http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl In the 1930s, agricultural damage coupled with drought and windstorms, resulted in severe storms and destruction in the region that became known as the Dust Bowl. en Copyright 2013, History.com Sat, 18 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT History.com 2013-05-18T04:00:00Z en Copyright 2013, History.com http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo1 In the 1930s, agricultural damage, coupled with drought and windstorms, resulted in the severe damage and destruction across the Plains states that became known as the Dust Bowl. http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo1 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo2 The dense clouds of a Dust Bowl storm were known as "Black Blizzards." http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo2 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo3 A rusting car sits on a deserted farm site in the grasslands of eastern Colorado, an area that suffered during the Dust Bowl years. http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo3 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo4 Farm machinery in Oklahoma is buried under piles of sand during the Dust Bowl. http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo4 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo5 The Dust Bowl affected nearly one hundred million acres of land, primarily in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado. http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo5 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo6 More than 500,000 families were left homeless by the Dust Bowl. http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo6 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo7 The Resettlement Administration was part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, designed to relocate struggling families to new government-planned communities. It later became part of the Farm Security Administration (FSA). http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo7 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo8 By 1940, more than 2.5 million people had fled the Great Plains. Nearly 10 percent would head west to California. http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo8 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo9 Many of those fleeing the Dust Bowl had no previous agricultural background or skills and struggled to find work in their new communities. http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo9 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo10 Florence Owens Thompson, 32, a poverty-stricken migrant mother with three young children, gazes off into the distance. This photograph, commissioned by the FSA, came to symbolize the Great Depression for many Americans. http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo10 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo11 Many, but not all, of the Dust Bowl refugees hailed from Oklahoma. As they flooded the West Coast in large numbers in search of jobs, they were given the disparaging nickname "Okies." http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo11 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo12 The plight of Dust Bowl survivors and migrant workers was captured by American artists, photographers and literary works such as John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath." http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo12 http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo13 Erosion is a serious concern during periods of drought. Precious topsoil is blown away by winds due to the lack of stabilizing foliage. http://www.history.com/photos/the-dust-bowl/photo13