Quicksand. An unequal battle with nature

Quicksand

Quicksand found in different areas globe, have always caused fear in people. It is generally accepted that this sand, which looks no different from the usual sand nearby, is fraught with a mortal danger for anyone who stands on it. There are many stories about how these sands sucked in their victims until not a trace remained of them. However, in reality, quicksand does not have such power. If you have an idea of what it is and how to behave correctly, then quicksand will not cause any harm.

Typically, quicksand, or quicksand, appears near the mouths of large rivers and on gently sloping banks. These sands are formed due to the fact that underneath there is a dense layer of clay that does not allow moisture to penetrate into the earth. This leads to the accumulation of rain and river water. The accumulating water liquefies the round grains of quicksand, and they seem to float in it. That is why they are not able to hold heavy objects on the surface.

Contrary to popular belief, people who fall on quicksand do not drown in it. Since quicksand contains a lot of moisture, you can swim in it like in water. It is also important that quicksand is denser than water, and therefore it is easier to float on the surface.

If you ever find yourself in quicksand, remember to move fairly slowly. This allows the sand to flow around your body, just as it does when you swim in water. In this case, you do not have to fear for your life.

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The most treacherous quicksand In Alaska, there is a 60-kilometer-long fjord consisting of quicksand. On different continents there are sea beaches, which at high tide turn into a soggy mess that sucks in everything. Strips of sandy beaches along the shores

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Quicksand Quicksand, found in different parts of the world, has always caused fear among people. It is generally accepted that this sand, which looks no different from the usual sand nearby, is fraught with a mortal danger for anyone who stands on it.

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This insidious natural trap awaits us at the most pleasant moment in life - during a long-awaited walk along the beach. It is when we are so relaxed and nothing foreshadows trouble. "Den of the Free Wanderer" wishes you an unforgettable vacation and wants to warn you about this danger, which could cost you your life.

Quicksand is a very dangerous phenomenon, and you can get into it completely unexpectedly. There are beaches all over the world that become risky areas at high tide. In the summer you want to walk on the yellow sand, but it suddenly begins to sink in and grab your feet. And you no longer have the opportunity to get out. Panic begins!

How and where do they appear?

The condition for the formation of quicksand is a large source of water located at a depth of one to ten meters. Such sources provoke the shedding of sand. In most cases they are great strength They try to break out, rising as close to the surface as possible and enveloping individual grains of sand with water.

Here's what it looks like schematically:

A loose sandy mass soaked in water forms on the surface, which remains in balance for some time. But if any object hits it, the entire structure collapses, and physical strength trying to bring back the displaced sand. This is why suction occurs.

How to identify quicksand

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.

What to do to avoid falling into quicksand

Bring a stick!

When going for a walk on the beach, take a large stick with you so you can check the ground for quicksand.

Rules of conduct in quicksand

Throw away everything you were carrying in your hands!

If you find yourself in quicksand, try to throw away everything that you had in your hands, for example, a backpack.

Important: When going on such a walk, always wear light shoes, because, for example, boots will only increase the suction.

Do not panic!

Try not to panic or make sudden movements. All active attempts to pull out, for example, a leg will create a vacuum of air. will arise enormous strength, which will further drag your foot into the sand. Your life will depend on your ability to relax at this moment.

Amazing fact: The effort required to lift a leg out of quicksand can be compared to the weight of a car.

Breathe deeply!

Deep breathing will help you stay calm and make you more buoyant.

Lie on your back!

If you are sunk to your hips or higher, bend back. The more you distribute your weight, the harder it will be to sink. Try to slowly and carefully release your legs. In this position, you can try to swim on sand. This way you can maintain balance for a certain time and wait for the arrival of rescuers who know everything about this phenomenon and are actively monitoring the shore in order to come to the rescue in time.

In this video you can see how to get out of quicksand and bogs:

You were walking in the desert, lost your mind and suddenly found yourself in quicksand, quickly sinking to the bottom. Certain death in the mud? Not really. Quicksand is not nearly as dangerous as it looks in the movies, although it is very real. Any sand or silt can temporarily become quick-moving if it is 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 your legs

Reset everything. If you step while wearing a backpack or carrying something heavy, immediately remove the 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 too hard to get out, or you're overloaded with something heavy.

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

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

Take your time. If you are stuck in quicksand, panicking will only harm your attempts to get out. Whatever you do, do it slowly. Slow movements prevent the quicksand from being stirred up: vibrations caused by fast movements 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 unfavorable process and prevent further sinking. 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 free yourself from it.
Part 2
Getting out of deep quicksand
1. Relax. Quicksand is never deeper than a meter, but if you find a particularly deep section, you can quickly sink into waist- or chest-deep sand. If you panic, you may sink even deeper, but if you relax, your body's buoyancy will prevent you from drowning.
  - Breathe deeply. Not only will deep breathing help you stay calm, it will also increase your buoyancy. Fill your lungs as much as possible big amount air. It is impossible to "go to the bottom" if your lungs are full of air.
2. Lie on your back and float. If you are sunk up to your hips or higher, lean back. The more you distribute your weight over the surface, the more difficult it will be for you to sink. Float on your back, slowly and carefully releasing your legs. Once you have them free, you can begin to move carefully towards a safe area, slowly and smoothly moving backwards using arm strokes, as if you were swimming. When you reach the edge of the quicksand, you can roll onto solid ground.
  
  Use a cane. When in an area with quicksand, walk with a cane. When you feel your ankles begin to sink, place the pole on the surface of the quicksand horizontally behind you. Lie on your back on the pole. In a couple of minutes you will achieve balance on the quicksand and stop drowning. Push the pole towards the new position; move it under your hips. The pole will prevent your hips from sinking in, so you can slowly release one leg first and then the other.
  - Remain on your back with your hands and feet touching the quicksand and use a probing pole. Slowly move along both sides of the pole until you reach solid ground.
3. Take frequent breaks. Getting out of quicksand, you may be tired from work.
Part 3
How to Avoid Quicksand

There are still many places on the planet that it is better not to accidentally visit. And you have to be very careful when going there. A good example Such places are quicksand. There are many chilling stories about them. According to some legends, there are sands that can completely swallow a person in a few minutes (the sand dunes between North and South Wales have this reputation). However, in order to die, a lonely traveler in desert places does not have to be dragged headlong. One day, married couple I drove my personal car (an SUV, by the way) onto a seemingly safe sandbank during the ocean's high tide. The wheels immediately sank into the sand. The woman who got out of the car also fell to her knees, where her feet seemed to be squeezed in an iron grip. The husband could not save his wife - the ocean quickly hid her completely.

Researchers have repeatedly taken up the study of the phenomenon of quicksand, and gradually the situation with them became more or less clear. Undoubtedly, 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.

Quicksand is most often found in hilly areas or tidal areas. Moving from the mountains, streams of water move through channels cut inside dolomite and limestone rocks. Somewhere it breaks through a stone and rushes upward in a powerful stream. If a layer of sand is encountered along the way, the flow of water coming from below can turn it into quicksand. The sun dries out 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 does a person fall into quicksand? The point is the resulting structure of the arrangement of 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. The force required to lift a leg in such a situation is comparable to the weight of a car. If the sand were dry, then with slow movement, the air between the grains of sand would first come to the vacated space, and then the sand itself, crumbling, would fill the gap. A person buried even up to his neck in ordinary sand 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 tied up). In quicksand, a viscosity comparable to thick jelly will not allow this to be done.

The density of quicksand is approximately 1.6 times greater than the density of water, but this makes it impossible to swim in it. Due to the high humidity, the sand is viscous, and any attempt to move in it is met with strong resistance. The slowly flowing sand mass does not have time to fill the cavity that appears behind the displaced object, and a rarefaction or vacuum arises in it. The force of atmospheric pressure tends to return the object to its original place - it seems that the sand is “sucking in” its victim. Thus, it is possible to move in quicksand, but only extremely slowly and smoothly, since the mixture of water and sand is inertial with respect to rapid movements: in response to a sudden movement, it seems to harden.

For the formation of quicksand, water must move from bottom to top - which provides a tide or underground flow. In the Sahara Desert, quicksand is formed in the area of the existence of a large underground river, which people did not know about until the beginning of the era of probing the structure of the earth's surface from a satellite. Sometimes, the cause of such a zone may be an earthquake. Or human activity. One day, while trying to drain the construction area of the foundation of a high-rise building, a huge pump sucking water through a well went underground. Builders of buildings and subways in St. Petersburg often encounter quicksand, where the soil is oversaturated with water. In these places they are called quicksand.

Not only lonely travelers or animals become victims of quicksand. There is a place where the sands swallow up ships: the South Foreland cape in England (Goodwin Shoals) is world famous as the “ship graveyard”. On a long sandbank, there are shipwrecks submerged in the sand. The sands hold the victim tenaciously, and it is almost impossible to save the ship, and sometimes the crew. One day, the ship Gelena Modjeska, whose cargo was estimated at $3 million, fell victim to the Goodwin Sands. For four days, eight rescue tugs tried to save the ship, but on the fifth day, the Helena Modjeska broke in half, and the cargo and the ship perished in the sands. And in 1954, in this place, quicksand sucked in an entire lighthouse that warned ships of danger. The tower went completely into the sand.

Quicksand

Warning sign near quicksand

Spreading

Quicksand is located along the shores of seas, lakes and rivers (where rising sources are usually common), but can also occur far from the coast, both on plains and in mountains and deserts.

Notes

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Epimetheus
Vsevolod Bobrov Prize

See what “Quicksand” is in other dictionaries:

quicksand- quicksand - Topics oil and gas industry Synonyms of quicksand EN shifting sand ... Technical Translator's Guide

quicksand- klampsmėlis statusas T sritis ekologija ir aplinkotyra apibrėžtis Priešvėjinėje kopų pašlaitėje pakilus gruntiniam vandeniui susidarantis smėlžemio plotas, ant kurio užėjus klimpstama. atitikmenys: engl. quick sand vok. Triebsand, m rus. unsteady... ... Ekologijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas

Sand- This term has other meanings, see Sand (meanings) ... Wikipedia

Natural sand

Heavy artificial sand- Dunes in Morocco Sand is a sedimentary rock, as well as an artificial material consisting of rock grains. Very often it consists of almost pure quartz mineral (silicon dioxide substance). The word “sand” is often used in the plural... ... Wikipedia

ZIBUCHYY- ZIBUCHY, ah, her; uch. 1. Same as unsteady (1 value) (obsolete). 2. About the soil: bog, marshy; sucking. A quicksand swamp. Z. sand. | noun unsteadiness, and, female Dictionary Ozhegova. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

sand- barren (Bryusov); flammable (Kozlov, Pushkin, Khomyakov); yellow red (Balmont); yellow (Balmont, Frug); evil (Sologub); golden (Lermontov); unsteady (Velichko); quicksilver (Serafimovich); mute (Bryusov); acute (Andreev); rudo yellow (Meln.... ... Dictionary of epithets

quicksand- ah, her; butch, a, e. = Unsteady (1 digit). Zie swamps. Z. sand. ◁ Quickly, adv. Fluctuation, and; and. Z. soil... encyclopedic Dictionary

quicksand- ah, her; bu/h, a, e. see also. unsteady, unsteady = unsteady 1) Zie swamps. Quicksand … Dictionary of many expressions