The Dust bowl

The Dust Bowl was a series of severe dust storms in the Great Plains during the 1930s, in which millions of pounds of dirt was swept up by the wind creating dark clouds of dust.

Human causes:*settlement of the West, encouraged by the Homestead Act*industrialization*poor knowledge of soil and water by farmers and policy makers*removal of native prarie grass*unsustainable farming practices, like burning the soil

The Dust Bowl

Storms ravaged Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska, affecting approximately 100,000,000 acres of land. Millions of pounds of dust was deposited in eastern cities as far away as Washington, D.C., and Chicago.

Environmental causes:• record high temperatures• record low rainfall• abnormalities in sea surface temperatures

Mitigation efforts:• Establishment of the Soil Conservation Service in 1935• Government purchases of 10 million acres, converting them to grasslands• Government purchases of starving livestock

Impact:• health complications • millions of acres of destroyed farmland• destroyed livelihood of farmers• destruction of soil composition • a growing need for food amidst economic depression

Prevention• Sustainable agricultural practices, like cover crops and irrigation

By Jenny Drabble

Left: Dust clouds envelope houses in the plains. Below: People wear masks to protect their lungs from dust.