# @turf/standard-deviational-ellipse

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## standardDeviationalEllipse

Takes a [FeatureCollection][1] and returns a standard deviational ellipse,
also known as a “directional distribution.” The standard deviational ellipse
aims to show the direction and the distribution of a dataset by drawing
an ellipse that contains about one standard deviation’s worth (~ 70%) of the
data.

This module mirrors the functionality of [Directional Distribution][2]
in ArcGIS and the [QGIS Standard Deviational Ellipse Plugin][3]

**Bibliography**

• Robert S. Yuill, “The Standard Deviational Ellipse; An Updated Tool for
Spatial Description,” _Geografiska Annaler_ 53, no. 1 (1971): 28–39,
doi:[10.2307/490885][4].

• Paul Hanly Furfey, “A Note on Lefever’s “Standard Deviational Ellipse,”
_American Journal of Sociology_ 33, no. 1 (1927): 94—98,
doi:[10.1086/214336][5].

**Parameters**

-   `points` **[FeatureCollection][6]&lt;[Point][7]>** GeoJSON points
-   `options` **[Object][8]** Optional parameters (optional, default `{}`)
    -   `options.weight` **[string][9]?** the property name used to weight the center
    -   `options.steps` **[number][10]** number of steps for the polygon (optional, default `64`)
    -   `options.properties` **[Object][8]** properties to pass to the resulting ellipse (optional, default `{}`)

**Examples**

```javascript
var bbox = [-74, 40.72, -73.98, 40.74];
var points = turf.randomPoint(400, {bbox: bbox});
var sdEllipse = turf.standardDeviationalEllipse(points);

//addToMap
var addToMap = [points, sdEllipse];
```

Returns **[Feature][11]&lt;[Polygon][12]>** an elliptical Polygon that includes approximately 1 SD of the dataset within it.

[1]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7946#section-3.3

[2]: http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/10.3/tools/spatial-statistics-toolbox/directional-distribution.htm

[3]: http://arken.nmbu.no/~havatv/gis/qgisplugins/SDEllipse/

[4]: https://doi.org/10.2307/490885

[5]: https://doi.org/10.1086/214336

[6]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7946#section-3.3

[7]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7946#section-3.1.2

[8]: https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object

[9]: https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String

[10]: https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Number

[11]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7946#section-3.2

[12]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7946#section-3.1.6

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---

This module is part of the [Turfjs project](http://turfjs.org/), an open source
module collection dedicated to geographic algorithms. It is maintained in the
[Turfjs/turf](https://github.com/Turfjs/turf) repository, where you can create
PRs and issues.

### Installation

Install this module individually:

```sh
$ npm install @turf/standard-deviational-ellipse
```

Or install the Turf module that includes it as a function:

```sh
$ npm install @turf/turf
```