A boundary of a surface consists of a number of rings. In the normal 2D case, one of these rings is distinguished as being the exterior boundary. In a general manifold this is not always possible, in which case all boundaries shall be listed as interior boundaries, and the exterior will be empty.
<element name="exterior" type="gml:AbstractRingPropertyType"><annotation><documentation>A boundary of a surface consists of a number of rings. In the normal 2D case, one of these rings is distinguished as being the exterior boundary. In a general manifold this is not always possible, in which case all boundaries shall be listed as interior boundaries, and the exterior will be empty.</documentation></annotation></element>