What damage did the dust bowl do?

Answer 1

During the Dust Bowl, the dust storms removed the most fertile part of the soil which lowered the soil productivity making it almost impossible to grow any crops. The blowing soil and sand could also impact plants and reduce the survival and growth of seeds. Also the soil that remained in the air partially blocked out the sun and polluted the air which impacted the health of people and animals.

Okay, I'll make that easier to read:

• The dust storms removed the most fertile part of the soil which lowered the soil productivity making it almost impossible to grow any crops.

• The blowing soil and sand could also impact plants and reduce the survival and growth of seeds.

• The soil that remained in the air partially blocked out the sun and polluted the air which impacted the health of people and animals.

Answer 2

The Dust Bowl of the 1930s lasted about a decade. The primary area it effected was the southern Plains. The northern Plains were not hit so badly but the drought, the blowing dust, and the decline of agriculture in the region had a nationwide effect. The wind "turned day into night" and was so strong it picked up the topsoil on the ground and blew it away in large clouds of dust. The farmers who worked the Great Plains had been breaking up the sod and soil on the plain states since the time of the Homestead Act. Poor farming techniques and years of depleting the soil led to the soil becoming susceptible to the winds.

The loss of agricultural production helped to lengthen the Depression, not only in the US but worldwide. The displaced farmers became the migrants described in John Steinbeck's, Grapes of Wrath. Families from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada and Arkansas, packed what they could in cars and trucks and headed west. Most were aiming for California where they would become a class of migrant farmers, following the crops during the harvesting season.