How to Check Recent Earthquakes With the USGS Map

Felt a rumble, or just curious what’s been shaking? The U.S. Geological Survey’s Latest Earthquakes page gives you a list and map of recently reported earthquakes, with their magnitude, location and time. You can switch the list from the past day to the past week without downloading an app.

Quick answer: Open USGS Latest Earthquakes, choose Settings, and under Earthquakes select 7 Days, Magnitude 2.5+ U.S. Look at the list heading and dates before interpreting a result.

Choose a useful time window

1. Open the Latest Earthquakes page. The initial view we opened showed magnitude 2.5+ earthquakes for the past day.
2. Select Settings near the top of the page. Under Earthquakes, choose 7 Days, Magnitude 2.5+ U.S. The heading should change to “USGS Magnitude 2.5+ Earthquakes, Past Week.”
3. Use the List and Map controls at the top to choose which panels you want. We turned off Map to make the list easier to read.
4. Check each entry’s magnitude, location and time. The displayed time zone matters: Settings offers User Time Zone and UTC, so check which one you’re using before comparing reports.

In our desktop check, changing from the one-day setting to the seven-day setting changed the heading and list. The figures in the screenshot are a snapshot; open the live page for current reports.

Why some earthquakes may not show up

The setting you pick matters. A 2.5+ list is not the same thing as a list of every earthquake. The Settings panel also offers an All Magnitudes U.S. option and other time ranges. USGS notes that its lists include most worldwide events of magnitude 4.5 and greater. That doesn’t mean every earthquake worldwide appears, or that a missing event proves nothing happened.

If the list looks too short, check the selected time range and magnitude option, then look at the list’s Filter control. If the map is visible, check whether the list is limited to the area currently shown on the map. For a different unit or time display, open Settings and review Distance and Time Zone.

Use it as an information source

This page reports detected events; it isn’t an earthquake prediction. A list you checked earlier is not a substitute for a reliable emergency alert or instructions from local authorities. During shaking, follow your local emergency guidance, then check current official information when it is safe to do so.

How we checked: We opened the USGS page on a desktop, selected the seven-day 2.5+ option and hid the map. We inspected the resulting list and settings. We didn’t test mobile, alerts, or every filter. The screenshot is a firsthand capture of the USGS interface, not evidence that any particular report is still current.