Troubleshooting guides

Step-by-step fixes for the geospatial data problems that come up most often — what causes each one and how to resolve it.

• GeoJSON coordinates are reversed (lat/lng swapped)
  Your points show up in the wrong place — often in the ocean, on the wrong continent, or mirrored across the equator. The data looks fine in a spreadsheet but lands nowhere near where it should on a map.
• Shapefile is missing its .prj file (unknown projection)
  Your shapefile loads but lands in the wrong place, or your GIS tool warns that the coordinate system is undefined. The bundle has a .shp, .shx and .dbf, but no .prj file.
• Invalid GeoJSON geometry won't load
  Your GeoJSON fails to parse, renders as a blank map, or your library throws an error about an invalid geometry. The file looks like valid JSON but a mapping tool rejects it.
• Coordinates landing in the ocean (Null Island)
  Some or all of your points cluster at a single spot in the Gulf of Guinea, off the west coast of Africa — latitude 0, longitude 0. This place has a nickname: Null Island. Other points may be scattered far from where they belong.
• KML coordinate order (lng, lat, alt) confusion
  Your KML opens in the wrong place in Google Earth, or a KML you built from a spreadsheet puts every placemark on the wrong continent. The numbers look right but the order seems off.
• Data shows up in the wrong location (wrong CRS)
  Your data loads, but it's in the wrong place — shifted by hundreds of meters, collapsed to a tiny dot near 0, 0, stretched across the wrong part of the world, or sitting on the wrong continent entirely.

Open the converter · Compare coordinate systems