Studies of teleseismic Pand S-wave amplitudes and spectra in the 0.5-4 Hz band show large variations in the attenuative properties of the upper mantle under the United States. The data indicate that attenuation is greatest under the south-western United States including, but not confined to, the Basin and Range province. The lowest attenuation prevails under the north central shield regions. The north-eastern part of the country, consisting of New England and possibly including a larger area along the eastern seaboard, is characterized by moderate attenuation in the mantle.The level of the high-frequency energy in short-period seismic waves and the differences between Q values derived from short-and long-period data indicate that Q is frequency dependent. The form of frequency dependence of t* compatible with the data in the 0.5-4 Hz range does not allow a rapid decrease of t * with increasing frequency. Rather it supports a gradual decrease covering the broader 0.1-4Hz range. The curves of t* versus frequency, for shield-to-shield and mixed shield-to-western United States type paths are parallel with an average difference of 0.2 s in t* in the short-period band, but may diverge towards the long-period band. For both curves t: is below 1 s. For shield-to-shield paths t: must be below 0.5 s at 1 Hz.

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