Custom Connector
USGS Earthquake Connector
Global
The USGS Earthquake Connector provides a RESTful interface to access real-time and historical earthquake event data worldwide. Powered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) FDSN Event Web Service, it supports filtering by time, location, magnitude, and other parameters — ideal for disaster response tools, seismic dashboards, geospatial research, or educational platforms.
Overview
Integration Overview
The USGS Earthquake Connector offers the following integration points for retrieving earthquake-related data:
- getSupportedParameters. Retrieve all supported filter values for querying events.
- getWADL. Get the WADL XML format description of the service.
- getCatalogs. List available earthquake event catalogs.
- getContributors. Retrieve all organizations contributing seismic data.
- countEarthquakeEvents. Count the number of earthquakes that match filter conditions.
- queryEarthquakeEvents. Retrieve detailed earthquake data with custom filters.
- getAPIVersion. Return the version of the FDSN Event Web Service.
Documentation
Detailed Integration Documentation
Get Supported Parameters
| Operation ID | getSupportedParameters |
|---|---|
| Endpoint | /application.json |
| Purpose | Lists supported query parameters and values. |
| Output | JSON containing valid input ranges and descriptions. |
| Workflow example | Use to dynamically build UI filters for event search forms. |
Get WADL Description
| Operation ID | getWADL |
|---|---|
| Endpoint | /application.wadl |
| Purpose | Provides WADL XML metadata for the API. |
| Output | XML. |
| Workflow example | Can be used for code generation or service introspection tools. |
Get Available Catalogs
| Operation ID | getCatalogs |
|---|---|
| Endpoint | /catalogs |
| Purpose | Lists all earthquake event catalogs available. |
| Output | Text or JSON with catalog names. |
| Workflow example | Used to filter events by specific seismic event catalogs. |
Get Contributors
| Operation ID | getContributors |
|---|---|
| Endpoint | /contributors |
| Purpose | Lists contributing agencies or sources. |
| Output | List of contributor codes/names. |
| Workflow example | Display metadata or attribution alongside event details. |
Count Matching Events
| Operation ID | countEarthquakeEvents |
|---|---|
| Endpoint | /count |
| Parameters | starttime, endtime (ISO 8601 datetime); minmagnitude, maxmagnitude (float); format (required) – geojson, xml, text. |
| Purpose | Returns a count of earthquake events matching given filters. |
| Output | Integer count. |
| Workflow example | Use to show the total number of relevant events before fetching details. |
Query Events
| Operation ID | queryEarthquakeEvents |
|---|---|
| Endpoint | /query |
| Parameters | format (required) – geojson, xml, csv, kml, text; starttime, endtime; minlatitude, maxlatitude; minlongitude, maxlongitude; minmagnitude, maxmagnitude; eventtype, orderby. |
| Purpose | Retrieve detailed data for earthquake events. |
| Output | Geospatial formats (e.g. GeoJSON) with event properties. |
| Workflow example | Plot earthquake events on a map, chart magnitude distribution, or trigger alerts. |
Get API Version
| Operation ID | getAPIVersion |
|---|---|
| Endpoint | /version |
| Purpose | Returns the version of the API in use. |
| Output | Version string. |
| Workflow example | Ensure compatibility before sending requests. |
Example Workflow: Global Seismic Activity Dashboard
| Retrieve filters and metadata | Use getSupportedParameters and getCatalogs to create search options. |
|---|---|
| Count earthquakes in an area/time | Use countEarthquakeEvents to validate query impact before fetching detail. |
| Query events | Use queryEarthquakeEvents with time, location, and magnitude filters to fetch detailed data. |
| Visualize | Plot events on a map (GeoJSON), chart magnitude distribution, or trigger alerts. |
Support
For technical support, contact custom-connectors-support@isolutions.sa.