OGC Standard Geometry
MULTIPOLYGON
WKT MULTIPOLYGON: Multi-part Polygon Format & Guide
Direct Definition:A WKT MULTIPOLYGON represents a collection of independent polygon surfaces (such as islands in an archipelago or disconnected cadastral parcels) grouped as a single spatial feature.
Valid Syntax & Example
MULTIPOLYGON (((-77.04 -12.04, -77.03 -12.04, -77.03 -12.03, -77.04 -12.03, -77.04 -12.04)), ((-77.02 -12.02, -77.01 -12.02, -77.01 -12.01, -77.02 -12.01, -77.02 -12.02)))
Syntax: MULTIPOLYGON (((poly1_ext), (poly1_hole)), ((poly2_ext)))
Common Mistakes to Avoid
⚠️ Gotcha:
Missing parenthesis nesting. A MULTIPOLYGON requires triple parentheses (((coords))) for each individual polygon part.
PostGIS SQL Query Recipes
Creating and querying MULTIPOLYGON geometries in PostgreSQL:
1. Construct MULTIPOLYGON from WKT
SELECT ST_GeomFromText('MULTIPOLYGON (((0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 1, 0 0)), ((2 2, 3 2, 3 3, 2 3, 2 2)))', 4326);2. Export MULTIPOLYGON to WKT text
SELECT ST_AsText(ST_Multi(geom)) FROM parcels;
Python & Shapely Parsing
from shapely import wkt
multi_poly = wkt.loads("MULTIPOLYGON (((0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 1, 0 0)), ((2 2, 3 2, 3 3, 2 3, 2 2)))")
for poly in multi_poly.geoms:
print(poly.wkt)Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert MULTIPOLYGON to individual POLYGON features in PostGIS?+
Use ST_Dump(geom) in PostgreSQL: SELECT (ST_Dump(geom)).geom FROM my_table; to expand each part into its own row.
Convert MULTIPOLYGON to Another Format
Every converter below accepts MULTIPOLYGON and runs entirely in your browser.
All GIS format converters →