Quicksand. An unequal battle with nature

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

When quicksand is at rest, it seems solid, but it has the property of sucking into itself objects that are heavier and denser in mass and density. In other words, it is the same thing as a swamp. The only difference between them is that the swamp is in a constant liquid environment, and the sand turns into quicksand with an increase in the level of underwater waters and currents.

Two types of quicksand

1. Quicksand with a wet surface

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

Often the surface of such places consists of a thin crust of silt. Silt is a smaller “pulverized” fraction of sand, which over time and friction of small sand particles turns into silt.

2. Quicksand with a dry surface

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

Quicksand is not bottomless at all. Typically 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 is safe in itself, but due to the fact that it significantly limits the ability to move, a person stuck in it becomes vulnerable to other dangers: high tides, solar radiation, dehydration, and others.

If you get into quicksand, just like in a swamp, you should try to lie on your back with your arms spread wide. You need 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 tides and quicksand, which have killed almost 150 people since 1990 alone. At low tide the water here recedes far from coastline, and the exposed sandy bottom quickly dries out, creating the illusion of an excellent beach, which in fact is fraught with mortal danger. People walking on the dry surface are trapped by quicksand, and the fast tide, which rises nine meters, covers the unfortunate people completely.

Alaska has beautiful fjord Tarnagen, which is 80 km long. In 1988, two tourists, the Dixon couple, 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. The soft muddy soil floated under her feet, and the woman got stuck in it up to her knees. The quicksand squeezed her legs as if in a vice. Jay tried to help his wife, but in three hours he only managed to dig out one leg. When he finally decided to call someone for help, time was hopelessly lost - the tide had already begun. The rescuers rushed in 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 fall into quicksand with catastrophic consequences.

Ordinary sands become quicksand for another reason: as a result of an earthquake. True, in these cases their “fluctuation” persists only for a very short time. In 1692, in Jamaica, quicksand swallowed up an entire area of ​​the city of Port Royal, killing over two thousand people. Port Royal was a very large, rich port, home to the largest slave market. Since 1674, by appointment of King Charles II of England, the famous pirate Henry Morgan became mayor of the city. However, the location for the construction of the city was chosen extremely poorly - Port Royal was located on a 16-kilometer sand spit. Its top layer is still saturated with water, and below there is a mixture of gravel, sand and debris.

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

Warning sign near quicksand

Warning signs are placed in the area of ​​quicksand, but this does not always stop people.

Bear Grylls Sahara Quicksand

Is life in motion?

Many people have heard more than once that in life you should never stop. As they say, life is in motion. But is it always like this? There is one of the few examples showing that just a state of maximum peace can save a person’s life. These are cases of getting into a quagmire or quicksand. You should understand in more detail what they are, why they arise and how to get out of them.

If not in life, then in movies, you have at least once seen how something or someone (person or animal) fell into these natural traps. This is actually a very insidious natural phenomenon. A quagmire is a swamp that can gradually suck in objects and living creatures that fall into it. Why are some swamps simply smeared with mud, while others literally “eat” their victims? The point is in such a concept as thixotropy. This phenomenon means the property of substances or their mixtures to become more liquid in motion (when exposed to external influence) and to thicken at rest. Some types of clays and minerals have such insidious abilities. If they are present in a given swamp, then once they get into it, it will be difficult to get out without outside help. A bog is a swamp, often covered with a thick layer of algae, and it can even resemble a lawn.

There is a phenomenon in nature that is even more dangerous than a quagmire. We are more often accustomed to hearing such concepts as quarry, river, and construction sand. However, there is another one. It's quicksand. It is almost impossible to get out of it. The main reason for the transformation of ordinary sand into quicksand is its excessive saturation with liquid (water) and air. That is why they can “swallow” what gets into them. When a denser body acts on quicksand (this is another name for quicksand), the spaces filled with liquid and air begin to decrease. This creates free space for the trapped victim, which, under its weight, goes deeper and deeper. Such “beaches” tend to dry out on top, creating the appearance of being quite ordinary. Be careful in areas close to large bodies of water with open sandy areas. There may be undercurrents there. Another cause of quicksand traps is earthquakes. After them, small cracks usually appear in the upper layers of the earth's crust, which do not fill when there is no mechanical impact on the surface. When it appears, sand and often what presses on it goes into space.

What to do?

If it so happens that you find yourself captive in a quagmire or quicksand, then you have no choice but to save your life. As stated earlier, you need to move minimally. If you find yourself in a quagmire, then you need to stop all sorts of jerky floundering. You should try to lie on your back and try to get out with very slow, smooth movements and, if possible, call for help. If you happen to be trapped and find yourself in quicksand, then it is better not to move here at all. You should calmly wait for help, since in this case you have a much greater chance of salvation. At the slightest movement (even with a heartbeat!) the insidious grains of sand are activated. It must be said that often the suction substances do not exceed a few meters in depth (and sometimes even less than one). However, in the case of sand, this is unlikely to save. The immersed part of the object (body) is clamped inside as if in a vice, and it is very difficult to release it on your own. So it’s better not to get into such “scrapes” at all and always follow the prohibitory signs on the shore.

Without a doubt, quicksand is one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Usually the sun dries out the top layer of sand, resulting in a thin, hard crust on which grass can even grow. But the illusion of reliability will instantly evaporate, as soon as you step on it, the ground will literally float from under your feet. The poor souls who step on this sand, which seems like solid ground, are instantly sucked in. The legs become squeezed by a hardened mass, and it is impossible to pull them out without outside help.

Quicksand itself cannot kill a person. Firstly, it will not be able to completely absorb a person, since it is a non-Newtonian liquid. However, if a person is not saved in time, he may die from a number of other reasons. For example, from dehydration, solar radiation, various living creatures, or dying under the tide.

Many theories have been proposed about the quicksand phenomenon. Most of them, of course, turned out to be wrong. However, over time the situation began to become clearer. It turned out that the properties of wet sand depend significantly on the amount of water it contains. Moistened grains of sand easily stick together, demonstrating a sharp increase adhesion forces, which in dry sand are caused only by surface irregularities and are therefore very small. The forces of surface tension of the films of water surrounding each grain of sand cause them to stick together. In order for sand grains to stick together well, water must cover the particles and their groups with a thin film, while most of the space between them must remain filled with air. If the amount of water in the sand is increased, then as soon as the entire space between the sand grains is filled with water, the surface tension forces disappear and the result is a mixture of sand and water that has completely different properties. Thus, Quicksand is the most ordinary sand, under the thickness of which at a depth of several meters there is a fairly strong source of water.

Why does a person fall into quicksand? It's all about the special structure of the grains of sand. The flow of water coming from below whips up a loose cushion of grains of sand, which is in relative equilibrium for some time. The weight of a traveler who wanders into such a place collapses the structure. The grains of sand, being redistributed, move along with the body of the victim, additionally as if sucking the poor fellow into the soil layer. After this, the structure of the sand around the unfortunate person becomes completely different - tightly pressed wet grains of sand form a trap due to the force of the surface tension of the water layer. When you try to pull your leg out, a vacuum of air is formed, pulling the leg back with enormous force. To pull your leg out in such a situation at a speed of 0.1 m/s, you need to apply a force equal to the force of lifting a medium-sized passenger car. So, if you get into quicksand, it is better not to make sudden movements, but try to lie on your back and, with your arms outstretched, wait for help.

Nature is terrible in her anger. Its arsenal includes rivers of boiling lava, giant tsunami waves, destructive earthquakes, bottomless swamps, floods. There is another terrible weapon. These are quicksands, which have long been called “dry swamps”.

Legends of Quicksand

They frighten 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 encounter. Imagine: a storm, a ship in distress, desperate people. And suddenly in the distance there is a shore - hope for salvation. With great difficulty, the ship docks, but the cries of “Hurray” are replaced by cries of horror. The ship begins to slowly sink into the coastal sand. People are trying to escape, but, alas, few succeed.

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

Where are the most dangerous places with quicksand?

This is the Goodwin Shoals on the South Foreland Cape. The second name is “Ship Graveyard”. It looks terrifying: the skeletons and sides, randomly scattered along the coast, are covered with sand. In other places you can only see the tip of the mast. A grim sight.

Alaska
This is the Tarnagen fjord.

Jamaica
This is the place where the city of Port Royal once stood, which disappeared in the 17th century. The original version is that there was an earthquake in 1692. The impact of the elements was powerful, a 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 the water. He is another victim of the quicksand.

Caribbean Islands

Coast of Canada
In principle, quicksand can occur anywhere there is water, sand and rocks. That is, the shores of lakes and seas, as well as big rivers. On the outskirts of deserts, you can also fall into a trap created by quicksand.

How are quicksand formed?

If you remember your school physics lessons, you can easily find the answer 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? The water will begin to envelop each grain of sand, and a film will form around it. Since there are tiny dust particles on the grains of sand, the cementing process begins, in which they take an active part. This is how a completely new substance is formed - viscous and very viscous.

This means that for ordinary sand to turn into quicksand, it needs to be wet.. A bucket of water will not help, you need a constant source of water, and the larger it is, the worse the danger. In coastal places it is a tidal wave. In the rest - underground springs. The depth of the source varies. If the mass of sand is large, then the estimated depth can reach forty meters. Moreover, only water sources that are in an almost vertical position or slightly inclined are suitable for creating fluidity. On the surface everything looks quite harmless: sand, pebbles here and there, 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 the extent of the danger is.

And the water works at this time, constantly wetting the layers of sand, causing it to crumble. This process is invisible from above; even specialists cannot determine it. But as soon as any heavy object gets here, the trap is triggered. The process of suction begins, being pulled deeper.

How to check if there is quicksand in this place?

It's better not to do this. Don't know the area? Avoid the sand that is pleasant to your bare feet. This measure is desirable everywhere and mandatory for those places where the trap has been triggered at least once. There is usually a rescue service and warning signs in these areas.

Is there a chance to get out of quicksand?

The answer is clear - yes. And now a big BUT. Only those who know what and how to do and do not get confused, that is, manage not to panic, have a chance.

The actions are simple: lie on your back, try to spread your arms and legs, that is, take up as much space as possible. If you squeeze into a ball, the weight will put pressure on one place, and the body will begin to sink faster. Usually both legs fall into the trap first, sometimes one gets stuck - this can be considered real luck. Lying on your back, with your arms outstretched, you need to slowly, without sudden movements, pull out your legs. The process may take an hour, but be patient and persistent - 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. That's where you row, and in the literal sense of the word. Swim on the sand, preferably 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 is a unique phenomenon, like all other inventions of Nature.

Quicksand lies in wait for tourists on sea and ocean beaches; outwardly they are no different from ordinary sand, and it is almost impossible to determine at a glance that this is quicksand. When you take a step forward, your foot falls into a sand vice and it is almost impossible to pull it out on your own, and as a rule, most often a person gets caught in quicksand with both feet and gets stuck up to the waist. We recommend that you read

You think that you can get out of quicksand on your own, no, it is almost impossible. Although quicksand does not suck a person completely (although it can completely, but rarely), but usually up to the waist or chest, since they have a certain density, this does not mean at all that they are safe. Firstly, quicksand is located on beaches where there are ebbs and flows and a person can choke and drown, and secondly, if no one helps you, you will die of thirst under the scorching sun and sunburn.