Do I need an API key?

No! USGS earthquake data is public domain and completely free with no API key required.

What earthquake feeds are available?

USGS offers many feeds: 2.5_day (M2.5+ past day), 4.5_week (M4.5+ past week), significant_week (significant quakes past week), all_day (all quakes past day), and more. Each is available in GeoJSON, CSV, and KML formats.

How do I get historical earthquake data?

Use the FDSN Event API (https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/) with starttime and endtime query parameters to search for earthquakes in a specific date range.

USGS Earthquakes API - Real-Time Earthquake Data No API Key

TL;DR

What it does: Get real-time earthquake data from USGS - magnitude, location, depth, and time for recent earthquakes worldwide. No API key needed.

Quick start: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/summary/2.5_day.geojson

No API key needed - just call the URL

Overview

Free USGS Earthquake API providing real-time earthquake data worldwide. GeoJSON format with magnitude, location, depth, and time. No API key needed.

Live Example

Here's the exact URL to call and the real response you'll get:

The URL to call (M2.5+ earthquakes, past day):

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/summary/2.5_day.geojson

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The actual response you get:

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "metadata": {
    "generated": 1781506981000,
    "url": "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/summary/2.5_day.geojson",
    "title": "USGS Magnitude 2.5+ Earthquakes, Past Day",
    "status": 200,
    "api": "2.4.0",
    "count": 43
  },
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "properties": {
        "mag": 2.9,
        "place": "1 km SSE of Abeytas, New Mexico",
        "time": 1781503356794,
        "updated": 1781506315497,
        "url": "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000st0b",
        "felt": 2,
        "cdi": 2,
        "status": "reviewed",
        "tsunami": 0,
        "sig": 130,
        "type": "earthquake",
        "title": "M 2.9 - 1 km SSE of Abeytas, New Mexico"
      },
      "geometry": {
        "type": "Point",
        "coordinates": [-106.8076, 34.4554, 10.529]
      },
      "id": "us7000st0b"
    }
  ]
}

What does this data mean?

This earthquake was a magnitude 2.9 near Abeytas, New Mexico - 10.5 km deep, felt by 2 people, no tsunami risk.

metadata.count: Number of earthquakes in this feed (43 in this response)
metadata.generated: Unix timestamp (milliseconds) when the feed was generated
features[].properties.mag: Earthquake magnitude on the Richter scale (2.9 = minor)
features[].properties.place: Human-readable location description
features[].properties.time: Unix timestamp (milliseconds) of when the earthquake occurred
features[].properties.felt: Number of people who reported feeling the earthquake
features[].properties.tsunami: Tsunami flag: 0 = no tsunami, 1 = tsunami warning issued
features[].properties.sig: Significance level - higher numbers mean a more significant event
features[].properties.title: Formatted title with magnitude and location
features[].properties.status: Review status: reviewed or automatic
features[].geometry.coordinates: Array of [longitude, latitude, depth(km)] - [ -106.8, 34.5, 10.5 ] means 10.5 km deep
features[].id: Unique USGS identifier for this earthquake event

How to use this API

JavaScript Example

// Fetch latest M2.5+ earthquakes from the past day
const url = 'https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/summary/2.5_day.geojson';

fetch(url)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(data => {
    const quake = data.features[0].properties;
    const coords = data.features[0].geometry.coordinates;
    const time = new Date(quake.time).toLocaleString();
    console.log(`${quake.title}`);
    console.log(`Location: ${quake.place}`);
    console.log(`Depth: ${coords[2]} km`);
    console.log(`Time: ${time}`);
    console.log(`Tsunami: ${quake.tsunami ? 'YES' : 'No'}`);
    console.log(`Felt reports: ${quake.felt}`);
  });

Python Example

import requests
from datetime import datetime

url = "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/summary/2.5_day.geojson"

response = requests.get(url)
data = response.json()

for quake in data['features'][:5]:  # Show first 5
    props = quake['properties']
    coords = quake['geometry']['coordinates']
    time = datetime.fromtimestamp(props['time'] / 1000)

    print(f"{props['title']}")
    print(f"  Location: {props['place']}")
    print(f"  Depth: {coords[2]} km")
    print(f"  Time: {time}")
    print(f"  Tsunami: {'YES' if props['tsunami'] else 'No'}")
    print(f"  ID: {quake['id']}")
    print()

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an API key?: No! USGS earthquake data is public domain and completely free. No API key or registration required.
What earthquake feeds are available?: USGS provides many feed options: 2.5_day (M2.5+, past day), 4.5_day, 4.5_week, significant_week, all_day, all_week, and more. Just replace the filename in the URL.
What formats are available?: Each feed is available in GeoJSON (.geojson), CSV (.csv), and KML (.kml). Just change the file extension.
How do I get historical earthquake data?: Use the FDSN Event API at https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/ with starttime and endtime parameters. Example: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/query?format=geojson&starttime=2024-01-01&endtime=2024-01-31&minmagnitude=5
Is there a rate limit?: None documented. USGS data is public domain and the API is designed for public use. Please be respectful with automated queries.
Can I use this commercially?: Yes! USGS data is in the public domain and free for any use, including commercial applications.
How do I check if an earthquake triggered a tsunami?: Check the tsunami field in the properties. A value of 1 means a tsunami was triggered, 0 means no tsunami.

API Details

Base URL: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/summary/
Documentation: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/
Category: Weather
Authentication: None required - public domain data
Rate Limit: None documented
Geographic Coverage: Global - USGS monitors earthquakes worldwide