> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.wherobots.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Box3D Functions The `Box3D` type in Sedona represents a planar axis-aligned 3D bounding box — a rectangular cuboid described by six `Double` values: `xmin`, `ymin`, `zmin`, `xmax`, `ymax`, `zmax` (PostGIS `box3d` storage order). It is a first-class SQL type backed by a Spark UDT and serializes to a struct of six non-nullable doubles, so columns of `Box3D` round-trip natively through Parquet. It is also available as a Flink type. `Box3D` is the 3D counterpart to [Box2D](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/box2d/box2d-functions) and complements the [Geometry](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/geometry-functions) type. Use it when you need a compact, comparable bounding box that retains the Z extent — for example, as the join key in a spatial join that should match on all three axes. Box3D anatomy: a cuboid spanning the (xmin, ymin, zmin) and (xmax, ymax, zmax) corners ## Semantic notes * `Box3D` values use closed-interval semantics: edge-, face-, and corner-touching boxes are considered intersecting and contained. * Absence is represented by SQL `NULL` rather than an in-band sentinel. * Geometries without a Z dimension fold into `zmin = zmax = 0`, matching PostGIS. So `ST_Box3D` of a purely 2D geometry yields a box flush against the `z = 0` plane. * Bounds are required to be ordered (`xmin <= xmax`, `ymin <= ymax`, `zmin <= zmax`) on all three axes. Unlike Box2D — where inverted X is reserved for a future antimeridian-wraparound semantics — Z has no wraparound convention, so all three axes are strictly ordered; predicates and join planning throw `IllegalArgumentException` on inverted input. ## Constructors | Function | Return type | Description | Since | | :------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :---------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :----- | | [ST\_Box3D](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/box3d/ST_Box3D) | Box3D | Return the planar 3D bounding box of a Geometry as a Box3D (`z = 0` for geometries without a Z dimension). | v1.9.1 | | [ST\_3DMakeBox](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/box3d/ST_3DMakeBox) | Box3D | Build a Box3D from two corner POINT Z geometries. | v1.9.1 | ## Accessors | Function | Return type | Description | Since | | :--------------------------------------------------------------------- | :---------- | :------------------------------------------ | :----- | | [ST\_XMin](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/bounding-box/ST_XMin) | Double | Return the minimum X coordinate of a Box3D. | v1.9.1 | | [ST\_YMin](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/bounding-box/ST_YMin) | Double | Return the minimum Y coordinate of a Box3D. | v1.9.1 | | [ST\_ZMin](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/bounding-box/ST_ZMin) | Double | Return the minimum Z coordinate of a Box3D. | v1.9.1 | | [ST\_XMax](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/bounding-box/ST_XMax) | Double | Return the maximum X coordinate of a Box3D. | v1.9.1 | | [ST\_YMax](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/bounding-box/ST_YMax) | Double | Return the maximum Y coordinate of a Box3D. | v1.9.1 | | [ST\_ZMax](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/bounding-box/ST_ZMax) | Double | Return the maximum Z coordinate of a Box3D. | v1.9.1 | The same `ST_XMin` … `ST_ZMax` functions also accept `Geometry` inputs — see [Bounding Box Functions](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/geometry-functions#bounding-box-functions). ## Predicates `Box3D` inputs are accepted by the existing `ST_Intersects` / `ST_Contains` predicates as type-dispatched overloads, and by the dedicated `ST_3DDWithin` distance predicate — there are no separate `ST_3DBox*` functions. | Function | Return type | Description | Since | | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :---------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :----- | | [ST\_Intersects](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/predicates/ST_Intersects) | Boolean | Closed-interval bbox intersection on all three axes when both arguments are `Box3D`. Matches PostGIS `&&&` on `box3d`. | v1.9.1 | | [ST\_Contains](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/predicates/ST_Contains) | Boolean | Closed-interval bbox containment on all three axes when both arguments are `Box3D`. | v1.9.1 | | [ST\_3DDWithin](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/predicates/ST_3DDWithin) | Boolean | 3D Euclidean distance-within test, over Geometry or Box3D inputs. Mirrors PostGIS `ST_3DDWithin`. | v1.9.1 | ## Utility functions | Function | Return type | Description | Since | | :------------------------------------------------------------------- | :---------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :----- | | [ST\_AsText](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/output/ST_AsText) | String | Return the `BOX3D(xmin ymin zmin, xmax ymax zmax)` text representation of a Box3D. | v1.9.1 | ## Aggregates | Function | Return type | Description | Since | | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :---------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :----- | | [ST\_3DExtent](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/aggregate/ST_3DExtent) | Box3D | Return the 3D bounding box of all geometries in a column as a Box3D. Empty and NULL inputs are skipped; geometries without Z fold to `z = 0`. Mirrors PostGIS `ST_3DExtent`. | v1.9.1 | ## Type conversion Catalyst recognizes the SQL `CAST` from `Geometry` to `Box3D`: | Cast | Equivalent function | Notes | | :-------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `CAST(geom AS box3d)` | [ST\_Box3D(geom)](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/box3d/ST_Box3D) | Planar 3D bounding box of the geometry (`z = 0` when the geometry has no Z). | The cast form requires the Sedona SQL parser extension (`spark.sql.extensions=org.apache.sedona.sql.SedonaSqlExtensions`); the function form works in any Sedona-enabled session. The inverse cast (`CAST(box3d AS geometry)`) is not yet supported — there is no `ST_GeomFromBox3D` counterpart. ## Query optimization `Box3D`-typed columns participate in Sedona's spatial join planner: * **Spatial joins.** `ST_Intersects` and `ST_Contains` between two `Box3D` columns, and `ST_3DDWithin` distance joins, route through the same physical operators (`RangeJoinExec`, `BroadcastIndexJoinExec`, `DistanceJoinExec`) used for the Geometry-typed forms. The planner projects each `Box3D` to its XY footprint for the R-tree pass and re-checks the Z axis per candidate via the original predicate, so a Box3D join is correct on all three axes while still benefiting from the 2D index. See [Range join](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/optimizer#range-join) and [Broadcast index join](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/optimizer#broadcast-index-join). * **Filter pushdown** to Parquet row-group statistics is not yet implemented for `Box3D` columns (it exists for [Box2D](/reference/wherobots-db/geometry-data/box2d/box2d-functions#query-optimization)).