The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl or the Dirty Thirties was a period of severe dust storms ecological and agriculture change to American and Canadian prairie lands in the 1930s. The problem was caused by drought and farming methods that did not include crop rotation fallow fields cover crops soil terracing and wind breaking trees. Deep plowing of the top soil of the great plains
that displaced the deep rooted grasses that retained moisture and kept the soil in place in windy days.
On November 11 1933 a dust storm stripped the top soil from the South Dakota farm lands and carried it all the ay to Chicago where it deposited 12 million pounds of dust and 2 days later it reached New York and Washington D.C. That winter red snow fell on New
England.
On April 14, 1935, known as "Black Sunday", 20 of the worst "black blizzards" occurred
throughout the Dust Bowl, causing extensive damage and turning the day to night; witnesses reported they could not see five feet in front of them at certain points.The Dust Bowl area lies principally west of the 100th meridian on the High plains, characterized by plains which vary from rolling in the north to flat in the Llano Estacado. Elevation ranges from 2,500 feet (760 m) in the east to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The area is semiarid, receiving less than 20 inches (510 mm) of rain annually; this rainfall supports the shortgrass prairie biome originally present in the area. The region is also prone to extended drought, alternating with unusual wetness of equivalent duration. During wet years, the rich soil provides bountiful agricultural output, but crops fail during dry years. The region is also subject to high winds.
Dust pneumonia describes disorders caused by excessive exposure to dust storms, particularly during the dust bowl in the United States. A form of pneumonia, dust pneumonia results when the lungs are filled with dust, inflaming the alveoli. .Symptoms of dust pneumonia include high fever, chest pains, difficulty breathing, and coughing. People who had dust pneumonia often died. There are no official death rates published for the Great Plains in the 1930s, but Red Cross volunteers made and distributed thousands of dust masks. The Kansas State Board of Health reported that in April 1935, 17 people had already died from dust pneumonia. With dust pneumonia, dust settles all the way into the alveoli of the lungs, stopping the cilia from moving and preventing the lungs from ever clearing themselves.
Resources:
Wikipedia
Google Images
[edit]
that displaced the deep rooted grasses that retained moisture and kept the soil in place in windy days.
On November 11 1933 a dust storm stripped the top soil from the South Dakota farm lands and carried it all the ay to Chicago where it deposited 12 million pounds of dust and 2 days later it reached New York and Washington D.C. That winter red snow fell on New
England.
On April 14, 1935, known as "Black Sunday", 20 of the worst "black blizzards" occurred
throughout the Dust Bowl, causing extensive damage and turning the day to night; witnesses reported they could not see five feet in front of them at certain points.The Dust Bowl area lies principally west of the 100th meridian on the High plains, characterized by plains which vary from rolling in the north to flat in the Llano Estacado. Elevation ranges from 2,500 feet (760 m) in the east to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The area is semiarid, receiving less than 20 inches (510 mm) of rain annually; this rainfall supports the shortgrass prairie biome originally present in the area. The region is also prone to extended drought, alternating with unusual wetness of equivalent duration. During wet years, the rich soil provides bountiful agricultural output, but crops fail during dry years. The region is also subject to high winds.
Dust pneumonia describes disorders caused by excessive exposure to dust storms, particularly during the dust bowl in the United States. A form of pneumonia, dust pneumonia results when the lungs are filled with dust, inflaming the alveoli. .Symptoms of dust pneumonia include high fever, chest pains, difficulty breathing, and coughing. People who had dust pneumonia often died. There are no official death rates published for the Great Plains in the 1930s, but Red Cross volunteers made and distributed thousands of dust masks. The Kansas State Board of Health reported that in April 1935, 17 people had already died from dust pneumonia. With dust pneumonia, dust settles all the way into the alveoli of the lungs, stopping the cilia from moving and preventing the lungs from ever clearing themselves.
Resources:
Wikipedia
Google Images
[edit]
