wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

The Dust Bowl 2

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 7mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Severe dust storms caused what in 1930s mid-America?

a)

Minor ecological and no agricultural damage

b)

Small amounts of ecological damage

c)

Major ecological and agricultural damage

d)

Agricultural damage

2.

Which 3 techniques were missing from farming techniques?

a)

Enough irrigation, well-worked fields, cover crops

b)

Fertilisation, well-planted fields, tree planting (for conservation)

c)

Crop rotation, fallow fields, cover crops

d)

Fertilisation, fallow fields, tree planting (for conservation)

3.

Why were farmers unable to farm correctly?

a)

They had only European farming techniques in mind

b)

They were trained fully by the American government

c)

They had a natural affinity with the soil

d)

They had to pay too much for their land

4.

What usually keeps soil in place?

a)

Fences and crops

b)

Natural anchors such as grasses and trees

c)

Moisture and hills (to slow the winds down)

d)

Deep ploughing makes soil more stable

5.

What geographical phenomenon was happening in the 1930s?

a)

Monsoons

b)

Climate change for the better

c)

Climate change for the worse

d)

Drought

6.

Into which ocean would much soil have been deposited as a result of the storms?

a)

The Arctic

b)

The Indian

c)

The Pacific

d)

The Atlantic

7.

Which cities were affected by the dust storms - first and later?

a)

San Fransisco and Houston, Texas

b)

Chicago and New York

c)

New York and Chicago

d)

Florida and California

8.

Many people had to leave the land; they lost all t heir money. What did some have to do to make money while they travelled to cities?

a)

Pick corn

b)

Mend roads

c)

Pick cotton

d)

Beg, steal or borrow

9.

'The Grapes of Wrath' (book) is about what?

a)

The lives of ex-farmers once they arrived in the cities

b)

The social and economic conditions of the farmers who remained in the Dust Bowl area

c)

The social and economic conditions of migrants who had to leave the land

d)

John Steinbeck's childhood

10.

After which war did settlement in the central plains of America increase?

a)

World War 1

b)

The Boer War

c)

The American War of Independence

d)

The American Civil War

11.

Which was the greatest technological innovation which allowed movement across America?

a)

Transcontinental flights

b)

Transcontinental railroads

c)

Transcontinental roads

d)

Transcontinental buses

12.

What main geographical characteristic of the plains allowed the dust bowl effect to take place?

a)

Too much rain

b)

Not enough precipitation

c)

The continental winds

d)

The 'bowl' shaped land

13.

Choose the two correct options, in order, to fill the gaps.


During wet years, the rich soil provides ____________ agricultural output, but crops ____________ during dry years.

a)

bountiful, fail

b)

Fail, bountiful

c)

stability, die

d)

excess, increase

14.

Does the region have higher, lower or stronger winds than the coastal regions of the continent?

a)

Higher

b)

Lower

c)

Stronger

d)

They are equal to

15.

In which year did an extended drought start?

a)

1931

b)

1930

c)

1929

d)

1935

16.

What characterised the period leading up to 1930?

a)

It was unusually dry

b)

It had exactly the same amount of rain in the three years 1928-30

c)

It was unusually wet

d)

It was absolutely normal

17.

Which date became known as "Black Sunday"?

a)

November 11th, 1933

b)

December 25th, 1930

c)

April 14th, 1935

d)

April 1st 1901

18.

On "Black Sunday", approximately how many very bad storms happened?

a)

20

b)

15

c)

10

d)

22

19.

What colour snow fell on the New England area the following winter?

a)

White, of course

b)

Black

c)

Blue

d)

Red

20.

What do we call the removal of one large group of people from one place to another?

a)

Immigration

b)

Emigration

c)

An exodus

d)

Human displacement