EarthquakeProperties

Properties of an earthquake event including magnitude, location, and metadata.

Federal GovernmentGeologicalEarth ScienceNatural ResourcesEarthquakeWaterHydrology

Properties

Name	Type	Description
mag	number	Earthquake magnitude.
place	string	Textual description of the event location.
time	integer	Unix timestamp (milliseconds) of the earthquake occurrence.
updated	integer	Unix timestamp (milliseconds) of the last catalog update.
url	string	USGS event detail page URL.
detail	string	API URL for the full event GeoJSON.
felt	integer	Number of DYFI (Did You Feel It?) responses.
cdi	number	Maximum Community Determined Intensity (CDI) value.
mmi	number	Maximum Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) from ShakeMap.
alert	string	PAGER alert level (green, yellow, orange, red).
status	string	Review status (automatic or reviewed).
tsunami	integer	Tsunami hazard flag. 1 if tsunami warning was issued; 0 otherwise.
sig	integer	Significance value (0-1000) indicating event importance based on magnitude, MMI, felt reports, and estimated impact.
net	string	Network ID for the preferred source of event data.
code	string	Event code assigned by the network.
magType	string	Magnitude type (ml, md, mb, mw, mww, etc.).
type	string	Event type (earthquake, explosion, quarry blast, etc.).
title	string	Title string summarizing the event.
gap	number	Azimuthal gap in degrees between seismic stations.
dmin	number	Horizontal distance from epicenter to nearest station in degrees.
rms	number	Root-mean-square travel time residual in seconds.
nst	integer	Number of seismic stations used to determine earthquake location.

View JSON Schema on GitHub

JSON Schema

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "$id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/u-s-geological-survey/refs/heads/main/json-schema/usgs-earthquake-api-earthquake-properties-schema.json",
  "title": "EarthquakeProperties",
  "description": "Properties of an earthquake event including magnitude, location, and metadata.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "mag": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Earthquake magnitude.",
      "example": 4.5
    },
    "place": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Textual description of the event location.",
      "example": "45 km NE of San Francisco, CA"
    },
    "time": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Unix timestamp (milliseconds) of the earthquake occurrence.",
      "example": 1743840000000
    },
    "updated": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Unix timestamp (milliseconds) of the last catalog update.",
      "example": 1743843600000
    },
    "url": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "USGS event detail page URL.",
      "example": "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000n5no"
    },
    "detail": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "API URL for the full event GeoJSON.",
      "example": "https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/query?eventid=us7000n5no&format=geojson"
    },
    "felt": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Number of DYFI (Did You Feel It?) responses.",
      "example": 23
    },
    "cdi": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Maximum Community Determined Intensity (CDI) value.",
      "example": 3.5
    },
    "mmi": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Maximum Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) from ShakeMap.",
      "example": 3.2
    },
    "alert": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "PAGER alert level (green, yellow, orange, red).",
      "example": "green"
    },
    "status": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Review status (automatic or reviewed).",
      "example": "reviewed"
    },
    "tsunami": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Tsunami hazard flag. 1 if tsunami warning was issued; 0 otherwise.",
      "example": 0
    },
    "sig": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Significance value (0-1000) indicating event importance based on magnitude, MMI, felt reports, and estimated impact.",
      "example": 312
    },
    "net": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Network ID for the preferred source of event data.",
      "example": "us"
    },
    "code": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Event code assigned by the network.",
      "example": "7000n5no"
    },
    "magType": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Magnitude type (ml, md, mb, mw, mww, etc.).",
      "example": "mb"
    },
    "type": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Event type (earthquake, explosion, quarry blast, etc.).",
      "example": "earthquake"
    },
    "title": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Title string summarizing the event.",
      "example": "M 4.5 - 45 km NE of San Francisco, CA"
    },
    "gap": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Azimuthal gap in degrees between seismic stations.",
      "example": 78
    },
    "dmin": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Horizontal distance from epicenter to nearest station in degrees.",
      "example": 0.82
    },
    "rms": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Root-mean-square travel time residual in seconds.",
      "example": 0.45
    },
    "nst": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Number of seismic stations used to determine earthquake location.",
      "example": 45
    }
  }
}