Crosses (spatial predicate)
True when geometries cross each other in a way that creates an intersection of lower dimension (commonly for lines).
Category: Topology · Also known as: ST_Crosses, crosses predicate
Definition (expanded)
Crosses is most commonly used with LineStrings (roads crossing rivers, etc.). For polygons, crosses is less common than intersects/overlaps. If your workflows include boundaries as lines, crosses is a useful relationship to detect true crossings rather than touching endpoints.
Examples
PostGIS crosses
SQL
SELECT ST_Crosses(a.geom, b.geom) FROM a, b;
Related terms
LineStringA line geometry made of an ordered list of coordinates.MultiLineStringA geometry containing multiple LineStrings as one value.Intersects (spatial predicate)True when two geometries share any point in common (touching or overlapping).Touches (spatial predicate)True when two geometries touch at the boundary but do not overlap in area (or interior).