Final answer:
The Dust Bowl was caused by the overproduction and overuse of land, severe drought, the removal of prairie grasses, and poor farming practices, leading to catastrophic dust storms and widespread economic and environmental damage.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Dust Bowl was an ecological catastrophe that occurred in the 1930s on the Southern Great Plains of the United States. One of the primary causes was the overproduction and overuse of the land, where intensive farming practices such as continuous wheat planting, lack of crop rotation, and the absence of fallow periods severely depleted the soil. This situation was exacerbated by a massive drought that started in 1931 and lasted nearly a decade, turning the once fertile soil into dust. The removal of native prairie grasses to make way for monoculture crops left the soil vulnerable to erosion. Combined with high winds, this created massive dust storms that removed the topsoil from millions of acres of farmland, with devastating environmental and economic impacts.
On top of agricultural factors, the drought, which began in 1931, triggered widespread dust storms that ravaged the Great Plains. Dust choked communities and even blew as far as the Atlantic Ocean. The term 'Dust Bowl' often refers to the affected areas in states like Oklahoma, and extended to include Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and areas in the Midwest. Overgrazing by cattle also contributed to the barren landscape, which ultimately transformed once-productive lands into a desolate region.
In 1935 alone, over 850 million tons of topsoil blew away. Dust storms became tragically common, and the economic consequences were severe for both farmers and those in related sectors. Black blizzards, dust pneumonia, and severe ecological degradation marked this period. The Dust Bowl not only forced many farming families to abandon their livelihoods but also significantly affected professionals and the entire regional economy.