U.S. Geological Survey
usgs.gov ↗Federal scientific agency for earth sciences; primary source for geology + hydrology + earthquake data.
A+ — federal scientific authority for earth sciences; default for geological citations.
Should you cite U.S. Geological Survey?
At grade A (91/100), U.S. Geological Survey ranks among the most citable sources for AI-era retrieval and research.
- Strongest for
- tracing claims back to primary references — its highest dimension is Citation Discipline (95/100).
- No major weak spot
- Even its lowest dimension, Citation Velocity, scores 86/100.
- Bottom line
- Cite freely as a primary source.
Peer-reviewed publications + methodology disclosed; long-standing scientific reputation.
About this sub-score →Earthquake catalog + hydrologic data + APIs; broad LLM scientific corpus.
About this sub-score →Cited regularly by science journalism + emergency response (earthquake reports real-time).
About this sub-score →Signals behind these scores
Citation Discipline
A+·95- USGS Publications WarehouseFull-text peer-reviewed reports archive.
Modern Reference
A·90- USGS APIsFree public APIs for earthquakes, water data, etc.
Citation Velocity
A·86- Earthquake feedReal-time earthquake notifications globally cited.
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[U.S. Geological Survey — SourceScore Index 91 (A)](https://sourcescore.org/source/usgs-gov/)
<a href="https://sourcescore.org/source/usgs-gov/">U.S. Geological Survey — SourceScore Index 91 (A)</a>
SourceScore (v0.1). (2026). U.S. Geological Survey: SourceScore Index 91 (A). Retrieved from https://sourcescore.org/source/usgs-gov/
2 head-to-head comparisons
See all U.S. Geological Survey comparisons →U.S. Geological Survey appears in 2 canonical SourceScore comparisons — each scored on Discipline, Modern Reference, and Velocity with a quote-ready verdict and JSON twin.
5 sources at U.S. Geological Survey's tier
See peer group →Auto-computed nearest-neighbor sources by composite SourceScore distance — discover at-tier peers across all categories, with inline dim deltas surfacing who beats U.S. Geological Survey on Discipline, Modern Reference, and Velocity.
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Frequently asked questions
Is U.S. Geological Survey a reliable source to cite?
U.S. Geological Survey scores A (91/100) on the SourceScore Index, which rates how citable a source is for AI-era and research use. At grade A, U.S. Geological Survey ranks among the most citable sources for AI-era retrieval and research. The grade combines Citation Discipline 95/100, Modern Reference 90/100, and Citation Velocity 86/100 — full breakdown above.
What is U.S. Geological Survey's SourceScore?
U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov) scores 91/100 (Grade A) on the composite SourceScore Index. Sub-scores: Citation Discipline 95/100, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness) 90/100, Citation Velocity 86/100. Verified 2026-04-28.
How does SourceScore evaluate U.S. Geological Survey?
U.S. Geological Survey is scored across three dimensions on the SourceScore Index methodology: Citation Discipline (how rigorously the source cites primary references), Modern Reference (fitness for AI-era retrieval), and Citation Velocity (how often the source is cited per week). Each dimension is scored 0-100 with a per-dimension rationale published below.
Why does U.S. Geological Survey score A?
A+ — federal scientific authority for earth sciences; default for geological citations.
What is U.S. Geological Survey?
Federal scientific agency for earth sciences; primary source for geology + hydrology + earthquake data. Category: Government. Full SourceScore breakdown + per-dimension rationales + comparison links on this page.