home / mcp / usgs quakes mcp server
An MCP server for querying the USGS Earthquake API with natural language
Configuration
View docs{
"mcpServers": {
"blake365-usgs-quakes-mcp": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"/Full/Route/to/Folder/usgs-quakes/build/index.js"
]
}
}
}You can access USGS Earthquake data through an MCP server that exposes search and detail endpoints for earthquakes. This server lets you find earthquakes by magnitude, location, and time window, as well as fetch detailed information for a specific event, all via intuitive natural-language interactions in your MCP client.
After you have the server running, connect your MCP client to the usgs_quakes endpoint. You can ask it to find earthquakes by parameters such as magnitude, location, and time range. For example, you can request all events with a magnitude above a threshold in a defined area over a certain period, or ask for details about a specific earthquake by its event identifier. The server returns results that you can use directly in your assistant or application, with core details like date, location, depth, magnitude, and felt reports.
Practical usage patterns include: searching for recent events in a region, ranking results by magnitude, or drilling down to get full event details for a particular quake. Use natural language prompts to guide the search and let the MCP client translate your request into the available tools: find-earthquakes and find-earthquake-details.
Prerequisites you need before installing: Node.js and npm (or your preferred Node.js package manager). You will also use a local MCP client to connect to the server once it is running.
Install via Smithery (automatic):
npx -y @smithery/cli install @blake365/usgs-quakes-mcp --client claudeIf you prefer to set things up manually, follow these steps.
1. Install Node.js and npm from the official site for your operating system.
2. Clone the usgs-quakes-mcp project folder to a local directory.
3. The server is already built, so you can skip the build step.
If you want to modify the server, edit the TypeScript source in src/index.ts. Typical steps are:
- Run npm install to install dependencies
- Run npm run build to compile the server
- Restart your MCP client (Claude Desktop) after making changes
Search for earthquakes using a variety of parameters such as magnitude thresholds, time windows, and geographic bounds; returns a list of matching events with key details.
Retrieve detailed information for a specific earthquake by its event ID, including location, depth, magnitude, and felt reports.