Long surface waves (L waves) cause the most damage during an earthquake. While Primary (P) waves are fast and Secondary (S) waves are strong, it is the surface waves that have the largest amplitude and longest duration. Their complex side-to-side ...
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Surface waves are known as L waves (Long waves or Love waves). Unlike P and S waves that travel through the Earth’s interior (body waves), L waves travel only along the Earth’s surface. They move more slowly but have a ...
The epicenter is the location on the Earth’s surface where the tremors are felt first. Since it is the point directly above the focus, the seismic waves (specifically P-waves) have the shortest distance to travel to reach this spot. Consequently, ...
The epicenter is the point on the Earth’s surface located vertically above the earthquake focus (hypocenter). It is the location typically cited in news reports and maps to indicate where the earthquake occurred. It is generally the area where the ...
The earthquake focus is technically defined as the point within the Earth’s lithosphere where the stored elastic strain energy is first converted into seismic energy. It is the location of the initial break along a fault plane. From this point, ...