Does this boy look happy to you?!No, he can’t breath

The Dust Bowl

Why a Dust Bowl? In the late

1800’s, the Great Plains were covered by herds of cattle.

This wore down the areas tall protective grasses, which kept soil on the ground.

Bison on the Great Plains

Farming on the Great Plains In the early 1900’s and on, this area was

farmed… a lot. Farmers plowed whatever grass was left.

1,000 years of topsoil gone

Drought To make matters worse for Americans in the Great

Plains, in 1931 drought struck the area.

The huge expanses on flat, dry and unprotected soil easily created dust storms becoming the Dust Bowl, lasting in some areas for 10 years.

The Stock Market Crash and the Dust Bowl were both major events which lead to the Great Depression, and changed the lives of Americans.