Nature is fraught with many dangers. Unfortunately, we sometimes underestimate these dangers. And such neglect leads to tragedy. There are places in nature where it is extremely dangerous to be. Quicksands are such hazardous areas.

What are they? This is a sandy surface, characterized by increased mobility. Any object or living being caught in the quicksand can be sucked in. The speed of tightening is uneven: it can happen both in a matter of minutes and over long months. Different nations have legends and myths associated with quicksand. The insidiousness of quicksand is that outwardly they seem quite safe. There are many legends about quicksand in English folklore, as there are many such dangerous areas.

This is not to say that people did not try to fight quicksand. In the 19th century in England, quicksand was carefully destroyed, filling them with stones, sand and rubble. Therefore, now there is practically no danger of meeting them in those places where people live. However, in some places, quicksand is still waiting for its victims. Surprisingly, there is no clear explanation for this phenomenon yet.

There are various hypotheses, certainly interesting ones. Russian physicist V. Frolov believes that the phenomenon of quicksand is based on electrical effects, due to which friction between the grains of sand decreases and the sand becomes viscous and fluid. Viscosity can spread to a depth of several meters, the ground becomes unsteady and sucks in any object or living being. There is an assumption that the main reason that sand draws various objects into itself is hidden in the form of individual grains of sand. All of them are of the correct spherical shape. That is why any heavy object sinks so easily, passing "through" them.

The American scientist J. Clark has been studying the phenomenon of quicksand for a long time. He believes that these sands are mixed with water, therefore they have acquired the properties of a liquid medium. Clarke suggests that ripple is a special state of sand. It can manifest itself in different places if there is exposure to water. For example, if the surface is regularly flooded with water at high tide, or if there is an underground river under the surface.

In England, not far from Morecambe Bay, there is a place called Arnside. There are regular tides. At low tide, the water recedes for several kilometers, exposing the bottom of the bay. If you step on the sand, which seems very stable, you can immediately be pulled down. It is impossible to escape on your own, so many die.

It belongs to the dangerous and very a nice place Tarnagen Fjord in Alaska. It is also not recommended to be there during low tide. Many people know about the island called Sable. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean, 180 kilometers from the coast. There are many reefs in its vicinity, which are often the cause of shipwrecks. The remains of the broken ships on the shore are covered with sand.

There are many quicksands not only in Alaska, but also in the Sahara. It is known that entire caravans can sink into the sand in the desert. Scientists have found that there is an underground river under the Sahara, which may be why the surface becomes so insidious.

Quicksand is dangerous not only for an individual person or animal. A whole city can go underground. This is exactly what happened in 1692 on. A whole area of ​​the city of Port Royale was drawn into the quicksand. The city was on a sandy surface, which is why the tragedy happened. On June 7, 1692, an earthquake struck. Historical chronicles tell how some residents of the city immediately fell into the ground, others were sucked up to the knee or to the waist. The earthquake lasted several minutes. Then the sand immediately turned into a solid mass that held people in its captivity. Many died. In the 19th century, on the site of the lost city, the remains of the walls of collapsed houses were still visible, and in 1907, after another earthquake, everything went underground.

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, infamous for its high sea tides and quicksands, 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.

In Alaska, there is the beautiful Tarnagen Fjord, which is 80 km long. 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 the icy water and until the last moment tried to free Adeanna's leg, but 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

There is a very beautiful place in Alaska - Tarnagen Fjord. In 1988, two tourists, the Dixons, decided to ride along the coast at low tide. The car got stuck in the sand. Adreanna Dixon got out of the car and instantly fell into the ground knee-deep.

The husband tried to pull the woman out, but after suffering for several hours, he was unable to free her from the trap. The sand was compressed and held the legs like cement. Dixon called rescuers, but the water was already rising in the fjord - the tide had begun. It was not possible to save the girl who fell into the quicksand - the unfortunate woman drowned.

Quicksand is a moving sandy surface capable of sucking up any object. The suction rate depends on the structure of the sand, the mass and volume of the foreign object and ranges from several minutes to several months.

There are many legends and creepy stories associated with quicksand. Most of them objectively reflect the terrible danger lurking under the surface of the sand, which at first glance seems so harmless.

In 2000, the National Geographic Society of the United States released a film about quicksand, shot in the tradition of Hollywood horror films, after watching which you are unlikely to want to sunbathe even on a well-maintained sandy beach.

Most of the legends about quicksand originated in England on the coasts, where for centuries there were dangerous areas that sucked in a person or animal who carelessly set foot on a treacherous surface.

Here is an excerpt from the novel Moonstone by Wilkie Collins:

“Between two rocks lies the most terrible quicksand on the entire Yorkshire coast. At high and low tide, something happens in their depths, causing the entire surface of the sands to oscillate in the most unusual way ... Secluded and scary place. Not a single boat dares to enter this bay... Even the birds fly away from the quicksand. The tide began to rise, and the terrible sand began to shudder. Its brown mass slowly rose, and then it all trembled…”

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

Until now, scientists have not fully understood the nature of this dangerous phenomenon. Some researchers believe that the ability to suck is determined by the special shape of the grains of sand. According to one of the hypotheses put forward by the Russian physicist Vitaly Frolov, the mechanism of action of quicksand is due to electrical effects, as a result of which friction between the grains of sand decreases 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 gets into it. American geologist George Clark from the University of Kansas has been researching a unique phenomenon for many years and came to the conclusion that quicksand is ordinary sand mixed with water and having some properties of a liquid medium.

According to Clarke, fluctuation 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 an underground river flows under a sand massif. Usually quicksands are located in hilly areas, where underground water flows often change direction and can rise to the surface or go deeper.

When the water stream rises, it does not appear outwardly in any way, although the surface of the earth suddenly becomes very dangerous. This happened in England in Arnside in 1999, when, in front of the parents, the sand sucked up to the waist of a four-year-old son.

Fortunately, the rescuers arrived in time, and the tragedy was avoided. Arnside is located near Morcambe Bay, famous for its high tides.

At low tide, the water recedes 11 kilometers, and the sandy bottom of the bay is exposed. Daredevils who dare to step on this sand, which seems to be solid soil, are instantly sucked in. The legs are squeezed by a hardened mass, and it is impossible to pull them out without outside help. If this is not done in time, the person dies under the water of the tide, as happened with Adreanna Dixon.

Not only the beaches flooded by the waters of the tide, but also the banks of some rivers are sometimes fraught with invisible danger.

Sable Island, located in the Atlantic Ocean, 180 kilometers from the coast of Canada, was notorious among sailors, near which there are many reefs, because of which sea vessels happened to crash there and were washed ashore. A few months later, the sand sucked the wreckage without a trace. There are a lot of dangerous sandy quicksands in Alaska, the longest of the peninsula's fjords, completely filled with quicksand, stretches for 150 kilometers.

There are also quicksands in the Sahara, one of the most arid and lifeless deserts on the planet. Entire caravans disappear without a trace. The nomads of the Tuareg tribe talk about heartbreaking screams coming from the ground at night. They believe that it is the groaning of the souls of people swallowed up by the greedy belly of the desert.

Recently, Russian scientists made a discovery based on photographs of the earth's surface received from a satellite - a powerful underground river flows under the desert. It is possible that the waters of this stream give some places of the desert the properties of fluctuation.

Quicksand is most commonly found in hilly or tidal areas. Moving from the mountains, the streams of water move through channels carved inside the dolomite and limestone rocks. Somewhere it breaks through a stone and rushes up in a powerful stream.

If a layer of sand is encountered along the way, then the stream of water coming from below can turn it into quicksand. The sun dries the top layer of sand, and a thin hard crust forms on it, on which grass can even grow. The illusion of well-being and tranquility will instantly evaporate, as soon as you step on it, the soil will float from under your feet.

Why do people fall into quicksand? The point is the resulting structure of the arrangement of grains of sand. A stream of water coming from below whips up a loose pillow of grains of sand, which is in relative equilibrium for some time. The weight of a traveler wandering into such a place brings down 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 that, the structure of the sand around the unfortunate person becomes completely different - tightly pressed wet grains of sand form a trap due to the surface tension of the water layer.

When you try to pull your leg out, a rarefaction of air is formed, pulling the leg back with great force. The force required to lift the leg in such a situation is comparable to the weight of the car. If the sand were dry, then with slow movement, the air that was between the grains of sand would first come to the vacant place, and then the sand itself, crumbling, would fill the gap.

Buried even up to the neck in ordinary sand, a person may well get out of it on his own (anticipating objections, let me remind you that in the White Sun of the Desert the hero was previously bound). In quicksand, a viscosity comparable to thick jelly will not allow this to be done.

The density of quicksand is about 1.6 times that of water, but this does not make it possible to swim in it. Due to the high humidity, the sand is viscous, and any attempt to move in it is met with strong opposition. The slowly flowing sandy mass does not have time to fill the cavity that appears behind the shifted object, and rarefaction, a vacuum, arises in it.

The force of atmospheric pressure tends to return the object to its original place - it seems that the sand "sucks" its victim. Thus, moving in quicksand is possible, but only extremely slowly and smoothly, since the mixture of water and sand is inertial in relation to fast movements: in response to a sharp movement, it seems to harden.

It is difficult to even approximately estimate the number of victims of the deadly sands, in any case, it exceeds thousands, and perhaps tens of thousands. 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 rock fragments.

On June 7, 1692, 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 historical chronicles. Some residents of the city instantly fell into the ground, others were sucked up to the knee or to the waist.

After the end of the earthquake, which lasted six minutes, the sand instantly turned into a solid mass, resembling cement, which firmly clamped people in its vise. The unfortunate were suffocating, immured alive in the ground.

Most of them died, unable to get out, their torsos 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 protruded from the sand. But in 1907 there was another earthquake that swallowed up these evidences of the tragedy.

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, infamous for its high sea tides and quicksands, in which almost 150 people have died since 1990 alone. At low tide, the water here recedes far from the 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.

In Alaska, there is the beautiful Tarnagen Fjord, which is 80 km long. 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 the icy water and until the last moment tried to free Adeanna's leg, but 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

> wilderness survival > coastal quicksand

Why are coastal quicksands dangerous?

Coastal quicksands are found on the shores of lakes, rivers, seas, where rising springs often come across. On top of quicksand, there may be a thin crust of silt formed from a fine fraction of sand. From the point of view of physics, the explanation for quicksand is very simple and depends on the ratio and interaction of sand and water. Sand grains 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 differ significantly 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 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 impregnated with water is formed, which for some time retains its balance. When any object hits here, the structure collapses, and physical forces try to push back 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 in 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 there is a similar sand formation in a rocky area, it is better to bypass it. It is simply impossible to check whether a nearby source of water provoked the appearance of quicksand.

The danger of the coastal sands is perhaps even greater than the danger of the swamp. When you walk through the swamp, you always understand the situation and realize where you are. And the coastal sand in appearance is no different from an ordinary beach, but at the same time it can become deadly.

How to get out of coastal quicksand

Hit and death of people in quicksand, not such a rarity. 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 more resistance, despite the fact that the density of quicksand is only one and a half times greater than the density of water. You can get out of the elements only if you move very smoothly, or even better, try to lie on your back or stomach with your legs free, and try to "swim" on the sand in the direction you came from. If you cannot move forward, do not make sudden movements, call for help. Get rid of unnecessary things and clothes as much as possible. If there is a person nearby who can help you, let him not get too close, he will have to give you a rope, stick or other object, for which you will need to cling tightly and climb slowly but surely. Without additional emphasis, it is almost impossible to get out on your own. When you try to pull, for example, a leg, a vacuum is formed and a huge force arises, pulling the leg back. The force that must be applied to lift the leg can reach several hundred kilograms.