# U.S. Geological Survey

**Canonical:** https://apis.io/providers/u-s-geological-survey/  
**Website:** https://www.usgs.gov/  
**APIs profiled:** 11

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific agency of the U.S. government that conducts research and provides data on the natural resources and hazards of the United States. The USGS is known for its work in mapping and monitoring earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides to help mitigate risks and protect communities. USGS also studies water resources including streamflow, groundwater, and water quality through a nationwide network of monitoring stations. Their public APIs provide programmatic access to real-time earthquake data, water monitoring observations, seismic design parameters, and geospatial data products.

## Kin Score — 28.1 / 100 (thin)

Scored 2026-08-21 under rubric 0.12.0. Trend: flat (+0.4 from 27.7).

| Facet | Score |
|---|---|
| Discoverability | 64.8 |
| Contract Quality | 28.4 |
| Governance | 47.0 |
| Contract Governance | 47.0 |
| Operational Transparency | 7.9 |
| Developer Ergonomics | 23.8 |
| Commercial Clarity | 0.0 |
| Access Clarity | 0.0 |

Regulatory layer — **Government & Public Sector**: 42.6 (matched via tags).

## Agent readiness — 50.0 (agent-native)

| Dimension | Value |
|---|---|
| Spec Presence | yes |
| Agentic Access | derived |
| Reversibility Documented | na |
| MCP Server | no |
| Auth Clarity | yes |
| Idempotency | na |
| Error Semantics | verified |
| OpenAPI Examples | verified |
| Rate Limit Signal | documented |
| Event Surface Described | no |
| Agent Skills | no |
| Well Known Catalog | no |
| Consent Identity | no |
| Agent Card | no |
| Dry Run Mode | na |

## Access

Free · Self-serve signup — onboarding: self-serve, pricing: free, trial: no (confidence: high).

## APIs (11)

- **Asset Identifier Service (AIS)** — The USGS Asset Identifier Service (AIS) allows USGS personnel to reserve, register, publish, and manage USGS persistent identifiers to make research more Findable, Accessible, I...
- **Seismic Design Web Service** — Web services produced by the U.S. Geological Survey for calculating parameter values from various seismic design reference documents for engineering and construction purposes.
- **ScienceBase** — ScienceBase is a USGS Trusted Digital Repository that provides permission-controlled and public access to scientific data products through a REST API supporting upload, document...
- **StreamStats Web Services** — The StreamStats Web Services provide HTTP-accessible hydrological analysis services for delineating drainage areas, estimating peak flows, and computing basin characteristics fo...
- **USGS Water Services (Legacy)** — The original USGS NWIS water services API providing streamflow, groundwater, water quality, and site information via REST protocol in XML and other media types. High availabilit...
- **U.S. Geological Survey Catalog API** — Discover available catalogs, contributors, and supported parameter values.
- **USGS Water Data OGC API** — The USGS Water Data OGC API — a conformant OGC API - Features implementation over the national water observation network, exposing 36 collections (monitoring locations, continuo...
- **U.S. Geological Survey Earthquakes API** — Query and retrieve earthquake event data from the USGS earthquake catalog.
- **U.S. Geological Survey Monitoring Locations API** — USGS stream gages, groundwater wells, and other water monitoring stations.
- **U.S. Geological Survey Reference Data API** — Reference code tables including agency codes, datum types, and aquifer data.
- **U.S. Geological Survey Time Series Data API** — Continuous and daily value water data from USGS monitoring locations.

## Agentic access (1)

- **U S Geological Survey Agentic Access** — 11 operations

## Security (3)

- **U S Geological Survey Authentication** — apiKey · 2 schemes
- **U S Geological Survey Domain Security** — TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DNSSEC · DMARC
- **U S Geological Survey Vulnerability Disclosure** — security.txt · contact published

## Plans (1)

- **U S Geological Survey Plans Pricing**

## Use cases (5)

- **Earthquake Hazard Monitoring** — Emergency managers and scientists monitor real-time earthquake activity for hazard assessment and emergency response planning.
- **Flood Forecasting** — Hydrologists use USGS streamflow data for flood prediction, water supply forecasting, and reservoir management.
- **Groundwater Management** — Water managers track groundwater level trends for sustainable aquifer management and drought assessment.
- **Environmental Research** — Researchers use USGS geological and water data for environmental impact assessments and climate change studies.
- **Engineering Design** — Civil engineers use USGS water data and seismic design services for infrastructure planning and construction.

## Tags

Federal Government, Geological, Earth Science, Natural Resources, Earthquake, Water, Hydrology

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Profiled by [API Evangelist](https://apievangelist.com) and published on [APIs.io](https://apis.io/providers/u-s-geological-survey/). Scores are computed from the provider's own public artifacts under a published rubric.