Is the epicenter always directly above the hypocenter?

Question

All the graphics I've seen showing epicenters with a hypocenter (labeled focus in the graph below) appear to show that epicenters are always directly above their related hypocenters. Is this correct?

3D slice of Earth showing a Earthquake with the related fault, epicenter, and hypocenter

score 12 · Accepted Answer · edited May 09 '19 at 10:26

12

By definition, the answer is yes:

epicenter, the point on the earth's surface vertically above the focus of an earthquake, or the Hypocenter

according to Merriam-Webster or a many other sources.

edited May 09 '19 at 10:26

Community

1

answered Jun 09 '14 at 15:04

gerrit

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Yes to the question - by definition :-) :-) – winwaed Jun 09 '14 at 18:45

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 09 '14 at 20:10

5

Generally defined, an epicentre is just a projection of the hypocentre (aka focus), on the nearest outer surface of the body in which the seismic source occurs.

answered Jun 09 '14 at 20:10

Dekkar

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Is the epicenter always directly above the hypocenter?

2 Answers2

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