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The Dust bowl

The Dust bowl. Before After. Causes. Over cultivation of the Great Plains Tractors and Threshers 1830s 58 hrs to plant and harvest one acre with a horse drawn plow 1930s3 hrs with a tractor Topsoil 6 feet deep

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The Dust bowl

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  1. The Dust bowl

  2. Before After

  3. Causes • Over cultivation of the Great Plains • Tractors and Threshers • 1830s58 hrs to plant and harvest one acre with a horse drawn plow • 1930s3 hrs with a tractor • Topsoil 6 feet deep • Drought (1930s), high winds, and over cultivation (grass turned over) cause millions of tons of top soil to be carried into the winds.

  4. Causes (continued) • Drought: • In 1931, rainfall amounts begin to drop and summer temperatures are often above 100° • Drought conditions worsen throughout decade, normal rainfall does not return until 1939

  5. Human toll • People were affected by the following: • Devastation of their cropland • Respiratory health issues • Unsanitary living • Rampant crime • Debt-ridden families

  6. Dust Bowl • Took place in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. • Severe droughts and dust storms. • 60% of the population leaves the region.

  7. Black Sunday • On April 14, 1935, known as "Black Sunday", • Twenty of the worst "Black Blizzards" occurred throughout the Dust Bowl • Turned day to night. • Witnesses could not see five feet in front of them.

  8. Black Sunday (con.) • At times the clouds blackened the sky reaching all the way to East Coast • Cities such as New York and Washington, D.C. • Much of the soil ended up deposited in the Atlantic Ocean.

  9. Dust Bowl Exodus • The Dust Bowl Exodus was the largest migration in American history within a short period of time. • By 1940, 2.5 million people had moved out of the Plains states; of those, 200,000 moved to California.

  10. Okies • Many farm families were forced to leave due to foreclosure and barren land. • Okies - Migrants left farms in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico

  11. Legacy • Over 300,000 people left Great Plains - mostly for west coast • Plains continue to be an environmentally sensitive area • Dust Bowl refugees meet with hardship and mistrust in new homes • US Government sees importance of preventing environmental disasters

  12. Dust Bowl Art

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