I would imagine both. Using quicksand as an example, you could find it in deserts or use the appropriate ingredients to create quicksand from scratch.
Quicksand would be a lot of fun. And you shouldn't be able to jump out of it easily, say a max 1 block high jump as quicksand gives when you try to push out of it. It'll make running across it rather risky. You should constantly sink but at a slower rate than water. You should then start suffocating when it covers your head just like in Terraria when sand falls on you. This should definately be used on desert planets to make them dangerous but they should be resource rich to balance out the risk. I can picture it already, you're running across the desert giving the occasional hop when *zip*! you're below the surface suffocating . This must definately be harvestable, I want to use it outside my base as a welcome mat.