diff --git a/geom/src/bounds.rs b/geom/src/bounds.rs
index 837a0735c4..22a6935c82 100644
--- a/geom/src/bounds.rs
+++ b/geom/src/bounds.rs
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ use aabb_quadtree::geom::{Point, Rect};
 use crate::{LonLat, Polygon, Pt2D, Ring};
 
 /// Represents a rectangular boundary of `Pt2D` points.
-#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct Bounds {
     pub min_x: f64,
     pub min_y: f64,
@@ -24,6 +24,15 @@ impl Bounds {
         }
     }
 
+    pub fn zero() -> Self {
+        Bounds {
+            min_x: 0.0,
+            min_y: 0.0,
+            max_x: 0.0,
+            max_y: 0.0,
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Create a boundary covering some points.
     pub fn from(pts: &Vec<Pt2D>) -> Bounds {
         let mut b = Bounds::new();