Show only United States when using Leaflet.js and OSM

Question

I'm using leaflet.js and OSM tiles to create a map, but I'd only like the continental United States to be viewable, not the entire world. Is that possible?

I'm loading the map like this:

var map = L.map('map').setView([39.82, -98.58], 5);

L.tileLayer('http://{s}.basemaps.cartocdn.com/dark_all/{z}/{x}/{y}.png', {
    attribution: '...',
    maxZoom: 18
}).addTo(map);

Answer 1

That's possible and easy to do. First of you'll need the coordinates for the bounding box (the outermost edges) of the continental united states. You can just google them, i found them here: http://isithackday.com/geoplanet-explorer/index.php?woeid=24865672 You need the southwest and northeast coordinates to create a bounds object:

var maxBounds = L.latLngBounds(
    L.latLng(5.499550, -167.276413), //Southwest
    L.latLng(83.162102, -52.233040)  //Northeast
);

Or you can go for the shorthand version, a nested array:

var maxBounds = [
    [5.499550, -167.276413], //Southwest
    [83.162102, -52.233040]  //Northeast
];

Now you can set those on your map in two ways, upon initialization, using the maxBounds option and the fitBounds method of L.Map

L.map('map', {
    'center': [0, 0],
    'zoom': 0
    'maxBounds': maxBounds
}).fitBounds(maxBounds);

Here's a working example on Plunker: http://plnkr.co/edit/eEsxeh?p=preview

Or when your map is already initialized you can use the setMaxBounds method and the fitBounds method of L.Map. (assuming your map is assigned to variable map):

map.setMaxBounds(maxBounds);
map.fitBounds(maxBounds);

Here's a working example on Plunker: http://plnkr.co/edit/HJKk0O?p=preview