GeoNow! About Quicksand ☺️

Hello back again with me in this blog. I will explain to you something fresh about natural phenomenon.

YUPS! It's QUICKSAND

First, What is Quicksand?

Quicksand is a mixture of sand and water, or sand and air, that looks solid, but becomes unstable when disturbed by any additional stress.

Quicksand can be defined as solid ground that has been liquefied by a saturation of water.

If you step into quicksand, it won't suck you down. However, your movements will cause you to dig yourself deeper into it. In this blog, we will learn how quicksand forms, where it's found and how you can escape its clutches if you find yourself hip-deep in it.

How Quicksand forms?

Quicksand is created when water saturates an area of loose sand and the ordinary sand is agitated. When the water trapped in the batch of sand can't escape, it creates liquefied soil that can no longer support weight. There are two ways in which sand can become agitated enough to create quicksand:

• Flowing underground water - The force of the upward water flow opposes the force of gravity, causing the granules of sand to be more buoyant.
• Earthquakes - The force of the shaking ground can increase the pressure of shallow groundwater, which liquefies sand and silt deposits. The liquefied surface loses strength, causing buildings or other objects on that surface to sink or fall over.

Where it's found ?

Quicksand can occur in almost any location where water is present, there are certain locations where it's more prevalent. Places where quicksand is most likely to occur include:

• Riverbanks
• Beaches
• Lake shorelines
• Near underground springs
• Marshes

The next time you're at the beach, notice the difference in the sand as you stand on different parts of the beach that have varying levels of moisture. If you stand on the driest part of the beach, the sand holds you up just fine. If you move closer to the water, you'll notice that the sand that is moderately wet is even more tightly packed than the dry sand. 

How to Escape?!

• Make yourself as light as possible—toss your bag, jacket, and shoes.
• Try to take a few steps backwards.
• Keep your arms up and out of the quicksand.
• Try to reach for a branch or person’s hand to pull yourself out.
• Take deep breaths.
• Move slowly and deliberately.  
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• That's all about Quicksand. Hopefully this article can educate you though a little.
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• See you in the next article