doodlequick

Fact sheet · updated

WHAT THE SCIENCE AND COASTGUARD SAY

You float.
The tide does not wait.

Quicksand will not swallow you. It will hold on.

Check a move
Wide tidal mudflats at low tide, glistening wet sand and silver channels stretching towards a distant shoreline under a pale sky
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

CALL 999ask for the Coastguard

Physicists found that quicksand is about twice as dense as the human body, so you cannot sink all the way under. But once disturbed it packs tight around your legs, and on the coast an incoming tide turns being stuck into an emergency.

At a glance

≈ 2× denser

Quicksand compared with the human body

Quicksand has a density of about 2 grams per millilitre and the human body about 1. That is why researchers concluded a person cannot be drawn completely under.

DENSITY · NATURE STUDY, 2005

≈ 10,000 N

Needed to pull a trapped foot free

The researchers estimated the force to extract a foot at a centimetre a second at about ten thousand newtons, similar to lifting a family car.

FORCE · NATURE STUDY, 2005

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Heavier than you,
harder to leave.

One figure on why you float,
one on why you stay put.

Real coastal mud can behave differently from laboratory quicksand. HM Coastguard reports an angler who, after an hour of trying to get free, had sunk to just above his chest as the tide came in.

A QUICK SAFETY CHECK

Stuck in mud or sand:
what helps?

Pick a reaction to see what the science and HM Coastguard say about it. The bar shows how risky it is.

Based on HM Coastguard safety advice and a 2005 study of quicksand published in Nature, as reported by National Geographic.

Safety check

Choose a reaction
Stay calm, lean back, spread your weightThe Coastguard's advice

Sit or lean back to spread your weight across the surface and avoid moving, then call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

Thrash about to get freeYou sink further

Movement liquefies the sand around you, so struggling makes you sink faster. The Coastguard warns that flailing can take you deeper.

Have a friend pull you outStop them

Pulling a foot out at a centimetre a second takes force like lifting a medium-sized car, and would-be helpers can get stuck too. Wait for trained teams.

Wait it out as the tide turnsCall 999 now

Being unable to escape a rising tide is the threat to life. Call the Coastguard immediately rather than leaving it too late.

Sources: HM Coastguard safety spotlight and mud and quicksand safety tips; National Geographic report on the 2005 Nature quicksand study.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Not deadly by itself,
dangerous by the sea.

The film version gets it backwards.
The real risks are the grip and the tide.

THE SCIENCE

Too dense to drown in

Quicksand has a density of about 2 grams per millilitre, roughly twice that of a person. A study in Nature found you would sink to about the waist, but no further.

See the numbers

THE GRIP

Why you cannot pull free

Disturbing quicksand makes it runny, so you sink, then the sand settles into a dense, stodgy layer packed around your legs. Pulling against it takes enormous force.

How it works

THE TIDE

The real danger

Quicksand and soft mud are mostly found near the sea. If you are stuck when the tide comes in, you could drown, so call 999 and ask for the Coastguard straight away.

Check a move
A lone walker far away on a narrow strip of sand as shallow water from the incoming tide spreads around it at sunset
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

FOUR HABITS FOR THE COAST

Enjoy the shore,
skip the rescue.

HM Coastguard teams carry out mud rescues often, including for people who know the coast well. These habits come from their advice.

  1. Check the tide and weather

    Look up tide times and the forecast before you go, and leave extra time in case.

  2. Read the warning signs

    Follow local signs. The area between the tides can hide pockets of soft mud you will not see until you are stuck.

  3. Avoid crossing estuaries

    Walking through mud and estuaries risks hidden channels of fast-flowing water as well as soft ground.

  4. Carry a charged phone

    If you or someone else gets stuck, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard straight away.

HOW QUICKSAND WORKS

A house of cards
made of sand.

Quicksand is fine sand, clay and salt water. At rest the grains sit in a loose structure, like a house of cards, with water-filled gaps held together by clay. Stepping on it turns the clay runny, and the structure collapses.

The salt then makes clay particles clump and settle with the sand, leaving a stodgy layer about twice as dense as before, packed around whatever sank into it. That is the grip you feel.

A walker's boots pressing down into wet, glistening grey mud with water lapping around them at the edge of a tidal channel
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Questions

Questions people ask

Can quicksand pull you under?

No. Research published in Nature in 2005 found quicksand is about twice as dense as a person, so you would sink to around waist depth but not further. Soft coastal mud can still trap you deeply.

Why is it so hard to get out?

Once disturbed, the sand settles into a dense layer around your legs. Researchers estimated that pulling a foot out at a centimetre a second needs force similar to lifting a car.

What should I do if I get stuck?

HM Coastguard says to stay calm, spread your weight as much as possible and avoid moving. Call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

Should someone try to pull me out?

No. The Coastguard advises discouraging others from helping, because without the right equipment they could get stuck too. Its rescue teams train specially for mud rescues.

Where is quicksand found in the UK?

Parts of the UK coastline, including beaches, can have soft ground such as mud or quicksand, especially around low-lying water, tidal areas and estuaries. Check local warning signs.

Sources

Where the facts come from

  1. National Geographic: Quicksand science, why it traps and how to escape (2005)
  2. The Naked Scientists: What is quicksand? (2007)
  3. HM Coastguard: Safety spotlight, stuck in the mud and caught out by the tide
  4. HM Coastguard: Visiting the coast? Don't become a stick-in-the-mud
  5. HM Coastguard: Stuck in the mud, an experience I never want again

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