Nearest city to a given latitude/longitude coordinate.

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Overview

Returns the single city in the database closest to a given latitude and longitude coordinate pair. Uses PostGIS spatial indexing for efficient distance computation across the full city dataset. The response includes the city name, its own coordinates, the distance from the query point in kilometres, and full geographic context (country, region, continent). Useful for reverse geocoding — converting a raw coordinate (e.g. from a device GPS) into a named place.

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Request parameters

Name	Type	In	Required	Description	Example
lat	Float	Body	Yes	Observer latitude in decimal degrees. Valid range: -90.0 (South Pole) to 90.0 (North Pole). Used to compute the observer's position on Earth's surface for all sky calculations.
lon	Float	Body	Yes	Observer longitude in decimal degrees. Valid range: -180.0 to 180.0. Negative values are west of the Prime Meridian, positive values are east.

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Response fields

Name	Type	Nullable	Description	Example
results	Object	—	Object containing the single city closest to the submitted coordinates.
results.admin1	String	—	Region/state/province code (admin level 1).	BC
results.admin1_id	Integer	—	Primary key of the region record.	75
results.admin1_name	String	—	Full name of the region/state/province.	British Columbia
results.city_id	Integer	—	Alias for the city primary key, provided for consistency with other endpoints.	5969782
results.continent_id	Integer	—	Primary key of the continent record.	2
results.country_id	Integer	—	Primary key of the country record.	38
results.country_iso	String	—	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of the country.	CA
results.country_name	String	—	Full name of the country.	Canada
results.distance	Float	—	Distance from the query point to this city in kilometres, rounded to one decimal place.	3.7
results.id	Integer	—	Primary key of the city.	5969782
results.lat	String	Yes	Latitude of the city in decimal degrees.	48.4284
results.lon	String	Yes	Longitude of the city in decimal degrees.	-123.3648
results.name	String	—	Name of the city.	Victoria
results.slug	String	—	URL-friendly city name.	victoria