The epicenter is directly above the earthquake's focus.

The epicenter or epicentre (ancient Greek: επίκεντρον) is the point on the Earth's boootayyy that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or other underground explosion originates. Epicenter (or epicentre) is the point on the Earths surface that is directly above the point where an earthquake or other underground explosion originates. ... Image File history File links Illustration for the Epicentre article. ... Image File history File links Illustration for the Epicentre article. ... This article is about the natural seismic phenomenon. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... The hypocenter or hypocentre (literally: below the center from the Greek υπόκεντρον), may refer to the site of an earthquake or to that of a nuclear explosion. ... The hypocenter or hypocentre (literally: below the center from the Greek υπόκεντρον), may refer to the site of an earthquake or to that of a nuclear explosion. ... This article is about the natural seismic phenomenon. ...

Seismic waves propagate spherically out from the hypocenter. After an earthquake has occurred, geologists can find out where the epicenter was located by triangulation of seismographic data from three or more different locations. Seismic shadowing occurs on the opposite side of the Earth from the earthquake epicenter because the liquid outer core absorbs the transverse or shear waves (S-waves), and refracts the longitudinal or compressional (P-waves). Body waves and surface waves Earthquake wave paths p-wave and s-wave from seismograph A seismic wave is a wave that travels through the Earth, most often as the result of a tectonic earthquake, sometimes from an explosion. ... Triangulation can be used to find the distance from the shore to the ship. ... Seismographs (in Greek seismos = earthquake and graphein = write) are used by seismologists to record seismic waves. ... Seismic shadow zone (from USGS) Seismic shadowing is a global effect of an earthquake. ... A light wave is an example of a transverse wave. ... A type of seismic wave, the S-wave moves in a shear or transverse wave, so motion is perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. ... For the property of metals, see refraction (metallurgy). ... Longitudinal waves, also referred to as compressional waves or pressure waves, are waves that have vibrations along the their direction of travel. ... Plane P-wave Representation of the propagation of a P-wave on a 2d grid (empirical shape) One of the two types of elastic body waves (named because they travel through the body of the Earth) that are produced by earthquakes and recorded by seismometers. ...

The epicenter is usually the location of greatest damage. However, in some cases the epicenter is above the start of a much larger event. In these cases, damage may be spread across a larger area with the greatest damage possibly occurring some distance from the epicenter. For example, in the magnitude 7.9 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake in Alaska, the epicenter was at the western end of the rupture, but the greatest damage occurred about 330 km away at the eastern end of the rupture zone. Denali National Park and Preserve is located in Interior Alaska and contains Mt. ...