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USGS Global Earthquake dataset

The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) offers a comprehensive earthquake dataset, serving as a valuable resource for monitoring, research, and earthquake preparedness worldwide. This dataset encompasses information about earthquakes from various sources, including seismic stations, satellite imagery, and ground-based observations. Continuously updated, it contains a staggering collection of millions of records of earthquakes from daily aggregates.

The USGS earthquake dataset serves a multitude of purposes, including earthquake hazard assessment, which aids in identifying earthquake-prone regions and evaluating potential impacts on communities. Additionally, it supports the development of earthquake early warning systems, enabling timely alerts to mitigate disaster. Furthermore, the dataset is instrumental in the creation of earthquake preparedness and response plans, enhancing community resilience. Lastly, it fuels earthquake research endeavors, facilitating investigations into earthquake hazards and mitigation strategies.

Dataset processing

Since exports were allowed in specific chunks I wrote a program to fetch these over periods starting from 1923-2025. This can be updated since the records extend all the way to 1900 and only earthquakes greater than 2.5 and those reviewed were selected.

Dataset Citation

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). (YEAR). Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP). Retrieved from https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes
Expand to show yearly counts

Year Earthquake Count
1923 129
1924 132
1925 162
1926 276
1927 310
1928 310
1929 314
1930 296
1931 304
1932 513
1933 877
1934 609
1935 691
1936 580
1937 510
1938 565
1939 485
1940 523
1941 453
1942 455
1943 394
1944 348
1945 285
1946 526
1947 672
1948 580
1949 594
1950 604
1951 506
1952 861
1953 797
1954 842
1955 575
1956 689
1957 637
1958 595
1959 734
1960 1,147
1961 884
1962 1,028
1963 1,308
1964 1,076
1965 1,225
1966 1,070
1967 1,202
1968 1,543
1969 1,685
1970 1,492
1971 2,129
1972 1,596
1973 5,386
1974 6,721
1975 8,823
1976 7,621
1977 6,808
1978 6,929
1979 8,207
1980 9,663
1981 7,831
1982 8,514
1983 10,402
1984 9,374
1985 10,312
1986 12,341
1987 10,896
1988 11,111
1989 12,307
1990 12,213
1991 12,713
1992 19,893
1993 16,333
1994 17,041
1995 18,667
1996 18,669
1997 17,459
1998 19,307
1999 19,594
2000 18,373
2001 20,627
2002 23,647
2003 24,515
2004 27,466
2005 31,323
2006 32,478
2007 30,997
2008 33,040
2009 15,582
2010 25,034
2011 23,281
2012 19,935
2013 20,562
2014 28,561
2015 27,018
2016 25,235
2017 22,859
2018 39,370
2019 26,601
2020 32,213
2021 28,651
2022 26,906
2023 27,290
2024 24,785
2025 10,755

usgs_eq

Earth Engine Snippet

var usgs_earthquakes = ee.FeatureCollection("projects/sat-io/open-datasets/USGS/usgs_earthquakes");

Sample code: https://code.earthengine.google.com/?scriptPath=users/sat-io/awesome-gee-catalog-examples:/global-events-layers/USGS-EARTHQUAKES

License

These datasets are public domain data with no use restrictions, though if modifications or derivatives of the product(s) are created, then please add some descriptive modifier to the data set to avoid confusion

Changelog

  • Updated earthquake datasets till 2025-06-06
  • Updated earthquake datasets till 2024-07-28

Provided by: USGS

Curated in GEE by: Samapriya Roy

Last updated: 2025-06-06

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