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USGS Water Data APIs

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) collects water data at monitoring locations across the United States using both automated sensors and manual data collection. These APIs provide access to that data, alongside metadata about data collections and monitoring locations, in standardized machine-readable formats.

These APIs require you to provide an API key to access higher rate limits and make more calls per hour. Sign up for an API key here and learn how to provide the key here.

Data provided by this service is US Government work in the public domain. If you use our data in a publication, please cite your usage following the citation templates at this link.

Contact us at this link with any questions or feedback about these APIs.

Available endpoints

View all endpoints

  • Continuous data

    Continuous data are collected at a high frequency via automated sensors installed at a monitoring location. The quantity being observed is described using the parameter code field.

    The "latest continuous" endpoint publishes the most recent observation from each time series, while the "continuous" endpoint provides access to the full period of record.

  • Daily data

    Daily data provides one data value to represent water conditions for the day, often a summary statistic or single metric of the continuous data collected each day. The quantity being observed is described using the parameter code and statistic ID fields.

    The "latest daily" endpoints publishes the most recent observation from each time series, while the "daily" endpoint provides access to the full period of record.

  • Field measurements

    Field measurements are physically measured values collected at a low frequency during a visit to the monitoring location, primarily used as calibration readings for the automated sensors collecting continuous data. The quantity being observed is described using the parameter code.

    The "field measurements" endpoint provides access to the full period of record of field measurement data. Additional metadata collected during streamflow field measurements is available through the "channel measurements" endpoint.

  • Collection metadata

    These endpoints provide metadata describing the data collections available through other endpoints.

    The "time series metadata" endpoint provides information about collections available through the "continuous" and "daily" endpoints. The "field measurements metadata" endpoint provides information about collections available through the "field measurements" endpoint. The "combined metadata" endpoint combines these two data sets and additionally provides monitoring location metadata identical to that found in the "monitoring locations" endpoint.

  • Monitoring location metadata

    USGS water data is collected at monitoring locations either by automated sensors or manual data collection. Each monitoring location has location information that details the location name and identifier, the agency responsible for data collection, and geographic information about the location.

    Monitoring locations endpoint

  • Reference lists

    Endpoints in this service may use codes or abbreviated terminology to describe the data being returned. Those codes are defined by reference lists, which provide additional information useful to interpret the meaning of those codes.

    There are many reference lists available through this service. Click the button below to see a table containing all available reference lists.

    Reference list endpoints