我不是一个“初露头角的地震。”I am a chemistry/physics teacher teaching an Earth science class (low academic level) in a small-town high school. (My college coursework in earth sciences = 0) I understand the concept of triangulation to determine an earthquake's origin, and I realize there are some subtleties in wave analysis such as pP and sP waves. What I don't understand is how the triangulation determines the epicenter instead of the focus. Wouldn't the S-P lag times for 3 stations give an intersection point at the focus since that is the actual point of origin for the waves?