Intensity Lab

API Explorer — Public Endpoints

Explore and test the public REST API. No account required. Build curl commands and see live results.

API Tiers

Public — No account required. Read-only access to earthquake data, gazetteer sites, and Vs30 values. This page.
Registered — Requires a free account and API key. Enables on-demand ground motion estimates at any location, and management of your custom monitoring sites. Sign in or create a free account for access.
To get an API key for authenticated endpoints, create a free account.
GET /api/v1/earthquakes/

Returns a list of published earthquake events, newest first. Each event includes the USGS event ID, magnitude, location description, epicenter coordinates, depth, origin time, and the maximum MMI value recorded across all gazetteer sites. Use this endpoint to discover recent events and retrieve their IDs for follow-up queries.

GET /api/v1/earthquakes/{id}/intensities

Returns ground shaking intensities at named gazetteer sites (2,002 total) for a specific earthquake event. The default MMI response applies the display rules — all sites at MMI ≥ 4.0, padded with the nearest sites until at least three are shown — so it is a ranked subset, not every site. The default method is shakemap_interpolated, which reads directly from the USGS ShakeMap grid. GMPE methods (ask14, bssa14, cy14, cb14) use physics-based ground motion prediction equations and site-specific Vs30. Use method=all to compare all methods side-by-side (MMI only).

GET /api/v1/sites/

Returns all named gazetteer locations sourced from the GeoNames cities1000 dataset (cities with ≥1,000 residents): 1,114 in California, 401 in Washington, 220 in Oregon, 101 in northern Mexico, 100 in western Idaho/Montana, and 66 in Nevada (2,002 total). Each record includes the site ID, name, lat/lon coordinates, region code, and site-specific Vs30. The optional region parameter filters to a single state or country. Use this endpoint to build your own mapping or analysis tools on top of the Intensity Lab data.

GET /api/v1/earthquakes/{id}/animations

Returns animation status for each city associated with this earthquake, ordered by MMI descending. Animations are generated automatically for events with maximum MMI ≥ 5.0 (up to 3 cities per event).

Response fields per animation:

  • site_name — city name
  • mmi — ShakeMap-interpolated MMI at that city
  • status — pending | generating | done | failed
  • video_url — URL to the MP4 file (null until status is done)
  • thumbnail_url — URL to a JPEG thumbnail (null until done)
  • completed_at — ISO 8601 timestamp when rendering finished
curl "https://www.intensitylab.com/api/v1/earthquakes/nc72282711/animations"

Also available: GET /api/v1/earthquakes/animations/?limit=50 — returns all completed animations grouped by earthquake, most recent first. See the Animations page for a visual browser.

Next steps: Create a free account to get an API key and access authenticated endpoints.