The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms in the 1930s that significantly harmed the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies. It was caused by a combination of natural factors, like extreme drought, and human actions, particularly the failure to use dryland farming techniques to prevent wind erosion, which led to the destruction of the natural topsoil. The drought occurred in three waves: 1934, 1936, and 1939–1940, with some areas of the High Plains experiencing drought for up to eight years. The Dust Bowl has inspired various cultural works, including John Steinbeck's novel *The Grapes of Wrath* (1939), Woody Guthrie's folk music, and Dorothea Lange's iconic 1936 photograph *Migrant Mother*, which captured the hardships of migrants during the era.

Dust Bowl - Wikipedia