The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was a severe environmental disaster during the 1930s in which drought and poor farming practices caused massive dust storms across the American Great Plains, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
Compounding the economic devastation of the Great Depression with an environmental catastrophe of its own making, this ecological disaster forced hundreds of thousands of families to abandon their farms entirely.
Drought and Poor Farming Practices
The Dust Bowl resulted from a combination of severe drought and poor farming practices that had stripped the Great Plains of protective natural vegetation.
Massive Dust Storms
Massive dust storms, sometimes called "black blizzards," swept across the region, burying farms, homes, and equipment under enormous quantities of soil.
Mass Displacement
The disaster forced hundreds of thousands of families, often called "Okies" regardless of their actual state of origin, to abandon their farms and migrate west in search of work.
Prompting Conservation Reforms
The Dust Bowl prompted significant government conservation reforms, including new soil conservation practices designed to prevent similar disasters in the future.
