[R-sig-Geo] classify point by nearest polygon

[Corey Chivers]

I have a large number of points which I would like to associate with 
either the polygon (in my case, lake) they are in or nearest to.  I have 
succeeded in classifying the points which are actually in a polygon 
using overlay().  I have scoured around looking for a solution to 
identifying the nearest neighbor polygon of a point but have not found 
an elegant solution.

There was a thread about this issue back in 2009 ([R-sig-Geo] Finding 
the county shapefile polygon closest to along-lat position), but I was 
unable to implement the suggested workaround and wonder if there isn't a 
better solution known out there.

Thank you in advance for any help/advice you can provide!
-Corey

-- 
Corey Chivers, PhD Candidate
McGill University
Department of Biology
Stewart Biology W6/12
514-398-1833
corey.chivers at mail.mcgill.ca
http://madere.biol.mcgill.ca/cchivers/