What caused the Dust Bowl on the Great Plains in the 1930s?

The Dust Bowl was caused by a catastrophic combination of unsustainable human land-use practices and severe environmental conditions on the Great Plains.1

Decades of intensive agricultural expansion—accelerated by World War I—led to widespread land mismanagement. Farmers utilized deep plowing and mechanized techniques that removed native grasses, which were essential for anchoring the soil and retaining moisture. This left millions of acres of topsoil exposed and vulnerable.12

When a severe, multiyear drought began in 1931, the dry, unanchored earth was easily lifted by heavy spring winds rushing across the flat terrain. These conditions triggered massive "black blizzards" of dust that caused widespread ecological and economic collapse, destroying crops and burying infrastructure across the region. Between 1934 and 1935 alone, an estimated 1.2 billion tons of soil were lost as the dust storms swept across the country.12