How to find water in the wild if there is no water source? What kind of water cannot be drunk?
1. Finding and Purifying Drinking Water: Generally speaking, in various areas, the growth and distribution of vegetation and the presence of birds, animals and insects can often provide some clues for finding water sources.
In many arid deserts and Gobi areas, bushes such as tamarisk and bellthorn grow. These plants tell us that there is groundwater 6 to 7 meters below the surface here; where there are Populus euphratica forests, It points out that the groundwater level is only 5 to 10 meters from the surface; Splendens splendens indicates that the groundwater is about 2 meters below the surface; lush reeds indicate that the groundwater level is only about 1 meter; if you find wet-loving plants such as Jindaidai and Malanthus, you will know that this place is You can find groundwater by digging down about 50 centimeters or about 1 meter. We can also learn about the water quality of groundwater from plants. If we see flora such as Malanthus, orchids, we can conclude that there is fresh water in places that are not too deep.
In the south, deep-rooted and leafy bamboo bushes not only grow on the banks of rivers, but also often grow in large karst fissures and sinkhole entrances related to underground rivers. For example, in many karst valleys and depressions in Guangxi, clusters or independent bamboo bushes are often signs of large sinkholes. Some of these sinkholes can see water directly at the entrance, while others cannot see water at the entrance. But as long as you go deeper, you can often find underground water.
In addition, where groundwater is buried, the soil is moist, and ants, snails, crabs, etc. like to make nests and live here; in winter, frogs and snakes usually fly around in columnar shapes here.
Due to the widespread distribution and flow of water in nature, especially surface water flowing through a wide area, it is generally difficult to ensure that water sources are not contaminated. If you have a map, pay attention to whether there are mines upstream of the water source. If there are mines, the water source may be contaminated by minerals. If the stones in the river are unusually dark red or yellow, it is best not to drink the river water. If there are no fish or other creatures to live in, you need to be even more cautious.
Usually, rainwater can be drank directly. When it rains, a large amount of rainwater can be collected with ponchos and plastic sheets. Use empty cans, cups, helmets and other containers to collect rainwater. Place them on clean stones, not on the ground. If the rain is heavy, the mud on the ground will splash into the water-collecting containers.
In the wild, it is best not to drink water flowing from weeds, but to drink clear water flowing from cliffs, cracks or rocks. When drinking water from rivers or lakes, you can dig a small pit in the sand one or two meters away from the water's edge. The water seeping out of the pit is cleaner than the water extracted directly from rivers and lakes.
Finally, remember that no matter how thirsty you are, do not drink unclean water to prevent germs from entering the body through drinking water. This is especially important in tropical jungle areas. As a last resort, be sure to boil the water before drinking it.
2. Desalination of seawater: At the seaside, if there is no ion exchange resin for desalination, seawater can be boiled in a pot to collect distilled water to desalinize seawater. When boiling seawater, put a towel on the inside of the pot lid, absorb the distilled water droplets on the towel, and then twist it into a large shell or other container. By repeating this process, you can get the required drinkable fresh water.
In winter, seawater can be frozen in a container. When seawater freezes, most of the salt dissolved in the water crystallizes out of the water, so the ice is essentially desalinated. Heat unfrozen water, that is, concentrated salt water, in a pot. After boiling it dry, crystallized salt can be obtained, which can then be spread on paper to remove the bitterness to obtain table salt.
In the vast Gobi desert in northwest my country, where there are plants, underground water is usually found by digging 4 to 5 meters deep. The water is filtered through the sand layer and is generally clear and transparent. However, due to the large amount of evaporation and concentration of groundwater, it becomes saline water and is not drinkable. If there is no ion exchange resin desalting agent, the above seawater desalination method can be used for drinking.
In areas with wet sand or brackish water, a simple solar still can be used to obtain fresh water. The method is to dig a sand pit with a diameter of 1.5 meters and a depth of 1 meter, cover it with a transparent plastic film, fix it with sand or stones around it, and put a small stone in the middle to make the plastic film form an inverted cone. Place a water container on top of the cone in advance. Sunlight passes through the plastic film to evaporate the water in the sand pit. When the water vapor encounters the plastic film, it condenses into water droplets and drips along the top of the cone into the container. This method can obtain about 1.5 liters of distilled fresh water every day.
3. Thirst-quenching plants and emergency thirst-quenching methods: There are many plants in the mountains that can be used to quench thirst, such as the sap of black birch and white birch in the north, the young strips of mountain grape, and the rhizomes of Physalis japonica in the south. banana stems, pole vines, etc.
In early spring in the north, drill a small hole 3 to 4 cm deep in the birch tree pole, insert a thin tube (can be made of birch bark), and flow the sap into the container through this small hole. Up to 1 to 2 liters per night. Birch sap ferments quickly in the air and should be consumed immediately.
The pole vine in the dense forests of the southwestern frontier is named after its shape that resembles a pole. It is a perennial plant, usually wrapped around the trunk of a tree. The vine is about 5 to 6 meters long. The surface of the vine is gray-white, and the leaves are dark green. The leaves are about 3 to 4 cm wide, oval in shape, and slightly thicker than ordinary leaves. After cutting the vine, you can see the broken marks of small tendons, and drinking water will soon flow out. Dai hunters living in Xishuangbanna usually do not bring a kettle with them when they go into the mountains, but rely on the water in this natural kettle to quench their thirst.
There is also a kind of water-storing bamboo in the tropical jungle. This kind of bamboo usually grows on both sides of the ravine. It is about 10 cm in diameter, green and tall, and the bamboo joints are about 50 cm long. When choosing bamboo to find water, you should first shake the bamboo pole to listen for the sound of water inside. Bamboo that does not make the sound of water does not need to be cut. In addition, check whether there are insect holes on the surface of the bamboo joints. Do not drink the water in the bamboo joints with insect holes. The way to draw water is to cut a hole in one end of a bamboo joint and pour the water into a bowl. You can also cut a thin bamboo tube and insert it into the bamboo tube to suck. The water in the bamboo joints is hygienic and has a faint bamboo fragrance.
If you can’t find a plant to quench your thirst, there is an extremely easy way to get water. You can put a plastic bag on the branch and tie the mouth of the bag tightly. More and more water will evaporate from the tree. Using this method, the daily water intake can reach about 15 kilograms. You can also use plastic sheeting to collect dew. From midnight to dawn, the temperature gradually drops, which can quench your thirst. Monkeys and squirrels in the mountains and forests come out at dawn to lick the dew on the leaves during the dry season. You might as well give this a try.