Open data
The atlas is built on public report data, and you can take it with you. Download the reports as CSV or JSON, or call the open API below. We export the factual fields — dates, city-level coordinates, shape, duration and a link back to each original report — never the narrative text, which stays with its source.
Download
Ready-made pulls of the NUFORC report set (2010–now, up to 50,000 rows each):
Need everything, or a different slice? Use the API (paged, any year range) or grab the raw per-decade files in section 04.
Open API
One endpoint, no key required, CORS-open for use from your own tools:
GET /api/export?format=csv&from=2010&to=2026&country=USA&shape=triangle&limit=10000&offset=0
| Parameter | Values | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| format | csv | json | Output format. Default csv. |
| from / to | year | Inclusive year range, e.g. from=2010&to=2026. |
| country | name | Exact country match, e.g. country=USA. |
| shape | name | Exact reported-shape match, e.g. shape=triangle. |
| limit | 1–50000 | Rows per request. Default 10000, max 50000. |
| offset | number | Skip N rows — page through larger pulls. |
Each request returns at most 50,000 rows; page through larger pulls with offset. The total match count comes back in the X-Total-Count header.
Fields
| id | Stable record id (source-prefixed). |
| source | Originating database (nuforc). |
| datetime | Reported date (ISO, date precision). |
| lat / lng | City-level coordinates — the reporter's town, not a pinpoint. |
| shape | Reported shape family, or blank. |
| durationSec | Reported duration in seconds, if given. |
| country | Country, where tagged. |
| locationPrecision | Precision of the coordinates (e.g. city). |
| status | Record status as carried from the source. |
| sourceUrl | Link back to the original report. |
Raw datasets
The full source files the map itself loads, served directly — GeoJSON, public:
- pre-1990.geojsonNUFORC reports 1905–1989
- 1990s.geojsonNUFORC reports, 1990s
- 2000s.geojsonNUFORC reports, 2000s
- 2010s.geojsonNUFORC reports, 2010s
- 2020s.geojsonNUFORC reports, 2020s
- geipan.geojsonGEIPAN / CNES official French cases (A–D)
Sources, licensing & attribution
Reports come from NUFORC (nuforc.org). Factual fields — dates, coordinates, shape — are not copyrightable and are shared here with attribution; the original report text is © NUFORC and is deliberately not republished, so every row carries a sourceUrl link back. Official French cases are from GEIPAN / CNES (region-level, A–D classified). If you use this data, credit “NUFORC, via The UAP Atlas” and link back to the original reports.
Read it honestly
This is a map of attention, not of arrivals. Reports cluster where people live and where reporting culture is strong — the set is heavily US-weighted, counts spike after films and news waves, and coordinates are city-level, not pinpoints. A row is a report someone filed, never a confirmed object. See the methodology for the full picture.