This is an implementation of the FDSN Event Web Service Specification, and allows custom searches for earthquake information using a variety of parameters.

Please note that automated applications should use Real-time GeoJSON Feeds for displaying earthquake information whenever possible, as they will have the best performance and availability for that type of information.

URL

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/[METHOD[?PARAMETERS]]

Methods

application.json request known enumerated parameter values for the interface. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/application.json application.wadl request WADL for the interface. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/application.wadl catalogs request available catalogs. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/catalogs contributors request available contributors https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/contributors count to perform a count on a data request. Count uses the same parameters as the query method, and is availablein these formats: plain text (default), geojson, and xml. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/count?format=geojson

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/count?starttime=2014-01-01&endtime=2014-01-02 query to submit a data request. See the parameters section for supported url parameters. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/query?format=geojson&starttime=2014-01-01&endtime=2014-01-02

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/query?format=xml&starttime=2014-01-01&endtime=2014-01-02&minmagnitude=5 version request full service version number https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/version

Query method Parameters

These parameters should be submitted as key=value pairs using the HTTP GET method and may not be specified more than once; if a parameter is submitted multiple times the result is undefined.

Formats

If no format is specified quakeml will be returned by default.

parameter type default description format String quakeml Specify the output format. format=csv Response format is CSV. Mime-type is “text/csv”. format=geojson Response format is GeoJSON. Mime-type is “application/json”. format=kml Response format is KML. Mime-type is “vnd.google-earth.kml+xml”. format=quakeml Alias for "xml" format. format=text Response format is plain text. Mime-type is “text/plain”. format=xml The xml format is dependent upon the request method used.

format=geojson

When format=geojson is defined there are additional parameters that can be specified that control how the geojson output is generated. The additional web service parameters are:

format=kml

When format=kml is defined there are additional parameters that can be specified that control how the KML output is generated. The additional web service parameters are:

format=text

This format is only available for the count , query , and version methods.

format=xml

The xml format is dependent upon the request method used.

method=query

Response format is Quakeml 1.2. Mime-type is "application/xml".

Response format is Quakeml 1.2. Mime-type is "application/xml". method=count

Response format is xml. Mime-type is “application/xml”.

Time

All times use ISO8601 Date/Time format. Unless a timezone is specified, UTC is assumed. Examples:

2020-09-25, Implicit UTC timezone, and time at start of the day (00:00:00)

2020-09-25T21:44:34, Implicit UTC timezone.

2020-09-25T21:44:34+00:00, Explicit timezone.

parameter type default description endtime String present time Limit to events on or before the specified end time. NOTE: All times use ISO8601 Date/Time format. Unless a timezone is specified, UTC is assumed. starttime String NOW - 30 days Limit to events on or after the specified start time. NOTE: All times use ISO8601 Date/Time format. Unless a timezone is specified, UTC is assumed. updatedafter String null Limit to events updated after the specified time. NOTE: All times use ISO8601 Date/Time format. Unless a timezone is specified, UTC is assumed.

Location

Requests that use both rectangle and circle will return the intersection, which may be empty, use with caution.

Rectangle

Requests may use any combination of these parameters.

parameter type default description minlatitude Decimal [-90,90] degrees -90 Limit to events with a latitude larger than the specified minimum. NOTE: min values must be less than max values. minlongitude Decimal [-360,360] degrees -180 Limit to events with a longitude larger than the specified minimum. NOTE: rectangles may cross the date line by using a minlongitude < -180 or maxlongitude > 180. NOTE: min values must be less than max values. maxlatitude Decimal [-90,90] degrees 90 Limit to events with a latitude smaller than the specified maximum. NOTE: min values must be less than max values. maxlongitude Decimal [-360,360] degrees 180 Limit to events with a longitude smaller than the specified maximum. NOTE: rectangles may cross the date line by using a minlongitude < -180 or maxlongitude > 180. NOTE: min values must be less than max values.

Circle

Requests must include all of latitude, longitude, and maxradius to perform a circle search.

parameter type default description latitude Decimal [-90,90] degrees null Specify the latitude to be used for a radius search. longitude Decimal [-180,180] degrees null Specify the longitude to be used for a radius search. maxradius Decimal [0, 180] degrees 180 Limit to events within the specified maximum number of degrees from the geographic point defined by the latitude and longitude parameters. NOTE: This option is mutually exclusive with maxradiuskm and specifying both will result in an error. maxradiuskm Decimal [0, 20001.6] km 20001.6 Limit to events within the specified maximum number of kilometers from the geographic point defined by the latitude and longitude parameters. NOTE: This option is mutually exclusive with maxradius and specifying both will result in an error.

Other

parameter type default description catalog String null Limit to events from a specified catalog. Use the Catalogs Method to find available catalogs. NOTE: when catalog and contributor are omitted, the most preferred information from any catalog or contributor for the event is returned. contributor String null Limit to events contributed by a specified contributor. Use the Contributors Method to find available contributors. NOTE: when catalog and contributor are omitted, the most preferred information from any catalog or contributor for the event is returned. eventid String null Select a specific event by ID; event identifiers are data center specific. NOTE: Selecting a specific event implies includeallorigins, includeallmagnitudes, and, additionally, associated moment tensor and focal-mechanisms are included. includeallmagnitudes Boolean false Specify if all magnitudes for the event should be included, default is data center dependent but is suggested to be the preferred magnitude only. NOTE: because magnitudes and origins are strongly associated, this parameter is interchangeable with includeallmagnitudes includeallorigins Boolean false Specify if all origins for the event should be included, default is data center dependent but is suggested to be the preferred origin only. NOTE: because magnitudes and origins are strongly associated, this parameter is interchangable with includeallmagnitudes includearrivals Boolean false Specify if phase arrivals should be included. NOTE: NOT CURRENTLY IMPLEMENTED includedeleted Boolean, or "only" false Specify if deleted products and events should be included. The value only returns only deleted events. Deleted events otherwise return the HTTP status 409 Conflict . NOTE: Only supported by the csv and geojson formats, which include status . includesuperseded Boolean false Specify if superseded products should be included. This also includes all deleted products, and is mutually exclusive to the includedeleted parameter. NOTE: Only works when specifying eventid parameter. limit Integer [1,20000] null Limit the results to the specified number of events. NOTE: The service limits queries to 20000, and any that exceed this limit will generate a HTTP response code “400 Bad Request”. maxdepth Decimal [-100, 1000] km 1000 Limit to events with depth less than the specified maximum. maxmagnitude Decimal null Limit to events with a magnitude smaller than the specified maximum. mindepth Decimal [-100, 1000] km -100 Limit to events with depth more than the specified minimum. minmagnitude Decimal null Limit to events with a magnitude larger than the specified minimum. offset Integer [1,∞] 1 Return results starting at the event count specified, starting at 1. orderby String time Order the results. The allowed values are: orderby=time order by origin descending time orderby=time-asc order by origin ascending time orderby=magnitude order by descending magnitude orderby=magnitude-asc order by ascending magnitude

Extensions