diff --git a/backend/services/geocode.py b/backend/services/geocode.py
index 204fdb0..234db64 100644
--- a/backend/services/geocode.py
+++ b/backend/services/geocode.py
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ def search_geocode(query: str, limit: int = 5, local_only: bool = False) -> List
     if not q:
         return []
     limit = max(1, min(int(limit or 5), 10))
-    key = f"search:{q.lower()}:{limit}:{int(local_only)}"
+    key = f"search2:{q.lower()}:{limit}:{int(local_only)}"
     cached = _get_cache(key)
     if cached is not None:
         return cached
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ def search_geocode(query: str, limit: int = 5, local_only: bool = False) -> List
         _set_cache(key, results)
         return results
 
-    params = urlencode({"q": q, "format": "json", "limit": str(limit)})
+    params = urlencode({"q": q, "format": "jsonv2", "limit": str(limit)})
     url = f"https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?{params}"
     try:
         res = fetch_with_curl(
@@ -207,15 +207,23 @@ def search_geocode(query: str, limit: int = 5, local_only: bool = False) -> List
             data = res.json() or []
             for item in data:
                 try:
-                    results.append(
-                        {
-                            "label": item.get("display_name"),
-                            "lat": float(item.get("lat")),
-                            "lng": float(item.get("lon")),
-                        }
-                    )
+                    entry = {
+                        "label": item.get("display_name"),
+                        "lat": float(item.get("lat")),
+                        "lng": float(item.get("lon")),
+                    }
                 except (TypeError, ValueError):
                     continue
+                # Extent metadata the frontend uses to size the camera. Absent
+                # for local_only results, so every field stays optional.
+                bbox = item.get("boundingbox")
+                if isinstance(bbox, list) and len(bbox) == 4:
+                    entry["bbox"] = [str(value) for value in bbox]
+                if isinstance(item.get("place_rank"), int):
+                    entry["place_rank"] = item["place_rank"]
+                if item.get("addresstype"):
+                    entry["addresstype"] = str(item["addresstype"])
+                results.append(entry)
         except Exception:
             results = []
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_geocode_api.py b/backend/tests/test_geocode_api.py
index 7781f13..0461a04 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_geocode_api.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_geocode_api.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ from unittest.mock import patch
 
 
 def test_geocode_search_proxy(client):
-    with patch("main.search_geocode") as mock_search:
+    with patch("services.geocode.search_geocode") as mock_search:
         mock_search.return_value = [{"label": "Denver, CO, USA", "lat": 39.7392, "lng": -104.9903}]
         r = client.get("/api/geocode/search?q=denver&limit=1")
         assert r.status_code == 200
@@ -12,9 +12,42 @@ def test_geocode_search_proxy(client):
 
 
 def test_geocode_reverse_proxy(client):
-    with patch("main.reverse_geocode") as mock_reverse:
+    with patch("services.geocode.reverse_geocode") as mock_reverse:
         mock_reverse.return_value = {"label": "Boulder, CO, USA"}
         r = client.get("/api/geocode/reverse?lat=40.01499&lng=-105.27055")
         assert r.status_code == 200
         data = r.json()
         assert data["label"] == "Boulder, CO, USA"
+
+
+def test_geocode_search_passes_through_extent_fields(client):
+    with patch("services.geocode.search_geocode") as mock_search:
+        mock_search.return_value = [
+            {
+                "label": "Monaco",
+                "lat": 43.7311,
+                "lng": 7.4197,
+                "bbox": ["43.5165358", "43.7519173", "7.4090279", "7.5329917"],
+                "place_rank": 4,
+                "addresstype": "country",
+            }
+        ]
+        r = client.get("/api/geocode/search?q=monaco&limit=1")
+        assert r.status_code == 200
+        result = r.json()["results"][0]
+        assert result["bbox"] == [
+            "43.5165358",
+            "43.7519173",
+            "7.4090279",
+            "7.5329917",
+        ]
+        assert result["place_rank"] == 4
+
+
+def test_geocode_search_tolerates_missing_extent_fields(client):
+    """local_only results and older cache entries carry no extent data."""
+    with patch("services.geocode.search_geocode") as mock_search:
+        mock_search.return_value = [{"label": "Denver", "lat": 39.7392, "lng": -104.9903}]
+        r = client.get("/api/geocode/search?q=denver&limit=1")
+        assert r.status_code == 200
+        assert "bbox" not in r.json()["results"][0]
diff --git a/frontend/src/__tests__/lib/mapZoom.test.ts b/frontend/src/__tests__/lib/mapZoom.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2bc3e2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/__tests__/lib/mapZoom.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,209 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import {
+  parseCoordinateInput,
+  boundsForCoordinate,
+  sanitizeGeocodeBbox,
+  boundsForPlaceRank,
+  clampZoom,
+} from '@/lib/mapZoom';
+
+describe('parseCoordinateInput', () => {
+  it('counts decimals as typed, not as parsed', () => {
+    // 78.00 and 78 are the same float but not the same claim.
+    expect(parseCoordinateInput('78.00, -119.00')?.decimals).toBe(2);
+    expect(parseCoordinateInput('78, -119')?.decimals).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it('takes the less precise axis so one sloppy field cannot drive framing', () => {
+    expect(parseCoordinateInput('78.00, -119')?.decimals).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it('accepts space separation and a trailing dot', () => {
+    expect(parseCoordinateInput('34.05 -118.24')?.decimals).toBe(2);
+    expect(parseCoordinateInput('78. -119.')?.decimals).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects out-of-range and non-coordinate input', () => {
+    expect(parseCoordinateInput('91, 0')).toBeNull();
+    expect(parseCoordinateInput('0, 181')).toBeNull();
+    expect(parseCoordinateInput('Tokyo')).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('boundsForCoordinate', () => {
+  it('brackets the point by half an uncertainty cell', () => {
+    const [w, s, e, n] = boundsForCoordinate(78, -119, 0);
+    expect(w).toBeCloseTo(-119.5, 6);
+    expect(e).toBeCloseTo(-118.5, 6);
+    expect(s).toBeCloseTo(77.5, 6);
+    expect(n).toBeCloseTo(78.5, 6);
+  });
+
+  it('shrinks by 10x per decimal place', () => {
+    const [w, , e] = boundsForCoordinate(34.052341, -118.243607, 6);
+    expect(e - w).toBeCloseTo(0.000001, 9);
+  });
+
+  it('does not produce latitudes beyond the poles', () => {
+    const [, s, , n] = boundsForCoordinate(90, 0, 0);
+    expect(n).toBeLessThanOrEqual(90);
+    expect(s).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(-90);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('sanitizeGeocodeBbox', () => {
+  it('accepts an honest city-sized box and converts to [w,s,e,n]', () => {
+    // Monaco the country, place_rank 4. The box is padded with territorial
+    // water and the point sits on its northern edge, but at 26km across the
+    // lopsidedness is too small to matter.
+    expect(
+      sanitizeGeocodeBbox(
+        ['43.5165358', '43.7519173', '7.4090279', '7.5329917'],
+        43.7323492,
+        7.4276832,
+      ),
+    ).toEqual([7.4090279, 43.5165358, 7.5329917, 43.7519173]);
+  });
+
+  it('accepts a town', () => {
+    // Zermatt, place_rank 16.
+    expect(
+      sanitizeGeocodeBbox(
+        ['45.9167499', '46.0643293', '7.5749926', '7.9086793'],
+        46.0207133,
+        7.7491027,
+      ),
+    ).not.toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('keeps the honest box of a country far larger than its rank implies', () => {
+    // Canada is rank 4, the same rank as Monaco, and 4600km across. Sizing
+    // rules keyed off place_rank threw this away and flew to a 1000km box
+    // over the Northwest Territories.
+    expect(
+      sanitizeGeocodeBbox(
+        ['41.6765597', '83.3362128', '-141.0027500', '-52.3237664'],
+        61.0666922,
+        -107.9917071,
+      ),
+    ).toEqual([-141.00275, 41.6765597, -52.3237664, 83.3362128]);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps the honest box of an oversized state', () => {
+    // Texas is rank 8 and 1300km wide; the old cap allowed 1000km.
+    expect(
+      sanitizeGeocodeBbox(
+        ['25.8371638', '36.5007041', '-106.6456461', '-93.5078063'],
+        31.2638905,
+        -98.5456116,
+      ),
+    ).not.toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('rebuilds an antimeridian-degraded box from its latitude axis', () => {
+    // Russia: Nominatim returns the whole planet in longitude. MapLibre's
+    // adjustAntiMeridian() reads that as a legitimate world box, so we must
+    // catch it — but the latitude axis survived and still sizes the country.
+    const bounds = sanitizeGeocodeBbox(
+      ['41.1850968', '82.0586232', '-180.0000000', '180.0000000'],
+      64.6863136,
+      97.7453061,
+    );
+    expect(bounds).not.toBeNull();
+    const [west, south, east, north] = bounds!;
+    // The latitude axis is real data and survives untouched. Re-deriving it
+    // from the result's own point pushes north past 85, where Mercator's
+    // stretch alone drags the zoom down to the floor.
+    expect([south, north]).toEqual([41.1850968, 82.0586232]);
+    expect(east - west).toBeLessThan(180);
+    expect(west).toBeLessThan(97.7453061);
+    expect(east).toBeGreaterThan(97.7453061);
+  });
+
+  it('caps a latitude axis that overseas territories also smeared', () => {
+    // The United States reaches 14S at American Samoa and 71N at Point
+    // Barrow: 9600km of latitude for a 4500km country. Uncapped, the camera
+    // frames a hemisphere.
+    const [, south, , north] = sanitizeGeocodeBbox(
+      ['-14.7608358', '71.5889534', '-180.0000000', '180.0000000'],
+      39.7837304,
+      -100.4458825,
+    )!;
+    expect(north - south).toBeLessThan(50);
+    expect(south).toBeLessThan(39.7837304);
+    expect(north).toBeGreaterThan(39.7837304);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects a box smeared by overseas territories', () => {
+    // France: Kerguelen to French Polynesia, 350 deg of longitude. Never
+    // quite +/-180, so the dateline check alone would miss it.
+    expect(
+      sanitizeGeocodeBbox(
+        ['-50.2187169', '51.3055721', '-178.3873749', '172.3057152'],
+        46.603354,
+        1.8883335,
+      ),
+    ).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects an island-chain prefecture', () => {
+    // "Tokyo" resolves to Tokyo Metropolis (rank 8), whose bbox reaches
+    // 1800km south to the Ogasawara Islands, leaving the city itself 1.4%
+    // from the northern edge. The box is roughly square, so an aspect-ratio
+    // test does not catch it.
+    expect(
+      sanitizeGeocodeBbox(
+        ['20.2145811', '35.8984245', '135.8536855', '154.2055410'],
+        35.6768601,
+        139.7638947,
+      ),
+    ).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects a padded node box', () => {
+    // Mount Everest is an OSM node; Nominatim pads it to +/-0.00005 deg.
+    // Not zero-area, so a degenerate-bounds guard never fires.
+    expect(
+      sanitizeGeocodeBbox(
+        ['27.9880114', '27.9881114', '86.9251600', '86.9252600'],
+        27.9880614,
+        86.92521,
+      ),
+    ).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects malformed input', () => {
+    expect(sanitizeGeocodeBbox(undefined, 0, 0)).toBeNull();
+    expect(sanitizeGeocodeBbox(['1', '2'], 0, 0)).toBeNull();
+    expect(sanitizeGeocodeBbox(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'], 0, 0)).toBeNull();
+    expect(sanitizeGeocodeBbox(['1', '2', '3', '4'], NaN, 0)).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('boundsForPlaceRank', () => {
+  it('sizes a country far wider than a building', () => {
+    const [cw, , ce] = boundsForPlaceRank(48.85, 2.35, 4);
+    const [bw, , be] = boundsForPlaceRank(48.85, 2.35, 30);
+    expect(ce - cw).toBeGreaterThan((be - bw) * 100);
+  });
+
+  it('widens longitude at high latitude to keep the box roughly square', () => {
+    const [ew, , ee] = boundsForPlaceRank(0, 0, 16);
+    const [aw, , ae] = boundsForPlaceRank(78, 0, 16);
+    expect(ae - aw).toBeGreaterThan(ee - ew);
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to a city-sized box when rank is unknown', () => {
+    expect(boundsForPlaceRank(39.7, -104.9, undefined)).toEqual(
+      boundsForPlaceRank(39.7, -104.9, 15),
+    );
+  });
+});
+
+describe('clampZoom', () => {
+  it('holds the camera inside the usable range', () => {
+    expect(clampZoom(22)).toBe(17);
+    expect(clampZoom(0)).toBe(2);
+    expect(clampZoom(11.4)).toBe(11.4);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/__tests__/map/maplibreCameraBounds.test.ts b/frontend/src/__tests__/map/maplibreCameraBounds.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c26c1c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/__tests__/map/maplibreCameraBounds.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { readFileSync } from 'fs';
+import { join } from 'path';
+
+const viewer = readFileSync(
+  join(process.cwd(), 'src/components/MaplibreViewer.tsx'),
+  'utf8',
+);
+
+describe('MaplibreViewer bounds camera', () => {
+  it('derives zoom from bounds via cameraForBounds', () => {
+    expect(viewer).toContain('cameraForBounds');
+  });
+
+  it('caps the fit, because a tiny bounds otherwise flies to maxZoom 22', () => {
+    expect(viewer).toMatch(/maxZoom:\s*ZOOM_MAX/);
+  });
+
+  it('handles cameraForBounds returning undefined on oversized padding', () => {
+    expect(viewer).toContain('ZOOM_FALLBACK');
+  });
+
+  it('leaves the agent fly-to path untouched', () => {
+    expect(viewer).toContain('zoom: flyToLocation.zoom ?? 8,');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/__tests__/page/pageDecomposition.test.ts b/frontend/src/__tests__/page/pageDecomposition.test.ts
index 70f8544..4d1d0b8 100644
--- a/frontend/src/__tests__/page/pageDecomposition.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/__tests__/page/pageDecomposition.test.ts
@@ -195,6 +195,21 @@ describe('page.tsx decomposition — no admin-session/proxy regression', () => {
     expect(locateBar).not.toContain('nominatim.openstreetmap.org');
   });
 
+  it('LocateBar sizes the camera from typed precision and place extent', () => {
+    const locateBar = readAppFile('LocateBar.tsx');
+    expect(locateBar).toContain('parseCoordinateInput');
+    expect(locateBar).toContain('boundsForCoordinate');
+    expect(locateBar).toContain('sanitizeGeocodeBbox');
+    expect(locateBar).toContain('boundsForPlaceRank');
+    // The extent fields must survive the fetch mapping.
+    expect(locateBar).toContain('place_rank');
+  });
+
+  it('page.tsx forwards LocateBar bounds to the map', () => {
+    const page = readAppFile('page.tsx');
+    expect(page).toMatch(/onLocate=\{\(lat, lng, bounds\)/);
+  });
+
   it('useRegionDossier uses backend dossier APIs (no browser-direct enrichment)', () => {
     const hook = fs.readFileSync(
       path.resolve(__dirname, '../../hooks/useRegionDossier.ts'),
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/LocateBar.tsx b/frontend/src/app/LocateBar.tsx
index c0bddcf..2810de4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/LocateBar.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/LocateBar.tsx
@@ -3,14 +3,28 @@
 import { useState, useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
 import { API_BASE } from '@/lib/api';
 import { NOMINATIM_DEBOUNCE_MS } from '@/lib/constants';
+import {
+  parseCoordinateInput,
+  boundsForCoordinate,
+  sanitizeGeocodeBbox,
+  boundsForPlaceRank,
+  type Bounds,
+} from '@/lib/mapZoom';
+
+type LocateResult = {
+  label: string;
+  lat: number;
+  lng: number;
+  bounds?: Bounds;
+};
 
 /* ── LOCATE BAR ── coordinate / place-name search above bottom status bar ── */
-export function LocateBar({ onLocate, onOpenChange }: { onLocate: (lat: number, lng: number) => void; onOpenChange?: (open: boolean) => void }) {
+export function LocateBar({ onLocate, onOpenChange }: { onLocate: (lat: number, lng: number, bounds?: Bounds) => void; onOpenChange?: (open: boolean) => void }) {
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
 
   useEffect(() => { onOpenChange?.(open); }, [open]);
   const [value, setValue] = useState('');
-  const [results, setResults] = useState<{ label: string; lat: number; lng: number }[]>([]);
+  const [results, setResults] = useState<LocateResult[]>([]);
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
   const [searchError, setSearchError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);
@@ -36,22 +50,17 @@ export function LocateBar({ onLocate, onOpenChange }: { onLocate: (lat: number,
     return () => document.removeEventListener('mousedown', handler);
   }, [open]);
 
-  // Parse raw coordinate input: "31.8, 34.8" or "31.8 34.8" or "-12.3, 45.6"
-  const parseCoords = (s: string): { lat: number; lng: number } | null => {
-    const m = s.trim().match(/^([+-]?\d+\.?\d*)[,\s]+([+-]?\d+\.?\d*)$/);
-    if (!m) return null;
-    const lat = parseFloat(m[1]),
-      lng = parseFloat(m[2]);
-    if (lat >= -90 && lat <= 90 && lng >= -180 && lng <= 180) return { lat, lng };
-    return null;
-  };
-
   const handleSearch = async (q: string) => {
     setValue(q);
     // Check for raw coordinates first
-    const coords = parseCoords(q);
+    const coords = parseCoordinateInput(q);
     if (coords) {
-      setResults([{ label: `${coords.lat.toFixed(4)}, ${coords.lng.toFixed(4)}`, ...coords }]);
+      setResults([{
+        label: `${coords.lat.toFixed(4)}, ${coords.lng.toFixed(4)}`,
+        lat: coords.lat,
+        lng: coords.lng,
+        bounds: boundsForCoordinate(coords.lat, coords.lng, coords.decimals),
+      }]);
       return;
     }
     // Geocode with Nominatim (debounced)
@@ -74,11 +83,20 @@ export function LocateBar({ onLocate, onOpenChange }: { onLocate: (lat: number,
         );
         if (res.ok) {
           const data = await res.json();
-          const mapped = (data?.results || []).map(
-            (r: { label: string; lat: number; lng: number }) => ({
+          const mapped: LocateResult[] = (data?.results || []).map(
+            (r: {
+              label: string; lat: number; lng: number;
+              bbox?: string[]; place_rank?: number;
+            }) => ({
               label: r.label,
               lat: r.lat,
               lng: r.lng,
+              // A usable bbox frames the real thing; otherwise fall back to
+              // the rank's typical extent, which is the only honest answer
+              // for Tokyo prefecture, France and bare OSM nodes.
+              bounds:
+                sanitizeGeocodeBbox(r.bbox, r.lat, r.lng) ??
+                boundsForPlaceRank(r.lat, r.lng, r.place_rank),
             }),
           );
           setResults(mapped);
@@ -102,8 +120,8 @@ export function LocateBar({ onLocate, onOpenChange }: { onLocate: (lat: number,
     }, NOMINATIM_DEBOUNCE_MS);
   };
 
-  const handleSelect = (r: { lat: number; lng: number }) => {
-    onLocate(r.lat, r.lng);
+  const handleSelect = (r: LocateResult) => {
+    onLocate(r.lat, r.lng, r.bounds);
     setOpen(false);
     setValue('');
     setResults([]);
@@ -203,7 +221,7 @@ export function LocateBar({ onLocate, onOpenChange }: { onLocate: (lat: number,
         <div className="absolute bottom-full left-0 right-0 mb-1 bg-[var(--bg-secondary)] border border-[var(--border-primary)] overflow-hidden shadow-[0_-8px_30px_rgba(0,0,0,0.4)] max-h-[200px] overflow-y-auto styled-scrollbar">
           {results.map((r, i) => (
             <button
-              key={i}
+              key={`${r.label}-${r.lat}-${r.lng}`}
               onClick={() => handleSelect(r)}
               className="w-full text-left px-3 py-2 hover:bg-cyan-950/40 transition-colors border-b border-[var(--border-primary)]/50 last:border-0 flex items-center gap-2"
             >
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/page.tsx b/frontend/src/app/page.tsx
index 3c43b14..dca49ae 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/page.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/page.tsx
@@ -437,6 +437,7 @@ export default function Dashboard() {
     lat: number;
     lng: number;
     zoom?: number;
+    bounds?: [number, number, number, number];
     ts: number;
   } | null>(null);
 
@@ -826,7 +827,7 @@ export default function Dashboard() {
               >
                 {/* LOCATE BAR — search by coordinates or place name */}
                 <LocateBar
-                  onLocate={(lat, lng) => setFlyToLocation({ lat, lng, ts: Date.now() })}
+                  onLocate={(lat, lng, bounds) => setFlyToLocation({ lat, lng, bounds, ts: Date.now() })}
                   onOpenChange={setLocateBarOpen}
                 />
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/MaplibreViewer.tsx b/frontend/src/components/MaplibreViewer.tsx
index 6e0e77e..118ebd4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/MaplibreViewer.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/MaplibreViewer.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 'use client';
 
 import { API_BASE } from '@/lib/api';
+import { clampZoom, ZOOM_MAX, ZOOM_FALLBACK } from '@/lib/mapZoom';
 import React, { useMemo, useState, useEffect, useCallback, useRef } from 'react';
 import Map, {
   Source,
@@ -751,16 +752,32 @@ const MaplibreViewer = ({
   }, [selectedEntity]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (flyToLocation && mapRef.current) {
-      // Agent moves (sar_focus_aoi) carry their own zoom: a world-view revert
-      // asks for ~2, a tight AOI for ~9.  Ignoring it pinned every move at 8,
-      // which turned "show the whole world" into a patch of empty ocean.
-      mapRef.current.flyTo({
-        center: [flyToLocation.lng, flyToLocation.lat],
-        zoom: flyToLocation.zoom ?? 8,
+    if (!flyToLocation || !mapRef.current) return;
+    const map = mapRef.current.getMap();
+
+    if (flyToLocation.bounds) {
+      // cameraForBounds returns undefined when padding exceeds the viewport,
+      // and silently returns the map's maxZoom (22) for a degenerate box —
+      // hence both the clamped padding and the explicit maxZoom.
+      const { clientWidth, clientHeight } = map.getContainer();
+      const padding = Math.min(64, Math.min(clientWidth, clientHeight) / 6);
+      const cam = map.cameraForBounds(flyToLocation.bounds, { padding, maxZoom: ZOOM_MAX });
+      map.flyTo({
+        center: cam?.center ?? [flyToLocation.lng, flyToLocation.lat],
+        zoom: cam ? clampZoom(cam.zoom ?? ZOOM_FALLBACK) : ZOOM_FALLBACK,
         duration: 1500,
       });
+      return;
     }
+
+    // Agent moves (sar_focus_aoi) carry their own zoom: a world-view revert
+    // asks for ~2, a tight AOI for ~9. Ignoring it pinned every move at 8,
+    // which turned "show the whole world" into a patch of empty ocean.
+    mapRef.current.flyTo({
+      center: [flyToLocation.lng, flyToLocation.lat],
+      zoom: flyToLocation.zoom ?? 8,
+      duration: 1500,
+    });
   }, [flyToLocation]);
 
   const earthquakesGeoJSON = useMemo(
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/mapZoom.ts b/frontend/src/lib/mapZoom.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..21af25c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/mapZoom.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,251 @@
+/**
+ * Sizing the LOCATE camera.
+ *
+ * Everything here produces a bounding box rather than a zoom number, so the
+ * caller can hand it to map.cameraForBounds(). That matters: in Web Mercator
+ * the cos(lat) shrinkage of a longitude degree is exactly cancelled by the
+ * projection's horizontal stretch, so only the latitude axis needs the term.
+ * Hand-rolled compensation usually corrects the wrong one. cameraForBounds
+ * gets both axes and the viewport aspect ratio right for free.
+ */
+
+/** [west, south, east, north] - the order MapLibre's LngLatBoundsLike takes. */
+export type Bounds = [number, number, number, number];
+
+export const ZOOM_MIN = 2;
+/** ~0.6 m/px. Deeper than this, every tile source is upscaled blur. */
+export const ZOOM_MAX = 17;
+/** OSM.org's own default for a bare coordinate: "somewhere around here". */
+export const ZOOM_FALLBACK = 11;
+
+const KM_PER_DEGREE = 111.32;
+
+/**
+ * A bbox axis is judged "smeared by an outlier" when the result's own
+ * coordinate sits outside the middle 80% of it. Nominatim's lat/lon is the
+ * representative point of the main body, so a box that genuinely describes
+ * that body brackets it; a box stretched to a remote island does not.
+ *
+ * This catches the severe cases (Tokyo's box is 70x longer on the far side of
+ * the city than the near side) and deliberately lets mild ones through.
+ * Australia keeps a box widened by Heard Island, 4000km to the south-west,
+ * because its centroid is still only 15% off-centre — no threshold separates
+ * that from Brazil or Japan, which are similarly off-centre and honest. The
+ * country still lands on screen whole, just not centred. That is also what
+ * openstreetmap.org does with the same bounding box.
+ */
+const CENTRE_MARGIN = 0.1;
+
+/**
+ * Only axes longer than this are worth judging. Below it, a lopsided box is
+ * territorial-water padding rather than an outlying territory, and the error
+ * is too small to see. Monaco's country box is 26km of mostly sea with the
+ * point on its northern edge; framing that is harmless.
+ */
+const CENTRE_TEST_MIN_KM = 100;
+
+/**
+ * No country's true north-south extent reaches this. Canada, the largest,
+ * spans 41.7N to 83.3N (~4630km). A latitude span beyond the cap is therefore
+ * an overseas territory dragging the box, not the country.
+ */
+const MAX_COUNTRY_EXTENT_KM = 5000;
+
+export const clampZoom = (z: number): number =>
+  Math.min(ZOOM_MAX, Math.max(ZOOM_MIN, z));
+
+const COORD_RE = /^([+-]?\d+(?:\.(\d*))?)[,\s]+([+-]?\d+(?:\.(\d*))?)$/;
+
+/**
+ * Parse "31.8, 34.8" / "-12.3 45.6", reporting how precisely it was typed.
+ * Decimals are counted from the raw string because 78 and 78.00 parse to the
+ * same float but make different claims about precision.
+ */
+export function parseCoordinateInput(
+  raw: string,
+): { lat: number; lng: number; decimals: number } | null {
+  const m = raw.trim().match(COORD_RE);
+  if (!m) return null;
+  const lat = parseFloat(m[1]);
+  const lng = parseFloat(m[3]);
+  if (!(lat >= -90 && lat <= 90 && lng >= -180 && lng <= 180)) return null;
+  // The less precise axis wins: one sloppy field must not drive the framing.
+  const decimals = Math.min((m[2] ?? '').length, (m[4] ?? '').length);
+  return { lat, lng, decimals };
+}
+
+/** The uncertainty cell implied by `decimals` places of decimal degrees. */
+export function boundsForCoordinate(
+  lat: number,
+  lng: number,
+  decimals: number,
+): Bounds {
+  const half = 0.5 * Math.pow(10, -decimals);
+  return [
+    lng - half,
+    Math.max(-90, lat - half),
+    lng + half,
+    Math.min(90, lat + half),
+  ];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Is `value` bracketed by [lo, hi] rather than sitting out at one end?
+ * Short axes always pass: see CENTRE_TEST_MIN_KM.
+ */
+function axisBracketsPoint(lo: number, hi: number, value: number): boolean {
+  const span = hi - lo;
+  if (span * KM_PER_DEGREE < CENTRE_TEST_MIN_KM) return true;
+  const position = (value - lo) / span;
+  return position >= CENTRE_MARGIN && position <= 1 - CENTRE_MARGIN;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Convert a Nominatim boundingbox to Bounds, discarding or repairing the ones
+ * that would frame the wrong thing. Every rule below is a real query.
+ *
+ * `lat`/`lng` are the result's own coordinate. They do the heavy lifting: a
+ * bounding box is trustworthy when it brackets its own representative point,
+ * and suspect when that point sits at one edge. Sizing rules cannot do this
+ * job — the extent Nominatim's place_rank implies is an administrative level,
+ * not a size, and countries at rank 4 run from Monaco (2km) to Canada
+ * (4600km). Capping on a multiple of the rank extent throws away the honest
+ * boxes of every large country and state.
+ */
+export function sanitizeGeocodeBbox(
+  bbox: unknown,
+  lat: number,
+  lng: number,
+): Bounds | null {
+  if (!Array.isArray(bbox) || bbox.length !== 4) return null;
+  // Nominatim order is [min_lat, max_lat, min_lon, max_lon], as strings.
+  const [south, north, west, east] = bbox.map(Number);
+  if (![south, north, west, east].every(Number.isFinite)) return null;
+  if (!Number.isFinite(lat) || !Number.isFinite(lng)) return null;
+
+  const latSpan = north - south;
+  const lonSpan = east - west;
+  if (latSpan < 0 || lonSpan < 0) return null;
+
+  // Russia, the United States, Fiji, New Zealand: a box crossing the
+  // antimeridian comes back as -180..180, which MapLibre's
+  // adjustAntiMeridian() reads as a legitimate whole-world box. Longitude is
+  // unrecoverable, but latitude usually survives, so rebuild a square-ish box
+  // from that rather than throwing the whole result away.
+  if (lonSpan >= 359) return boundsFromLatitudeSpan(lat, lng, south, north);
+  // France: mainland plus Kerguelen and French Polynesia, 350 deg wide but
+  // never quite touching +/-180, so the dateline rule above misses it.
+  // Nothing real spans more than a hemisphere of longitude.
+  if (lonSpan > 180) return null;
+
+  // Tokyo: the prefecture's box reaches 1800km south to the Ogasawara
+  // Islands, leaving the city itself 1.4% from the box's northern edge. The
+  // box is 15.7 x 18.4 deg — roughly square, so an aspect-ratio test misses
+  // it, and it is only 5x the extent its rank claims, so a size cap loose
+  // enough to admit Texas misses it too.
+  if (!axisBracketsPoint(south, north, lat)) return null;
+  if (!axisBracketsPoint(west, east, lng)) return null;
+
+  // Everest: an OSM node, padded to +/-0.00005 deg. Never zero-area, so a
+  // degenerate-bounds guard would not catch it - and fitBounds on a box that
+  // small silently flies to the map's maxZoom.
+  if (Math.max(latSpan, lonSpan) < 0.0002) return null;
+
+  return [west, south, east, north];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Rebuild bounds for a result whose longitude axis was destroyed by the
+ * antimeridian, using the latitude axis it kept. There is no information left
+ * about how wide the place is, so the box is made square about the result's
+ * own longitude — the neutral choice, and one that lands the camera on the
+ * populated middle of Russia rather than on empty Arctic.
+ */
+function boundsFromLatitudeSpan(
+  lat: number,
+  lng: number,
+  south: number,
+  north: number,
+): Bounds | null {
+  const latSpan = north - south;
+  if (!(latSpan > 0)) return null;
+  // Territories smear latitude too, so the point still has to be bracketed.
+  if (!axisBracketsPoint(south, north, lat)) return null;
+
+  const extentKm = latSpan * KM_PER_DEGREE;
+  if (extentKm > MAX_COUNTRY_EXTENT_KM) {
+    // The United States: American Samoa at 14S and Point Barrow at 71N give
+    // 9600km of latitude for a 4500km country, and the midpoint of that lands
+    // in the Caribbean. Neither endpoint is usable, so fall back to a capped
+    // box around the result's own coordinate.
+    return boundsAround(lat, lng, MAX_COUNTRY_EXTENT_KM);
+  }
+
+  // Russia: 41N to 82N is the real extent of the country and belongs on the
+  // camera as-is. Deriving latitude from the result's point instead would
+  // push the box past 85N, where Mercator's stretch alone forces the zoom
+  // down to the floor.
+  const halfLng =
+    latSpan / 2 / Math.max(Math.cos(((south + north) / 2) * (Math.PI / 180)), 0.01);
+  return [lng - halfLng, south, lng + halfLng, north];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Nominatim's own extent estimate per search rank, in km. Ranks 13-25 are
+ * documented; 4-12 are our estimates, since the docs give no figure there.
+ * Keyed off place_rank rather than class/type/admin_level because Nominatim
+ * has already normalized admin levels across countries (German admin_level 5
+ * is rank 10, Swedish admin_level 4 is rank 12).
+ */
+const RANK_EXTENT_KM: ReadonlyArray<readonly [number, number]> = [
+  [3, 5000],
+  [4, 1000],
+  [8, 250],
+  [12, 60],
+  [16, 15],
+  [18, 4],
+  [19, 2],
+  [20, 1],
+  [25, 0.5],
+  [27, 0.3],
+  [30, 0.1],
+];
+
+/** Used when Nominatim gave no rank at all, e.g. the local_only fallback. */
+const UNKNOWN_RANK = 15;
+
+function extentKmForRank(placeRank?: number): number {
+  const rank = typeof placeRank === 'number' ? placeRank : UNKNOWN_RANK;
+  for (const [maxRank, km] of RANK_EXTENT_KM) {
+    if (rank <= maxRank) return km;
+  }
+  return RANK_EXTENT_KM[RANK_EXTENT_KM.length - 1][1];
+}
+
+/** A roughly square box `extentKm` across, centred on (lat, lng). */
+function boundsAround(lat: number, lng: number, extentKm: number): Bounds {
+  const halfLat = extentKm / 2 / KM_PER_DEGREE;
+  // Synthesizing a geographic box, not a pixel measurement, so the cos term
+  // genuinely applies here. Floored to keep the poles finite.
+  const cos = Math.max(Math.cos((lat * Math.PI) / 180), 0.01);
+  const halfLng = halfLat / cos;
+  return [
+    lng - halfLng,
+    Math.max(-90, lat - halfLat),
+    lng + halfLng,
+    Math.min(90, lat + halfLat),
+  ];
+}
+
+/**
+ * A box of the rank's typical extent, centred on the result. The last resort,
+ * for results whose bounding box was unusable and for the local_only path,
+ * which carries no extent data at all.
+ */
+export function boundsForPlaceRank(
+  lat: number,
+  lng: number,
+  placeRank?: number,
+): Bounds {
+  return boundsAround(lat, lng, extentKmForRank(placeRank));
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/types/dashboard.ts b/frontend/src/types/dashboard.ts
index 868f361..552250f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/types/dashboard.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/types/dashboard.ts
@@ -1334,7 +1334,7 @@ export interface MaplibreViewerProps {
   activeFilters?: Record<string, string[]>;
   effects?: MapEffects;
   onEntityClick: (entity: SelectedEntity | null) => void;
-  flyToLocation: { lat: number; lng: number; zoom?: number; ts?: number } | null;
+  flyToLocation: { lat: number; lng: number; zoom?: number; bounds?: [number, number, number, number]; ts?: number } | null;
   selectedEntity: SelectedEntity | null;
   onMouseCoords: (coords: { lat: number; lng: number }) => void;
   onRightClick: (coords: { lat: number; lng: number }) => void;