NextPrevious

Earth

Land

What is quicksand?

Quicksand is a mass of sand and mud that contains a large amount of water. A thin film separates individual grains of sand so the mixture has the characteristics of a liquid. Quicksand is found at the mouths of large rivers or other areas that have a constant source of water. Heavy objects, including humans, can sink when encountering quicksand and the mixture collapses. However, since the density of the sand/water mix is slightly greater than the density of the human body, most humans can actually float on quicksand.



Close

This is a web preview of the "The Handy Science Answer Book" app. Many features only work on your mobile device. If you like what you see, we hope you will consider buying. Get the App