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USGS Water Services continuous API

Continuous data are collected via automated sensors installed at a monitoring location. They are collected at a high frequency and often at a fixed 15-minute interval. Depending on the specific monitoring location, the data may be transmitted automatically via telemetry and be available on WDFN within minutes of collection, while other times the delivery of data may be delayed if the monitoring location does not have the capacity to automatically transmit data. Continuous data are described by parameter name and parameter code (pcode). These data might also be referred to as "instantaneous values" or "IV".

USGS Water Services continuous API is one of 43 APIs that USGS Water Services publishes on the APIs.io network, described by a machine-readable OpenAPI specification.

Tagged areas include continuous. The published artifact set on APIs.io includes an OpenAPI specification and API documentation.

This API exposes 8 operations across 5 paths, and defines 3 schemas. It is described by OpenAPI 3.0.2, at version 0.56.0.

Requests are made against a single base URL, https://api.waterdata.usgs.gov/ogcapi/v0.

8 operations 5 paths 3 schemas 5 GET2 OPTIONS1 POST

Metadata

The identity and technical contract details declared by the specification.

Specification
OpenAPI 3.0.2
API Version
0.56.0
Base URL
https://waterservices.usgs.gov/nwis/iv/
Authentication
API Key, API Key
Terms of Service
Resource Areas
1

Authentication & Security 2

USGS Water Services continuous API declares 2 security schemes for authenticating requests. An API key is passed in the header as api_key (ApiKeyHeader). An API key is passed in the query as api_key (ApiKeyQuery).

  • ApiKeyHeader — Providing your API key gives you higher rate limits when querying our APIs. You can obtain an API key at https://api.waterdata.usgs.gov/signup
  • ApiKeyQuery — Providing your API key gives you higher rate limits when querying our APIs. You can obtain an API key at https://api.waterdata.usgs.gov/signup

Paths & Operations 8

Across 5 paths, the API surfaces 8 operations — 5 GET, 2 OPTIONS, 1 POST. Each is listed below with its method, path, parameters, and response codes.

continuous 8

Continuous data are collected via automated sensors installed at a monitoring location. They are collected at a high frequency and often at a fixed 15-minute interval. Depending o…

GET
/collections/continuous
Get Continuous values metadata
describeContinuousCollection 2 params → 200400403404429500
GET
/collections/continuous/items
Get Continuous values items
getContinuousFeatures 61 params → 200400403404429500
OPTIONS
/collections/continuous/items
Options for Continuous values items
optionsContinuousFeatures → 200
POST
/collections/continuous/items
Get Continuous values items with CQL2
getCQL2ContinuousFeatures body → 200400403429500
GET
/collections/continuous/items/{featureId}
Get Continuous values item by id
getContinuousFeature 4 params → 200400403404429500
OPTIONS
/collections/continuous/items/{featureId}
Options for Continuous values item by id
optionsContinuousFeature 1 param → 200
GET
/collections/continuous/queryables
Get Continuous values queryables
getContinuousQueryables 4 params → 200400403404429500
GET
/collections/continuous/schema
Get Continuous values schema
getContinuousSchema 2 params → 200400403404429500

Schemas 3

The contract defines 3 schemas that model the data the API accepts and returns. The most detailed are queryable (6 properties), queryables (1 property), Error (1 property). Each schema is shown below with its type and property counts.

Error
object
1 property
queryable
object
6 properties 2 required
queryables
object
1 property 1 required

Specification

The full machine-readable OpenAPI contract behind this narrative.

Source

usgs-water-continuous-api-openapi.yml Raw ↑

Other APIs USGS Water Services publishes across the network.

USGS Instantaneous Values Service
USGS Daily Values Service
USGS Site Service
USGS Statistics Service
USGS Groundwater Levels Service
Water Quality Portal (WQP) API
USGS Water Data Statistics API
USGS Water Services agency-codes API
USGS Water Services altitude-datums API
USGS Water Services aquifer-codes API
USGS Water Services aquifer-types API
USGS Water Services channel-measurements API
Where this information came from

This is an independent, third-party profile of USGS Water Services continuous API, published by API Evangelist. We do not operate, host, resell, or support these APIs, and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by the company unless stated above. Everything here is built from publicly available information — the company's own site, developer portal, documentation, public repositories, and the specifications it publishes for public use. Nothing is obtained by breaching a system, defeating an access control, or using credentials.

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