In the early 20th century, farmers on the Great Plains, driven by high wheat prices, saw a chance for prosperity. Using new mechanized tractors, they could turn over 50 acres of native prairie a day, far more than with horses. They stripped millions of acres of ancient buffalo grass, whose deep roots had held the soil together for centuries. In its place, they planted wheat, leaving vast fields of loose, exposed dirt. For a decade, unusually high rainfall created the illusion of a new farming paradise. But when the Great Depression hit and wheat prices collapsed, desperate farmers plowed even more land, unaware they were creating the conditions for an unprecedented ecological disaster.
The Dust Bowl
In the 1930s, drought and the over-ploughing of the Great Plains led to huge dust storms, Black Sunday, mass migration west and new federal soil conservation programmes.
Chapter 1
The Great Plow-Up
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Frequently Asked Questions
What caused the Dust Bowl?
The Dust Bowl was caused by a combination of factors. Decades of intensive farming during the 'Great Plow-Up' stripped millions of acres of native grasses from the Great Plains, which had deep roots that held the soil in place. When a severe drought struck in 1931, this over-plowed topsoil turned to a dry powder that the wind easily lifted into devastating dust storms.
What was 'Black Sunday'?
Black Sunday refers to a massive dust storm on April 14, 1935. A wall of dust a thousand feet high swept across the region at 60 miles per hour, turning a sunny afternoon into total darkness. The storm displaced an estimated 300 million tons of topsoil in a single day. The day after, a reporter coined the term 'Dust Bowl' to describe the devastated area.
How did the Dust Bowl end?
The Dust Bowl began to end with a combination of government intervention and the return of rain. The U.S. government launched the Great Plains Shelterbelt project, planting 220 million trees to act as windbreaks and hold the soil. The decade-long drought finally broke in 1939, allowing for agricultural recovery.
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