# Spatial SQL

The [SQL Workspace](../user-guide/sql-workspace.md) lets you analyze data with DuckDB Spatial SQL and add the results to the map. It runs on DuckDB-WASM, so it works in the browser as well as the desktop app. Open it from **Processing → SQL Workspace**.

## 1. Query a loaded layer

Every loaded vector layer is a queryable table. Load the sample countries layer (see [Your First Map](first-map.md)), then run:

```sql
SELECT NAME, CONTINENT, GDP_MD_EST
FROM countries
ORDER BY GDP_MD_EST DESC
LIMIT 10;
```

Click **Run** to see the ten countries with the highest estimated GDP.

!!! note "Sample dataset columns"
    `NAME`, `CONTINENT`, `POP_EST`, and `GDP_MD_EST` are Natural Earth field names in the sample `countries.parquet`, whose geometry column is `geom`. A different dataset will have its own column names. To discover them, run `DESCRIBE SELECT * FROM 'your-file-url'` first.

## 2. Query a remote file directly

You do not have to load a file first. The Workspace detects a bare URL in a `FROM` clause and wraps it in the right reader automatically, then streams the file over HTTP range requests so you do not download it in full. This bare-URL shorthand is a SQL Workspace convenience; in the standard DuckDB CLI you would write `read_parquet('https://...')` explicitly.

```sql
SELECT COUNT(*) AS n
FROM https://data.source.coop/giswqs/opengeos/countries.parquet;
```

## 3. Use spatial functions

The spatial extension is loaded, so `ST_*` functions are available. For example, compute area and keep the `geom` column so the result can be mapped:

```sql
-- area is in square degrees because the data is in EPSG:4326;
-- the ranking is valid, but use ST_Area_Spheroid(geom) / 1e6 for km2.
SELECT NAME, ST_Area(geom) AS area, geom
FROM https://data.source.coop/giswqs/opengeos/countries.parquet
WHERE CONTINENT = 'Africa'
ORDER BY area DESC;
```

## 4. Add the result to the map

When a query returns a geometry column, use **add to map** to create a new layer from the result, optionally naming it. The result layer supports [identify, selection, and the attribute table](../user-guide/attribute-table.md) like any vector layer, and you can add several result layers at once.

## 5. Export

Export the query result as **CSV** or **GeoParquet** straight from the workspace. See [SQL Workspace](../user-guide/sql-workspace.md).

!!! tip "Sample queries and history"
    Use the **Sample queries** menus to start from a working query, and the **history** to rerun a previous one.

## Next steps

- Do equivalent geometry operations with the menu-driven [Vector Analysis](vector-analysis.md) tools.
- Convert results to cloud-native formats in [Cloud-Native Data](cloud-native-data.md).