Dust Bowl
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Publicado: 6 de noviembre de 2012
Dust Bowl prompt
Research the Dust Bowl. What events/practices led to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s? Could this phenomenon have been prevented? Hast the land damaged during the Dust Bowl yearsfully recovered? Make sure you cite any references used to answer these questions.
Causes:
The phenomenon was caused by severe drought coupled with decades of extensive farming without crop rotation,fallow fields, cover crops or other techniques to prevent erosion.[1] Deep plowing of the virgin topsoil of the Great Plains had displaced the natural grasses that normally kept the soil in place andtrapped moisture even during periods of drought and high winds. The lack of surface water and timber made the region less attractive than other areas for pioneer settlement and agriculture. However,following the Civil War, settlement in the area increased, encouraged by the Homestead Act, the transcontinental railroads, and new immigration.[3][4] An unusually wet period in the Great Plainsmistakenly led settlers and government to believe that "rain follows the plow" (a popular phrase among real estate promoters) and that the climate of the region had changed permanently.[5] The initialagricultural endeavors were primarily cattle ranching with some cultivation; however, a series of harsh winters beginning in 1886, coupled with overgrazing followed by a short drought in 1890, led to anexpansion of land under cultivation.
Technological improvements led to increased automation, which allowed for cultivation on an ever greater scale. World War I increased agricultural prices, whichalso encouraged farmers to drastically increase cultivation. In the Llano Estacado, farmland area doubled between 1900 and 1920, and land under cultivation more than tripled between 1925 and 1930.[6]Finally, farmers used agricultural practices that encouraged erosion.[1] For example, cotton farmers left fields bare over winter months, when winds in the High Plains are highest, and burned the...
Research the Dust Bowl. What events/practices led to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s? Could this phenomenon have been prevented? Hast the land damaged during the Dust Bowl yearsfully recovered? Make sure you cite any references used to answer these questions.
Causes:
The phenomenon was caused by severe drought coupled with decades of extensive farming without crop rotation,fallow fields, cover crops or other techniques to prevent erosion.[1] Deep plowing of the virgin topsoil of the Great Plains had displaced the natural grasses that normally kept the soil in place andtrapped moisture even during periods of drought and high winds. The lack of surface water and timber made the region less attractive than other areas for pioneer settlement and agriculture. However,following the Civil War, settlement in the area increased, encouraged by the Homestead Act, the transcontinental railroads, and new immigration.[3][4] An unusually wet period in the Great Plainsmistakenly led settlers and government to believe that "rain follows the plow" (a popular phrase among real estate promoters) and that the climate of the region had changed permanently.[5] The initialagricultural endeavors were primarily cattle ranching with some cultivation; however, a series of harsh winters beginning in 1886, coupled with overgrazing followed by a short drought in 1890, led to anexpansion of land under cultivation.
Technological improvements led to increased automation, which allowed for cultivation on an ever greater scale. World War I increased agricultural prices, whichalso encouraged farmers to drastically increase cultivation. In the Llano Estacado, farmland area doubled between 1900 and 1920, and land under cultivation more than tripled between 1925 and 1930.[6]Finally, farmers used agricultural practices that encouraged erosion.[1] For example, cotton farmers left fields bare over winter months, when winds in the High Plains are highest, and burned the...
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