USGS Earthquakes

Earthquake data, earthquake locations and earthquake magnitudes

USGS Earthquakes provides recent event details, nearby earthquake distances and local times, and significant worldwide events from the past day, week, or month; some impact, felt, and alert information may be unavailable.

List significant earthquakes

List significant earthquakes worldwide for the past day, week, or month, newest first. Impact summaries and alert levels are shown when USGS provides them.

Your information

PeriodOptional

Time period to list, for example “Past week”.

1 credit per completed run

The same inputs also work from your code or an AI assistant. See For developers.

Example results

Significant earthquakes

About the USGS Earthquakes tool

USGS Earthquakes searches recent earthquakes near a required place, with optional time, distance, magnitude, and result filters.

List significant earthquakes returns worldwide events for a selected past day, week, or month.

Built from earthquake.usgs.gov, geocode.arcgis.com and timeapi.io. Last checked Sep 30, 2026.

Actions

List significant earthquakes

1 credit

List significant earthquakes worldwide for the past day, week, or month, newest first. Impact summaries and alert levels are shown when USGS provides them.

What you provide

Field	Type	Required	Description
Period`period`	Text	Optional	Time period to list, for example past_week.Example: Past week

What you get

Field	Type	Description
Earthquakes`earthquakes`	List	Significant earthquakes sorted newest first.
Time`earthquakes[].time`	Text	Earthquake time in UTC, ISO 8601.Example: 2026-09-25T21:23:03.309000Z
Event ID`earthquakes[].event_id`	Text	USGS event ID.Example: us6000txpi
Latitude`earthquakes[].latitude`	Number	Epicenter latitude in degrees.Example: -21.2982
Location`earthquakes[].location`	Text	Location in words.Example: 80 km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia
Longitude`earthquakes[].longitude`	Number	Epicenter longitude in degrees.Example: 168.61
Magnitude`earthquakes[].magnitude`	Number	Earthquake magnitude.Example: 6.6
Alert Level`earthquakes[].alert_level`	Text	USGS PAGER alert level, when available.Example: Green
Details Link`earthquakes[].details_link`	Text	USGS event details page.Example: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000txpi
Felt Reports`earthquakes[].felt_reports`	Number	Number of public felt reports, when available.Example: 11
Alert Meaning`earthquakes[].alert_meaning`	Text	Expected damage and deaths for this alert level.Example: little or no damage expected
Tsunami Alert`earthquakes[].tsunami_alert`	Text	Whether the event has a tsunami alert flag.Example: no
Estimated Impact Summary`earthquakes[].estimated_impact_summary`	Text	USGS estimated impacts when a PAGER summary is available.Example: Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low…

Example result

For Period: Past week

JSON

{
  "earthquakes": [
    {
      "time": "2026-09-25T21:23:03.309000Z",
      "event_id": "us6000txpi",
      "latitude": -21.2982,
      "location": "80 km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia",
      "longitude": 168.61,
      "magnitude": 6.6,
      "alert_level": "green",
      "details_link": "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000txpi",
      "felt_reports": 11,
      "alert_meaning": "little or no damage expected",
      "tsunami_alert": "no",
      "estimated_impact_summary": "Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage."
    }
  ]
}

Search earthquakes

1 credit

Find recent USGS earthquakes near a city, address, or region, with distances and times in the searched place’s time zone. Felt reports and alert levels may be unavailable for some earthquakes.

Uses USGS Earthquakes, geocode.arcgis.com and timeapi.io.

What you provide

Field	Type	Required	Description
Sort`sort`	Text	Optional	Order earthquakes by newest or largest, for example newest.Example: Largest
Place`place`	Text	Required	City, address, or region to search near, for example Los Angeles, CA.Example: Los Angeles, CA
Days Back`days_back`	Number	Optional	Number of past days to search, for example 7.Example: 30
Max Results`max_results`	Number	Optional	Maximum number of earthquakes to return, for example 50.Example: 5
Radius (miles)`radius_miles`	Number	Optional	Search radius in miles, for example 100.Example: 300
Minimum Magnitude`minimum_magnitude`	Number	Optional	Smallest earthquake magnitude to include, for example 2.5.Example: 4

What you get

Field	Type	Description
Earthquakes`earthquakes`	List	Recent earthquakes near the searched place.
Depth (km)`earthquakes[].depth_km`	Number	Earthquake depth in kilometers.Example: 11.85
Latitude`earthquakes[].latitude`	Number	Epicenter latitude.Example: 33.843
Location`earthquakes[].location`	Text	Earthquake location in words.Example: 7 km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA
Time UTC`earthquakes[].time_utc`	Text	Earthquake time in UTC, ISO 8601.Example: 2026-09-27T15:40:01.460+00:00
Longitude`earthquakes[].longitude`	Number	Epicenter longitude.Example: -118.468833333333
Magnitude`earthquakes[].magnitude`	Number	Earthquake magnitude.Example: 3.55404092525043
Alert Level`earthquakes[].alert_level`	Text	USGS alert level in words, if available.
Depth (miles)`earthquakes[].depth_miles`	Number	Earthquake depth in miles.Example: 7.36
Distance (km)`earthquakes[].distance_km`	Number	Distance from the searched place in kilometers.Example: 31.21
Details Link`earthquakes[].details_link`	Text	USGS earthquake details page.Example: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci41339927
Felt Reports`earthquakes[].felt_reports`	Number	Number of felt reports, if known.Example: 2115
Time At Place`earthquakes[].time_at_place`	Text	Earthquake time in the searched place’s time zone, ISO 8601 with offset.Example: 2026-09-27T08:40:01.460-07:00
Tsunami Alert`earthquakes[].tsunami_alert`	Text	Whether the USGS flags the earthquake as a possible tsunami.Example: no
Usgs Event ID`earthquakes[].usgs_event_id`	Text	USGS event ID.Example: ci41339927
Distance (miles)`earthquakes[].distance_miles`	Number	Distance from the searched place in miles.Example: 19.39

Example result

For Place: Los Angeles, CA

JSON

{
  "earthquakes": [
    {
      "depth_km": 11.85,
      "latitude": 33.843,
      "location": "7 km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA",
      "time_utc": "2026-09-27T15:40:01.460+00:00",
      "longitude": -118.468833333333,
      "magnitude": 3.55404092525043,
      "alert_level": null,
      "depth_miles": 7.36,
      "distance_km": 31.21,
      "details_link": "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci41339927",
      "felt_reports": 2115,
      "time_at_place": "2026-09-27T08:40:01.460-07:00",
      "tsunami_alert": "no",
      "usgs_event_id": "ci41339927",
      "distance_miles": 19.39
    },
    {
      "depth_km": 7.18,
      "latitude": 35.3126666666667,
      "location": "17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA",
      "time_utc": "2026-09-24T03:11:42.650+00:00",
      "longitude": -117.804,
      "magnitude": 2.62,
      "alert_level": null,
      "depth_miles": 4.46,
      "distance_km": 145.8,
      "details_link": "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci41338223",
      "felt_reports": 1,
      "time_at_place": "2026-09-23T20:11:42.650-07:00",
      "tsunami_alert": "no",
      "usgs_event_id": "ci41338223",
      "distance_miles": 90.59
    },
    {
      "depth_km": 7.23,
      "latitude": 35.3098333333333,
      "location": "17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA",
      "time_utc": "2026-09-23T20:44:36.440+00:00",
      "longitude": -117.8055,
      "magnitude": 2.96,
      "alert_level": null,
      "depth_miles": 4.49,
      "distance_km": 145.46,
      "details_link": "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci41337999",
      "felt_reports": null,
      "time_at_place": "2026-09-23T13:44:36.440-07:00",
      "tsunami_alert": "no",
      "usgs_event_id": "ci41337999",
      "distance_miles": 90.38
    }
  ]
}

For developers

Call it from your code with one request. Change the values in input to run it on new data. To get an API key, open Developers at the bottom of Studio, turn on Developer mode and go to API keys.

cURL

curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 180 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@usgs-earthquakes",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "list_significant_earthquakes",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "period": "past_week"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'

What you can do with it

Track recent earthquakes near an office or facility
Compare earthquake magnitudes across nearby locations
Review significant earthquakes from a selected period
Check reported felt reports and alert levels
Assess earthquake distances, depths, and possible tsunami flags

Questions about USGS Earthquakes

Can I run it with my own inputs?

Yes. Change the inputs in Studio and press Run, or send new inputs from your code, or ask a connected AI assistant.

Can I call this USGS Earthquakes tool as an API?

Yes. Send a POST request to /v1/query with your Fous API key and the inputs, and get JSON back.

How much does it cost?

Each completed run costs 1 credit. Failed runs without a completed receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted. With pay as you go, a credit costs 1¢. Monthly plans cost less per credit.

Do I need a USGS Earthquakes account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from earthquake.usgs.gov when you run it. Some results are reused for up to 24 hours, and results that use your account or key are never reused. It was last verified on Sep 30, 2026.