quakefyi

Python API client for quakefyi.com -- the comprehensive earthquake and seismology database covering earthquakes, tectonic plates, fault lines, historical events, and yearly summaries. Access seismic data, magnitude records, and geological case studies through a free REST API, CLI, or MCP server for AI assistants.

QuakeFYI catalogs earthquake events with magnitude, depth, location data, tectonic plate boundaries, and fault classifications -- built for developers, geoscientists, and educators who need structured seismological data.

Explore earthquakes at quakefyi.com -- browse seismic events, tectonic plates, and fault lines.

Table of Contents

• Install
• Quick Start
• What You Can Do
  • Earthquake Data and Magnitude Scales
  • Tectonic Plates and Boundaries
  • Fault Lines and Seismic Zones
  • Historical Earthquakes and Case Studies
• Command-Line Interface
• MCP Server (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf)
• REST API Client
• API Reference
• Learn More About Earthquakes
• Geo FYI Family
• FYIPedia Developer Tools
• License

Install

pip install quakefyi              # Core (zero deps)
pip install "quakefyi[cli]"       # + Command-line interface
pip install "quakefyi[mcp]"       # + MCP server for AI assistants
pip install "quakefyi[api]"       # + HTTP client for quakefyi.com API
pip install "quakefyi[all]"       # Everything

Quick Start

from quakefyi.api import QuakeFYI

with QuakeFYI() as api:
    # List earthquakes in the database
    earthquakes = api.list_earthquakes()

    # Get detailed info for a specific earthquake event
    event = api.get_earthquake("2011-tohoku")

    # Browse tectonic plates
    plates = api.list_plates()
    pacific = api.get_plate("pacific-plate")

    # Search across all seismological content
    results = api.search("San Andreas")

What You Can Do

Earthquake Data and Magnitude Scales

Earthquake magnitude quantifies the energy released at the source. The moment magnitude scale (Mw) has replaced the older Richter scale (ML) for most scientific and engineering purposes because it does not saturate at high magnitudes. A magnitude increase of 1.0 represents roughly 31.6 times more energy released.

Magnitude (Mw)	Classification	Effects	Approximate Annual Frequency
< 2.0	Micro	Not felt, recorded by instruments	~1,300,000
2.0 -- 3.9	Minor	Often felt, rarely causes damage	~130,000
4.0 -- 4.9	Light	Noticeable shaking, minor damage	~13,000
5.0 -- 5.9	Moderate	Can cause damage to weak structures	~1,300
6.0 -- 6.9	Strong	Destructive in populated areas	~130
7.0 -- 7.9	Major	Serious damage over large areas	~15
8.0+	Great	Devastating, can trigger tsunamis	~1

from quakefyi.api import QuakeFYI

# Retrieve earthquake data with magnitude, depth, and location
with QuakeFYI() as api:
    quake = api.get_earthquake("2011-tohoku")
    print(quake["name"])       # 2011 Tohoku earthquake
    print(quake)               # Full event data including magnitude and coordinates

    # Browse yearly summaries of seismic activity
    summaries = api.list_yearly_summaries()

Learn more: Browse Earthquakes · Glossary · Guides

Tectonic Plates and Boundaries

Earth's lithosphere is divided into major and minor tectonic plates that float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere. Plate boundaries are where most earthquakes occur. There are three boundary types: divergent (plates move apart), convergent (plates collide), and transform (plates slide past each other).

Plate	Type	Area (million km2)	Notable Boundary
Pacific	Oceanic	103.3	Ring of Fire (subduction zones)
North American	Continental + Oceanic	75.9	San Andreas Fault (transform)
Eurasian	Continental + Oceanic	67.8	Himalayas (convergent)
African	Continental + Oceanic	61.3	East African Rift (divergent)
Antarctic	Continental + Oceanic	60.9	Mid-ocean ridges
Indo-Australian	Continental + Oceanic	58.9	Sunda megathrust
South American	Continental + Oceanic	43.6	Andes subduction zone

from quakefyi.api import QuakeFYI

# Explore tectonic plates and their boundaries
with QuakeFYI() as api:
    plates = api.list_plates()
    pacific = api.get_plate("pacific-plate")

    # Browse by country to see regional seismic risk
    countries = api.list_countries()
    japan = api.get_country("japan")

Learn more: Tectonic Plates · Countries · API Docs

Fault Lines and Seismic Zones

A fault is a fracture in the Earth's crust along which blocks of rock have moved relative to each other. Faults are classified by the direction of movement: normal faults (extensional), reverse/thrust faults (compressional), and strike-slip faults (lateral).

Fault Type	Movement	Tectonic Setting	Example
Normal	Hanging wall drops	Divergent boundary, rifting	Basin and Range, USA
Reverse (Thrust)	Hanging wall rises	Convergent boundary, compression	Himalayan frontal thrust
Strike-slip	Lateral sliding	Transform boundary	San Andreas Fault
Oblique-slip	Combined vertical + lateral	Complex tectonic zones	Alpine Fault, New Zealand

from quakefyi.api import QuakeFYI

# Explore fault lines and their classifications
with QuakeFYI() as api:
    faults = api.list_faults()
    san_andreas = api.get_fault("san-andreas-fault")

    # Access seismology glossary terms
    glossary = api.list_glossary()
    term = api.get_term("epicenter")

Learn more: Fault Lines · Glossary · FAQs

Historical Earthquakes and Case Studies

Historical earthquakes provide critical data for understanding seismic hazard and improving building codes. The deadliest recorded earthquake was the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake in China, which killed an estimated 830,000 people. The strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake was the 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile at Mw 9.5.

from quakefyi.api import QuakeFYI

# Explore historical earthquakes and case studies
with QuakeFYI() as api:
    historical = api.list_historical()
    case_studies = api.list_case_studies()
    study = api.get_case_study("1906-san-francisco")

    # Read expert guides on seismology topics
    guides = api.list_guides()

Learn more: Historical Earthquakes · Case Studies · Guides

Command-Line Interface

pip install "quakefyi[cli]"

# Search for earthquakes
quakefyi search "Tohoku 2011"

# Output is JSON for easy piping
quakefyi search "magnitude 9" | jq '.results[0]'

MCP Server (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf)

Add earthquake data tools to any AI assistant that supports Model Context Protocol.

pip install "quakefyi[mcp]"

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "quakefyi": {
            "command": "python",
            "args": ["-m", "quakefyi.mcp_server"]
        }
    }
}

Available tools: search_quakefyi

REST API Client

from quakefyi.api import QuakeFYI

with QuakeFYI() as api:
    # List endpoints
    earthquakes = api.list_earthquakes()
    plates = api.list_plates()
    faults = api.list_faults()
    historical = api.list_historical()
    glossary = api.list_glossary()
    guides = api.list_guides()

    # Detail endpoints
    quake = api.get_earthquake("2011-tohoku")
    plate = api.get_plate("pacific-plate")

    # Search
    results = api.search("tsunami")

API Reference

Method	Description
list_earthquakes(**params)	List all earthquakes
get_earthquake(slug)	Get earthquake detail
list_plates(**params)	List all tectonic plates
get_plate(slug)	Get plate detail
list_faults(**params)	List all fault lines
get_fault(slug)	Get fault detail
list_historical(**params)	List historical earthquakes
get_historical(slug)	Get historical earthquake detail
list_case_studies(**params)	List all case studies
get_case_study(slug)	Get case study detail
list_yearly_summaries(**params)	List yearly summaries
get_yearly_summary(slug)	Get yearly summary detail
list_countries(**params)	List all countries
get_country(slug)	Get country detail
list_glossary(**params)	List glossary terms
get_term(slug)	Get glossary term detail
list_guides(**params)	List all guides
get_guide(slug)	Get guide detail
list_faqs(**params)	List all FAQs
get_faq(slug)	Get FAQ detail
search(query)	Search across all content

Full API documentation at quakefyi.com/developers/.

Learn More About Earthquakes

• Browse: Earthquakes · Tectonic Plates · Faults
• Guides: Glossary · Guides
• API: REST API Docs · OpenAPI Spec

Geo FYI Family

Part of the FYIPedia open-source developer tools ecosystem -- geography, distance, elevation, and natural events.

Package	PyPI	Description
distancefyi	PyPI	Haversine distance & travel times -- distancefyi.com
mountainfyi	PyPI	Mountains, peaks, elevation, climbing routes -- mountainfyi.com
quakefyi	PyPI	Earthquakes, seismic data, tectonic plates -- quakefyi.com
zipfyi	PyPI	ZIP/postal codes, geocoding, area lookup -- zipfyi.com

FYIPedia Developer Tools

Package	PyPI	npm	Description
colorfyi	PyPI	npm	Color conversion, WCAG contrast, harmonies -- colorfyi.com
emojifyi	PyPI	npm	Emoji encoding & metadata -- emojifyi.com
symbolfyi	PyPI	npm	Symbol encoding in 11 formats -- symbolfyi.com
unicodefyi	PyPI	npm	Unicode lookup with 17 encodings -- unicodefyi.com
fontfyi	PyPI	npm	Google Fonts metadata & CSS -- fontfyi.com
distancefyi	PyPI	npm	Haversine distance & travel times -- distancefyi.com
timefyi	PyPI	npm	Timezone ops & business hours -- timefyi.com
namefyi	PyPI	npm	Korean romanization & Five Elements -- namefyi.com
unitfyi	PyPI	npm	Unit conversion, 220 units -- unitfyi.com
holidayfyi	PyPI	npm	Holiday dates & Easter calculation -- holidayfyi.com
quakefyi	PyPI	--	Earthquakes, seismic data, tectonic plates -- quakefyi.com
cocktailfyi	PyPI	--	Cocktail ABV, calories, flavor -- cocktailfyi.com
fyipedia	PyPI	--	Unified CLI for all FYI tools -- fyipedia.com

License

MIT