Download Gombé map in Geobuf format
A map built from OpenStreetMap data, ready to download
Customize the map
Open this place's area in the constructor and adjust everything to your needs
Open in constructor →Map passport
What this map contains by default
This is how the map is built as-is — every setting can be changed in the constructor.
.geobuf
About Geobuf
Map of Gombé in Geobuf: 66 km of roads, 100% green areas — in the WGS 84 coordinate system, units are meters.
Which layers are in the file
This file for the selected area contains:
- Roads
- Water
- Greenery
Geometry by layer
- Roads — lines (LineString) with OpenStreetMap tags
- Water — waterbody polygons and watercourse lines with tags
- Greenery — green-zone polygons with tags
What the file carries
The Geobuf file for Gombé: the whole map comes as a single file, the file is binary — it is opened by a program, not by an editor, all features lie in one collection, and the source layer name stays in the _layer field, OpenStreetMap tags are kept as feature attributes.
File size
The expected size of the Geobuf file for Gombé is about 530 KB; the exact size depends on the chosen layers and area.
Coordinate systems
WGS 84 (EPSG:4326), selectable in the wizard
Units
Meters (projected in the chosen coordinate system)
| Category | GIS |
| File extension | .geobuf |
| Tier | Open Beta |
How to use Geobuf for Gombé
- JavaScript — npm install geobuf pbf, then geobuf.decode(new Pbf(buffer)) returns ready GeoJSON that you can hand straight to Leaflet or Mapbox GL.
- Python — pip install geobuf, then geobuf.decode(open("map.pbf", "rb").read()); after that it is ordinary GeoJSON work or loading into GeoPandas.
- A mobile app — the file goes into the resources or is pulled from the server: decoding takes a fraction of a second, and the traffic is several times smaller.
Programs that open Geobuf
FAQ: Geobuf for Gombé
Does Geobuf replace GeoJSON?
No, it is an encoding layer over it. Decoding returns a semantically equivalent GeoJSON ready for Leaflet, Mapbox GL or D3. GeoJSON is handy for reading and debugging, Geobuf for transport and storage.
How do I open a Geobuf .pbf file?
Install the geobuf library (npm install geobuf pbf for JavaScript or pip install geobuf for Python) and call decode — the output is a plain GeoJSON FeatureCollection.
Do you substitute gzipped GeoJSON for Geobuf?
No. Encoding goes into real protobuf via the geobuf library. If something goes wrong the export honestly errors out rather than emitting gzip(GeoJSON) under a .pbf extension.
What is the coordinate precision?
6 decimal places by default, about 0.1 meters — enough for most tasks including urban-level detail.
Can this .pbf be confused with Mapbox vector tiles?
The extension is the same, but the formats are different. Mapbox Vector Tiles contain a tile with geometry clipped to the grid and recomputed into tile coordinates; here it is a whole FeatureCollection in WGS84 coordinates. The geobuf decoder will read our file; a tile reader will not.
