DUST BOWL DISASTER
Why were the southern US plains host to such huge and intense dust storms in the 1930s?
America’s Great Plains were overwhelmed by sandstorms in the 1930s. What went wrong?
During the 1930s, the Great Plains of the US – an expanse of grassy flatland which lies between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains – were transformed. Economic downturn, agricultural factors, federal policies and extreme weather turned the area into a drought-ridden desert. The resulting dust storms would spread over 27 states, and by 1939 over 75 per cent of topsoil would be lost to erosion.
Originally the plains were home to semi-arid grasslands, but the Homestead Act of 1862, along with subsequent similar laws, handed settlers 160 acres of land. The grasses were ploughed, and dry non-native wheat was planted. Over successive decades, severe environmental damage began to occur. During the 1920s, the desire from farmers to battle the Great Depression by increasing their crop load led to further devastation, as marginal lands were ploughed and soil conservation practices abandoned.
In 1931 the first major drought occurred, turning the land to dust. The strong winds in the area created devastating dust clouds that would cover entire homes and farms. Numerous livelihoods were destroyed due to the Dust Bowl, and families were forced to migrate west, becoming labourers. In 1935, following a series of terrifying storms, reporter Robert E. Geiger visited the region and described in detail what he saw. It was Geiger who, upon seeing the damage done to the region, coined the term Dust Bowl. From that point on, Geiger’s phrase would be used to describe the worst affected area during arguably America’s worst drought.
Following these events, and faced with an increasing number of rural farming families struggling in poverty and in need of assistance, the US government enacted a series of laws to attempt to halt both the drought and the poverty it was causing. By
1939 the first rains began to fall, but the memory of the Dust Bowl and the chaos it caused remains.
“The resulting dust storms would spread over 27 states, and by 1939 over 75 per cent of topsoil would be lost to erosion”