Zones API¶

The Zones API lists MeshMapper regions and serves their boundaries as GeoJSON. Use it to show MeshMapper regions on your own map, link to them, or keep a local copy of their outlines. Send your integration key in the X-API-Key header.

Two endpoints work together:

get_zones.php on meshmapper.net lists the regions in one country, without boundaries.
get_geojson.php on each region's own site returns that region's boundary.

Call the first one, then fetch url + "get_geojson.php" for each region you want.

Authentication¶

Send your existing integration key (formerly a Coverage key) in the X-API-Key header. No new key is needed. See API keys and access for generation, group permissions, custom GLOBAL integrations and the v1.5.117 rollout.

Fetch from your backend and serve your own parsed data to visitors. Keep the key out of client-side JavaScript.

List regions¶

GET https://meshmapper.net/get_zones.php?country=CA

Parameter	Required	Description
`country`	Yes	Two-letter country code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2, e.g. `CA`, `US`, `GB`). Case doesn't matter.

Only enabled regions are listed. Regions that are pending or turned off never appear. A well-formed country with no regions returns 200 with count: 0 and empty zones and groups arrays.

Response¶

{
  "generated_at": "2026-09-25T15:00:00Z",
  "country": "CA",
  "count": 3,
  "zones": [
    { "code": "YOW", "name": "Ottawa, CA", "short_name": "Ottawa", "country": "CA",
      "lat": 45.4215, "lon": -75.6972, "url": "https://yow.meshmapper.net/",
      "has_boundary": true, "group": null },
    { "code": "YVR", "name": "Vancouver, CA", "short_name": "Vancouver", "country": "CA",
      "lat": 49.2827, "lon": -123.1207, "url": "https://yvr.meshmapper.net/",
      "has_boundary": true, "group": "PNW" },
    { "code": "YQB", "name": "Quebec City, CA", "short_name": "Quebec City", "country": "CA",
      "lat": 46.8139, "lon": -71.208, "url": "https://yqb.meshmapper.net/",
      "has_boundary": false, "group": null }
  ],
  "groups": [
    { "code": "PNW", "name": "Pacific Northwest", "members": ["SEA", "YVR"],
      "url": "https://pnw.meshmapper.net/" }
  ]
}

Zone fields¶

Field	Description
`code`	Region code, uppercase, three letters or digits (e.g. `YOW`).
`name`	Region name as MeshMapper stores it, including the country suffix.
`short_name`	`name` without the `, CC` country suffix.
`country`	Two-letter country code.
`lat`, `lon`	The region's center point.
`url`	The region's MeshMapper site. Append `get_geojson.php` for its boundary.
`has_boundary`	`true` when a boundary is stored for the region. When `false`, `get_geojson.php` returns the region with `geometry: null`. In rare cases a stored boundary can't be used, so `get_geojson.php` may still return `geometry: null` when this is `true`.
`group`	The first enabled group (lowest id) this region belongs to (see Multiregions), or `null`. A region in several groups shows only one.

Group fields¶

groups lists the group shown in each listed region's group field. members is that group's enabled member list, which can include regions from other countries (SEA above).

Field	Description
`code`	Group code, uppercase.
`name`	Group name.
`members`	Region codes in the group.
`url`	The group's MeshMapper site. Its `get_geojson.php` returns every member.

Region boundary¶

GET https://yow.meshmapper.net/get_geojson.php

Returns a GeoJSON FeatureCollection (RFC 7946):

On a region site: one Feature, for that region.
On a group site (e.g. pnw.meshmapper.net): one Feature per member region.

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "generated_at": "2026-09-25T15:00:00Z",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "geometry": {
        "type": "Polygon",
        "coordinates": [[
          [-75.912345, 45.201234], [-75.401234, 45.198765],
          [-75.398765, 45.612345], [-75.912345, 45.201234]
        ]]
      },
      "properties": {
        "code": "YOW", "name": "Ottawa, CA", "short_name": "Ottawa", "country": "CA",
        "center": [-75.6972, 45.4215], "bbox": [-75.9124, 45.1987, -75.3987, 45.6124],
        "has_boundary": true,
        "url": "https://yow.meshmapper.net/"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Coordinates are [longitude, latitude], as GeoJSON requires, rounded to 6 decimals (about 10 cm). The outline is never simplified.
The geometry is always a single Polygon.
A region with no drawn boundary has "geometry": null and has_boundary: false. MeshMapper doesn't draw anything in its place; center is still there, and bbox is null.
center is [longitude, latitude] too.
bbox is the boundary's bounding box, [west, south, east, north] in degrees, rounded outward to 4 decimals so it always holds the whole outline. A region that crosses the 180° line has west greater than east. It is null when the region has no usable boundary.
radius_km is no longer sent (removed November 2026). A region is its boundary, not a circle; use bbox or the geometry.
If the server hits a problem mid-stream, the JSON is deliberately left unclosed, so you get a truncated, unparseable body, not a clean JSON error. Retry after a parse error; the retry counts against your key's budget like any other request (see Call limits).

Call limits¶

These reads use the key's shared read budget, normally 1,000 requests per UTC day and 30 per fixed minute, independently of Coverage's daily quota. Authenticated reads no longer use the old once-per-target IP interval, and there is no separate per-IP limit. Every admitted request counts, including 304 responses and downstream failures. See limits and caching.

Caching¶

Responses use Cache-Control: private, no-store. Keep your backend's parsed data and ETag separately by key and scope. Send both X-API-Key and If-None-Match on conditional requests; a 304 saves bandwidth but still counts. Responses support gzip compression.

Errors¶

Authentication, permissions and quota errors are listed in Read API errors.

Status	Error	Meaning
404	`zone_not_found`	The region is unknown, pending or disabled.
405	`method_not_allowed`	Use GET or an OPTIONS preflight.
503	`unavailable`	Temporary data problem; retain your previous copy and retry later. An admitted request still consumes quota.
503	`slow_down`	No longer returned (the per-IP burst limit was removed on 2026-10-31). If you still handle it, wait for Retry-After.

The directory also returns 400 country_required or 400 invalid_country for a missing or malformed country. Results include only regions authorized by your key; group member lists are filtered to the same access scope. The sample above illustrates a key authorized for all listed regions. A group boundary request requires access to every enabled member.

Example¶

With MESHMAPPER_API_KEY set in your backend environment:

curl --fail-with-body --compressed \
  -H "X-API-Key: $MESHMAPPER_API_KEY" \
  'https://meshmapper.net/get_zones.php?country=CA'

Schedule polling to fit your key budget, retain the last successful data on failure, and respect Retry-After.