The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was the name given to the Great Plains region devastated by
drought in 1930s depression-ridden America. The 150,000-square-mile area,
encompassing the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and neighboring sections of
Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico, has little rainfall, light soil, and high
winds, a potentially destructive combination. When drought struck from 1934 to
1937, the soil lacked the stronger root system of grass as an anchor, so the
winds easily picked up the loose topsoil and swirled it into dense dust clouds,
called "black blizzards." Recurrent dust storms wreaked havoc, choking cattle
and pasture lands and driving 60 percent of the population from the region. Most
of these "exodusters" went to agricultural areas first and then to cities,
especially in the far West.
drought in 1930s depression-ridden America. The 150,000-square-mile area,
encompassing the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and neighboring sections of
Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico, has little rainfall, light soil, and high
winds, a potentially destructive combination. When drought struck from 1934 to
1937, the soil lacked the stronger root system of grass as an anchor, so the
winds easily picked up the loose topsoil and swirled it into dense dust clouds,
called "black blizzards." Recurrent dust storms wreaked havoc, choking cattle
and pasture lands and driving 60 percent of the population from the region. Most
of these "exodusters" went to agricultural areas first and then to cities,
especially in the far West.
An explination of the video:
Farmers who lived in the plains used plows to plow to plant wheat. The wheat was in great demand due to the war in Europe. The land was already in bad shape because of droughts and erosion. The plowing did not help the land any more than it was before. In 1930 the winds picked up five million tons of soil from the plains and blew into Wichita, Kansas. Another five billion swept from Montana to Mississippi. Three million people were affected by this dust storm. A few simple rules could have prevented the Dust Bowl of 1930.
Farmers who lived in the plains used plows to plow to plant wheat. The wheat was in great demand due to the war in Europe. The land was already in bad shape because of droughts and erosion. The plowing did not help the land any more than it was before. In 1930 the winds picked up five million tons of soil from the plains and blew into Wichita, Kansas. Another five billion swept from Montana to Mississippi. Three million people were affected by this dust storm. A few simple rules could have prevented the Dust Bowl of 1930.