The Dust Bowl

One cause of the Dust Bowl was that new mechanized farming techniques made the lighter topsoil blow away by the wind in periods of drought. In the mid 1920s there was a serious drought. The wind was strong enough to gather millions of tons of dirt into a giant dust cloud, that then moved around the plains, destroying farms and lives.

The Dust Bowl destroyed farms

Farmers couldn't grow crops because of the lack of fertile soil. Also, the small amount of crops they did grow were eaten by rabbits that came down from the mountains.

Over 50million acres of land were damaged and destroyed during the Dust Bowl. Dust storms carried millions of tons of dirt from one location to another. People who were caught in the storms where forced to breathe in the dusty air, which caused many health problems and even death.

Dust People

Peoples lives were difficult because of the dust storms. They were forced to give their land to banks and the government because they didn't have the money to keep it.

People effected by storms

The Dust Bowl was a terrible event in American history, and it destroyed the lives of millions.