The Dust Bowl Quiz

What was the Dust Bowl?

• A tsunami

• A severe period of drought and dust storms

• A series of earthquakes

• A volcanic eruption

Why did farmers begin to settle the Great Plains region?

• Because of the lack of suitable land for agriculture

• Because of the presence of natural grasses

• Because of the belief that 'rain will follow the plow'

• Because of the abundance of trees and water

What farming practices led to the depletion of soil nutrients and increased erosion?

• Terracing and mechanized plowing

• Use of better tractors and combines

• Crop rotation and contour plowing

• Heavy plowing and elimination of natural grasses

Which regions were most affected by the severe drought of the 1930s?

• Eastern Texas and Louisiana

• Northern California and Oregon

• Panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, western Kansas, and large portions of Colorado and New Mexico

• Southern Florida and Georgia

What were the dust storms that reached as far as Washington D.C. called?

• Black blizzards

• Sandstorms

• Tornadoes

• Hurricanes

How much less precipitation than normal did the Dust Bowl region receive during the 1930s?

• 5-10%

• 10-15%

• 20-25%

• 15-20%

What did the Civilian Conservation Corps do to combat the Dust Bowl?

• Planted more than 200 million trees

• Constructed wind turbines

• Developed irrigation systems

• Built dams and reservoirs

What technique did the government pay farmers to practice in order to conserve soil?

• Crop rotation

• Terracing

• Contour plowing

• Mechanized plowing

By the end of the 1930s, how much had the amount of blowing dust been reduced by the efforts to correct the conditions?

• 25%

• 50%

• 75%

• 65%

How much of the topsoil had been blown away in some areas by the time the rainfall returned to normal levels?

• 25%

• 50%

• 75%

• 100%