The Dust Bowl of the 1930s goes down in history as one of the single most destructive environmental disasters throughout American history. It rapidly transformed enormous stretches of farmland into apocalyptic-looking wastelands. The perfect storm of severe drought, paired with over-farming as well as high winds, ended up generating huge dust storms that darkened skies and forced thousands of families to uproot for their homes as a matter of life or death.
These images depict some of the terrible chaos that occurred during that time.
1. Two men head to Los Angeles fleeing the dust storm that devastated Oklahoma during the period known as the Dust Bowl.
Bettmann/Contributor
One can only imagine what kind of discussion they were having while hoofing it.
2. A father and son run for cover in the midst of a dust storm during the Dust Bowl, 1936.
It’s terrifying to think about what that run for cover must’ve been like.
3. A car drives through the Dust Bowl, Texas, 1936.
Not a scenic day for a drive at all.
4. During the Dust Bowl thousands of families lived on wheels to serve the crops of California.
It was one of the only ways to make it through.
5. Three children wear goggles and homemade dirt masks during the Dust Bowl.
The apocalyptic vibes are especially strong in this shot.
6. Buried machinery in a barn lot in Dallas, South Dakota, United States.
Tough day to leave your car outside.
7. Dust Bowl Refugees heading west to start a new life.
The goat sitting upfront seems completely unfazed.
8. A dust storm engulfs the residents of Tyrone, Oklahoma.
The process of having vehicles engulfed by dust is just right out of a nightmare.
9. A dust storm approaching the town of Elkhart in Kanas in 1937.
MPI/Stringer
That buildup must’ve been right out of the nightmare factory.
10. Removing drifts of dust that blocked the highways near Guymon, Oklahoma.
Talk about a tough job to work.
11. A farm about to be enveloped by a dust storm during the great Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
Historical/Contributor
What a terrifying thing to see heading toward you and your family.
12. A man and his son at Thunder Butte, South Dakota during the Dust Bowl in 1936.
It was a horrible time to be a kid growing up.
13. Oklahoman family, survivors of the Dust Bowl.
Talk about a tough time period to make it through.
14. Dust Bowl refugees, fleeing from the drought in Oklahoma, camp by the roadside in Blythe, California.
Just to think that thousands of people were forced to flee their homes.
15. A family gathers amidst the difficulties of the Dust Bowl.
The days must’ve felt endless during the Dust Bowl.
16. A grim shot of the Amarillo, Texas dust storm.
One can certainly sense an overriding wave of panic throughout the folks in this shot.
17. Farmer and son in Dust Bowl area, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, 1936.
One of the more wholesome Dust Bowl pictures that we’ve come across.
18. Amarillo during the Dust Bowl in 1936.
The colorized effect really heightens the sense of drama that was surely taking place.
19. The iconic Dust Bowl glasses back in 1936.
People wear these kinds of glasses nowadays just because.
20. A Dust Bowl refugee from Oklahoma in 1937.
It looks like she’s had a rough go as of late, to say the very least.
21. Dust Bowl, 1936, Tulare County, CA.
The amount of courage required to power through this time in history was superhuman.
22. Dust Bowl refugees along the highway near Bakersfield, CA.
A tough place for a pit stop.
23. Dust Bowl farmer with tractor and young son near Cland, New Mexico.
Looks to be another long and tiring day with the tractor.
24. A Dust Bowl farm in the Coldwater District north of Dalhart, Texas.
The Dust Bowl farms were bleak to say the least.
25. Texans stranded in Northeast New Mexico, 1937.
So many people ended up being stranded during the Dust Bowl. It was truly heartbreaking.
If you want to see more content like this, make sure to follow us!
