What were the years of the Dust Bowl?

1930 – 1936
Dust Bowl/Periods

How many times did the Dust Bowl happen?

Dust Storm Although the 1930s drought is often referred to as if it were one episode, there were at least 4 distinct drought events: 1930–31, 1934, 1936, and 1939–40 (Riebsame et al., 1991).

What were the most severe years for the Dust Bowl?

The most severe dust storms occurred between 1935 (a total of forty in that year) and 1938 (sixty-one), although numerous others were documented between 1932 and 1941. It was estimated that 300 million tons of soil were removed from the region in May 1934 and spread over large portions of the eastern United States.

What caused the Dust Bowl during the 1930s?

Economic depression coupled with extended drought, unusually high temperatures, poor agricultural practices and the resulting wind erosion all contributed to making the Dust Bowl. With the help of mechanized farming, farmers produced record crops during the 1931 season.

What was the death toll of the Dust Bowl?

It took place in the middle of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s and caused catastrophic human suffering and an enormous economic toll. The death toll exceeded 5,000, and huge numbers of crops were destroyed by the heat and lack of moisture.

What are some interesting facts about the Dust Bowl?

Interesting Dust Bowl Facts: The Dust Bowl is also often referred to as the Dirty Thirties. Some of the reasons that the Dust Bowl occurred were over-farming, livestock over-grazing, drought and poor farming practices. There were more than 100 million acres of land affected by the Dust Bowl. There were 14 dust storms in 1932 on the Great Plains .

What were the dates of the Dust Bowl?

There are several different opinions as to what actually constitutes the “dust bowl” era. Some people choose to use the date of the first sand storm (1931) as the start date while others use the first year of the drought (1930) and still others confine it to the actual drought years of 1934, 1936, 1939 and 1940.

What caused the U.S. Dust Bowl drought of the 1930’s?

The Dust Bowl disaster was caused by a series of devastating droughts in the 1930s, poor soil conservation techniques and over-farming. The lack of rainfall and moisture in the air dried out the topsoil of the farming regions in the prairie states.