Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl was a series of destructive wind and dust storms that struck the United States during the 1920’s and 1930’s. These storms ranked among the worst environmental disasters in world history. Most of the damage occurred from 1929 –1932 in the southern Great Plains, and so this area also became known as the Dust Bowl. Altogether, the storms damaged about 50 million acres of land, mainly in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. An additional 50 million acres were endangered before conservation measures began to take effect.

The soil of the Dust Bowl had become dry and loose by the early 1930’s. This occurred partly because much of the area’s natural grassland was converted to wheat land during the early 1900’s. But the wheat, as it was grown then, did not adequately protect the ground against winds. In addition, the remaining grasslands were destroyed through the grazing of too much livestock. Furthermore, a drought that lasted seven years began in 1931. Therefore, the soil was easily eroded and blown when strong winds whipped through the region.

Dust storms had struck the Great Plains before, but they were never as large and destructive as those of the 1930’s were. One of the first major storms struck in May 1930. It carried about 350 million short tons of dirt all the way to the East Coast. About 40 big storms swept through the Dust Bowl in 1932, with dust often reducing visibility to less than a mile. Most of the storms came in the spring. At that time, the snow had melted, the winds were unusually strong, and the new crops were not big enough to hold the soil.

Many people and animals caught in the open during the storms had their lungs badly damaged or became lost. Dirt had to be shoveled out of houses and away from barn door. Cars and farm machines were ruined. The region's agricultural economy was wrecked as farmers could find little to harvest. One of the most dramatic results was the mass departure of thousands of bankrupt and discouraged farm families, many of whom went to California to seek a better life.

The federal government sent aid to the Dust Bowl. The Soil Conservation Service, who was set up in 1933, taught farmers ways to slow erosion and protect the soil. In addition, more than 18,5000 miles of tree were planted in small belts to break the force of the winds. As the crisis passed, however, many farmers abandoned the protective farming methods. During droughts in the 1950’s and the 1970’s, dust storms again damaged the region. Its primary area of impact was on the southern Plains and lasted about a decade. The northern Plains were not so badly effected, although the drought, windblown dust and agricultural decline, effected the north enormously. The agricultural devastation helped to lengthen the Depression whose effects were worldwide. The movement of people on the Plains was also profound.