diff --git a/quadtree/benchmarks_test.go b/quadtree/benchmarks_test.go
index 9227cc5..908c486 100644
--- a/quadtree/benchmarks_test.go
+++ b/quadtree/benchmarks_test.go
@@ -131,3 +131,37 @@ func BenchmarkRandomInBound1000Buf(b *testing.B) {
 		buf = qt.InBound(buf, p.Bound().Pad(0.1))
 	}
 }
+
+func BenchmarkRandomKNearest10(b *testing.B) {
+	r := rand.New(rand.NewSource(43))
+
+	qt := New(orb.Bound{Min: orb.Point{0, 0}, Max: orb.Point{1, 1}})
+	for i := 0; i < 1000; i++ {
+		qt.Add(orb.Point{r.Float64(), r.Float64()})
+	}
+
+	buf := make([]orb.Pointer, 0, 10)
+
+	b.ReportAllocs()
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+		qt.KNearest(buf[:0], orb.Point{r.Float64(), r.Float64()}, 10)
+	}
+}
+
+func BenchmarkRandomKNearest100(b *testing.B) {
+	r := rand.New(rand.NewSource(43))
+
+	qt := New(orb.Bound{Min: orb.Point{0, 0}, Max: orb.Point{1, 1}})
+	for i := 0; i < 1000; i++ {
+		qt.Add(orb.Point{r.Float64(), r.Float64()})
+	}
+
+	buf := make([]orb.Pointer, 0, 100)
+
+	b.ReportAllocs()
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+		qt.KNearest(buf[:0], orb.Point{r.Float64(), r.Float64()}, 100)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/quadtree/maxheap.go b/quadtree/maxheap.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5473a3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/quadtree/maxheap.go
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+package quadtree
+
+import "github.com/paulmach/orb"
+
+// maxHeap is used for the knearest list. We need a way to maintain
+// the furthest point from the query point in the list, hence maxHeap.
+// When we find a point closer than the furthest away, we remove
+// furthest and add the new point to the heap.
+type maxHeap []*heapItem
+
+type heapItem struct {
+	point    orb.Pointer
+	distance float64
+}
+
+func (h *maxHeap) Push(point orb.Pointer, distance float64) {
+	// Common usage is Push followed by a Pop if we have > k points.
+	// We're reusing the k+1 heapItem object to reduce memory allocations.
+	// First we manaully lengthen the slice,
+	// then we see if the last item has been allocated already.
+
+	prevLen := len(*h)
+	*h = (*h)[:prevLen+1]
+	if (*h)[prevLen] == nil {
+		(*h)[prevLen] = &heapItem{point: point, distance: distance}
+	} else {
+		(*h)[prevLen].point = point
+		(*h)[prevLen].distance = distance
+	}
+
+	i := len(*h) - 1
+	for i > 0 {
+		up := ((i + 1) >> 1) - 1
+		parent := (*h)[up]
+
+		if distance < parent.distance {
+			// parent is further so we're done fixing up the heap.
+			break
+		}
+
+		// swap nodes
+		// (*h)[i] = parent
+		(*h)[i].point = parent.point
+		(*h)[i].distance = parent.distance
+
+		// (*h)[up] = item
+		(*h)[up].point = point
+		(*h)[up].distance = distance
+
+		i = up
+	}
+}
+
+// Pop returns the "greatest" item in the list.
+// The returned item should not be saved across push/pop operations.
+func (h *maxHeap) Pop() *heapItem {
+	removed := (*h)[0]
+	lastItem := (*h)[len(*h)-1]
+	(*h) = (*h)[:len(*h)-1]
+
+	mh := (*h)
+	if len(mh) == 0 {
+		return removed
+	}
+
+	// move the last item to the top and reset the heap
+	mh[0] = lastItem
+
+	i := 0
+	current := mh[i]
+	for {
+		right := (i + 1) << 1
+		left := right - 1
+
+		childIndex := i
+		child := mh[childIndex]
+
+		// swap with biggest child
+		if left < len(mh) && child.distance < mh[left].distance {
+			childIndex = left
+			child = mh[left]
+		}
+
+		if right < len(mh) && child.distance < mh[right].distance {
+			childIndex = right
+			child = mh[right]
+		}
+
+		// non bigger, so quit
+		if childIndex == i {
+			break
+		}
+
+		// swap the nodes
+		mh[i] = child
+		mh[childIndex] = current
+
+		i = childIndex
+	}
+
+	return removed
+}
diff --git a/quadtree/maxheap_test.go b/quadtree/maxheap_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..885438a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/quadtree/maxheap_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+package quadtree
+
+import (
+	"math/rand"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestMaxHeap(t *testing.T) {
+	r := rand.New(rand.NewSource(22))
+
+	for i := 1; i < 100; i++ {
+		h := make(maxHeap, 0, i)
+		for j := 0; j < i; j++ {
+			h.Push(nil, r.Float64())
+		}
+
+		current := h.Pop().distance
+		for len(h) > 0 {
+			next := h.Pop().distance
+			if next > current {
+				t.Errorf("incorrect")
+			}
+
+			current = next
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/quadtree/quadtree.go b/quadtree/quadtree.go
index ad8a5da..5b6b28b 100644
--- a/quadtree/quadtree.go
+++ b/quadtree/quadtree.go
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 package quadtree
 
 import (
-	"container/heap"
 	"errors"
 	"math"
 
@@ -213,6 +212,7 @@ func (q *Quadtree) Matching(p orb.Point, f FilterFunc) orb.Pointer {
 // KNearest returns k closest Value/Pointer in the quadtree.
 // This function is thread safe. Multiple goroutines can read from a pre-created tree.
 // An optional buffer parameter is provided to allow for the reuse of result slice memory.
+// The points are returned in a sorted order, nearest first.
 // This function allows defining a maximum distance in order to reduce search iterations.
 func (q *Quadtree) KNearest(buf []orb.Pointer, p orb.Point, k int, maxDistance ...float64) []orb.Pointer {
 	return q.KNearestMatching(buf, p, k, nil, maxDistance...)
@@ -222,6 +222,7 @@ func (q *Quadtree) KNearest(buf []orb.Pointer, p orb.Point, k int, maxDistance .
 // the given filter function returns true. This function is thread safe.
 // Multiple goroutines can read from a pre-created tree. An optional buffer
 // parameter is provided to allow for the reuse of result slice memory.
+// The points are returned in a sorted order, nearest first.
 // This function allows defining a maximum distance in order to reduce search iterations.
 func (q *Quadtree) KNearestMatching(buf []orb.Pointer, p orb.Point, k int, f FilterFunc, maxDistance ...float64) []orb.Pointer {
 	if q.root == nil {
@@ -233,13 +234,13 @@ func (q *Quadtree) KNearestMatching(buf []orb.Pointer, p orb.Point, k int, f Fil
 		point:          p,
 		filter:         f,
 		k:              k,
-		closest:        newPointsQueue(k),
+		maxHeap:        make(maxHeap, 0, k+1),
 		closestBound:   &b,
 		maxDistSquared: math.MaxFloat64,
 	}
 
 	if len(maxDistance) > 0 {
-		v.maxDistSquared = math.Pow(maxDistance[0], 2)
+		v.maxDistSquared = maxDistance[0] * maxDistance[0]
 	}
 
 	newVisit(v).Visit(q.root,
@@ -250,15 +251,16 @@ func (q *Quadtree) KNearestMatching(buf []orb.Pointer, p orb.Point, k int, f Fil
 	)
 
 	//repack result
-	if cap(buf) < len(v.closest) {
-		buf = make([]orb.Pointer, 0, len(v.closest))
+	if cap(buf) < len(v.maxHeap) {
+		buf = make([]orb.Pointer, len(v.maxHeap))
 	} else {
-		buf = buf[:0]
+		buf = buf[:len(v.maxHeap)]
 	}
 
-	for _, element := range v.closest {
-		buf = append(buf, element.point)
+	for i := len(v.maxHeap) - 1; i >= 0; i-- {
+		buf[i] = v.maxHeap.Pop().point
 	}
+
 	return buf
 }
 
@@ -405,53 +407,53 @@ func (v *findVisitor) Visit(n *node) {
 	}
 }
 
-type pointsQueueItem struct {
-	point    orb.Pointer
-	distance float64 // distance to point and priority inside the queue
-	index    int     // point index in queue
-}
+// type pointsQueueItem struct {
+// 	point    orb.Pointer
+// 	distance float64 // distance to point and priority inside the queue
+// 	index    int     // point index in queue
+// }
 
-type pointsQueue []pointsQueueItem
+// type pointsQueue []pointsQueueItem
 
-func newPointsQueue(capacity int) pointsQueue {
-	// We make capacity+1 because we need additional place for the greatest element
-	return make([]pointsQueueItem, 0, capacity+1)
-}
+// func newPointsQueue(capacity int) pointsQueue {
+// 	// We make capacity+1 because we need additional place for the greatest element
+// 	return make([]pointsQueueItem, 0, capacity+1)
+// }
 
-func (pq pointsQueue) Len() int { return len(pq) }
+// func (pq pointsQueue) Len() int { return len(pq) }
 
-func (pq pointsQueue) Less(i, j int) bool {
-	// We want pop longest distances so Less was inverted
-	return pq[i].distance > pq[j].distance
-}
+// func (pq pointsQueue) Less(i, j int) bool {
+// 	// We want pop longest distances so Less was inverted
+// 	return pq[i].distance > pq[j].distance
+// }
 
-func (pq pointsQueue) Swap(i, j int) {
-	pq[i], pq[j] = pq[j], pq[i]
-	pq[i].index = i
-	pq[j].index = j
-}
+// func (pq pointsQueue) Swap(i, j int) {
+// 	pq[i], pq[j] = pq[j], pq[i]
+// 	pq[i].index = i
+// 	pq[j].index = j
+// }
 
-func (pq *pointsQueue) Push(x interface{}) {
-	n := len(*pq)
-	item := x.(pointsQueueItem)
-	item.index = n
-	*pq = append(*pq, item)
-}
+// func (pq *pointsQueue) Push(x interface{}) {
+// 	n := len(*pq)
+// 	item := x.(pointsQueueItem)
+// 	item.index = n
+// 	*pq = append(*pq, item)
+// }
 
-func (pq *pointsQueue) Pop() interface{} {
-	old := *pq
-	n := len(old)
-	item := old[n-1]
-	item.index = -1
-	*pq = old[0 : n-1]
-	return item
-}
+// func (pq *pointsQueue) Pop() interface{} {
+// 	old := *pq
+// 	n := len(old)
+// 	item := old[n-1]
+// 	item.index = -1
+// 	*pq = old[0 : n-1]
+// 	return item
+// }
 
 type nearestVisitor struct {
 	point          orb.Point
 	filter         FilterFunc
 	k              int
-	closest        pointsQueue
+	maxHeap        maxHeap
 	closestBound   *orb.Bound
 	maxDistSquared float64
 }
@@ -472,13 +474,14 @@ func (v *nearestVisitor) Visit(n *node) {
 
 	point := n.Value.Point()
 	if d := planar.DistanceSquared(point, v.point); d < v.maxDistSquared {
-		heap.Push(&v.closest, pointsQueueItem{point: n.Value, distance: d})
-		if v.closest.Len() > v.k {
-			heap.Pop(&v.closest)
+		v.maxHeap.Push(n.Value, d)
+		if len(v.maxHeap) > v.k {
+
+			v.maxHeap.Pop()
 
 			// Actually this is a hack. We know how heap works and obtain
 			// top element without function call
-			top := v.closest[0]
+			top := v.maxHeap[0]
 
 			v.maxDistSquared = top.distance
 
diff --git a/quadtree/quadtree_test.go b/quadtree/quadtree_test.go
index 5441275..c0a2ee9 100644
--- a/quadtree/quadtree_test.go
+++ b/quadtree/quadtree_test.go
@@ -236,6 +236,25 @@ func TestQuadtreeKNearest(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestQuadtreeKNearest_sorted(t *testing.T) {
+	q := New(orb.Bound{Max: orb.Point{5, 5}})
+	q.Add(orb.Point{0, 0})
+	q.Add(orb.Point{1, 1})
+	q.Add(orb.Point{2, 2})
+	q.Add(orb.Point{3, 3})
+	q.Add(orb.Point{4, 4})
+	q.Add(orb.Point{5, 5})
+
+	nearest := q.KNearest(nil, orb.Point{2.25, 2.25}, 5)
+
+	expected := []orb.Point{{2, 2}, {3, 3}, {1, 1}, {4, 4}, {0, 0}}
+	for i, p := range expected {
+		if n := nearest[i].Point(); !n.Equal(p) {
+			t.Errorf("incorrect point %d: %v", i, n)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func TestQuadtreeKNearest_DistanceLimit(t *testing.T) {
 	type dataPointer struct {
 		orb.Pointer