `POLYGON`
- `MULTIPOINT`
- `MULTILINESTRING`
- `MULTIPOLYGON`

Each of these types can be used in both `GEOMETRY` and `GEOGRAPHY` contexts.

## Spatial Functions
PostGIS provides a vast library of spatial functions for querying and manipulating spatial data. Some important functions include:

### Distance
Calculates the distance between two geometries.

```sql
SELECT ST_Distance(
    ST_GeomFromText('POINT(0 0)', 4326),
    ST_GeomFromText('POINT(1 1)', 4326)
);
```

### Intersection
Returns the intersection of two geometries.

```sql
SELECT ST_Intersection(
    ST_GeomFromText('LINESTRING(0 0, 2 2)', 4326),
    ST_GeomFromText('LINESTRING(0 2, 2 0)', 4326)
);
```

### Contains
Checks if one geometry contains another.

```sql
SELECT ST_Contains(
    ST_GeomFromText('POLYGON((0 0, 0 2, 2 2, 2 0, 0 0))', 4326),
    ST_GeomFromText('POINT(1 1)', 4326)
);
```

### Area
Calculates the area of a polygon.

```sql
SELECT ST_Area(
    ST_GeomFromText('POLYGON((0 0, 0 2, 2 2, 2 0, 0 0))', 4326)
);
```