How does wind erosion work?
Soil erosion isn’t just caused by water. Wind also does damage. When it’s very dry and windy, huge clouds of soil can be blown across the land. These are called dust storms. In the early Twentieth Century, massive clouds of dirt swept over towns in the West, making it hard to see a few feet in front of you. These monster dust storms really caught everyone’s attention during the 1930s. A part of the western U.S., from Texas and Oklahoma up to North Dakota, became known as “the Dust Bowl.” Wind erosion in the Dust Bowl caused thousands of farmers to lose their crops and go broke. This made the Great Depression of the 1930s even more depressing. Wind does its dirty work by blasting soil particles loose from the ground. Then the tiny particles begin to bounce. Finally, the wind can lift these particles into the air and carry them for long distances. A car tries to outrun a dust storm during the 1930s. Photo: USDA NRCS Monster dust storms in the 1930s brought attention to soil erosion acros
