Sinking Locations For Everyone... With your help??

[triclopse]

I found a place here in the UK the other day, I can't add it to the map, but it you follow the road from 52.722205, -1.986192 to 52.727500, -1.974781 you should find it. There's a large dip in the land just by the side of the road, with a shallow stream running through. The area is mostly woodland, the ground is mostly silt with a layer of plants at the top holding it together. If you step lightly enough you can walk on most of it but in some spots I was able to sink to mid thigh easily. There is a railway line that goes past the area, as shown on the map, so that's something to take into account, also there are a few patches of nettles and thorns, but they're not too difficult to avoid.

[Boggy Man]

hey guys and gals, looking for any info on some good sinking spots around Edmonton, AB. even areas of interest would be handy as i have had no luck recently in locating anything. any help would be greatly appreciated!

The good spots are outside of Edmonton. For starters, I know of quicksand in Elk Island National Park, east of Edmonton. However, you would have to search for places, with cleanup areas, that are out of sight of any trails. The Hayburger Trail passes by the edge of at least one (very visible) area with quicksand (soapholes or quicksand springs), although it is technically quickclay. Here is a video of one guy who got too close to a soft spot (last 1/3 of video is a replay without music):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VMMMoBJjTs

I believe this is the meadow, with the quicksand on the extension on the northeast side, bordering the west side of the trail(damn, Google HAD to update the maps with winter imagery ):

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.6150828,-112.8515301,464m/data=!3m1!1e3

Exploration could yield similar places in meadows that are away from trails.

I only had the opportunity to visit the park once, and as luck would have it, there just HAD to be a forest fire in that exact area, I believe the previous season, and the Hayburger Trail and an adjacent trail were closed, with legal penalties for anyone trying to access that area, since the burned out area was hazardous to the public (falling trees), and they regularly patrolled that area. They had a court document making it illegal to access the area, posted in an info area. I wound up exploring other areas, but recent storms had flooded everything under 1 to 2 feet or more of water (I believe one of the storms had resulted in a waterfall of water pouring into West Edmonton Mall).

I have had luck exploring areas around Edson, finding quicksand that was even over waist deep in places along Wolf Creek, south of the highway. I didn't have much luck with the oxbow lakes in this map, but the creek had quicksand in places shown on that map:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5628112,-116.2231614,1859m/data=!3m1!1e3

I have never checked this spot out, but it looks intriguing, due to the wrinkles as if the ground is slowly being spread apart:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5646974,-116.1835827,930m/data=!3m1!1e3

As does this spot, especially since it looks like it is spring-fed, due to a tiny stream leaving it to the northwest, but none entering it:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4789309,-116.2925957,466m/data=!3m1!1e3

The adjacent stream to the northwest and boggy area to the north and east and northeast look interesting as well:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4828862,-116.2991966,1863m/data=!3m1!1e3

Further to the west, I found an area where two pipeline corridors meet, and at that junction, is a bog that is bouncy from a layer of sticks under the peat mud, with some spots missing the layer of sticks, where you can sink yourself under! There is a "Pipeline Abandonment" sign in the middle of the bog, meaning that the pipeline must have been abandoned there for some reason, possibly unstable(soft) ground? The decomposing sticks in that bog really make it bubbly! Try to avoid the gravel pit, since it is private property, and you could get in trouble if caught (no mud there anyways):

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5532549,-116.7220214,232m/data=!3m1!1e3

Nearby, to the northeast, the boggy area looks interesting, and I wish I had explored it when I was there:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5564815,-116.7157571,465m/data=!3m1!1e3

The nearby stream looks interesting in spots, and you can see two obvious, and perhaps more, mud (likely clay) bars exposed:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5545886,-116.7082791,465m/data=!3m1!1e3

On the northeast part of the first sharp bend in the stream, is a large clay mud bar of unknown depth. It looked intriguing, and had some low dips in it with algae, as if some things sunk into it. I never tried it out because of its proximity to the highway, although if I kept myself low enough, I might have been out of sight of the traffic. It just might be more hidden now, if the willows to the north have continued to grow:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5612201,-116.7402422,232m/data=!3m1!1e3

There is a much larger mudbar on the east side of the stream on the north side of the highway, but there is nothing to hide it from view of the traffic.

This area looks very intriguing, especially where the pipeline corridor goes through the marshy, boggy area! The white areas intrigue me, both inside and outside (left/west of) the pipeline corridor, as does the other wrinkles in the wetlands, and features of the pond:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5294232,-116.6348355,1861m/data=!3m1!1e3

Generally, there are countless areas like these to explore, some which are even closer to Edmonton. The pipeline corridors that run through boggy areas could offer great potential due to the ground being dug up and refilled, but not completely packed. Streams, creeks and rivers could have mud/quicksand bars/banks, and you just have to find places that aren't populated (one corner of the McLeod River had a huge mudbank on its eastern shore, but was just in view of residence(s) on the opposite shoreline further to the west). The wrinkled bogs look like super slow slumping, and perhaps some might harbor deep quagmire, while others, multiple cleanup spots. Look for places where streams seem to appear from out of nowhere, since the water is likely to be coming out of the ground.

I hope that this helps, and I wish you luck in exploring this season, and perhaps you could report back your findings!

[muddypup]

Thanks for all the info and links BoggyMan! will definitely be doing some exploring here in the next couple months

[stefani_tg]

I found a place here in the UK the other day, I can't add it to the map, but it you follow the road from 52.722205, -1.986192 to 52.727500, -1.974781 you should find it. There's a large dip in the land just by the side of the road, with a shallow stream running through. The area is mostly woodland, the ground is mostly silt with a layer of plants at the top holding it together. If you step lightly enough you can walk on most of it but in some spots I was able to sink to mid thigh easily. There is a railway line that goes past the area, as shown on the map, so that's something to take into account, also there are a few patches of nettles and thorns, but they're not too difficult to avoid.

cudnt fig out where tht ws on map... can u use a uk google map pls?

[Boggy Man]

Thanks for all the info and links BoggyMan! will definitely be doing some exploring here in the next couple months

You're welcome!

Be certain to take into account high water levels in the spring if there was lots of snow during the winter, and if there were heavy thunderstorms (thunderstorms can also adversely affect summer water levels). If places are flooded when you explore them, return later in the season to see if mud is exposed then. BTW, while quicksand could be found at Wolf Creek on both sides, I only checked out the west side, and played in some qs banks there.

[bart1997]

...

[crow]

Is there anything in between Dallas TX and Shreveport LA?

[Boggy Man]

Muddypup:

Another place in central Alberta to consider is the upper part of the McLeod River west of Edson, later in the season when the water levels are low. The area there just screams quicksand! For example, here is a zoomed-in view of one prospective place at low water levels that, based on its appearance and on my experience, should be an absolute certainty for containing quicksand! Look at where that small stream goes through that sand bank, and how that sand bank quickly drops off into deep water at that stream exit! A sure indication of an extremely deep deposit of loose sediment! Scroll around, zoom out, scroll around, zoom in, explore all along that river, find access routes to interesting areas, and then make plans to go there once water levels are known to be lower!

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4904122 ... a=!3m1!1e3

[Fred588]

I will say at the outset that I have never been there, but the Red River has been reported as having deposits of quicksand. A factor that seems to lend itself to formation of real quicksand (or at least that is frequently associated with it) is fairly rapid and frequent changes in water level or flow. This leads, I believe, to formation of thick layers of sand or silt and also tends to charge the sand with water. I think this is why quicksand is often found along rivers that flood frequently and then fall to near-dry conditions, and also in tidal areas that are nearly flat and experience a tidal bore or just a very dramatic rises and fall with each tide. This applies, of course, only to true quick sand and not to the formation of deep clay or peat deposits. My non-scientific opinion only.

Is there anything in between Dallas TX and Shreveport LA?

[muddypup]

Muddypup:

Another place in central Alberta to consider is the upper part of the McLeod River west of Edson, later in the season when the water levels are low. The area there just screams quicksand! For example, here is a zoomed-in view of one prospective place at low water levels that, based on its appearance and on my experience, should be an absolute certainty for containing quicksand! Look at where that small stream goes through that sand bank, and how that sand bank quickly drops off into deep water at that stream exit! A sure indication of an extremely deep deposit of loose sediment! Scroll around, zoom out, scroll around, zoom in, explore all along that river, find access routes to interesting areas, and then make plans to go there once water levels are known to be lower!

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4904122 ... a=!3m1!1e3

thanks for the extra tip and exploring areas! will definitely be checking this one out later on in the season.