What is the extent of a map?

Bounds in GIS context refer to the geographic range within which data or a map view falls. This may be dataset extent, visible map area (viewport), or the minimum rectangular area enclosing all features.

In web viewers and APIs, bounds determine which tiles or features load. "Bounds" is sometimes used informally as a synonym for bbox, but bounds can also mean the actual extent of geometries — not always a perfect rectangle.

Bounds is not the same as an administrative border. Bounds describes extent and visibility; a border is a meaningful object (municipal boundary, parcel). For metadata and API filters, bbox is the standardized rectangular form of bounds.