Triangulation is one method scientists use to locate the epicenter of an earthquake. Seismic recording stations are located all over the world. Data from three recording stations are needed to use triangulation. Scientists time the arrival of the seismic waves from three recording stations.At least 3 Seismic stations are needed to locate a single point. To locate the epicenter of theearthquakeyou will need a drawing compass, a pencil, and a copy of the earthquake travel time graph.