How do earthquakes form?

Let us imagine what goes on in the outer crust with the help of this diagram.

Earthquakes develop in the crust of the earth. The crust involves the earth's surface,
submarine levels, down to the ocean floors. The inner part of the earth contains
massive energy. Some of this energy escapes through cracks and other volcanic
activity, but the bulk of it is stored within the earth’s inner part, contained in the crust.

The earth’s outer crust is held in place like a completed jigsaw puzzle, with rough
edges and lines. The energy stored here causes the pieces to slide, glide, knock and
move around each piece. These pieces best describe what we call ‘Tectonic plates’ (See
illustration below)

After a period of time, the built-up energy and movement causes huge tension in the
plates, and there is massive pressure on the fault lines. This intense pressure resulting
from energy build-up causes the fault lines to give way, and plates move over, against
or apart from each other.
It is important to note that there is usually a very thick natural cover (earth and vegetation) which
makes fault lines obscure.

There is an earthquake at this point. In the form of seismic waves (like water
ripples), the escaping energy radiates outward from the fault in all directions.
The seismic waves shake the earth as they move through it. When the waves
reach the earth’s surface, they shake the ground and anything on it, tearing
down houses and structures.

What are the types of earthquakes?

Earthquakes can come in three main forms, depending on the plate movements
that occur beneath the earth's surface. They could occur on a Convergent
Boundary, Divergent Boundary or a Transform Fault.
 Convergent boundary:
Here, one plate is forced over another plate during movement creating a thrust
fault.

Divergent boundary:
Here, plates are forced apart from each other, usually forming a Rift Zone. This
kind is common in ocean floors where new floors are created. An example is the
Mid Atlantic Ridge.

Transform fault:
Unlike divergent and convergent, the plates here slip by each other. This is also
called Strike-Slip.

Earthquake Waves
There are 2 types of earthquakes waves and the difference lies in the way the
seismic waves are transmitted. To understand this better, let us see what
a seismic wave is.

These are waves of energy that travel through the earth's layers, and other
elastic layers, often as a result of earthquakes. A wave, by general definition, is
the transfer of energy from one place to another without transferring solid, liquid
or gas matter. Examples include light and sound waves.

During an earthquake, the waves released may be “P” or “S” waves depending
on the speed and ways in which they travel.

P-Waves (Primary Waves)

P-waves are longitudinal in nature. The vibrations are in the same direction as
the direction of travel. It is also known as compressional waves. P-waves travel
faster than S-waves.

S-Waves (Secondary waves)

Here the waves travel at right angles to the direction of travel. They are also
known as transverse waves and an example is a water wave.

With this in mind, you will notice that if you are close to the point where an
earthquake struck, you will feel both P and S waves close within the same time
frame. If you are further away, you will feel the P-wave first and then the S-
wave a bit later.

Both waves can be destructive, but their study helps us to know where the
earthquake struck.