MySQL can create spatial indexes using syntax similar to that for creating regular indexes, but extended with the SPATIAL keyword. Currently, columns in spatial indexes must be declared NOT NULL. The following examples demonstrate how to create spatial indexes:

For MyISAM tables, SPATIAL INDEX creates an R-tree index. For nonspatial indexing of spatial columns, MyISAM tables creates a B-tree index. A B-tree index on spatial values will be useful for exact-value lookups, but not for range scans.

For more information on indexing spatial columns, see Section 12.1.4, “CREATE INDEX Syntax”.

To drop spatial indexes, use ALTER TABLE or DROP INDEX:

Example: Suppose that a table geom contains more than 32,000 geometries, which are stored in the column g of type GEOMETRY. The table also has an AUTO_INCREMENT column fid for storing object ID values.

mysql> DESCRIBE geom;
+-------+----------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| Field | Type     | Null | Key | Default | Extra          |
+-------+----------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| fid   | int(11)  |      | PRI | NULL    | auto_increment |
| g     | geometry |      |     |         |                |
+-------+----------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT COUNT(*) FROM geom;
+----------+
| count(*) |
+----------+
|    32376 |
+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

To add a spatial index on the column g, use this statement:

mysql> ALTER TABLE geom ADD SPATIAL INDEX(g);
Query OK, 32376 rows affected (4.05 sec)
Records: 32376  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0