# Geometry types

Use GeoJSON-style geometry values in SurrealDB, including Point, LineString, Polygon, and collections, with longitude-before-latitude ordering.

SurrealDB’s `geometry` type follows the [GeoJSON](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeoJSON) model in which both (and only) a `type` and `coordinates` field must be specified. A tuple shorthand (e.g. `(50.0, 75.7)`) is also accepted when creating a `point`.

## Coordinate order

Points are defined with **longitude before latitude**, as required by the GeoJSON spec. Many map services display latitude first, so be sure to confirm the order when ingesting external data.

```surql
-- Tuple shorthand for a point (lon, lat)
CREATE city:london SET centre = (-0.118092, 51.509865);

-- Full GeoJSON object form
CREATE city:london SET centre = {
    type: "Point",
    coordinates: [-0.118092, 51.509865],
};
```

See the [Geometries](/docs/reference/query-language/language-primitives/data-types/geometries.md) reference for `LineString`, `Polygon`, `MultiPoint`, `MultiLineString`, `MultiPolygon`, and `Collection`, including examples for each type.

## Why geometry types matter

- **Points** capture a single location (venues, vehicles, users).
- **Line strings** represent paths (routes, boundaries along a corridor).
- **Polygons** represent regions (service areas, countries, floor plans projected to the globe).

Choosing the right type makes spatial predicates (`INTERSECTS`, `CONTAINS`, and so on) accurate and keeps indexes meaningful when you add spatial indexing in your schema.