The Dust Bowl of the Great Plains during the 1930s was primarily caused by a combination of factors. Which set best explains its causes?

The Dust Bowl of the Great Plains during the 1930s was primarily caused by a combination of factors. Which set best explains its causes?

• A. Economic depression and extended drought leading to high temperatures, poor farming practices, and wind erosion.
• B. Industrial pollution and overfishing of the Great Plains.
• C. Flooding from the Missouri River and a sudden drop in rainfall.
• D. Government policy banning farming in the plains.

Answer: (A)

This question tests how environmental conditions and human actions combine to create a disaster. The Dust Bowl happened when a severe, multi-year drought struck the Great Plains, turning the soil into a dry, vulnerable layer. At the same time, many farmers had expanded cultivation and plowed up native grasses, leaving large areas of bare soil with little protection from the wind. The economic strain of the Great Depression pushed farming even further, reducing resources for soil conservation. When strong winds rose, the exposed topsoil was picked up in massive dust storms that blanketed farms, ruined crops, and displaced families. The idea isn’t just that one factor caused the disaster, but that drought, harsh economic pressures, and farming practices that didn’t protect the soil all together produced the erosion that defined the Dust Bowl. Why the other possibilities don’t fit as well: industrial pollution and overfishing aren’t connected to the Dust Bowl’s causes; the events weren’t driven by flooding from the Missouri River; there wasn’t a government policy banning farming in the plains.

This question tests how environmental conditions and human actions combine to create a disaster. The Dust Bowl happened when a severe, multi-year drought struck the Great Plains, turning the soil into a dry, vulnerable layer. At the same time, many farmers had expanded cultivation and plowed up native grasses, leaving large areas of bare soil with little protection from the wind. The economic strain of the Great Depression pushed farming even further, reducing resources for soil conservation. When strong winds rose, the exposed topsoil was picked up in massive dust storms that blanketed farms, ruined crops, and displaced families. The idea isn’t just that one factor caused the disaster, but that drought, harsh economic pressures, and farming practices that didn’t protect the soil all together produced the erosion that defined the Dust Bowl.

Why the other possibilities don’t fit as well: industrial pollution and overfishing aren’t connected to the Dust Bowl’s causes; the events weren’t driven by flooding from the Missouri River; there wasn’t a government policy banning farming in the plains.