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Dust Bowl, common name applied to a large area in the southern part of the Great Plains region of the United States, that got much dust storms in the1930s. The area included parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. In its original state, the reg ....

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.... and barns. In many places 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) of topsoil were blown away. Many thousands of families, their farms ruined, migrated westward; about a third of the remaining families had to accept government relief. Beginning in 1935 intensive efforts were made by both federal and state governments to develop adequate programs for soil conservation and for rehabilitation of the Dust Bowl. The measures taken have included seeding large areas in grass; 3-year rotation of wheat and sorghum and of lying fallow; the introduction of contour plowing, terracing, and strip planting; and, in areas of greater rainfall, the planting of long “she ....