Why did the Dust Bowl develop?

Answer 1

The Great Plains states were hit by a series of droughts in the 1930s. Agricultural tilling of the soil had removed ground cover and broken up the soil. Drought dried it up. Winds carried small soil particles off in enormous clouds, moving them hundreds of miles. Less dramatic in photos, but maybe as destructive, was the movement of larger soil particles across the ground.

Farmers had two key tools to address soil erosion. They could leave strips of their fields fallow, or use trees and shrubs to create windbreaks. A farmer taking these measures protected his own fields, but lost the use of some agricultural land. He also protected his neighbor's fields from soil drifting off of his own property. A farmer who failed to take these steps not only saw his own farm lose its productivity, but imposed a negative externality on his neighbors as his soil drifted over their fields. Moving soil could form drifts up to 40 feet high.

Answer 2

I've read that the dust bowl was created by unusual ocean temperatures...cool Pacific Ocean temperatures mixed with warm Atlantic Ocean temperatures that created the conditions in the atmosphere which then created the dust bowl.

Answer 3

The Dust Bowl in the plains during the 1930s was caused by over grazing of animals and poor farming techniques. Also the plains has a drought cycle and all of these occurred at the same time around 1935-1940. The dust storms were so immense that dust could be seen in the air all the way back East.

Answer 4

The last Dust Bowl happened due to a long period without rain causing drought. Another reason was due to the fact that farmers were not cultivating and digging in deep into the soil. Instead, when planting, they would just continuously use the top layer of soil, causing it to lose its nutrients and became very dry. Another reason is because farmers had plowed area for their gardens, killing the grasses that kept in the moisture in the soil. These all led up to the soil becoming very dry and over used, therefore, was kicked up into the air to cause a Dust Bowl.

Answer 5

wind blew the soil east in great black clouds

Answer 6

A dust bowl is formed by loose soil/sand and when the wind comes it blows the soil/sand and it forms a bog bowl looking thing of sand