HowStuffWorks<\/a> stated that “Quicksand is an interesting natural phenomenon — it is actually solid ground that has been liquefied by saturation of water.” The term quick is a description of how the sand shifts or moves easily, especially when something or someone disturbs it.<\/p>\nTo make it all simple, quicksand is nothing but a semi-liquid mixture of sand and water. This means that it is basically a solid ground of soil or sand that has been saturated and liquefied by water.<\/p>\n
Quicksand is commonly found in lake shorelines, marshes, beaches, riverbanks, and areas within the vicinity of underground springs. There are two reasons why quicksands are formed.<\/p>\n
First, when an earthquake happens, it can accelerate the pressure of groundwater, which then liquefies the soil and turns it into quicksand. Second, the flowing underground water opposes gravitational force and makes the sand granules more buoyant.<\/p>\n
So, are quicksands wet or dry? Generally, they are wet because of the water saturation. But, there is also the so-called dry quicksand, which is said to be found in deserts.<\/p>\n
In the Netherlands, a physicist named Detlef Lohse and his colleagues studied how dry quicksand could occur. They concluded that dry quicksand is a result of the sedimentation of sand and having it blown with air.<\/p>\n