How to Convert H3 Index to Latitude and Longitude in Python ?

Published: June 18, 2025
Updated: June 18, 2025
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Published: June 18, 2025

Updated: June 18, 2025

DMCA.com Protection Status

Introduction

The H3 geospatial indexing system by Uber assigns a unique hexadecimal string (called an H3 index) to every hexagon cell on the globe. Often, you’ll want to convert these indices back into latitude and longitude—either for visualization or for spatial analysis.

Table of contents

Install the H3 Python Library

Install the latest version of the official h3 library:

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pip install h3

Version Check

There are two versions of the H3 Python library in the wild. To see which version of the H3 library you're using:

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pip show h3
  • If Version >= 4.0.0: use cell_to_latlng() and cell_to_boundary()
  • If Version < 4.0.0: use h3_to_geo() and h3_to_geo_boundary()

Convert H3 Index to Lat/Lon

Using the New API (h3 >= 4.0.0)

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import h3

# Example H3 index
h3_index = '8928308280fffff'

# Convert to (lat, lon)
lat, lon = h3.cell_to_latlng(h3_index)

print(f"Latitude: {lat}, Longitude: {lon}")

Output

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Latitude: 37.776702349435695, Longitude: -122.41845932318309

Using the Older API (pre-4.0.0)

Code:

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import h3

h3_index = '8928308280fffff'
lat, lon = h3.h3_to_geo(h3_index)

print(f"Latitude: {lat}, Longitude: {lon}")

Get H3 Cell Boundary (Polygon Vertices)

If you want the boundary coordinates of the H3 cell (for plotting as a hexagon):

New API:

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import h3

boundary = h3.cell_to_boundary(h3_index)
for lat, lon in boundary:
  print(f"Lat: {lat}, Lon: {lon}")

Output

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Lat: 37.775197782893386, Lon: -122.41719971841658
Lat: 37.77688044840227, Lon: -122.41612835779266
Lat: 37.778385004930925, Lon: -122.41738797617619
Lat: 37.77820687262237, Lon: -122.41971895414808
Lat: 37.776524206993216, Lon: -122.42079024541879
Lat: 37.775019673792606, Lon: -122.41953062807342

Old API:

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import h3

boundary = h3.h3_to_geo_boundary(h3_index, geo_json=True)
for lat, lon in boundary:
    print(f"Lat: {lat}, Lon: {lon}")

Batch Convert H3 Indices to Lat/Lon in a List or DataFrame

With a list:

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h3_indices = ['8928308280fffff', '8928308280bffff', '89283082807ffff']
latlon_list = [h3.cell_to_latlng(h) for h in h3_indices]

Output

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[(37.776702349435695, -122.41845932318309),
(37.7753758485188, -122.41486876560982),
(37.77484152121918, -122.42186149457379)]

With a pandas DataFrame:

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import pandas as pd
import h3

df = pd.DataFrame({'h3_index': ['8928308280fffff', '8928308280bffff']})

# Add columns for lat/lon
df[['lat', 'lon']] = df['h3_index'].apply(lambda h: pd.Series(h3.cell_to_latlng(h)))

Output

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h3_index        lat         lon
0  8928308280fffff  37.776702 -122.418459
1  8928308280bffff  37.775376 -122.414869

Summary

Task New API (>= 4.0.0) Old API (legacy)
Get center lat/lon cell_to_latlng() h3_to_geo()
Get hex boundary cell_to_boundary() h3_to_geo_boundary()
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Benjamin

Hi, I'm Ben, the Founder of moonbooks.org. I work as a research scientist specializing in Earth satellite remote sensing, particularly focusing on Fire detection using VIIRS and ABI sensors. My areas of expertise include Python, Machine Learning, and Open Science. Feel free to reach out if you notice any errors on the site. I am constantly striving to enhance it. Thank you!

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