Types of Seismic Waves Earthquakes produce four main types of waves Body Waves: Body Waves: – P-waves - compressional body waves Think primary or push-pull waves Think primary or push-pull waves – S-waves - shear body waves Think secondary or shear or shake waves Think secondary or shear or shake waves Surface Waves: Surface Waves: – R-waves – (Rayleigh, named for a physicist) surface shear waves that make the ground move up and down in a retrograde elliptical pattern.