Data
Sources and licences
Every event on this site comes from a public seismological agency. Here is who they are, what their terms allow, how often we ask them, and how to credit them if you reuse our data.
Last updated 28 Sep 2026
We only ingest a source automatically when its terms allow reuse on an advertising-supported site. Sources whose terms require written permission are implemented but switched off until that permission exists. The API and MCP responses carry the same credits in an attribution block; please keep it.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program
- Status
- Enabled by default
- Use here
- Global backbone: real-time GeoJSON feeds (all, 2.5, 4.5, significant; hour to month) and the FDSN event service for history back to 1900.
- Licence
- U.S. public domain
- Credit
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Automated access
- Allowed. USGS asks automated applications to use the real-time feeds; FDSN queries are limited to 20,000 events each.
- Polling
- all_hour every 60 s, all_day every 5 min, all_week hourly, 2.5_month every 6 h
- Endpoints
- https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/summary/ https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/query
GEOFON, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences
- Status
- Enabled by default
- Use here
- Fast global solutions for moderate and large events.
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Credit
- Event locations were obtained from the GEOFON program of the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences
- Automated access
- Allowed via FDSN. GFZ blocks clients that poll every few seconds; the list updates once a minute.
- Polling
- every 3 min
- Endpoints
- https://geofon.gfz.de/fdsnws/event/1/query
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
- Status
- Enabled by default
- Use here
- Authoritative catalogue for Italy and the central Mediterranean.
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Credit
- INGV – ISIDe Working Group, doi:10.13127/ISIDE
- Automated access
- Allowed via FDSN.
- Polling
- every 3 min
- Endpoints
- https://webservices.ingv.it/fdsnws/event/1/query
Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)
- Status
- Enabled by default
- Use here
- Hypocentres and magnitudes for Japan.
- Licence
- Public Data License v1.0 (compatible with CC BY 4.0)
- Credit
- 出典：気象庁ホームページ (https://www.jma.go.jp/) — processed: 気象庁「震源・震度情報」を加工して作成
- Automated access
- Allowed under the licence. The bosai JSON list is undocumented and may change; we parse it defensively. Output must not look like official government information, and Earthquake Early Warnings are not redistributed.
- Polling
- every 60 s
- Endpoints
- https://www.jma.go.jp/bosai/quake/data/list.json
European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC-CSEM)
- Status
- Implemented, off until permission
- Use here
- Real-time websocket and FDSN service relaying dozens of national agencies; strongest in Europe, the Mediterranean and Türkiye.
- Licence
- Data under CC BY 4.0, but the terms also require prior written permission for commercial reproduction or transmission
- Credit
- EMSC-CSEM SeismicPortal, https://www.seismicportal.eu
- Automated access
- Implemented (websocket + FDSN) but off by default on this ad-supported site until EMSC grants written permission. Enable with QUAKE_SOURCES=…,emsc.
- Polling
- websocket push, FDSN catch-up every 2 min
- Endpoints
- wss://www.seismicportal.eu/standing_order/websocket https://www.seismicportal.eu/fdsnws/event/1/query
AFAD Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (Türkiye)
- Status
- Implemented, off until permission
- Use here
- Authoritative catalogue for Türkiye.
- Licence
- No published open licence
- Credit
- Kaynak: AFAD (deprem.afad.gov.tr)
- Automated access
- The JSON API is public but has no written terms; community documentation says commercial users should contact deprem@afad.gov.tr. Implemented, off by default until AFAD confirms. Enable with QUAKE_SOURCES=…,afad.
- Polling
- every 60 s
- Endpoints
- https://servisnet.afad.gov.tr/apigateway/deprem/apiv2/event/filter
Kandilli Observatory (KOERI), Boğaziçi University
- Status
- Not used
- Use here
- Türkiye catalogue.
- Licence
- Commercial use forbidden without the rectorate's written permission
- Credit
- —
- Automated access
- Not used. The notice on the list page forbids commercial use without written permission, and the data is only published as an HTML table.
- Endpoints
- http://www.koeri.boun.edu.tr/scripts/lst0.asp
Plate boundaries: PB2002, Bird (2003), GeoJSON by Hugo Ahlenius / Nordpil
- Status
- Bundled / linked
- Use here
- Map layer.
- Licence
- ODC-BY 1.0
- Credit
- Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil and Peter Bird (2003), An updated digital model of plate boundaries, G³ 4(3)
- Automated access
- Bundled, simplified.
- Endpoints
- https://github.com/fraxen/tectonicplates
GEM Global Active Faults Database
- Status
- Bundled / linked
- Use here
- Map layer (simplified geometry). The derived layer stays under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Credit
- Styron, R., and Pagani, M. (2020). The GEM Global Active Faults Database. Earthquake Spectra 36(1_suppl), 160–180. doi:10.1177/8755293020944182
- Automated access
- Bundled, simplified (public/data/faults.json, shared under the same licence).
- Endpoints
- https://github.com/GEMScienceTools/gem-global-active-faults
GeoNames
- Status
- Bundled / linked
- Use here
- Place names, populations and distances (cities with 5,000+ people).
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Credit
- Place names: GeoNames (geonames.org)
- Automated access
- Bundled.
- Endpoints
- https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/
OpenFreeMap / OpenMapTiles / OpenStreetMap
- Status
- Bundled / linked
- Use here
- Vector base map tiles, restyled.
- Licence
- Tiles free for commercial use, no key; OpenStreetMap data under ODbL
- Credit
- OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap
- Automated access
- Allowed; bulk downloading forbidden, no SLA.
- Endpoints
- https://tiles.openfreemap.org/
Terrain Tiles (Mapzen, AWS Open Data)
- Status
- Bundled / linked
- Use here
- Relief shading.
- Licence
- Various open sources (SRTM, GMTED, ETOPO1 …)
- Credit
- Terrain Tiles: Mapzen and contributors, AWS Open Data
- Automated access
- Public S3 bucket, no key.
- Endpoints
- https://s3.amazonaws.com/elevation-tiles-prod/terrarium/
NOAA U.S. Tsunami Warning System
- Status
- Bundled / linked
- Use here
- Linked (not ingested) for official tsunami information.
- Licence
- U.S. public domain
- Credit
- NOAA / National Weather Service
- Automated access
- Links only: tsunami.gov and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
- Endpoints
- https://www.tsunami.gov/ https://www.weather.gov/ptwc/
Reusing our data
The fused catalogue is available through the API and MCP server. Credit SeismoAtlas and the agencies listed with each event. USGS data is in the public domain; GFZ and INGV require attribution (CC BY 4.0); JMA requires the 出典 line and a note when data has been processed; the fault layer is CC BY-SA 4.0 and derivatives must keep that licence.