# USGS Earthquakes API — live & historical (no key) (`synthetic.ia/usgs-earthquakes`) Actor

Real-time and historical earthquakes worldwide from USGS: latest quakes from named feeds, and query by magnitude, time range and location (lat/lon + radius). Clean HTTP API + MCP, no key. Pay per query.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/synthetic.ia/usgs-earthquakes.md
- **Developed by:** [Synthetic](https://apify.com/synthetic.ia) (community)
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 earthquake queries

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## USGS Earthquakes API — live & historical (no key)

Real-time and historical **earthquakes** worldwide from the **USGS**, behind a clean HTTP API (and MCP tool). Get the latest quakes from named feeds (last hour/day/week, magnitude ≥2.5/4.5, or "significant"), or **query** by magnitude, time range and location (a radius around any lat/lon). Clean flat rows — magnitude, place, time, coordinates, depth, tsunami flag. **No API key.** Pay per query.

- 🌎 **Recent** — latest quakes from USGS summary feeds (e.g. `all_day`, `2.5_week`, `significant_month`).
- 🔎 **Search** — filter by min/max magnitude, start/end time, and a radius around a point.
- 🔢 **Count** — how many quakes match a filter (fast).
- 🌊 Each quake includes magnitude, place, ISO time, lon/lat, depth, tsunami flag and the USGS event URL.
- 💵 Pay per query · no key · official USGS data.

### The use case it was built for

Monitoring dashboards, alerting, insurance/risk models, travel and news apps, and agents that need to answer "any big quakes near here recently?". This API gives clean, current seismic data with no key to manage.

### Sample output (`search`, magnitude ≥5)

```json
{
  "ok": true, "count": 2,
  "earthquakes": [
    { "id": "us7000…", "magnitude": 5.2, "place": "189 km SSW of Pelabuhanratu, Indonesia",
      "time": "2026-09-18T04:00:00.000Z", "longitude": 105.91, "latitude": -8.58, "depthKm": 10,
      "tsunami": false, "alert": null, "url": "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000…" }
  ]
}
```

### How to use

- **HTTP API (Standby):** POST or GET `/recent`, `/search`, `/count`. `GET /` returns help. Example: `GET /search?minMagnitude=6&start=2024-01-01`.
- **Normal run:** pass `{ operation, ... }`; results land in the dataset + key-value store.
- **MCP tool:** expose it to your agent via Apify's MCP server.

### Input

- **operation** — `recent` · `search` · `count`.
- **feed** — (recent) a USGS summary feed.
- **minMagnitude / maxMagnitude / start / end** — (search) filters.
- **lat / lon / radiusKm** — (search) a radius search around a point.
- **orderby / limit** — sort and cap.

### Pricing

**Per query** from **$0.004** (down to $0.0015 on higher tiers). One call = one query (which can return up to 500 quakes).

### Related Actors

- **[Open-Meteo Weather API](https://apify.com/synthetic.ia/open-meteo-weather)** — weather for the same geo/monitoring use cases.

### FAQ

**How real-time is it?** USGS feeds update within minutes of an event.

**Which feeds?** Hour/day/week/month windows at magnitude thresholds (all, 2.5+, 4.5+) plus "significant".

**Do I need a key?** No.

### Notes & limits

Data from USGS (earthquake.usgs.gov). Up to 500 quakes per call; use magnitude/time/location filters to focus.

# Changelog

This Actor's version history is a separate document: https://apify.com/synthetic.ia/usgs-earthquakes/changelog.md

# Actor input Schema

## `operation` (type: `string`):

What to do.

## `feed` (type: `string`):

USGS summary feed.

## `minMagnitude` (type: `string`):

e.g. 4.5

## `maxMagnitude` (type: `string`):

e.g. 7

## `start` (type: `string`):

YYYY-MM-DD or ISO.

## `end` (type: `string`):

YYYY-MM-DD or ISO.

## `lat` (type: `string`):

Center latitude for a radius search.

## `lon` (type: `string`):

Center longitude for a radius search.

## `radiusKm` (type: `string`):

Radius around lat/lon (default 500).

## `orderby` (type: `string`):

Sort order.

## `limit` (type: `integer`):

Max quakes (1-500).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "operation": "recent",
  "feed": "2.5_day",
  "minMagnitude": "5",
  "orderby": "time",
  "limit": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `result` (type: `string`):

No description

## `runs` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "minMagnitude": "5"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("synthetic.ia/usgs-earthquakes").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "minMagnitude": "5" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("synthetic.ia/usgs-earthquakes").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "minMagnitude": "5"
}' |
apify call synthetic.ia/usgs-earthquakes --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,synthetic.ia/usgs-earthquakes"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/3MlS2yDc4LtCFO2K8/builds/8r74S3Nw9yKDPbXQZ/openapi.json