Download Albania map in GeoArrow 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.
About GeoArrow
Map of Albania in GeoArrow — an export of real OpenStreetMap data for the selected area.
GeoArrow is an Apache Arrow-based columnar format for geospatial data. Ideal for big data analytics, ML pipelines, and visualization. Works with DuckDB, Pandas, Polars, and other Arrow-compatible tools.
Which layers are in the file
This file for the selected area contains:
- Roads
- Water
- Greenery
Coordinate systems
WGS 84 (EPSG:4326), selectable in the wizard
Units
Meters (projected in the chosen coordinate system)
| Category | Cloud |
| File extension | .arrow |
| Tier | Open Beta |
How to use GeoArrow for Albania
- Python — pyarrow.ipc.open_file("map.arrow").read_all() gives you the table; the geometry is restored from the WKB column with shapely.from_wkb or geopandas.
- DuckDB — INSTALL spatial; LOAD spatial; then SELECT * FROM 'map.arrow' and ST_GeomFromWKB on the geometry column.
- Polars and pandas — pl.read_ipc("map.arrow") or reading through pyarrow: the attribute part works like an ordinary table, with no geo wrapping.
Programs that open GeoArrow
FAQ: GeoArrow for Albania
Why is GeoArrow better than GeoJSON?
GeoArrow is 10-100x faster for analytics thanks to columnar format and zero-copy reads.
Which tools support GeoArrow?
DuckDB, Pandas (via pyarrow), Polars, GeoPandas, lonboard, and deck.gl.
How is the geometry stored in the file?
As a binary column in WKB format, with the coordinate system described in the schema metadata per the GeoArrow 1.0.0 convention. GeoPandas, DuckDB and similar tools restore the geometry from it with a single function.
How is .arrow different from GeoParquet?
Arrow is a format for representing data in memory and exchanging it between processes: it is read instantly and does not compress as aggressively. GeoParquet is an on-disk storage format with strong compression and selective column reading. For an in-memory pipeline Arrow is more convenient; for long-term storage, Parquet.
Is there a limit on the export size?
Yes, a safety limit of 10 million features. If your selection is bigger, split the area into parts and stitch the tables together on your side.
