The Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl is a term used to describe a region that suffered from drought and dust storms during the Great Depression. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s lasted for about a decade. It was one of the most trying times in the history of the nation. Families struggled to survive during this time. The Dust Bowl actually caused the Depression to last longer.

The Dust Bowl was located along the southern Plains. Oklahoma, Kansas, and parts of Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado made up the Dust Bowl. Drought took away the rains and the water. The land was left dry and parched. The wind came and blew the dust around.

The blowing dust made it difficult to do even simple things. It was hard to breathe, eat, and sleep with all the dust. People got sick from all the dust. Farmers were not able to grow crops. Food and water were scarce.

Sometimes the dust storms were so bad they were more like dust blizzards. One day was called “Black Sunday.” On this day, the worst dust blizzard happened. It caused a lot of damage. The rains did not come until 1939.