Quicksand (quicksand) - sands supersaturated with air (gas or hot vapors, in the desert), moisture from ascending sources and, as a result, capable of sucking deep into objects, animals and humans that fall on them.

Quicksand when at rest, it seems solid, but it has the ability to suck in objects that are heavier and denser in mass and density. In other words, it is the same as a swamp. The only difference between them is that the swamp is in a permanent liquid environment, and the sand turns into quicksand with an increase in the level of underwater waters and currents.

Two kinds of quicksand

1. quicksand with wet surface

The wet surface of quicksand is found along the shores of seas, lakes and rivers (where ascending springs are usually common).

Often the surface of such places consist of a thin crust of silt. Silt is a finer “pulverized” fraction of sand, which, over time, and the friction of fine sand particles turn into silt.

2. Quicksand with dry surface

The dry surface of quicksand is found in arid deserts and where there is no water nearby. Their fluctuation consists in the increase of underwater rivers and currents, up to the level of the surface of the sand base. The upper part of the sand remains dry and a person can easily get into it.

Quicksand is not bottomless at all. Usually their depth ranges from a few centimeters to several meters.

Due to the high density of quicksand, a person or animal cannot completely drown in it.

Quicksand itself is safe, but due to the fact that it significantly restricts the ability to move, a person bogged down in it becomes vulnerable to other dangers: high tide, solar radiation, dehydration and others.

When falling into quicksand, as well as in a swamp, you should try to lie on your back with your arms spread wide. It is necessary to get out slowly and smoothly, without making sudden movements.

However, people are dying in quicksand.

Arnside (England) is located near Morecambe Bay, notorious for its high sea tides and quicksand, in which almost 150 people have died since 1990 alone. At low tide, the water here recedes far from coastline, and the exposed sandy bottom quickly dries up, creating the illusion of a great beach, which is actually fraught with mortal danger. People walking on the dry surface are trapped in quicksand, and the fast tide, which rises nine meters, covers the unfortunate people with their heads.

Alaska has beautiful fjord Tarnagen, which has a length of 80 km. In 1988, two tourists, the Dixons, decided to ride along the coast at low tide. Three hundred meters from the shore, their car got stuck in the sand. Adeanna got out of the car to push her from behind. Soft muddy ground swam under her feet, and the woman got stuck in it up to her knees. Quicksand squeezed her legs like in a vise. Jay tried to help his wife, but in three hours he managed to dig up only one leg. When he finally thought to call someone for help, time was hopelessly lost - the tide had already begun. The rescuers arrived very quickly. They dived into ice water and until the last moment they tried to free Adeanna's leg, but they could not do anything, and the woman drowned.

Large, heavy objects sometimes sink into quicksand with disastrous consequences.

Ordinary sands become quicksand for another reason: as a result of an earthquake. True, in these cases, their "quickness" persists only for a very short time. In 1692, in Jamaica, quicksand swallowed up an entire area of the city of Port Royal, then more than two thousand people died. Port Royal was a very large rich port, where the largest slave market was located. Since 1674, by appointment of King Charles II of England, the famous pirate Henry Morgan became the mayor of the city. However, the place for the construction of the city was chosen extremely unsuccessfully - Port Royal was located on a 16-kilometer sand spit. Its top layer is still saturated with water, and below is a mixture of gravel, sand and fragments.

In the 19th century, a freight train derailed on the Colorado Bridge and plunged into a "dry" river bed that had become quicksand due to a recent downpour. Railway workers found most of the train, but the 181-ton steam locomotive sank without a trace.

Warning sign near quicksand

Warning signs are set up in the quicksand area, but this does not always stop people.

Bear Grylls Sahara Quicksand

You were walking in the desert, thinking, and suddenly found yourself in quicksand, quickly sinking to the bottom. Certain death in the mud? Not really. Quicksand is not even close to being as dangerous as it looks in the movies, although it is quite real. Any sand or silt can temporarily become quick-moving if sufficiently saturated with water and/or subject to vibrations such as during an earthquake. Here's what to do if you're going under.

Steps

Part 1

Freeing the legs

Drop everything. If you step on with a backpack on or with something heavy in your hands, immediately remove your backpack or drop everything you are carrying. Because your body is less dense than quicksand, you won't drown completely unless you panic and try to climb out too violently, or unless you're overburdened with something heavy.

If you can get out of your shoes, do it. Shoes, especially those with flat, rigid soles (such as many types of boots), create a vacuum when you try to pull them out of the quicksand. If you know in advance that there is a high chance of getting into quicksand, take off your shoes and walk either barefoot or in shoes that can be easily removed.

Move in a horizontal direction. If you feel stuck, take a couple of quick steps back before the quicksand immobilizes you. It usually takes a few minutes for the mixture to become runny, so the best way to get out is not to get stuck in the sand at all.
- If your feet are still stuck, do not take large and abrupt steps in an attempt to free yourself. By taking a big step forward, you will be able to release one foot, but your other foot will sink even deeper, and full release will become extremely difficult.
Lie on your back. If your legs are sinking very quickly, sit down and lean back. Increasing the contact area should help you free your legs by eliminating the pressure they create and keeping them afloat. When you feel your legs begin to release, roll away from the sands and free yourself from their grip. You will find yourself up to your ears in the mud, but this is the fastest and safe way get out.

Do not hurry. If you're stuck in quicksand, panicking will only hurt your efforts to get out. Whatever you do, do it slowly. Slow motions prevent agitation of quicksand: Vibrations caused by fast motions can turn relatively hard ground into an additional mass of quicksand.
- More importantly, quicksand can react to your movements in completely unpredictable ways. If you move slowly, it will be easier for you to stop the adverse process and prevent further immersion. You will need to be patient. Depending on how much quicksand is around you, it can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to slowly and methodically expel it.
Part 2
Climbing out of the deep quicksand
1. Relax. Quicksand is never deeper than a meter, but if you hit a particularly deep section, you can sink into the sand up to your waist or up to your chest pretty quickly. Panicked, you can sink even deeper, but if you relax, the buoyancy of your body will not let you drown.
  - Breathe deeply. Deep breathing will not only help you stay calm, it will also increase your buoyancy. Fill your lungs with as much air as possible. It is impossible to "go to the bottom" if your lungs are full of air.
2. Lie on your back and swim. If you are hip-deep or higher, lean back. The more you distribute your weight over the surface, the harder it will be for you to sink. Swim on your back, slowly and carefully releasing your legs. As soon as you release them, you can begin to carefully move towards the safe area, moving slowly and smoothly back with the help of arm strokes, as if you were swimming. When you get to the edge of quicksand, you can roll onto solid ground.
  
  Use a cane. When in an area with quicksand, walk with a cane. Feeling your ankles begin to sink, place the pole on the surface of the quicksand horizontally behind you. Lie on your back on a pole. After a couple of minutes, you will reach balance on quicksand and stop sinking. Push the pole towards the new position; move it under your hips. The pole will prevent the hips from sinking, so you can slowly release one leg first and then the other.
  - Stay on your back with your arms and legs touching the quicksand and use the pole to probe. Move slowly on both sides along the pole until you reach solid ground.
3. Take more breaks. Getting out of quicksand, you can get tired from work.
Part 3
How to Avoid Quicksand

Terrible is Nature in her wrath. In her arsenal - rivers of boiling lava, giant tsunami waves, devastating earthquakes, bottomless swamps, floods. There is another terrible weapon. These are quicksands, which have long been called "dry swamps".

Quicksand Legends

They scare children and travelers, they are told by old people instead of bedtime stories. Only unlike fictional stories, quicksand is a terrible reality that people living on the coasts most often face. Imagine: a storm, a ship in distress, desperate people. And suddenly, in the distance, the shore is the hope of salvation. With great difficulty, the ship approaches, but the cries of "hurrah" are replaced by exclamations of horror. The ship begins to slowly sink into coastal sand. People try to save themselves, but, alas, few succeed.

Such cases, although they were not rare, but still almost all were counted. But the number of people who disappeared during walks cannot be counted at all. The sand underfoot suddenly turns into a trap, a person panics, begins to flounder and drowns.

Where are the most dangerous places with quicksand?

England
This is the city of Arnside, located on the coast of Morecambe Bay. The length of the strip of quicksand is 80 (!) meters - a giant trap.

This is the Goodwin Shoals on the South Foreland. The second name is "Cemetery of ships". It looks intimidating: the skeletons and sides, randomly scattered along the coast, are covered with sand. Elsewhere, only the tip of the mast can be seen. A gloomy spectacle.

Alaska
This is Tarnagen Fjord.

Jamaica
This is the place where the city of Port Royal once stood, which disappeared in the 17th century. The original version - in 1692 there was an earthquake. The impact of the elements was powerful, the tidal wave destroyed the city, and the sea swallowed it. In 1992, scientists were able to prove that the city really drowned, but not in water. He's another victim of quicksand.

Caribbean Islands

Coast of Canada
In principle, quicksand can be found anywhere there is water, sand, and rocks. That is, the shores of lakes and seas, as well as large rivers, can be considered dangerous. On the outskirts of deserts, you can also fall into a trap arranged by quicksand.

How is quicksand formed?

If you remember school physics lessons, you can easily find the clue to the formation of quicksand. The phenomenon of this phenomenon lies in the ratio of the amount of sand and water, as well as their interaction. What does dry (and therefore safe) sand consist of? From countless grains of sand and air. What happens if you add water here? Water will begin to envelop each grain of sand, and a film will form around it. Since there are tiny dust particles on the sand grains, the cementing process begins, in which they take an active part. This is how a completely new substance is formed - viscous and very viscous.

So, in order for ordinary sand to turn into a quick danger, it needs to be wetted.. A bucket of water will not help, a constant source of water is needed, and the larger it is, the more terrible the danger. In coastal places it is a tidal wave. The rest are underground springs. The depth of the source is different. If the mass of sand is large, then the estimated depth can reach forty meters. Moreover, only such water sources that are practically in a vertical position or slightly inclined are suitable for creating fluctuations. On the surface, everything looks quite harmless: sand, here and there pebbles, a couple of bushes. Without special instruments, it is impossible to determine whether there is water in this place, whether the sand is wet, and what is the extent of the danger.

And the water at this time works, constantly wetting the layers of sand, provokes its shedding. From above, this process is invisible, even specialists cannot determine it. But it is worth getting here any heavy object, and the trap works. Begins the process of suction, pulling deep.

How to check if there is quicksand in this place?

It's better not to. Don't know the area? Walk around the pleasant sand for bare feet. This measure is desirable everywhere and mandatory for those places where the trap has worked at least once. Usually in such areas there is a rescue service and there are warning signs.

Any chance of getting out of the quicksand?

The answer is unequivocal - yes. And now the big BUT. Only those who know what and how to do and will not be at a loss, that is, will be able not to panic, have a chance.

The actions are simple: lie on your back, try to spread your arms and legs, that is, take as much as possible more space. If you shrink into a ball, then the weight will press on one place, and the body will begin to sink faster. Usually both legs are the first to fall into the trap, sometimes one gets stuck - this can be considered a real success. Lying on your back, arms outstretched, you need to slowly, without sudden movements, pull out your legs. The process can take up to an hour, but be patient and persevere - your life is worth it. After you free your legs, you need to determine where you came from. There, on that side, is a safe hard surface. Row there, and, in the truest sense of the word. Swim across the sand and best on your back. You can not? Carefully roll over onto your stomach and, pushing off with your arms and legs, “swim”. And remember: any sudden movement - and you will be pulled into the sand.

Quicksand - unique phenomenon, as, indeed, and all other inventions of Nature.

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Quicksand is a deadly attraction. The main danger lies in the fact that they are almost impossible to distinguish from ordinary sandy areas. This means that if you are traveling, for example, in the desert, where there is often the same type of landscape without stones and vegetation, then at some point there is a chance that you will simply start to fall "under the ground".

Quicksand: what is it

Basically, quicksands are formed in places where underground sources appear or when groundwater approaches the soil. In addition, the condition for their appearance is the presence of sand without clay impurities with a grain diameter of up to 3 mm.

The smallest particles of moisture, mixing with such sand, do not allow air to pass through, and the friction between the grains of sand disappears. As a result, the grains of sand turn into a semi-liquid mass, a swamp, which outwardly is almost impossible to distinguish from an ordinary desert or beach. It is a viscous mass with a huge reaction force.

How to spot quicksand

Visually detecting classic quicksand is difficult - they can lie in wait for a traveler anywhere along the entire path. There is a road that takes more than one day, gradually mindfulness becomes dull, which leads to serious consequences.

Since quicksand is a viscous quagmire, outwardly it looks like a flat surface with small motionless ripples. That is, any flat territory can potentially turn out to be an impassable swamp. It should be noted that sand can dry out on the surface of the bog and sometimes even grass grows on it.

Most often, quicksand can be found along the banks of reservoirs and in the lowlands of hills - where underground sources are likely to come to the surface. To make sure, you need to move slowly, be able to quickly get rid of the backpack and other cargo, as well as feel the road in front of you with a pole or stick.

In a normal, dry state, when pouring from vessel to vessel (let's take an hourglass as an example), sand passes air. But if there is moisture between the grains of sand, the air does not pass, and the sand does not spill out, clogging the passage. This property is the basis for the appearance of a quagmire.

Such a sandy is characterized by a huge counterforce. If a person's leg falls into quicksand, it is necessary to expend the effort of a heavyweight weightlifter to free it, and then, provided that his second leg has a reliable fulcrum and is on a solid surface.

In addition, the impact of a quagmire can be compared to a seat belt - the faster the trapped person moves, the stronger the swamp binds him. This is due to the momentary "solidification" of quicksand due to the appearance of rarefied air under the released foot. The presence of a discharged space leads to the opposite effect - tightening the leg even deeper ("collapse").

Quicksand vs. Man

At its core, quicksand can be attributed to a variety of non-Newtonian fluids with a high content of fine solids (grains of sand). That is why a person, getting into such a place, begins to fall into it, like into water. If at the same time he does not make sudden movements, then the dive will stop when the mass of the displaced sand becomes equal to the mass of a person.

What to do if you get caught in quicksand

There are certain rules of conduct when entering quicksand. Following these rules will allow you to get out of the situation alive.

1. Don't panic! If you start to twitch or make other sudden movements, you will go towards the core of the planet.
2. Fall on your back, flat, preferably on your back - in general, take a horizontal position with your whole body.
3. Try to immediately throw off everything superfluous - a backpack, a tent, etc. Life is more important.

If you start making sudden movements, pits will appear that will continue to suck. After the excitement has calmed down, move slowly, preferably back, in the direction from which you came, since it is not known how far the dangerous sands extend.

Relax your body, imagine that you are lying on your back in the water and relaxing. When moving, the sand should flow gently under the body and on the sides. This process is laborious, but effective. If your lower body does enter the sand vertically, place your torso on the surface and slowly but firmly release your legs.

Interesting and tragic facts about quicksand

Morecambe Bay, England. Known since the 15th century, when it was forbidden to enter the sand at high tide. Annually claimed the lives of up to 150 people. People who fell into quicksand died during a 9-meter high tide that covered them with their heads.

Goodwin Shoals at South Foreland, England. Devour the ships, the remains of which rise above the sands. The place is known as the "Ship Graveyard". One day, the Goodwin Shoals swallowed up the lighthouse tower.

Tarnagen Fjord, Alaska. The coast is about 80 km long and consists of quicksand.

Sable Island, Atlantic. Quicksand swallows entire ships after shipwrecks.

Jamaica, city of Port Royal. Completely drowned in quicksand in 1692. 2000 citizens died. After the earthquake, the soil hardened, so it was initially believed that the city was swallowed up by the “abyss of the sea”.

An example of hitting the quicksand of American paratroopers

Walking somewhere in nature, enjoying the charm of flowering plants, listening to birds whistling cheerful songs, you can accidentally be trapped in quicksand. But you should immediately warn that everything is not so scary, as shown in some films of the "horror" genre. Yes, of course, it is better to avoid them, but at the same time, you should not be afraid. There are several consistent rules, the knowledge of which will help to avoid such situations.

What exactly is quicksand? It is really interesting but not at all peculiar. A mixture consisting of fine-grained material, clay and water (in desert places- a mixture of sand and air). It looks solid, but becomes unstable when pressure is applied to its surface. It is formed when water oversaturates such soil. Ordinary, naturally occurring sand (quarry, mountain, sea) consists of densely packed grains that form a rigid mass (approximately 25 to 30 percent of the space between the grains is filled with water or air). Since many sand grains are elongated, they can separate, and then the voids will be from 30 to 70 percent of the mass. This mechanism is similar to a house of cards when the space between the cards is significantly larger than the space they occupy. The liquid contributes to the creation of liquefied soil, which is not able to withstand the weight load.

Quicksand can form in stagnant and flowing upward water (as in artesian springs). Water jets directed upwards resist and inhibit soil particles. Saturated precipitation may look quite solid, but a little on its surface initiates liquefaction. This causes the sand to form into a slurry and lose strength. Cushioned water produces quicksand, liquefied sediments, and a spongy, liquid-like soil texture. Objects entering such an environment sink to a level at which their weight is equal to the weight of the displaced mixture (from soil and water). Liquefaction - a special case the phenomenon under consideration. So, in the event of an earthquake, the pore pressure instantly increases in shallow areas. Wet liquefied soil loses its strength, which leads to the collapse of buildings and other objects located on its surface.

Quicksand forms where natural springs exist, in marshy or wet places, near rivers, on beaches, although they are often not so easy to identify. If you suddenly get into them, they retreat quickly and gently, reacting with an interval of a couple of seconds. They are, that is, at rest they are a solid (gel-like form), but the slightest impact on them causes a sharp decrease in viscosity. In deserts, they are also found, but extremely rarely, where placers of sand appear, for example, on dunes. But the decline is limited to a few centimeters, because as soon as the air in the voids between the sand grains is removed (and this happens quickly), they re-compact.

Quicksands. Description