1934 Dustbowl Created Desert

It was Sunday, April 13, 1934. A gigantic dust storm was raging across Oklahoma, darkening the sky.

The dust was so thick that it was difficult to see a few feet ahead of oneself. The unrelenting winds stripped away topsoil, and the layers of rich black soil beneath it, spreading it out over thousands of square miles.

What crops survived the previous onslaught of dust storms were wiped out by this single devastating storm. Thousands (if not millions) of farm animals died that day, while native animals and plants, which had survived for millennia in the black gold soil of Oklahoma were obliterated. Thus, an entire way of life in what had become one of the breadbaskets of the world and an entire ecosystem ended that Sunday.

A day after the day known as Black Sunday, a reporter called Oklahoma “the dust bowl of the continent.” That phrase has lived on to describe the phenomenon of the destruction of arable land in the Midwestern plains of North America.

But the dust storm was only the last straw in a series of weather patterns and human practices, which set the stage for that final tragic event.

For more than a century (less than a heartbeat in the timeline of the planet), farmers had been preparing the land for the disaster. Not intentionally of course. They were doing what was at the time considered a noble work – helping to feed the rapidly growing population of the world still in the grips of the Industrial Revolution.

Despite the fact that modern farm equipment was in use in the Midwest at that time, land use attitudes had not changed for two hundred years.

Overgrazing by livestock had caused the destruction of native plants and had compacted the soil so much that it could no longer soak up water. As a result, macro- and micro-organisms that lived in the soil could no longer move through the compacted soil. This, plus continued overgrazing, caused further decline of native plants. New, invasive plants, which could grow in barren soil, replaced these native plants.

Rain washed away the now barren topsoil and wind ripped it up and carried it hundreds and, in many cases, thousands of miles.

Poor farming techniques, combined with intensive planting of much of the land, and a major drought (which lasted for almost 10 years) created further erosion, nutrient depletion and topsoil loss.

Over 40 million hectares of farmland were lost. Areas of devastation included Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, New Mexico and Colorado.

In short, in less than 100 years, these areas fell into the grip of massive desertification.

A major economic depression, no jobs (national unemployment rates were around 30 percent), mortgage foreclosures of farms, and the real danger of famine created dire situations in the Midwest.

By 1940, over two million people had left. Many of them went to California – part of perhaps the largest migration in U.S. history.

However, the desertification of much of the Midwestern and southwestern United States had some positive aspects. The federal government undertook a program to prevent soil erosion and to end the land abuse that helped cause the desertification process.

Farming techniques such as contour plowing and terracing were introduced. These processes helped keep valuable soil in place, prevented erosion and increased the macro and microorganisms in the soil, and encouraged the growth of native plants.

The creation of the Soil Conservation Service in 1935 added to the development of good agricultural practices. By 1937, all the states in the union instituted standard laws, which created soil conservation districts.

As old problems disappear into the sunset, new problems arise, and again, the same areas that were devastated over 70 years ago are facing desertification.

Related articles include:

1. Desertification: A Worldwide Problem
2. Vegetation for Erosion Control
3. Dorothea Lange: Dustbowl Photographer