USGS Earthquake Event Search Export

Search official USGS earthquake events by UTC date, magnitude and optional circular region. Export stable event IDs, magnitude, origin time, epicenter coordinates, hypocenter depth and source links to a dataset that can be downloaded as CSV or JSON. Results are ordered newest first.

Who is this for?

Seismic researchers, emergency-planning teams and geospatial analysts can schedule bounded searches, compare event IDs and update times between runs, and feed results to a map or spreadsheet. This Actor does not provide alerts, forecasts or a continuously running stream.

Why use this Actor?

The official FDSN GeoJSON API returns structured observations without browser automation or a paid proxy. Each output row includes source provenance and stable ID, making deduplication across scheduled runs practical. Magnitude and radius filters are sent directly to USGS rather than guessed from location names.

Extracted data

Field	Meaning
eventId	Stable USGS event identifier
magnitude	Reported magnitude; may be null
time, updated	UTC origin and last-updated timestamps
latitude, longitude, depthKm	Hypocenter coordinates and depth
place, eventType	USGS text and classification
sourceUrl	Official event page

Getting started

1. Enter a startDate and endDate in UTC (YYYY-MM-DD); use a narrow window for repeatable exports.
2. Choose a minimum magnitude and optional maximum.
3. To limit the region, supply all three of latitude, longitude and radiusKm.
4. Set maxItems (up to 10,000) and run. Download the default dataset in JSON, CSV or Excel.

Input example

{"startDate":"2026-09-01","endDate":"2026-09-02","minMagnitude":4,"maxItems":20}

Dates use UTC. Omitted dates use USGS defaults. The radius is kilometers from the center, not a city-name lookup. A missing optional maximum magnitude does not restrict the upper range. Invalid dates, magnitude bounds or incomplete coordinates fail before a network request.

Output example

This record is from a local query for September 1, 2026 (the other fields may change when USGS revises an event):

{"eventId":"us7000tfwm","magnitude":4.6,"time":"2026-09-01T23:46:31.673Z","longitude":-179.6367,"latitude":-25.2674,"depthKm":534.033,"place":"south of the Fiji Islands","sourceUrl":"https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000tfwm"}

Some optional source attributes may be null when USGS has not supplied them. Billing uses one item event for each saved row; individual attributes have no separate charges.

How much does it cost to export USGS earthquake events?

Pay-per-event pricing includes one start charge of $0.001 per run plus one item charge per saved earthquake event. The item price depends on the user's Apify monthly Store-spend tier: FREE $0.00092, BRONZE $0.0008, SILVER $0.000624, and GOLD/PLATINUM/DIAMOND $0.00048 per event. Higher tiers are discounts based on monthly Store spend, not the number of events in this run. An empty search incurs the start charge but no item charges. Your Apify platform usage and limits may also apply. Check the current Pricing tab before scheduling high-volume runs.

For example, at BRONZE 5 saved events cost approximately $0.005 (one $0.001 start plus 5 × $0.0008); 100 saved events cost about $0.081. These are estimates, not guaranteed invoices. A smaller result cap can reduce item charges; rejected and duplicate source features have no item charge. Revenue/payout figures are estimates subject to refunds, fraud, disputes, taxes, corrections and contractual clawbacks.

Integrations

Schedule a daily run with a rolling date range, then join datasets by eventId and compare updated to detect revisions. Use Apify integrations to send new rows to Google Sheets, webhooks, or a GIS ingestion job. Export via the dataset API for analysis in Python. This Actor itself does not persist cross-run state or send alerts.

Using the Apify API

Replace YOUR_TOKEN with your Apify token. JSON input is sent to the Actor run endpoint; the synchronous endpoint returns dataset items:

$curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~usgs-earthquake-events-search/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN' -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"startDate":"2026-09-01","endDate":"2026-09-02","minMagnitude":4,"maxItems":5}'

JavaScript:

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/usgs-earthquake-events-search').call({ startDate: '2026-09-01', endDate: '2026-09-02', minMagnitude: 4, maxItems: 5 });
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python:

from apify_client import ApifyClient
import os
client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('automation-lab/usgs-earthquake-events-search').call(run_input={'startDate': '2026-09-01', 'endDate': '2026-09-02', 'minMagnitude': 4, 'maxItems': 5})
print(client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items)

MCP use

Connect Claude Code to the Actor-specific Apify MCP endpoint:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify 'https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/usgs-earthquake-events-search'

For Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code, use this MCP JSON configuration and authenticate following Apify MCP instructions:

{"mcpServers":{"apify":{"type":"http","url":"https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/usgs-earthquake-events-search"}}}
``` Example prompt: “Export up to 20 USGS earthquakes above magnitude 4 for September 1, 2026, and plot their depths.”

## Limits and troubleshooting

USGS catalog data can be revised; rerun old intervals when authoritative changes matter. The Actor pages through at most 10,000 results. An empty dataset may mean the filters genuinely match nothing: widen the dates or lower the magnitude. On USGS rate limiting or temporary server failure, the Actor retries twice before failing rather than silently returning an incomplete export. Large historical windows can take longer; narrow the date range and schedule multiple runs when needed.

## Legality and responsible use

Records are public official USGS data. Cite USGS when redistributing them, follow the [USGS earthquake data terms](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/) and avoid interpreting preliminary observations as verified predictions. The Actor does not collect personal information.

## Data freshness

USGS can revise magnitude, location, and origin data as analysts review an event. The exported update timestamp helps you detect that a previously seen event changed. For recurring monitoring, overlap your date windows instead of assuming events never change after their first appearance. This is a snapshot export, not an official emergency notification service.

## FAQ

**Can I search by city name?** No. Supply a center latitude, longitude and radius in kilometers.

**Why did the run return no events?** Check UTC dates, minimum magnitude and geographic radius. The Actor does not synthesize events when USGS returns none.

**Will it notify me of a new earthquake?** No; schedule the Actor and compare event IDs downstream. USGS timestamps and event values can be updated after initial publication.

## Related automation-lab Actors

For other official USGS data workflows, see [USGS River Gauge Levels Export](https://apify.com/automation-lab/usgs-river-gauge-levels) for hydrological observations and [USGS LiDAR Dataset Catalog Exporter](https://apify.com/automation-lab/public-lidar-dataset-catalog-exporter) for terrain catalog metadata. Neither is an earthquake event feed.