USGS Historical Earthquake Catalog Export

Export a bounded date window of USGS earthquake catalog records with magnitude, time, coordinates and source attribution.

What can this tool do?

Retrieve a small historical earthquake window for data analysis, teaching, mapping or a scheduled data workflow.

What data does it return?

The default dataset contains JSON rows with these overview fields: id, time, magnitude, place, longitude, latitude, depthKm, updatedAt, url. RESULTS_CSV contains the rows delivered by this run; OUTPUT records completion, warnings and stop reason. CHECKPOINT supports best-effort resume. A completed checkpoint makes no new source request; use a fresh input without it for a fresh snapshot.

How to use it

Provide the source inputs below. Run it through Apify, then inspect OUTPUT before consuming a partial export. If a result or request cap is reached, reuse CHECKPOINT with the same source inputs; resuming does not repeat rows already acknowledged by this export. Source changes can still move search results between pages, so it is not a historical snapshot guarantee.

{
  "startDate": "2026-01-01",
  "endDate": "2026-01-02",
  "minMagnitude": 5,
  "maxResults": 2,
  "maxRequests": 1
}

At most31 calendar days per query, 100 source records per page, 500 output rows and10 requests per run. Catalog events can be revised, and paging is best effort over mutable data. This is not real-time alerting, earthquake prediction or a hazard assessment. No images, maps or seismic waveform files are downloaded.

Pricing

Runs can incur Apify charges. Check the current Store pricing and spending limit before starting. Result fees apply to successfully delivered records; package notFound status rows have no result fee, although a startup fee may still apply. No synthetic default-dataset charge is used in addition to the record event.

USGS already provides free JSON/CSV queries. This Actor adds Apify datasets, resource caps and resume checkpoints.

Is it legal?

Credit: U.S. Geological Survey. Exports catalog facts with source links and attribution. USGS-produced information is generally reusable; third-party material may have different rights. No blanket license is asserted for linked images or third-party products. No affiliation or endorsement is implied.

Source documentation: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/ Policy/context: https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/are-usgs-reportspublications-copyrighted

FAQ

Does it retry blocks or bypass authentication? No. Source HTTP errors stop without retries; source hosts are fixed and redirects are not followed.

Are unknown values zero? No. Unavailable fields stay null or cause an explicit source error. Read the source-specific limits above.

Is the data exclusive? No. The official source is public and has a free native alternative.

Feedback

Use the Actor Issues tab with a small reproducible public example and the OUTPUT stop reason. Do not post tokens, personal records or confidential data.