The three types of earthquake waves are-
1. P or Primary wave — These are the first earthquake waves to be recorded on a seismogram of an earthquake. They are compressional,i.e., the particles vibrate in the direction of movement of the wave. They can pass through solids, liquids and gases.
2. S or Secondary wave — These waves are recorded on a seismogram after the P waves. They are distortional waves in which the particles vibrate at right angles to the direction of movement of the wave. S waves travel through the earth's interior but cannot be transmitted by liquids.
3. L or Surface waves — These waves travel along the surface of the earth and are recorded after the P and S waves. Two types of L waves are identified- Love waves and Rayleigh waves.