The Dust Bowl occurred in the 1930s during the Great Depression and was caused by a severe drought combined with farming practices that removed native grasses. This led to massive dust storms that carried topsoil from the Great Plains across the central United States. Over 850 million tons of topsoil blew away, destroying farmland. The dust storms darkened skies as far away as New York City and caused health issues as people inhaled the dust. By the late 1930s, two-thirds of the Great Plains had been damaged by wind erosion in one of the worst environmental disasters in American history.

1. The Dust Bowl

4. Bismark, North Dakota

5. Approaching Dust Storm

6. Oklahoma

7. Spearman, Texas

17. Prowers, Colorado, 1937

18. Prowers, Colorado, 1937

20. Fleeing a Dust Storm

21. Red Cross Volunteers Wearing Dust Masks

24. Map of Area Most Damaged