During the 1930s, poor land management and severe drought conditions across parts of the Midwest resulted in the development of Dust Bowl conditions on the Great Plains

During the 1930s, poor land management and severe drought conditions across parts of the Midwest resulted in the development of Dust Bowl conditions on the Great Plains

• A. Floods and drought
• B. Excessive rainfall
• C. Plant diseases
• D. Development of Dust Bowl conditions due to poor land management and drought

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is how both climate conditions and land use interact to create a large environmental disaster. In the Great Plains during the 1930s, a severe drought dried out the soil while farming practices had left the land highly exposed—native grasses had been removed and fields often bare due to intensive cultivation. Without ground cover, strong winds could lift and carry topsoil for miles, producing the famous dust storms that gave the Dust Bowl its name. That combination of drought and poor land management directly led to the Dust Bowl conditions, making the statement that attributes the development of Dust Bowl conditions to both factors the most accurate. Focusing on those other options helps see why they don’t fit: floods and drought would imply a heavy emphasis on water-related events, which isn’t the defining feature here; excessive rainfall is the opposite of the drought that drove the erosion; plant diseases are not what caused the widespread soil loss and wind erosion; the essence of the Dust Bowl is the result of drought plus unsustainable land use, not a different set of factors.

The idea being tested is how both climate conditions and land use interact to create a large environmental disaster. In the Great Plains during the 1930s, a severe drought dried out the soil while farming practices had left the land highly exposed—native grasses had been removed and fields often bare due to intensive cultivation. Without ground cover, strong winds could lift and carry topsoil for miles, producing the famous dust storms that gave the Dust Bowl its name. That combination of drought and poor land management directly led to the Dust Bowl conditions, making the statement that attributes the development of Dust Bowl conditions to both factors the most accurate.

Focusing on those other options helps see why they don’t fit: floods and drought would imply a heavy emphasis on water-related events, which isn’t the defining feature here; excessive rainfall is the opposite of the drought that drove the erosion; plant diseases are not what caused the widespread soil loss and wind erosion; the essence of the Dust Bowl is the result of drought plus unsustainable land use, not a different set of factors.