USGS Earthquake Catalog
Quick answer: The USGS Earthquake Catalog provides real-time and historical earthquake data — the standard reference for global seismic monitoring, here paired with a hosted trailing-30-day M2.5+ file.
About this dataset
Real-time and historical earthquake data from the USGS, plus a hosted 30-day M2.5+ point layer you can map and summarise instantly.
The USGS Earthquake Catalog provides real-time and historical earthquake data globally: magnitude, depth, location, time, and shake intensity from 1900 to present. This page adds a site-hosted snapshot of the trailing 30 days (M2.5+, roughly 2,000 events) so the map preview and the summary below render without any download — the live 24-hour feed is also proxied at /api/live/earthquakes.
What the hosted snapshot covers
The preview, summary and download all use the same trailing-30-day extract from the USGS FDSN service.
Trailing 30 days, M2.5+
~2,200 events
Ordered by magnitude with depth, place string, derived region, magnitude class, depth class and event URL.
Magnitude and depth classes
Pre-computed fields
`magClass` bands M2.5–3.9 through M7.0+ and `depthClass` bands <10 km through 300 km+, ready for styling or filtering.
Live 24-hour layer
/api/live/earthquakes
The site already proxies the USGS all_day feed with edge caching, so the freshest hour-by-hour view needs no file at all.
Public domain
No key, no registration
USGS data is free for commercial reuse with attribution to the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program.
How to download
- 1 Explore the hosted 30-day layer right here — the map and summary above load it directly.
- 2 Download the GeoJSON if you need it offline, or query the live feed through /api/live/earthquakes.
- 3 For historical analysis open the USGS Earthquake Search and set a custom window.
- 4 Import into GIS for seismic hazard mapping or join with population layers for exposure estimates.
FAQ
How far back does it go?
The ComCat catalog covers events from 1900 to present with improved global detection since the 1970s.
Can I get real-time data?
Yes. The USGS provides real-time GeoJSON feeds for the last hour, day, week, and 30 days — the site proxies the 24-hour feed at /api/live/earthquakes.
Why does the preview show 30 days instead of the whole catalog?
The page hosts a compact 30-day M2.5+ extract (a few megabytes) so the map and summary load instantly. The full catalog stays on USGS where it can be queried without limits.
What do the magnitude colour bands mean?
The summary groups events into M2.5–3.9, M4.0–4.9, M5.0–5.9, M6.0–6.9 and M7.0+. Most 30-day windows are dominated by the smallest band, which is expected — larger events are rare.