Undoubtedly quicksand- one of the most dangerous places on the ground. 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 in adhesion forces, which in dry sand are caused only by surface unevenness 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.

Quicksand is sand that is oversaturated with water from rising sources; as a result, they are capable of sucking in objects, animals and humans that fall on them. Quicksand is diverse in nature. Due to the thin film of water that envelops the grains of sand, the adhesion between them sharply decreases, and these sands behave almost the same as a liquid: the foreign body continues to sink until the weight of the sand it displaces is equal to the weight of the body itself.

The rate of suction depends on the structure of the sand, the mass and volume of the foreign object and can range from several minutes to several months.

terrible danger

There are many legends and dark stories associated with these sands. The terrible danger lurking beneath the surface of the sand seems so harmless at first glance.

Tarnagen Fjord in Alaska is pretty a nice place, in 1988, two tourists, the Dixon couple, decided to take a ride along the coast at low tide. The car got stuck in the sand. Adrianna Dixon got out of the car and immediately sank into knee-deep sand. The husband tried to help his wife for several hours, but was unable to free her from the trap. The sand was compressed and held the feet like cement. The husband called the rescue team, but the tide had already begun in the fjord. It was not possible to save the woman from sand captivity - the unfortunate woman drowned.

The action of quicksand (how it happens)

Why do people fall into quicksand? It's all about the special structure of the grains of sand. Coming from below water flow beats up a loose pillow of grains of sand, which remains in comparative equilibrium for some time. The weight of a traveler who finds himself in such a place collapses the structure. The grains of sand, being redistributed, begin to move along with the body of the unfortunate person, additionally as if sucking the victim into the layer of soil. After which, the structure of the sand around the victim completely changes - tightly pressed wet grains of sand form a trap due to the force of the surface tension of the water layer.

When trying to pull the leg out, a vacuum of air is formed, which pulls the leg back with enormous force. In order to pull out a leg in a similar situation at a speed of 0.1 m/s, it is necessary to apply a force equal to the force of lifting a medium-sized car. So, if you get into quicksand, it is advised not to make sudden movements, but to try to lie on your back and, with your arms outstretched, wait for help.

The nature of quicksand

To this day, scientists have not been able to fully understand the nature of this dangerous phenomenon. Some researchers believe that suction abilities are determined by the special shape of sand grains. According to one of the versions proposed by Russian physicist V. Frolov, the mechanism of action of quicksand is due to electrical effects, as a result of which the friction between sand grains becomes significantly less and the sand becomes fluid. If the fluidity extends to a depth of several meters, the soil becomes viscous and sucks in any massive body that ends up on it.

Geologist George Clark from the University of Kansas (America) conducted research for many years unique phenomena sand and came to the conclusion that quicksand is ordinary sand, which is mixed with water and has some properties of a liquid medium. According to Clark, quicksand is not a natural phenomenon, but a special state of sand. The latter occurs, for example, on a surface periodically flooded by the tide, or if there is a flow under a mass of sand. underground river.

Typically, quicksand is located in hilly areas where underground water flows often change direction and can rise to the surface or go deeper. When the water flow rises, this does not appear outwardly, although the surface of the earth suddenly becomes very dangerous.

Why you can get out of dry sand

With dry sand, everything is different: even a person buried up to his neck can gradually get out of it on his own, because when moving slowly, air first enters the free space, and then grains of sand begin to fill the niche. There is no such air in quicksand, and the suspension in its consistency can be compared to jelly, and the slowly moving mass will not have time to fill the resulting cavity, forming a vacuum.

There are two types of quicksand

1. With a wet surface. Can be found on the shores of lakes, rivers, seas, where rising springs are often present. There may be a thin crust of silt on top, formed from a fine fraction of sand.

2. With a dry surface. They are found in desert and rocky areas.

In English sea ​​coasts

Most of the legends about quicksand originated in Britain on the sea coasts, where for centuries there were dangerous areas that would suck in a person or animal who carelessly stepped onto the deceptive surface.

Excerpt from W. Collins’s novel “The Moonstone”:

“Between the two rocks lies the worst quicksand on the whole Yorkshire coast. During the ebb and flow of the tide, something happens in their depths, causing the entire surface of the sands to fluctuate in the most unusual way... Secluded and scary place!.. Not a single boat dares to enter this bay... Even birds fly away from the quicksand. The tide began to rise, and the terrible sand began to tremble. Its brown mass slowly rose, and then it all began to tremble...”

Back in the 19th century, most of these dangerous places in England were filled up and destroyed. There are currently no quicksands in densely populated areas.

Happy Rescue

1999 - Arnside (England), in front of his parents' eyes, sand sucked his 4-year-old son up to his waist. Fortunately, the rescue team arrived on time and no tragedy occurred. Arnside is located near Morecambe Bay which is famous for its high tides. At low tide, the water recedes 11 km, exposing the sandy bottom of the bay. Daredevils who dare to step on this sand, which seems like solid ground, are instantly sucked in. The legs are squeezed by a hardened mass, and it is impossible to pull them out without any help. If this is not done in a timely manner, a person will die under the water of the tide (the water rises 9 meters!), as happened with Adrianna Dixon. Over the course of several years, more than 150 people died there.

Beware - quicksand

The ship, located in Atlantic Ocean 180 km from the coast of Canada, near which there are many reefs, which is why ships often crashed there and were thrown ashore. After several months, the sand sucked up the wreckage without leaving a trace. There are a lot of dangerous quicksand in Alaska, the longest of the peninsula's fjords, completely filled with quicksand, 150 km long.

And in the Sahara, one of the driest and most lifeless deserts on Earth, there is quicksand. Entire caravans disappear there without a trace. Nomads from the Tuareg tribe talk about heartbreaking screams that come from underground at night. They believe that these are the groaning souls of people who were swallowed up by the merciless belly of the desert. Relatively not so long ago, Russian scientists made a discovery based on photographs of the earth's surface that were obtained from a satellite - a powerful underground river flows under the desert. It is likely that the waters of this river give some places in the desert the properties of fluidity.

Port Royal tragedy

It is difficult to even roughly estimate the number of victims of the deadly sands; in any case, it exceeds thousands, and possibly tens of thousands. 1692 - in Jamaica, quicksand swallowed up an entire area of ​​the city, then more than 2,000 people died. Port Royal was a very large, rich port, where the largest slave market was located. Since 1674, by appointment of the English monarch Charles II, the legendary pirate was appointed mayor of the city. But the place for the construction of the city was chosen extremely poorly. Port Royal was located at 16 kilometers sand spit. Its top layer is still saturated with water today, and below there is a mixture of gravel, sand and rock fragments.

1692, June 7 - an earthquake began, and the sand under the city suddenly began to suck in buildings and people. Descriptions of the tragedy have been preserved in the historical chronicle. Some of the city's residents instantly fell into the ground, others were sucked in up to their knees or waist.

After the earthquake ended (it lasted six minutes), the sand instantly turned into a solid mass that resembled cement, which held the people tightly in its vice. People were suffocating, walled up alive in the ground. Most died, unable to get out; their bodies sticking out of the sand were eaten by feral dogs. Back in the 19th century, on the site of the buried city, the remains of the walls of collapsed houses stuck out of the sand. And in 1907, another earthquake occurred, which absorbed these silent evidence of the tragedy.

Goodwin Shoals

The South Foreland headland in England, where the Goodwin Shoals are located, has the grim reputation of being a "ship graveyard." There, on a vast sandbank, there are half-buried ships. Only what remains of the masts and rusty pipes of the former conquerors of the seas stick out from the sand. The sands tenaciously hold onto their victims, and it is almost impossible to save the ships.

1946 - the ship Gelena Modjeska, whose cargo was estimated at three million dollars, fell victim to the Goodwin Sands. On September 12, the ship ran aground off the southern tip of South Foreland. Within four days 8 rescue tugs They tried to save the steamer, but on the 5th day the Helena Modjeska broke in half, and the cargo and the steamer fell victim to the sands.

1954 - in this place the sands swallowed up a lighthouse that warned ships of danger. The tragedy happened so quickly that the arriving helicopter managed to save only one worker from the tower that had almost sunk into the sand.

Most people associate the phenomenon of quicksand with scary images of a person being pulled deep into the abyss.

Many see mysticism in this and attribute the influence of cosmic or otherworldly forces. But how does everything really happen and are quicksand really that dangerous? How are they formed and how can you avoid becoming a victim of this natural phenomenon?

Physical explanation and types of quicksand

The depth of quicksand can reach several meters, or it can be only a few centimeters. From a physics point of view, the explanation for quicksand is very simple and depends on the ratio and interaction of sand and water.

The grains of sand are enveloped in water, and a film forms around them. There is air between the grains of sand, but with an increase in the amount of water, the air is displaced, and a mixture of sand and water is formed, the properties of which are significantly different from the mixture of sand, water and air.

There are two types of these sands:

1. With a wet surface. They are found on the shores of lakes, rivers, and seas, where rising springs are often encountered. On top there may be a thin crust of silt formed from the fine sand fraction.

2. With a dry surface. Found in deserts and rocky areas.

Reason: water source
A prerequisite for the formation of quicksand is a large source of water, which is located at a depth of several meters, and sometimes several tens of meters.

These sources provoke the shedding of sand. In most cases, they try to break out with great force, rising as close to the surface as possible and enveloping individual grains of sand with water.

Thus, a loose sandy mass soaked in water is formed, which remains in balance for some time. When any object hits here, the structure collapses, and physical forces try to return the displaced sand.

Suction occurs. The question arises: can any source of water cause quicksand? Such a source can be one that moves in an inclined horizontal direction or almost vertically.

It is sometimes impossible to determine the location of such sand. From above it looks quite reliable and there is no doubt whether it is possible to move on such a surface. Grass and flowers can grow here, however, if you encounter such a sandy formation on rocky terrain, it is better to bypass it.

It is simply impossible to verify whether a nearby water source caused the appearance of quicksand.

Is it possible to get out?

Statistics show that tragic incidents involving falling into quicksand are very common. Why is it so difficult or almost impossible to get out of the whirlpool of sand?

The fact is that it is very viscous, so any sudden movements cause even greater resistance, despite the fact that the density of quicksand is only one and a half times greater than the density of water.

You can only get out of the elements if you move very smoothly, or even better, try to lie on your back, freeing your legs, and thus seem to float on the sand. In this case, you can maintain balance certain time and wait for rescuers to arrive.

In response to the sharpness, the sand mass seems to harden. Independent attempts to pull out, for example, a leg create a vacuum of air. A huge force arises, pulling the leg back. The effort required to lift your leg can be compared to the weight of a car.

In dry sand, everything is different: a person buried even up to his neck can gradually get out of it on his own, because when moving slowly, air first enters the free space, and then grains of sand fill the niche. There is no such air in quicksand, and the suspension is comparable in consistency to jelly, and the slowly moving mass does not have time to fill the emerging cavity, forming a vacuum.

Other causes

Quicksand most often occurs not in deserts, as many people think, but in rocky areas and in areas of frequent tides. Morecambe Bay, in particular the town of Arnside, located in England, is considered a known area with dangerous tides. At low tide, the bottom quickly dries out and becomes a trap.

The tide rises tens of meters and covers everything that is in the area of ​​quicksand.

Another reason for the appearance of quicksand can be static charges arising due to the mutual friction of sand grains. Since they are all charged at the same time, the adhesion weakens and the surface becomes unstable. There are quicksands in Canada, on the islands Caribbean, in England. There is a place in Alaska where the territory with treacherous sands stretches for 80 km, and not far from here there is a special rescue service in case someone falls into nature's trap.

> wilderness survival > coastal quicksand

Why are coastal quicksands dangerous?

Coastal quicksand is found on the shores of lakes, rivers, and seas, where rising springs are often found. On top of quicksand there may be a thin crust of silt formed from the fine sand fraction. From a physics point of view, the explanation for quicksand is very simple and depends on the ratio and interaction of sand and water. The grains of sand are enveloped in water, and a film forms around them. There is air between the grains of sand, but with an increase in the amount of water, the air is displaced, and a mixture of sand and water is formed, the properties of which are significantly different from the mixture of sand, water and air.

The main condition for the formation of coastal quicksand is a large source of water, which is located at a depth of several meters, and sometimes several tens of meters. Such sources provoke the shedding of sand. In most cases, they try to break out with great force, rising as close to the surface as possible and enveloping individual grains of sand with water. Thus, a loose sandy mass soaked in water is formed, which remains in balance for some time. When any object hits here, the structure collapses, and physical forces try to return the displaced sand. Suction occurs. Naturally, not any source can become the basis for the formation of quicksand. Only a source that moves in an inclined horizontal direction or almost vertically becomes the culprit for the formation of a coastal “trap”.

It is sometimes impossible to determine the location of such sand. From above it looks quite reliable and there is no doubt that you can move on this surface. Grass and flowers can grow here, however, if you encounter such a sandy formation on rocky terrain, it is better to bypass it. It is simply impossible to verify whether a nearby water source caused the appearance of quicksand.


The danger of coastal sands is perhaps even higher than the danger of swamps. When you walk through a swamp, you always understand the situation and realize where you are. And coastal sand looks no different from an ordinary beach, but it can become deadly.

How to get out of coastal quicksand

People getting caught and killed in quicksand are not that uncommon. Why is it so difficult or almost impossible to get out of the whirlpool of sand? The fact is that it is very viscous, so any sudden movements cause even greater resistance, despite the fact that the density of quicksand is only one and a half times greater than the density of water. You can only get out of the elements if you move very smoothly, or even better, try to lie on your back or stomach, freeing your legs, and try to “swim” along the sand in the direction from which you came. If you cannot advance, do not make sudden movements, call for help. Get rid of unnecessary things and clothes if possible. If there is a person nearby who can help you, even if he doesn’t get too close, he will have to give you a rope, stick or other object, which you will need to cling to tightly and climb slowly but surely. Without additional support, it is almost impossible to get out on your own. When you try to pull out, for example, a leg, a vacuum is formed and a huge force arises, pulling the leg back. The force required to lift a leg can reach several hundred kilograms.


While walking somewhere in nature, enjoying the charm of flowering plants, listening to birds whistling cheerful songs, you can accidentally find yourself trapped in quicksand. But we should immediately warn you that everything is not as scary as shown in some films of the horror genre. Yes, of course, it is better to avoid them, but at the same time there is no need to be afraid. There are several consistent rules, knowledge of which will help you avoid such situations.

What is quicksand anyway? This is a really interesting but not at all unique mixture consisting of fine-grained material, clay and water (in desert areas - a mixture of sand and air). It looks solid, but becomes unstable when pressure is applied to its surface. It forms when water oversaturates such soil. Ordinary, naturally occurring sand (quarry, mountain, sea) consists of tightly 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, separation can occur, resulting in voids that make up 30 to 70 percent of the mass. This mechanism is similar to a house of cards, where the space between the cards is much larger than the space occupied by them. The liquid helps create liquefied soil that is unable to withstand the weight load.

Quicksand can form in standing and flowing water that flows upward (as in artesian springs). Water jets directed upward resist and slow down soil particles. Saturated sediments may look quite solid, but a little on the surface initiates liquefaction. This causes the sand to form into a slurry and lose strength. The amortized water creates quicksand, liquefied sediment, and a spongy, liquid-like soil texture. Objects entering such an environment drop to a level at which their weight is equal to the weight of the displaced mixture (from soil and water). Liquefaction is a special case of the phenomenon under consideration. Thus, in the event of an earthquake, the pore pressure in shallow, wet, liquefied soil immediately increases and loses strength, which leads to the collapse of buildings and other objects located on its surface.

Quicksand forms where natural springs exist, in swampy or wet areas, near rivers, and on beaches, although most often they are not easy to identify. If you suddenly hit them, they retreat quickly and gently, reacting with an interval of a couple of seconds. They are, that is, at rest they represent a solid substance (gel-like form), but the slightest impact on them causes a sharp decrease in viscosity. They are also found in deserts, but extremely rarely, where sand deposits occur, for example, on dunes. But the reduction 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 become denser again.