which type or types of earthquake waves move only near the surface of the earth?
The third general type of earthquake wave is called a surface wave, reason being is that its motion is restricted to near the ground surface. Such waves correspond to ripples of water that travel across a lake. Surface waves in earthquakes can be divided into two types. The first is called a Love wave. Its motion is essentially that of S waves that have no vertical displacement; it moves the ground from side to side in a horizontal plane but at right angles to the direction of propagation.
Depending on proximity to the focus of the. earthquake the seismic waves move the ground, thus. any structure according to their wave motion. The. different types of seismic-energy waves shake the. ground in different ways.