Zero-area ring
A ring that encloses no area, often because points repeat or the ring collapses onto a line.
Category: Topology
Definition (expanded)
Zero-area rings can appear after rounding, snapping, or bad imports. They often break polygon validity. Dropping zero-area rings is a common repair step.
Common mistakes
- Accidentally creating a ring with too few unique points.
Related terms
Ring (Linear Ring)A closed sequence of coordinates used as a polygon boundary (exterior) or hole (interior).Valid geometryA geometry that follows topological rules (closed rings, no self-intersections, properly nested holes, etc.).Coordinate precisionHow many decimal places you keep in coordinates, which affects file size and geometric stability.